Randy Boissonnault
Randy Boissonnault | |
|---|---|
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage | |
| Assumed office December 2, 2015 | |
| Minister | Mélanie Joly |
| Preceded by | Richard Dykstra |
| Member of Parliament for Edmonton Centre | |
| Assumed office October 19, 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Laurie Hawn |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 14, 1970 Morinville, Alberta |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Profession | Management Consultant |
| Website | rboissonnault.liberal.ca |
Randy Boissonnault, MP (born July 14, 1970) is a Canadian politician, who was elected to represent the riding of Edmonton Centre as a Liberal member of the House of Commons of Canada in the 2015 federal election.[1]
He is one of six openly LGBT MPs serving in the 42nd Canadian Parliament, alongside Scott Brison, Rob Oliphant, Seamus O'Regan, Randall Garrison and Sheri Benson.[2] He is also the first openly gay MP elected in Alberta. [3]
Early life
Boissonnault was born in the Franco-Albertan town of Morinville, Alberta on July 14, 1970.
After graduating from the University of Alberta, Boissonault studied at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. He subsequently worked as a lecturer at the University of Alberta’s Campus Saint-Jean and as a journalist and political commentator for Radio-Canada and Les Affaires.[4]
Political career
Boissonnault was elected in the 2015 election in the riding of Edmonton Centre, the first Liberal MP to win in the riding for over a decade.
Upon being sworn in as a Member of Parliament, Boissonnault was named Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage.
When Degas Sikorski, one of Boissonnault's constituents, received a valentine with a homophobic slur on it, Boissonnault delivered a valentine to him signed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Members of Parliament.[5]
On November 15, 2016 Boissonnault was named special advisor on LGBTQ2 issues to the Prime Minister.[6] The role will involve advising Trudeau "on the development and co-ordination of the Government of Canada’s LGBTQ2 agenda" including protecting LGBT rights in Canada and addressing both present and historical discrimination.[6]
Election results
| 2015 Canadian federal election: Edmonton Centre | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Randy Boissonnault | 19,902 | 37.19 | +13.46 | – | |||
| Conservative | James Cumming | 18,703 | 34.95 | -11.25 | – | |||
| New Democratic | Gil McGowan | 13,084 | 24.45 | -1.37 | – | |||
| Green | David Parker | 1,403 | 2.62 | -0.94 | – | |||
| Rhinoceros | Steven Stauffer | 257 | 0.48 | – | – | |||
| Independent | Kat Yaki | 163 | 0.30 | – | – | |||
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | 53,512 | 100.00 | $210,254.07 | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 234 | 0.44 | – | |||||
| Turnout | 53,746 | 68.79 | – | |||||
| Eligible voters | 78,131 | |||||||
| Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +12.35 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[7][8] | ||||||||
References
- ^ http://edmontonjournal.com/news/politics/riding-profile-edmonton-centre
- ^ "Hedy Fry wins decisively as Liberals sweep Canada for majority". Daily Xtra, October 20, 2015.
- ^ "Edmonton's newest Liberal, Randy Boissonnault, got taste for politics at U of A and wanted to bring generational change to national politics". Edmonton Journal", October 21, 2015
- ^ http://randyboissonnault.liberal.ca/biography/ Randy Boissonault - Biography - Liberal.ca
- ^ "Man who got homophobic Valentine at work gets new card signed by Justin Trudeau". CTV News. The Canadian Press. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
- ^ a b "Feds name gay MP as ‘LGBTQ2 issues’ advisor". Daily Xtra, November 15, 2016.
- ^ "October 19, 2015 Election Results — Edmonton Centre (Validated results)". Elections Canada. October 23, 2015. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
- ^ Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates
External links
 | This article about an Alberta politician is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- 1970 births
- Alumni of University College, Oxford
- Canadian LGBT Members of Parliament
- Canadian Rhodes Scholars
- Franco-Albertan people
- Gay politicians
- Liberal Party of Canada MPs
- Living people
- Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Alberta
- Politicians from Edmonton
- University of Alberta alumni
- University of Alberta faculty
- Alberta politician stubs