Stephanie McLean (politician)

Stephanie McLean MLA
Minister of Service Alberta
In office February 2, 2016 – June 18, 2018
Preceded by	Danielle Larivee
Succeeded by	Brian Malkinson
Minister of Status of Women
In office February 2, 2016 – June 18, 2018
Preceded by	Ministry Created
Succeeded by	Danielle Larivee
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for Calgary-Varsity
Incumbent
Assumed office May 5, 2015
Preceded by	Donna Kennedy-Glans
Personal details
Born	(1987-03-02) March 2, 1987 Calgary, Alberta
Political party	Alberta New Democratic Party
Residence	Calgary, Alberta
Alma mater	Concordia University College of Alberta Bachelor of Arts University of Calgary Law
Occupation	Family Law Lawyer

Stephanie Veronica McLean is a Canadian lawyer and politician who was elected in the Alberta general election, 2015 to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta representing the electoral district of Calgary-Varsity. She is a graduate of the University of Calgary's law school and was sworn in as the Minister of Status of Women and Minister of Service Alberta on February 2, 2016.

Political career

McLean made history when she became the first Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta and first Minister in Alberta's history to give birth while in office. McLean gave birth to a baby boy, Patrick, on February 12, 2016. McLean's pregnancy sparked questions around the logistics and rules of the Alberta legislature around pregnancy, maternity leave, and support for new parents in the legislature. Her pregnancy spurred the creation of an all-party committee with a mandate to review and make recommendations on maternity leave and making the Legislature more responsive to members' family obligations. When asked why she thought it took until 2015 for the Alberta Legislature to have a pregnant MLA, McLean replied that for the first time in Alberta's history an unprecedented number of women had been elected; "It’s just a matter of it being a typical old boys’ club. When you look down from the galleries at the House, our half of the House has substantially more women than in the past. It took Alberta some time to change and we had a substantial change in government."

Electoral history

2015 general election

Alberta general election, 2015: Calgary-Varsity
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	New Democratic	Stephanie McLean	8,297	43.94	+39.31
	Progressive Conservative	Susan Billington	5,700	30.19	-15.71
	Wildrose	Sharon Polsky	2,598	13.76	-12.45
	Liberal	Pete Helfrich	1,862	9.86	-10.62
	Green	Carl Svoboda	424	2.25	+0.92
Total valid votes			18,881	99.33	+0.03
Rejected, spoiled and declined			127	0.67	-0.03
Eligible voters / Turnout			32,467	58.55	-1.30
	New Democratic gain from Progressive Conservative		Swing		+27.51
Source(s) "2015 Provincial General Election Results". Elections Alberta. Archived from the original on 2017-08-01. Retrieved 2017-08-01.