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Laurie Blakeman

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Laurie Blakeman
MLA for Edmonton-Centre
In office
March 11, 1997 – May 5, 2015
Preceded byMichael Henry
Succeeded byDavid Shepherd
Personal details
Born (1958-05-23) May 23, 1958 (age 66)[1]
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Political partyLiberal
SpouseBen Henderson
Residence(s)Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Alma materUniversity of Alberta
OccupationNon-profit manager

Laurie Blakeman (born May 23, 1958) is a Canadian politician, who represented the electoral district of Edmonton-Centre in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. She is a member of the Alberta Liberal Party, and was first elected in the 1997 election.

In 2017, she was appointed as a member of the Veterans Review and Appeal Board for a five-year term.[2]

Early life

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She graduated with a bachelor's degree in fine arts in acting and a certificate in public administration from the University of Alberta.[3] Before entering politics, she worked for the Alberta Advisory Council on Women's Issues, the Phoenix Theatre and Theatre Network, the Medical Council of Canada, and the Alberta Snowmobile Association.[3]

Political career

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Electoral record

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Blakeman first sought political office in the 1997 provincial election, when she ran as a Liberal candidate in Edmonton-Centre to replace retiring Liberal MLA Michael Henry.[4] She was elected, finishing more than a thousand votes ahead of the second-place finisher, Progressive Conservative Don Weideman.[4] This gap narrowed when Weideman challenged her re-election bid in the 2001 election,[4] but grew to more than three thousand votes in 2004.[5] The 2008 election would bring a new Progressive Conservative Opponent, in Bill Donahue, but a similar result, as Blakeman handily retained her seat.[6] For the 2015 election, Blakeman ran for three political parties, Liberal, Alberta Party and Greens.[7] All to no avail as she lost her seat in the legislature in the 2015 election which saw the NDP sweep to power for the first time. [8]

Legislative initiatives

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In 1997, Blakeman sponsored the Domestic Abuse Act, a private member's bill that never reached second reading.[9] In 1998, she brought forward the Human Rights, Citizenship and Multiculturalism Amendment Act, another private member's bill, which would have expanded the province's anti-discrimination legislation to include sexual orientation as a basis on which discrimination was prohibited[10] (later the same year, the Supreme Court of Canada, in Vriend v. Alberta, ruled Alberta's failure to include this to be in contravention of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms);[11] it too failed to advance to second reading.[12]

In 1999, Blakeman sponsored the Consumers Insurance Company Act, a private bill designed to create a new insurance company, in compliance with the law that new insurance companies could only be created by acts of the legislature.[13] However, the bill faced some opposition from Blakeman's Liberal colleagues, including Linda Sloan, Hugh MacDonald, and Gary Dickson, who expressed concern that the bill might be a step towards privatized medicine.[13][14] The bill passed.[15]

In 2007, Blakeman sponsored the Healthy Futures Act, which would have required major policy and funding decisions to undergo "health impact assessments", which would look at their impacts on Albertans' health through social and environmental impacts.[16] Blakeman's Liberal colleagues supported the bill, as did the New Democrats (although NDP MLA Ray Martin expressed concern that the bill only required assessment, rather than action, on potential adverse health impacts)[16] and several Progressive Conservatives.[17] Even so, it was defeated through majority opposition of the Progressive Conservatives, many of whom expressed the view that the bill would add nothing meaningful that did not already exist under the existing regulatory framework, while, in the words of PC MLA Dave Rodney, "effectively bring[ing] the decision- making apparatus of the government and this Assembly to a grinding halt."[16][17]

Leadership aspirations

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After Kevin Taft announced his intention to resign the leadership of the Alberta Liberal Party following its defeat in the 2008 election, Blakeman was one of four MLAs to express interest in running in the ensuing election to replace him.[18] However, in August she announced that she would not do so, citing the cost of a candidacy.[19] She was a candidate in the 2011 leadership election, placing third.

Critic portfolios

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  • Liberal Opposition House Leader
  • Critic for Environment and Sustainable Resource Development
  • Critic for Culture
  • Critic for Justice and Solicitor General
  • Critic for Municipal Affairs

Personal life

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Blakeman is married to Edmonton city councillor Ben Henderson.[20]

Election results

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1997 Alberta general election: Edmonton-Centre
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Laurie Blakeman 4,769 43.96% -3.63%
Progressive Conservative Don Weideman 3,634 33.50% 4.74%
New Democratic Jenn Smith 1,845 17.01% -2.71%
Social Credit Alan Cruikshank 420 3.87% 2.17%
Forum Emil van der Poorten 98 0.90% –
Natural Law Richard Johnsen 83 0.77% -0.03%
Total 10,849 – –
Rejected, spoiled and declined 43 – –
Eligible electors / turnout 20,907 52.10% -1.36%
Liberal hold Swing -4.18%
Source(s)
Source: "Edmonton-Centre Official Results 1997 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
2001 Alberta general election: Edmonton-Centre
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Laurie Blakeman 5,095 44.01% 0.06%
Progressive Conservative Don J. Weideman 4,446 38.41% 4.91%
New Democratic David Eggen 1,959 16.92% -0.08%
Communist Naomi Rankin 76 0.66% –
Total 11,576 – –
Rejected, spoiled, and declined 74 – –
Eligible electors / turnout 22,648 51.44% -0.66%
Liberal hold Swing -2.43%
Source(s)
Source: "Edmonton-Centre Official Results 2001 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
2004 Alberta general election: Edmonton-Centre
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Laurie Blakeman 6,203 57.07% 13.06%
Progressive Conservative Don Weideman 2,622 24.12% -14.28%
New Democratic Mary Elizabeth Archer 1,319 12.14% -4.79%
Greens David J. Parker 333 3.06% –
Alberta Alliance Tony Caterina 280 2.58% –
Social Credit Linda Clements 112 1.03% –
Total 10,869 – –
Rejected, spoiled and declined 81 – –
Eligible electors / turnout 22,362 48.97% -2.47%
Liberal hold Swing 13.67%
Source(s)
Source: "Edmonton-Centre Official Results 2004 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
2008 Alberta general election: Edmonton-Centre
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Laurie Blakeman 5,042 44.98% -12.09%
Progressive Conservative Bill Donahue 3,291 29.36% 5.23%
New Democratic Deron Bilous 2,163 19.30% 7.16%
Green David J. Parker 472 4.21% –
Wildrose Alliance James Iverson 200 1.78% –
Alberta Party Margaret Saunter 42 0.37% –
Total 11,210 – –
Rejected, spoiled and declined 78 – –
Eligible electors / turnout 30,335 37.21% -11.76%
Liberal hold Swing -8.66%
Source(s)
Source: "Elections Alberta 2008 General Election". Elections Alberta. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
2012 Alberta general election: Edmonton-Centre
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Laurie Blakeman 5,626 40.37% -4.61%
Progressive Conservative Akash Khokhar 4,296 30.82% 1.47%
New Democratic Nadine Bailey 2,257 16.19% -3.10%
Wildrose Barb de Groot 1,758 12.61% 10.83%
Total 13,937 – –
Rejected, spoiled and declined 102 – –
Eligible electors / turnout 28,358 49.51% 12.30%
Liberal hold Swing -3.04%
Source(s)
Source: "Elections Alberta 2012 General Election". Elections Alberta. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
2015 Alberta general election: Edmonton-Centre
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
New Democratic David Shepherd 8,983 54.39% 38.19%
Liberal Laurie Blakeman 4,199 25.42% -14.95%
Progressive Conservative Catherine Keill 2,228 13.49% -17.34%
Wildrose Joe Byram 772 4.67% -7.94%
Independent Greg Keating 295 1.79% –
Independent Rory Joe Koopmans 40 0.24% –
Total 16,517 – –
Rejected, spoiled and declined 64 – –
Eligible electors / turnout 34,976 47.41% -2.10%
New Democratic gain from Liberal Swing 9.71%
Source(s)
Source: "Elections Alberta 2015 General Election". Elections Alberta. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

References

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  1. ^ Biographies of Members - Legislative Assembly of Alberta, 25th Legislature. Legislative Assembly of Alberta. December 2001.
  2. ^ Canada, Veterans Affairs (2017-06-27). "Biographies – Board Member Appointments". gcnws. Retrieved 2021-01-12.
  3. ^ a b "Blakeman's Legislative Assembly of Alberta biography". Archived from the original on October 5, 2006. Retrieved 2014-09-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. ^ a b c "Alberta's past election results". Retrieved 2008-03-06.
  5. ^ "Edmonton Centre election results, 2004" (PDF). Archived from Website/files/Statements/28.pdf the original (PDF) on 2010-08-06. Retrieved 2008-03-21. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  6. ^ "All but one Edmonton riding goes to the Conservatives | CBC News".
  7. ^ "Story of the Oilers: Hanging out, hands in pockets, shirts not tucked in, goals against | Edmonton Journal". 2010-01-18. Archived from the original on 2015-05-27. Retrieved 2015-05-25.
  8. ^ "Alberta Liberals hit 'rock bottom' after election | CBC News".
  9. ^ "Bill Status Report for the 24th Legislature - 1st Session (1997)". Archived from the original on 2007-08-03. Retrieved 2008-03-14.
  10. ^ https://www.assembly.ab.ca/ISYS/LADDAR_files%5Cdocs%5Chansards%5Chan%5Clegislature_24%5Csession_2%5C19980323_1330_01_han.pdf (PDF). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Legislative Assembly of Alberta. March 23, 1998. {{cite book}}: |chapter-url= missing title (help)
  11. ^ "Gay Teacher Wins Major Civil Rights Case in Canada". religioustolerance.org. Retrieved 2008-03-21.
  12. ^ "Bill Status Report for the 24th Legislature - 2nd Session (1998)". Archived from the original on 2007-08-03. Retrieved 2008-03-14.
  13. ^ a b https://www.assembly.ab.ca/ISYS/LADDAR_files%5Cdocs%5Chansards%5Chan%5Clegislature_24%5Csession_3%5C19990419_1330_01_han.pdf (PDF). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Legislative Assembly of Alberta. April 19, 1999. {{cite book}}: |chapter-url= missing title (help)
  14. ^ https://www.assembly.ab.ca/ISYS/LADDAR_files%5Cdocs%5Chansards%5Chan%5Clegislature_24%5Csession_3%5C19990421_2000_01_han.pdf (PDF). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Legislative Assembly of Alberta. April 21, 1999. {{cite book}}: |chapter-url= missing title (help)
  15. ^ "Bill Status Report for the 24th Legislature - 3rd Session (1999)". Archived from the original on 2007-08-03. Retrieved 2008-03-14.
  16. ^ a b c https://www.assembly.ab.ca/ISYS/LADDAR_files%5Cdocs%5Chansards%5Chan%5Clegislature_26%5Csession_3%5C20071126_1300_01_han.pdf (PDF). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Legislative Assembly of Alberta. November 26, 2007. {{cite book}}: |chapter-url= missing title (help)
  17. ^ a b https://www.assembly.ab.ca/ISYS/LADDAR_files%5Cdocs%5Chansards%5Chan%5Clegislature_26%5Csession_3%5C20071203_1300_01_han.pdf (PDF). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Legislative Assembly of Alberta. December 3, 2007. {{cite book}}: |chapter-url= missing title (help)
  18. ^ McLean, Archie (June 27, 2008). "Four MLAs throw hats in Liberal ring". Calgary Herald. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved 2008-06-28.
  19. ^ Beauchesne, Erika (August 19, 2008). "Blakeman decides not to run for Liberal leadership". Edmonton Journal. Archived from the original on August 27, 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-11.
  20. ^ Sadava, Mike (October 15, 2007). "Ward 4: Batty returns, Henderson joins her". Edmonton Journal. Archived from the original on October 18, 2007. Retrieved 2008-03-21.
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