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Garnett Genuis

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Garnett Genuis
MP
Member of Parliament
for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan
Incumbent
Assumed office
October 19, 2015
Preceded byConstituency established
Personal details
Born (1987-01-23) January 23, 1987 (age 37)[1]
Strathcona County, Alberta, Canada
Political partyConservative
Other political
affiliations		Provincial:
Wildrose (until 2017)
SpouseDr. Rebecca Genuis
ChildrenGianna, Judah, Lilly, Phineas (Finn), Augustine (Gus)
ResidenceSherwood Park, Alberta[2]
Alma materCarleton University (BA)
London School of Economics (MSc)

Garnett Genuis MP /dʒɛnɪs/ (born January 23, 1987) is a Canadian politician who has served as the member of Parliament for the riding of Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan (in Alberta) since 2015.[3]

Early life

Genuis was born in 1987[4] and grew up in Strathcona County, before moving to attend Carleton University in Ottawa where he obtained a bachelor's degree in Public Affairs and Policy Management in February 2010. While there, he wrote a regular column for the Sherwood Park News as a political correspondent. Genuis’ experience helped him obtain a position as assistant to former Prime Minister Stephen Harper and adviser on the staff of former minister Rona Ambrose. Genuis then obtained a master's degree in public policy from the London School of Economics in December 2011.[5]

Political career

2012: Alberta general election

Genuis ran in the 2012 Alberta general election as the Wildrose MLA candidate for Sherwood Park. He lost to Progressive Conservative candidate Cathy Olesen.[6]

2015 Term: Maclean's Parliamentarian of the Year

In March 2014, Genuis announced his intention to seek the Conservative nomination for the 2015 Canadian federal election in the newly formed riding of Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan. He won the nomination in November 2014.[5] Genuis won the federal election on October 19, 2015, capturing 64% of the votes in the riding[7] and becoming its member of Parliament. The Conservative government of the day lost the election to the Liberals.

In November 2015, Genuis was appointed deputy critic for Human Rights and Religious Freedom. He served under head critic David Anderson.[8] On August 30, 2017, he was made Deputy Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs, after leaving his previous position.

In March 2016, Genuis was named one of the most outspoken MPs in the House of Commons by Maclean's Magazine.[9] In November 2017, Genuis was named Maclean's Parliamentarian of the Year, based on a vote by members of the House of Commons. Genuis was the youngest recipient to date of the award.[10]

In a 2017 episode of the television series Political Blind Date, Genuis and Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, the Liberal MP for Beaches—East York, discussed their differing perspectives on the legalization of marijuana in Canada.[11]

In May 2019, Genuis supported Conservative leader Andrew Scheer's vision for a new foreign policy.[12]

2019 Term: Shadow Minister for Multiculturalism & International Development and Human Rights

Genuis was re-elected to the 43rd Canadian Parliament on October 21, 2019, with 73.4% of the popular vote. His party, however, only won 121 of 338 seats, so he remained in opposition.[3] In 2019, he was given the role as Shadow Minister for Multiculturalism by then leader of the Conservative Party Andrew Scheer.[13]

Genuis was a member of the House of Commons Special Committee on Canada-China Relations.[14] He has voiced concerns over Huawei's influence on Canadian campuses.[15] Genuis was openly hostile to the appointment of Dominic Barton as Canada's ambassador to China, suggesting that Barton's past work advising more than 20 Chinese state-owned enterprises put him in a conflict of interest.[14] Genuis was appointed as the shadow minister for international development and human rights by the Conservative Party of Canada's new leader Erin O'Toole in September 2020.[16]

2021 Term: Shadow Minister for International Development

Genius was re-elected to the 44th Canadian Parliament in the 2021 Canadian federal election with 57.5% of the popular vote in his constituency. Though he faced a 16% decline in support compared to the 2019 general election. Following the election, Genius was vocally supportive of Erin O'Toole's leadership of the party after the latter faced criticism for failing to increase the party's seat count from 2019.

Garnett Genuis is currently a committee member of FAAE (Foreign Affairs and International Development) & CIMM (Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration).[17]

In June 2022, Genuis made a trip to Nigeria. He sat down for a conversation with Nigerian Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and had an interview with Catholic Television of Nigeria.

Policies

Human Rights Advocacy

Genuis has been a strong supporter of the Tibet cause. In January 2016, Genuis met with the Dalai Lama to discuss human rights and religious freedom.[18]

In April 2022, Genuis introduced private member motion M-57. This called on the Canadian government to support bystander intervention training as a tool to combat sexual harassment and violence, hate crimes, and other forms of criminal activity.[19]

Genuis supported Bill S-223, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (trafficking in human organs). This bill aims to protect people from the exploitative practices of organ harvesting.[20][21]

Genuis jointly seconded the private member's bill C-281, known as the International Human Rights Act, sponsored by Philip Lawrence (politician). This Bill contains several different important measures aimed at advancing international human rights, including changes to the Magnitsky Act, the Broadcasting Act, and the Prohibiting Cluster Munitions Act.[22][23]

In June 2022, Genuis, along with Senator Leo Housakos, hosted a press conference with Enes Kanter Freedom. The focus of the press conference was to advocate for human rights; focusing on Uyghurs in the Chinese Communist Party controlled Xinjiang Region. There, the Canadian government was called on to stop the importation of products made with forced labour coming from the Xinjiang Region.[24]

Genuis has created various petitions to raise awareness and advocate for various international issues such as the Uyghur genocide , the Tigray War and Human Rights for Minorities in Pakistan.[25]

Democratic Advocacy

Genuis spoke about democratic decline in Canada in the House of Commons, citing the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance in Stockholm. He said, “In the key category of checks on government, Canada’s score has dropped precipitously since 2015. We are now lower than the United States and every single country in western Europe. Weakening checks on government power is weakening Canadian democracy, and international experts are noticing.”[26]

In July 2022, Genuis also authored an opinion piece on True North, where he wrote, “We are currently dealing with the failure of the government to hand over documents ordered by Parliament, the arbitrary use of the Emergencies Act and failure to hand over cabinet documents to the inquiry charged with looking into that action, the imposition of a draconian “Motion 11,” that gives the executive unprecedented powers to control the Parliamentary agenda, and alleged interference by the government in an RCMP investigation. These are just the key elements of democratic decline that we have seen in the last few months.”[27]

International Development

Genuis has been a vocal advocate for Bill S-216 – An Act to amend the Income Tax Act (use of resources of a registered charity).[28] S-216 also known as the Effective Charities Act, seeks to amend the Income Tax Act to ensure that charities can effectively collaborate with a wider range of charities (both domestic and international) including those without charitable status.[29] Genuis has worked alongside Senator Ratna Omidvar, local and international stakeholders to call for this reformation. In Episode 22 of the Resuming Debate podcast, MP Genuis talks to the Senator about S-216 and its importance to domestic and international charities and developmental organizations.

Energy Security

Genuis has been an outspoken supporter of promoting energy security in the West using Canadian oil and gas, especially since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began. In a House of Commons speech, he said, “Canada should fuel democracy by providing our European friends with a conflict-free and reliable alternative, and one that is, in many cases, better for the environment than the other options available.”[30]

Family Policy

Garnett has been identified by the Campaign Life Coalition as having a perfect voting score for Life and family issues introduced to the House of Commons.[31] Contributors to the Sherwood Park-Fort Saskatchewan Conservative Riding Association sponsored pro-children ads that appeared on buses in Vancouver, BC.[32]

Genius voted in support of Bill C-233 - An Act to amend the Criminal Code (sex-selective abortion), to combat sex-based discrimination, making it a criminal offence for a medical practitioner to knowingly perform an abortion sought solely on the grounds of the child's genetic sex.[33][34]

On June 22, 2021, Genuis was one of 63 MPs to vote against Bill C-6, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (conversion therapy), which was passed by majority vote, making certain aspects of conversion therapy a crime, including "causing a child to undergo conversion therapy." Genuis stated he thinks banning conversion therapy is reasonable, but Bill C-6 was too broad in scope, and therefore did more than ban conversion therapy. Genuis consequently called on the Canadian government to fix the definition of "Conversion Therapy" in Bill C-6 by doing many things, one of which would be to ensure that no laws discriminate against Canadians by limiting what services they can receive based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. [35][36][37][38]

Church and State

Genuis believes in the philosophical principle of the separation of church and state.[39] This is partly why he voted against a request for papal apology for the Catholic Church's role in residential schools.[40] The motion was put forward in reaction to the discovery of 215 unmarked graves of children at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, and was a reiteration of the same motion tabled in May 2018.[40][41]

Media

Podcast (Resuming Debate)

Genuis hosts a podcast called Resuming Debate, where a wide range of experts, authors, and academics speak on diverse topics. The stated purpose of the podcast is to inject an element of civil conversation/debate into the Canadian political climate. Some notable Resuming Debate podcast topics include Fighting Modern Slavery, The Ukrainian Church and the Fight Against Putin, Religious Symbols in the Public Service, and Woke Capitalism. Some notable guests from the Resuming Debate podcast include Charles Hoskinson, Ross Douthat, Andrew Bennett (academic), and Bob Fu. Resuming Debate is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Anchor and YouTube.

Written Articles

Genuis sometimes contributes to outlets like The Sherwood Park-Strathcona County News and the True North. He has written on topics of national importance, like the opioid crisis, the state of democracy, and political discrimination.[42][43]

Personal Life

Genuis is a Roman Catholic. He is married to Dr. Rebecca Genuis and together, they have five children.[44] Genuis regularly returns on the weekend to his riding of Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan for the purpose of being with his family, attending local events and interacting with his constituents.

Publications

  • The Fight for a Principled Foreign Policy: Commentary and Select Speeches from my First Year in Parliament. Kidlington Publishing. October 2016.

Electoral record

Federal

2021 Canadian federal election: Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Conservative Garnett Genuis 41,092 57.6 -15.77 $56,903.38
New Democratic Aidan Theroux 14,740 20.6 +8.46 $7,370.63
Liberal Tanya Holm 8,730 12.2 +2.13 $23,831.90
Green Sheldon Jonah Perris 700 1.0 -1.18 $0.00
People's John Wetterstrand 5,004 7.0 +5.17 $8,937.40
Independent Charles Simpson 283 0.4 - $7,678.37
Maverick Party Todd Newberry 849 1.2 - $5,182.19
Total valid votes/expense limit 71,398 99.58 +0.02 $124,070.52
Total rejected ballots 298 0.42 -0.2
Turnout 71,696 73.94 -2.35
Eligible voters 96,964
Conservative hold Swing -
Source: Elections Canada[45][46][47]
2019 Canadian federal election: Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Conservative Garnett Genuis 53,600 73.37 +9.43 $59,435.26
New Democratic Aidan Theroux 8,867 12.14 +2.33 $8,662.98
Liberal Ron Thiering 7,357 10.07 -10.35 $9,038.34
Green Laura Sanderson 1,592 2.18 -0.29 $0.00
People's Darren Villetard 1,334 1.83 - $1,638.00
Veterans Coalition Patrick McElrea 300 0.41 - $0.00
Total valid votes/expense limit 73,050 99.56
Total rejected ballots 321 0.44 +0.17
Turnout 73,371 76.29 +2.23
Eligible voters 96,171
Conservative hold Swing +3.55
Source: Elections Canada[48][49]
2015 Canadian federal election: Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Conservative Garnett Genuis 42,642 63.94 +14.48 $114,842.36
Liberal Rod Frank 13,615 20.42 +13.95 $23,559.35
New Democratic Joanne Cave 6,540 9.81 -1.42 $15,416.14
Green Brandie Harrop 1,648 2.47 -1.59 $3,796.57
Independent James Ford 1,563 2.34 -26.44 $5,420.41
Libertarian Stephen C. Burry 678 1.02 * $3,387.73
Total valid votes/expense limit 66,686 99.73   $228,934.10
Total rejected ballots 180 0.27 –
Turnout 66,866 74.06 –
Eligible voters 90,289
Conservative hold Swing +0.27
Source: Elections Canada[50][51]


Provincial

2012 Alberta general election: Sherwood Park
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Cathy Olesen 8,747 45.62 -17.52
Wildrose Garnett Genuis 5,948 31.02
Liberal Dave Anderson 1,837 9.58 -16.48
New Democratic Sarah Michelin 1,210 6.31 +0.18
Independent James Ford 1,064 5.55
Alberta Party Chris Kuchmak 230 1.20
Social Credit Gordon Barrett 137 0.71
Total valid votes 19,173
Rejected, spoiled, and declined 184
Registered electors / turnout 30,851 62.74 +15.06
Progressive Conservative hold Swing -24.27
Source(s)
Elections Alberta. "Electoral Division Results: Sherwood Park". Retrieved July 9, 2012.

References

  1. ^ Garnett Genuis on Twitter: "#OTD in 2006, the @CPC_HQ defeated the incumbent Liberals winning a total of 124 seats in the House of Commons. It was also my 19th birthday - and I was definitely more excited about the election than I was about that event. #cdnpoli" Twitter.com
  2. ^ "Official Voting Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  3. ^ a b Moray, Lindsay (October 22, 2019). "Genuis granted second term". Sherwood Park News. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  4. ^ "PARLINFO - Parliamentarian File - Contact Information - GENUIS, Garnett". Retrieved 2016-03-15.
  5. ^ a b "Our Candidate". Garnett Genuis. Archived from the original on 2016-03-15. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  6. ^ "Wildrose candidate Garnett Genuis (Sherwood Par..." Sherwood Park News. Archived from the original on 2015-11-17. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  7. ^ nurun.com. "Conservative Garnett Genuis wins local riding". Fort Saskatchewan Record. Archived from the original on 2016-03-15. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  8. ^ nurun.com. "Local MP Genuis named deputy critic". Fort Saskatchewan Record. Archived from the original on 2016-03-15. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  9. ^ "Figures of Speech". Macleans.ca. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  10. ^ Wells, Paul (November 7, 2017). "Garnett Genuis: The 2017 Parliamentarian of the Year - Macleans.ca". Macleans.ca. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  11. ^ "Political Blind Date series hopes opposites attract, or at least get along". Toronto Star, November 4, 2017.
  12. ^ Genuis, Garett. "A new vision for Canada's foreign policy". Kenora Daily Miner. All rights reserved. A member of Sun Media Community Newspapers part of Postmedia Network.
  13. ^ Dosser, Travis. "Genuis selected as Shadow Minister for Multiculturalism". The Sherwood Park Strathcona County News.
  14. ^ a b Tumilty, Ryan (6 February 2020). "Canada's ambassador to China tells House committee there is a 'real chill' between the two countries". Regina Leader Post, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.
  15. ^ Genuis, Garret (25 February 2020). "China's reach on campus". Postmedia Network Inc. Toronto Sun.
  16. ^ Stolz, Hannah. "Genuis focusing on human rights in new position on shadow cabinet". FortSaskOnline.com. Retrieved 2021-01-19.
  17. ^ House of Commons. "Garnett Genuis - Member of Parliament - House of Commons". Our Commons. Retrieved 2022-07-19.
  18. ^ Thomas, David (2016-01-18). "Canadian MP Garnett Genius meets His Holiness the Dalai Lama of Tibet". Tibet post International. Retrieved 2022-07-20.
  19. ^ House of Commons (April 5, 2022). "M-57 BYSTANDER AWARENESS AND INTERVENTION TRAINING". OurCommons. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  20. ^ Open Parliament (May 17, 2022). "Bill S-223 An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (trafficking in human organs)". OpenParliament. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  21. ^ Parliament of Canada (December 9, 2021). "An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (trafficking in human organs)". Parl. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  22. ^ Brad Vis, MP (June 13, 2022). "Conservative MP tables Private Member's Bill to address international human rights". Parl. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  23. ^ House of Commons (June 13, 2022). "International Human Rights Act". Parl. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  24. ^ CBC (July 1, 2022). "NBA player calls out Trudeau for Canada's inaction on Uighur 'genocide'". CBC. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  25. ^ Garnett Genuis. "Petitions". Garnett Genuis MP. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  26. ^ "Mr. Garnett Genuis (Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, CPC):". www.ourcommons.ca. Retrieved 2022-07-20.
  27. ^ Genuis, Garnett (2022-07-05). "GUEST OP-ED: Canada's eroding democracy under Trudeau's watch". Retrieved 2022-07-20.
  28. ^ "Effective and Accountable Charities Act". openparliament.ca. Retrieved 2022-07-21.
  29. ^ "BILL S-216". parl.ca. Retrieved 2022-07-21.
  30. ^ "Mr. Garnett Genuis (Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, CPC):". www.ourcommons.ca. Retrieved 2022-07-20.
  31. ^ "MP Garnett Genuis CLC rating: Pro-life". Campaign Life Coalition. Retrieved June 28, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  32. ^ Climenhaga, David (November 2, 2020). "Alberta MP accused of sponsoring anti-abortion messaging in Vancouver bus ads". Canadian Politics. Retrieved June 28, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  33. ^ House of Commons (June 2, 2021). "2nd reading of Bill C-233, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (sex-selective abortion)". LEGISinfo. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  34. ^ House of Commons (February 26, 2020). "Private Member's Bill C-233 (43-1) - Sex-selective Abortion Act". Parl. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  35. ^ House of Commons (June 22, 2021). "3rd reading and adoption of Bill C-6, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (conversion therapy)". LEGISinfo. Retrieved June 28, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  36. ^ PressProgress (June 23, 2021). "Conservative MP Who Opposed Conversion Therapy Bill Spoke at Conference Organized By European Far-Right, Anti-LGBTQ Groups". PressProgress. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  37. ^ FortSaskOnline (July 3, 2021). "MP Garnett Genuis explains why he voted against bill outlawing conversion therapy". FortSaskOnline. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  38. ^ Garnett Genuis MP. "Fix The Definition". GarnettGenuis. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  39. ^ "Canadian Multiculturalism Act". Open Parliament, June 7, 2021.
  40. ^ a b Hamilton, Jennifer (June 18, 2021). "Genuis votes against Papal apology and anti-conversion therapy legislation". The Record. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  41. ^ Morey, Lindsay (June 11, 2021). "Genuis blocks Papal apology again". The Sherwood Park Strathcona County News. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  42. ^ The Sherwood Park-Strathcona County News. "LATEST STORIES BY GARNETT GENUIS". Sherwood Park News. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  43. ^ True North. "Garnett Genuis". True North. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  44. ^ Garnett Genuis. "Meet Garnett". Garnett Genuis MP. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  45. ^ "September 20, 2021 General Election Election Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  46. ^ "Candidate Campaign Returns". Elections Canada. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  47. ^ "Final Election Expenses Limits for Candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  48. ^ "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  49. ^ "Official Voting Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  50. ^ "Official Voting Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  51. ^ Elections Canada – Final Candidates Election Expenses Limits
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