Blake Richards

Blake Richards MP
Official Opposition Critic for Tourism
Incumbent
Assumed office 20 November 2015
Leader	Rona Ambrose
Preceded by	Brian Masse
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Banff—Airdrie Wild Rose (2008-2015)
Incumbent
Assumed office October 14, 2008
Preceded by	Myron Thompson
Chair of the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs
Incumbent
Assumed office 19 February 2015
Minister	Bernard Valcourt
Preceded by	Chris Warkentin
Personal details
Born	November 8, 1974 Olds, Alberta
Political party	Conservative
Residence	Airdrie, Alberta
Education	Red Deer College, University of Calgary
Profession	Real Estate Agent Firefighter

Blake Richards (born November 8, 1974 in Olds, Alberta) is a Canadian politician, who was re-elected for a third term in the riding of Banff—Airdrie on October 19, 2015. He was previously elected in the electoral district of Wild Rose in the 2008 Canadian federal election and the 2011 election, and is a member of the Conservative Party in the House of Commons of Canada.

Early life and career

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 is currently the Official Opposition Critic for Tourism and Deputy Critic for Democratic Institutions. He also serves as the Vice-Chair of the influential Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs. In the 41st Parliament, Richards was Chair of the Parliamentary Tourism Caucus and served as Chair of 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; Canadian Heritage; Agriculture; and Transport, Infrastructure and Communities.

Richards has hosted the Rocky Mountain Hockey Challenge to raise funds for the RCMP Victims Services Units in Banff, Canmore, Cochrane, Airdrie and Olds, Alberta. Since 2009, Richards' charity game has raised a combined total of over $360,000 for regional victims of crime assistance groups.

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, a new law to limit pardons for serious crimes, received Royal Assent.

In October 2011, Richards introduced Private Member’s Bill C-309 in the House of Commons, and guided it through the House of Commons and Senate, allowing it to receive Royal Assent in June 2013. As a result, it is now a Criminal Code offence to wear a mask or to otherwise conceal one’s identity during a riot or an unlawful assembly.

Richards was recognized as the Hardest Working and Best Constituency MP in The Hill Times' 23rd Annual Politically Savvy Survey published in May 2015.

Electoral record

Canadian federal election, 2015: Banff—Airdrie
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Blake Richards	42,228	63.37	–7.36	–
	Liberal	Marlo Raynolds	17,380	26.08	+18.02	–
	New Democratic	Joanne Boissonneault	4,521	6.78	–6.29	–
	Green	Mike MacDonald	2,509	3.77	–3.98	–
Total valid votes/Expense limit			66,638	100.00		$238,910.38
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[1][2]

Canadian federal election, 2011: 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

Canadian federal election, 2008: 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

1. "October 19, 2015 Election Results — Banff—Airdrie (Validated results)". Elections Canada. 21 October 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
2. Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates

External links

• Blake Richards
• Blake Richards – Parliament of Canada biography