Blake Richards
Blake Richards MP |
|
---|---|
Shadow Minister for Tourism | |
Assumed office 20 November 2015 |
|
Leader | Rona Ambrose |
Preceded by | Brian Masse |
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Banff—Airdrie |
|
Assumed office October 19, 2015 |
|
Preceded by | Riding Established |
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Wild Rose |
|
In office October 14, 2008 – October 19, 2015 |
|
Preceded by | Myron Thompson |
Succeeded by | Riding Dissolved |
Chair of the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs |
|
Assumed office 19 February 2015 |
|
Minister | Bernard Valcourt |
Preceded by | Chris Warkentin |
Personal details | |
Born | Olds, Alberta |
November 8, 1974
Political party | Conservative |
Spouse(s) | Michelle Rempel [1] |
Residence | Airdrie, Alberta |
Education | Red Deer College, University of Calgary |
Profession | Real Estate Agent Firefighter |
Blake Richards (born November 8, 1974 in Olds, Alberta) is a Canadian politician, who was re-elected for a third term in the riding of Banff-Airdrie on October 19, 2015. He was previously elected in the electoral district of Wild Rose in the 2008 Canadian federal election and the 2011 election, and is a member of the Conservative Party in the House of Commons.
Contents
Committee work[edit]
Richards was appointed chair of the Parliamentary Tourism Caucus in October 2011. The all-party caucus has the responsibility to hear the concerns of stakeholders in the tourism sector and to raise issues of importance to the industry. Richards has also served as Chair of the House of Commons' Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development and the Special Committee on Co-operatives, and as a member of the committees on Procedure and House Affairs; Finance; International Trade; Canadian Heritage; Agriculture; and Transport, Infrastructure and Communities.
Biography[edit]
Prior to starting his real estate business, Richards worked in the oil field and agriculture-related industries, and attended Red Deer College and the University of Calgary, where he earned a degree in political science.
He served his community as a volunteer firefighter and minor hockey coach before being elected to the House of Commons in 2008.
Accomplishments[edit]
Richards has hosted the Rocky Mountain Hockey Challenge to raise funds for the RCMP Victims Services Units in Banff, Canmore, Cochrane, Airdrie and Olds, Alberta. Since 2009, Richards' charity game has raised a combined total of over $360,000 for regional victims of crime assistance groups.
In 2010, Richards spearheaded a national petition that called for changes to the national pardons system after it was revealed that convicted sex offender Graham James had received a pardon in 2007 for his offences. The petition attracted thousands of supporters from across Canada and in June 2010 Bill C-23A, a new law to limit pardons for serious crimes, received Royal Assent.
In October 2011, Richards introduced Private Member’s Bill C-309 in the House of Commons, and guided it through the House of Commons and Senate, allowing it to receive Royal Assent in June 2013. As a result, it is now a Criminal Code offence to wear a mask or to otherwise conceal one’s identity during a riot or an unlawful assembly.
Richards was recognized as the Hardest Working and Best Constituency MP in The Hill Times' 23rd Annual Politically Savvy Survey published in May, 2015.
Electoral record[edit]
Canadian federal election, 2015: Banff—Airdrie | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ∆% | Expenditures | |||
Conservative | Blake Richards | 42,228 | 63.37 | –7.36 | – | |||
Liberal | Marlo Raynolds | 17,380 | 26.08 | +18.02 | – | |||
New Democratic | Joanne Boissonneault | 4,521 | 6.78 | –6.29 | – | |||
Green | Mike MacDonald | 2,509 | 3.77 | –3.98 | – | |||
Total valid votes/Expense limit | 66,638 | 100.00 | $238,910.38 | |||||
Total rejected ballots | 179 | 0.27 | – | |||||
Turnout | 66,817 | 73.25 | – | |||||
Eligible voters | 91,222 | |||||||
Conservative hold | Swing | –7.36 | ||||||
This riding was created from parts of Wild Rose and Macleod, both of which elected Conservative candidates in the 2011 election. Blake Richards was the incumbent from Wild Rose. Changes are based on redistributed results. | ||||||||
Source: Elections Canada[2][3] |
Canadian federal election, 2011: Wild Rose | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ∆% | Expenditures | |||
Conservative | Blake Richards | 43,669 | 74.7 | +1.8 | $49,673 | |||
New Democratic | Jeff Horvath | 6,595 | 11.3 | +3.1 | $3,784 | |||
Green | Michael MacDonald | 4,071 | 7.0 | -5.6 | $5,270 | |||
Liberal | John Reilly | 3,908 | 6.7 | +1.0 | $43,616 | |||
Christian Heritage | Randy VandenBroek | 181 | 0.3 | – | – | |||
Total valid votes/Expense limit | 58,424 | 100.0 | ||||||
Total rejected ballots | 128 | 0.2 | 0.0 | |||||
Turnout | 58,552 | 61.7 | +6 | |||||
Eligible voters | 94,970 | – | – |
Canadian federal election, 2008: Wild Rose | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ∆% | Expenditures | |||
Conservative | Blake Richards | 36,869 | 72.9 | +0.4 | $50,972 | |||
Green | Lisa Fox | 6,390 | 12.6 | +1.8 | $14,559 | |||
New Democratic | Jeff Horvath | 4,169 | 8.2 | +0.9 | $5,001 | |||
Liberal | Jenn Turcott | 2,890 | 5.7 | -4.0 | $6,555 | |||
Libertarian | Krista Zoobkoff | 246 | 0.5 | – | ||||
Total valid votes/Expense limit | 50,564 | 100.0 | $101,401 | |||||
Total rejected ballots | 107 | 0.2 | 0.0 | |||||
Turnout | 50,671 | 56 | -9 |
References[edit]
- ^ http://www.hilltimes.com/hill-climbers/2015/06/22/more-changes-in-trade-minister-fasts-office-this-time-on-policy-side/42592
- ^ "October 19, 2015 Election Results — Banff—Airdrie (Validated results)". Elections Canada. 21 October 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
- ^ Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates