Blake Richards
Blake Richards MP (born November 8, 1974) is a Canadian politician. He has been a Conservative Member of Parliament since 2008, having been elected to represent the now defunct electoral district (or riding) of Wild Rose in the October 14, 2008 and May 2, 2011 federal elections and subsequently the riding of Banff—Airdrie in federal elections held on October 19, 2015, October 21, 2019, and September 20, 2021.
Blake Richards | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Opposition Vice Leader | |
| In office September 2, 2020 – February 5, 2022 | |
| Leader | Erin O'Toole |
| Preceded by | Mark Strahl |
| Succeeded by | Kerry-Lynne D. Findlay |
| Member of Parliament for Banff—Airdrie Wild Rose (2008–2015) | |
| Assumed office October 14, 2008 | |
| Preceded by | Myron Thompson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 8, 1974 Olds, Alberta, Canada |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse | Carmen Richards |
| Residence(s) | Airdrie, Alberta, Canada |
| Education | Red Deer College, University of Calgary |
| Profession | Real estate agent Firefighter |
Early life and career
Richards was born in Olds, Alberta. 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.
Federal politics
Richards was elected in the 2008 federal election and re-elected in the 2011, 2015, 2019, and 2021 federal elections.
Richards is the current Shadow Minister for Veterans Affairs. He previously served as Chief Opposition Whip, Official Opposition Shadow Minister for Small Business, Export Promotion and Tourism. In the 41st Parliament, Richards chaired the Parliamentary Tourism Caucus and the House of Commons' Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development and the Special Committee on Co-operatives. He has also been a member of the committees on Finance; International Trade; Public Safety and National Security; Procedure and House Affairs; Canadian Heritage; Agriculture; and Transport, Infrastructure and Communities.
Through the Rocky Mountain Hockey Challenge, Richards has raised $360,000 for regional groups that assist victims of crime.
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, an act to limit pardons for serious crimes, received Royal Assent.[1][2]
In October 2011, Richards introduced Private Member's Bill C-309 in the House of Commons. It received Royal Assent in June 2013. As a result, it is now an offence under the Criminal Code of Canada to wear a mask or to otherwise conceal one's identity during a riot or an unlawful assembly.
On November 30, 2017, House of Commons Speaker Geoff Regan ordered that Richards be removed from the House for "excessive heckling" following three repeated warnings.[3]
Richards has three times been recognized as the Hardest Working and Best Constituency MP in The Hill Times' Annual Politically Savvy Survey and has been recognized with a Canadian Tourism Award for his work in Parliament on behalf of the tourism industry.
Electoral record
| 2019 Canadian federal election: Banff—Airdrie | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Blake Richards | 55,504 | 71.09 | +7.71 | $82,810.16 | |||
| Liberal | Gwyneth Midgley | 8,425 | 10.79 | -15.28 | none listed | |||
| New Democratic | Anne Wilson | 8,185 | 10.48 | +3.70 | $7,710.51 | |||
| Green | Austin Mullins | 3,315 | 4.25 | +0.48 | $824.70 | |||
| People's | Nadine Wellwood | 2,651 | 3.40 | New | none listed | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 78,080 | 100.0 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 393 | |||||||
| Turnout | 78,473 | 73.1 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 107,281 | |||||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +7.05 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[4][5][6] | ||||||||
| 2015 Canadian federal election | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Blake Richards | 42,228 | 63.37 | –7.36 | $86,619.91 | |||
| Liberal | Marlo Raynolds | 17,380 | 26.08 | +18.02 | $72,801.97 | |||
| New Democratic | Joanne Boissonneault | 4,521 | 6.78 | –6.29 | $17,953.20 | |||
| Green | Mike MacDonald | 2,509 | 3.77 | –3.98 | $3,011.33 | |||
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | 66,638 | 100.00 | $243,369.66 | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 179 | 0.27 | – | |||||
| Turnout | 66,817 | 73.25 | – | |||||
| Eligible voters | 91,222 | |||||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | –12.69 | ||||||
| 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[7][8] | ||||||||
| 2011 Canadian federal election: 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 | +6.0 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 94,970 | – | – | |||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +3.7 | ||||||
| 2008 Canadian federal election: 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 | -9.0 | |||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +2.2 | ||||||
References
- Snow, Stacie (March 14, 2012). "Airdrie-born bill becomes law". Airdrie City View. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
- Wilson, Sara (December 2, 2013). "Wild Rose MP Blake Richards brings drunk driving petition to House of Commons". Cochrane Eagle. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
- Harris, Kathleen (November 30, 2017). "Speaker gives Tory MP the boot from House for heckling". CBC News. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
- "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
- "Election Night Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
- "Candidate Campaign Returns". Elections Canada. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
- "October 19, 2015 Election Results — Banff—Airdrie (Validated results)". Elections Canada. October 21, 2015. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
- Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates Archived 2015-08-15 at the Wayback Machine