Randy Boissonnault

Randy Boissonnault (born July 14, 1970) is a former 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 and served until his defeat in the 2019 Canadian federal election.[1]

Randy Boissonnault
Boissonnault in 2014
Special Advisor to the Prime Minister on LGBTQ2 Issues
In office November 15, 2016 – September 11, 2019
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Edmonton Centre
In office October 19, 2015 – September 11, 2019
Preceded by	Laurie Hawn
Succeeded by	James Cumming
Personal details
Born	July 14, 1970 Morinville, Alberta
Political party	Liberal
Profession	Management Consultant
Website	rboissonnault.liberal.ca

He was one of five openly LGBT MPs serving in the 42nd Canadian Parliament, alongside Rob Oliphant, Seamus O'Regan, Randall Garrison and Sheri Benson.[2] He was the first openly gay MP elected in Alberta.[3]

Early life

Boissonnault was born in the Franco-Albertan town of Morinville, Alberta[4] on July 14, 1970.

After graduating from the University of Alberta, Boissonault studied at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar.[4] 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.[5]

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 almost a decade.[4]

Upon being sworn in as a Member of Parliament, Boissonnault was named Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage.[4]

On November 15, 2016, Boissonnault was named special advisor on LGBTQ2 issues to the Prime Minister.[6] The role involves 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]

He was defeated in the 2019 election.

Election results

2019 Canadian federal election: Edmonton Centre
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Conservative	James Cumming	22,006	41.4%	+6.45	none listed
	Liberal	Randy Boissonnault	17,524	33.0%	-4.19	none listed
	New Democratic	Katherine Swampy	10,959	20.6%	-3.85	$53,174.12
	Green	Grad Murray	1,394	2.6%	-0.02	none listed
	People's	Paul Hookham	805	1.5%	-	$5,550.42
	Rhinoceros	Donovan Eckstrom	206	0.4%	-0.08	$0.00
	Independent	Adil Pirbhai	119	0.2%	-0.10	$3,475.90
	Marxist–Leninist	Peggy Morton	79	0.1%	-	$0.00
Total valid votes/Expense limit			53,092	100.0
Total rejected ballots			362
Turnout			53,454	65.4
Eligible voters			81,766
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing		+5.32
Source: Elections Canada[7][8][9]

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[10][11]

References

1. "Riding profile: Edmonton Centre". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
2. "Hedy Fry wins decisively as Liberals sweep Canada for majority". Daily Xtra, October 20, 2015.
3. "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
4. Estabrooks, Trisha (May 2016). "A Force of Nature: From Morinville to Oxford to Ottawa, Randy Boissonnault hasn't let anything stand in the way of getting what he wants". Avenue Edmonton. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
5. http://randyboissonnault.liberal.ca/biography/ Randy Boissonault - Biography - Liberal.ca
6. "Feds name gay MP as ‘LGBTQ2 issues’ advisor". Daily Xtra, November 15, 2016.
7. "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
8. "Election Night Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
9. "Candidate Campaign Returns". Elections Canada. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
10. "October 19, 2015 Election Results — Edmonton Centre (Validated results)". Elections Canada. October 23, 2015. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
11. Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates

External links

• Official website