Heather May Klimchuk ECA (born August 10, 1958) is a Canadian politician who was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta representing the constituency of Edmonton-Glenora as a Progressive Conservative, from 2008 to 2015. She was Minister of Human Services from 2014 until defeated in the 2015 provincial election.
The Honourable Heather Klimchuk | |
|---|---|
 Klimchuk at the 2014 Tour of Alberta | |
| Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for Edmonton-Glenora | |
| In office March 3, 2008 – May 5, 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Bruce Miller |
| Succeeded by | Sarah Hoffman |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 10, 1958 Calgary, Alberta |
| Political party | Progressive Conservative |
| Spouse | Wade Klimchuk |
| Residence(s) | Edmonton, Alberta |
| Occupation | Real Estate Agent, Politician |
| Portfolio | Minister of Human Services |
Political career
editBefore being elected in the 2008 Alberta General Election, Klimchuk also ran the 2001 and 2004 election campaigns of former Edmonton-Glenora MLA Drew Hutton.[1]
She was narrowly elected as MLA for Edmonton-Glenora in the 2008 election over Alberta Liberal Party incumbent Bruce Miller by 96 votes, less than 1% of votes cast. In the 2011 PC leadership election Klimchuk supported Gary Mar,[2] who was defeated by Alison Redford. Klimchuk was re-elected by a more comfortable margin in the 2012 election and was named Minister of Human Services on September 15, 2014 in the first cabinet of Jim Prentice.[3] She has previously served as Minister of Culture and Community Services and Minister of Service Alberta.[4][5][6] Klimchuk was defeated in the 2015 Alberta general election as the Alberta NDP won every seat in Edmonton.[7]
She was considered to be part of the progressive or Red Tory wing of the PC Party.[8]
Personal life
editKlimchuk has a long family history with the PC Party. Her father worked on Premier Peter Lougheed's first electoral campaign and was a classmate of Joe Clark's at law school.[8] Her public service experience prior to serving as a Member of the Legislature includes working as a researcher and writer for both Premier Lougheed and Premier Don Getty.She also assisted with the initiation of the Alberta Seniors´ information phone line.
In the 1980s Klimchuk worked as a hair model, often entering competitions.[9]
Post-politics she became Director of Alberta Ballet.[9]
Klimchuk holds a bachelor of arts (special) from the University of Alberta in political science. She and her husband, Wade, have two children: Kyrsten and Keifer.[3]
Election results
edit| 2008 Alberta general election: Edmonton-Glenora | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Heather Klimchuk | 4,604 | 39.90% | 11.22% | ||||
| Liberal | Bruce Miller | 4,508 | 39.07% | 3.94% | ||||
| New Democratic | Arlene Chapman | 1,743 | 15.11% | -15.81% | ||||
| Green | Peter Johnston | 408 | 3.54% | 1.47% | ||||
| Wildrose Alliance | Elden Van Hauwaert | 275 | 2.38% | – | ||||
| Total | 11,538 | – | – | |||||
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | 36 | 20 | 2 | |||||
| Eligible electors / turnout | 27,266 | 42.46% | -14.11% | |||||
| Progressive Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | -1.69% | ||||||
Source(s)
Source: "31 - Edmonton-Glenora, 2008 Alberta general election". officialresults.elections.ab.ca. Elections Alberta. Retrieved May 21, 2020. The Report on the March 3, 2008 Provincial General Election of the Twenty-seventh Legislative Assembly. Elections Alberta. July 28, 2008. pp. 294–297. | ||||||||
| 2012 Alberta general election: Edmonton-Glenora | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Heather Klimchuk | 6,183 | 38.24% | -1.66% | ||||
| New Democratic | Ray Martin | 4,143 | 25.62% | 10.52% | ||||
| Wildrose Alliance | Don Koziak | 2,732 | 16.90% | 14.51% | ||||
| Liberal | Bruce Miller | 1,670 | 10.33% | -28.74% | ||||
| Alberta Party | Sue Huff | 1,441 | 8.91% | – | ||||
| Total | 16,169 | – | – | |||||
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | 119 | 55 | 6 | |||||
| Eligible electors / turnout | 29,262 | 55.68% | 13.23% | |||||
| Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | 5.89% | ||||||
Source(s)
Source: "34 - Edmonton-Glenora, 2012 Alberta general election". officialresults.elections.ab.ca. Elections Alberta. Retrieved May 21, 2020. | ||||||||
| 2015 Alberta general election | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| New Democratic | Sarah Hoffman | 12,403 | 68.5 | |||||
| Progressive Conservative | Heather Klimchuk | 3,137 | 17.3 | |||||
| Wildrose | Don Koziak | 1,381 | 7.6 | |||||
| Liberal | Karen Sevcik | 542 | 3.0 | |||||
| Alberta Party | Chris Vilcsak | 445 | 2.5 | |||||
| Green | David Parker | 199 | 1.1 | |||||
References
edit- ^ "Minister determined to make a difference". Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2014-09-27.
- ^ "mla support in the alberta pc leadership contest (july 14, 2011) - daveberta.ca – Alberta Politics". 14 July 2011. Archived from the original on September 26, 2014. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
- ^ a b "Legislative Assembly of Alberta". Archived from the original on 2014-12-21. Retrieved 2014-12-21.
- ^ "Alberta Cabinet swearing-in ceremony - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
- ^ "Premier promotes Verlyn Olson and Greg Weadick to cabinet". February 17, 2011.
- ^ Parrish, Julia (2012-05-08). "Premier Alison Redford unveils new cabinet". Edmonton. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
- ^ "NDP sweep Edmonton ridings". edmontonjournal. Archived from the original on 2021-11-27. Retrieved 2021-11-27.
- ^ a b "Minister determined to make a difference". Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2014-09-27.
- ^ a b "Heather Klimchuk: No shortage of people to celebrate during Pride Month". Edmonton Journal. June 19, 2019.
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