Leela Aheer
Leela Sharon Aheer (born September 26, 1970) is a Canadian politician who was elected in the 2015 Alberta election to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, and re-elected in the 2019 Alberta general election.
Leela Aheer | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Minister of Culture, Multiculturalism & Status of Women | |
| Assumed office April 30, 2019 | |
| Premier | Jason Kenney |
| Preceded by | Danielle Larivee |
| Deputy Leader of the United Conservative Party | |
| Assumed office October 30, 2017 | |
| Leader | Jason Kenney |
| Preceded by | Mike Ellis |
| Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for Chestermere-Strathmore | |
| Assumed office April 16, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | constituency established |
| Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for Chestermere-Rocky View | |
| In office May 5, 2015 – April 16, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Bruce McAllister |
| Succeeded by | constituency abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Leela Sharon Aheer September 26, 1970 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada |
| Political party | United Conservative |
| Other political affiliations | Wildrose (2015–17) |
| Residence | Chestermere, Alberta, Canada |
| Alma mater | University of Calgary University of Manitoba (B.M.) |
Political career
Wildrose MLA
Aheer defeated incumbent Wildrose-turned-PC MLA Bruce McAllister by a slim margin in 2015, becoming the second member to represent Chestermere-Rocky View.[1]
UCP Deputy Leader
Aheer supported the merger between Wildrose and the PCs based on the desires of her constituents.[2] On October 30, 2017, Aheer was appointed deputy leader of the United Conservative Party by newly elected leader Jason Kenney.[3] She expressed surprise at Kenney's move, describing herself as a "very centrist conservative" who might challenge some of his views.[2]
As deputy leader, she urged delegates at the founding UCP policy convention not to adopt an anti-GSA motion as official party policy. It passed with 57% support.[4]
Minister of Culture, Multiculturalism, and Status of Women
On April 30, 2019, Leela Aheer was appointed Alberta's Minister of Culture, Multiculturalism, and Status of Women.
As Minister, Aheer introduced Alberta's version of Clare's Law in tandem with Alberta's Minister of Community and Social Services, Rajan Sawhney. The legislation aims to empower those at potential risk of a domestic violence relationship to have access to information about their partner's criminal history, and attempts to provide those at risk of domestic violence with fuller awareness of an intimate partner's previous history of domestic violence or violent acts.[5]
On November 19, 2019, Aheer declared the date Women's Entrepreneurship Day in Alberta at the first-ever Canadian-based Women's Entrepreneurship Day summit. The day seeks to break down the barriers faced by female entrepreneurs, and is the first time the day is recognized in Canada.[6] Aheer says the day is an “opportunity to be able to recognize the many ways women contribute to the economy.”[6]
| Alberta provincial government of Jason Kenney | ||
| Cabinet posts (2) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Predecessor | Office | Successor |
| Danielle Larivee | Minister of Status of Women April 30, 2019– |
Incumbent |
| Ricardo Miranda | Minister of Culture & Multiculturalism April 30, 2019– |
Incumbent |
Electoral history
2019 general election
| 2019 Alberta general election: Chestermere-Strathmore | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| United Conservative | Leela Aheer | 15,612 | 68.5% | -3.41% | ||||
| New Democratic | Melissa Langmaid | 3,558 | 15.6% | -3.08% | ||||
| Freedom Conservative | Derek Fildebrandt | 1,683 | 7.4% | -- | ||||
| Alberta Party | Jason Avramenko | 1,460 | 6.4% | +4.3% | ||||
| Liberal | Sharon Howe | 238 | 1% | -0.2% | ||||
| Independence | Roger Dean Walker | |||||||
| Independent | Terry Nicholls | 112 | 0.5% | |||||
| Total valid votes | 22,799 | |||||||
| Rejected, spoiled, and declined | 173 | |||||||
| Registered electors | 35,595 | |||||||
| Turnout | 64.4% | |||||||
2015 general election
| 2015 Alberta general election: Chestermere-Rocky View | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Wildrose | Leela Aheer | 7,676 | 37.04% | -21.32% | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Bruce McAllister | 7,454 | 35.97% | 0.64% | ||||
| New Democratic | William James Pelech | 3,706 | 17.88% | 14.80% | ||||
| Independent | Jamie Lall | 1,093 | 5.27% | – | ||||
| Green | Coral Bliss Taylor | 405 | 1.95% | – | ||||
| Independent | Matt Grant | 391 | 1.89% | – | ||||
| Total | 20,725 | – | – | |||||
| Rejected, Spoiled and Declined | 91 | – | – | |||||
| Eligible electors / Turnout | 34,928 | 59.60% | 4.38% | |||||
| Wildrose hold | Swing | -10.98% | ||||||
Source(s)
Source: "54 - Chestermere-Rocky View Official Results 2015 Alberta general election". officialresults.elections.ab.ca. Elections Alberta. Retrieved May 21, 2020. | ||||||||
References
- "Chestermere-Rockyview: Wildrose candidate wins in controversy-ridden riding". Gwendolyn Richards. Calgary Herald. 2015-05-06. Retrieved 2015-05-06.
- "Aheer named deputy leader for UCP". Rocky View Weekly. Archived from the original on 2019-04-05. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
- "Kenney Appoints Leadership Team To Stand Up For Albertans |". UCP Caucus. Archived from the original on 2019-04-05. Retrieved 2017-10-30.
- "'They need to be safe': Alberta Conservatives clash on motion outing children who join after-school gay-straight alliances". National Post. 2018-05-06. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
- "Alberta introduces 'Clare's Law' bill that will allow access to partner's criminal records". Global News. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
- "Breaking barriers for women in business". www.mtroyal.ca. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
