Michelle Rempel

The Honourable
Michelle Rempel
PC MP
Minister of Western Economic Diversification
In office
July 15, 2013 – November 4, 2015
Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Preceded by Lynne Yelich
Succeeded by Navdeep Bains
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Calgary Nose Hill
Assumed office
October 19, 2015
Preceded by Diane Ablonczy
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Calgary Centre-North
In office
May 2, 2011 – October 19, 2015
Preceded by Jim Prentice
Succeeded by Riding abolished
Personal details
Born Michelle Godin
(1980-02-14) February 14, 1980
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Political party Conservative
Residence Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Alma mater University of Manitoba (BA, 2003)
Profession Administrative professional, Member of Parliament

Michelle Rempel PC MP (birth name: Godin;[1] born February 14, 1980) is a Canadian politician, who is the federal Member of Parliament (MP) for the electoral riding of Calgary Nose Hill since the 2015 federal election. Prior to this, she served as the MP for Calgary Centre-North after the 2011 federal election, holding the seat for the Conservative Party following the retirement of Jim Prentice from federal politics.[2] Rempel is a member of the Conservative Party and served as the Minister of State responsible for Western Economic Diversification Canada. She formerly served as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment. On November 20, 2015 she was appointed as Official Opposition Critic for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, within the shadow cabinet of Rona Ambrose.

Early life and career

Rempel was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She is of partial Franco-Manitoban ancestry.[1] She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Manitoba. Rempel helped to pay her way through school by playing as a classically trained pianist.[1] She worked as Director of the University of Calgary’s Institutional Programs Division prior to her election. Under her leadership the sponsored research funding grew from $7 million in 2007 to over $100 million in 2009.[3]

Federal politics

Rempel became involved in politics with the riding association of Diane Ablonczy,[1] and she later served as president of the Conservative Party riding executive for her riding of Calgary—Nose Hill.[4] After the resignation of Jim Prentice, Rempel was encouraged to run for his old seat of Calgary Centre-North by the Calgary business community and the Conservative party, but only decided to do so after a meeting with Rona Ambrose.[1] Rempel was acclaimed as the Conservative Party of Canada candidate in Calgary Centre-North on December 17, 2010, in anticipation of a by-election to replace Prentice.[5] The uncalled by-election was superseded by the 2011 federal election.

Following her election to the House of Commons of Canada, Rempel was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment on May 25, 2011. She made headlines towards the end of 2011 for her strong performance during Question Period, and is seen as a rising star within the Conservative caucus.[6][7] Michelle's leadership was noted by many as instrumental in the multi-partisan effort to create Sable Island National Park Reserve.[8] On November 21, 2012 Canadian newsmagazine Maclean's named her as one of their "Parliamentarians of the Year" in the "Rising Star" category,[9] which Rempel repeated on November 24, 2014.[10] Rempel was recognized as the MP with the 7th biggest social media influence in November 2013.[11] The 2013 Hill Times Annual Most Valuable Politician & All Politics Poll awarded Rempel 2nd place in the "Best Up-and-comer MP" category behind Justin Trudeau.[12]

She was one of the co-chairs of the 2013 Conservative Party of Canada's national convention held in Calgary.[13]

In the 2013 redistribution, Rempel's riding was split into the ridings of Calgary Confederation and Calgary Nose Hill. With the retirement of, Ablonczy, Rempel ran for the Conservative nomination in Nose Hill and won.[14]

Minister of State

On July 15, 2013 she was appointed Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification.[15] She is the youngest female cabinet minister in Canadian history.[16] In October 2013 Rempel launched WINN, a $100 million five-year initiative that offers repayable contributions for small- and medium-sized enterprises with operations in Western Canada.[17] At Western Economic Diversification Rempel has directed about $100 million to small- and medium-sized companies in emerging sectors, such as clean energy.[16]

In Opposition

On November 20, 2015, Rempel was appointed as Official Opposition Critic for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship.[18]

On November 15, 2016, Green Party leader Elizabeth May accused Rempel of using unparliamentary language for stating on the floor of the House of Commons that the Liberal government had been treating residents of the province of Alberta "like a fart in the room."[19]

Rempel has long been an advocate for human rights and has strongly advocated for the protection of ethnic minorities, including the Yazidis.[20] In 2016, a motion put forward by Rempel, which acknowledged the genocide of the Yazidis and called on the government to expedite the processing of Yazidi refugees coming to Canada, passed unanimously.[21]

Rempel is credited with forcing Liberal Minister Ahmed Hussen to publicly acknowledge that the act of FGM as an "abhorrent practice" and issue a statement to assure Canadians that the Canadian Citizenship Guide would "include information on Canada's laws against gender-based violence, including FGM." Rempel repeatedly raised the issue in Parliament and sponsored Petition E-1310 that garnered nearly 25,000 signatures.[22]

Rempel has been a strong advocate for women and has spoken out against sexism and sexual harassment. Her speech in the House of Commons on Bill C-65, which addressed sexual harassment and misconduct in Parliament, was called "powerful." [23][24]

Honours

In 2010 Rempel was named one of Canada's Top 100 Most Powerful Women in the "Future Leaders" category by the Women's Executive Network.[25] In November 2014 Rempel was named one of Calgary's Top 40 Under 40 by Avenue Magazine.[26] In 2016 Rempel was selected as one of the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders for that year.[27] The World Economic Forum calls the Forum of Young Global Leaders a "unique and diverse community of the world’s most outstanding, next generation leaders. Bold, brave, action-oriented and entrepreneurial, these individuals commit a portion of their time to jointly shape a better future and thereby improve the state of the world." Rempel was named one of "Alberta's 50 Most Influential People of 2016" by Alberta Venture Magazine referencing her "strong debate performances in the House of Commons and for her fierce support of women in politics."[28]

Personal life

As of 2016, Rempel is reported to be dating Member of Parliament Blake Richards.[29]

Electoral record

Canadian federal election, 2015: Calgary Nose Hill
Party Candidate Votes%
ConservativeMichelle Rempel32,76060.0%
LiberalRobert Prcic14,67126.9%
New DemocraticBruce Kaufman4,8728.9%
GreenLaurie Scheer1,3842.5 %
LibertarianEdward Gao7271.3%
Democratic AdvancementFaizan Butt1840.3 %
Turnout 54,598 66.92%
Eligible voters 81,582
Canadian federal election, 2011: Calgary Centre-North
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
ConservativeMichelle Rempel28,44356.530.00$82,363.77
New DemocraticPaul Vargis8,04815.99+0.67$15,914.50
LiberalStephen Randall7,04614.00+2.23$55,742.32
GreenHeather MacIntosh6,57813.07-2.22$42,457.33
Marxist–LeninistPeggy Askin2030.40+0.02$0.00
Total valid votes/Expense limit 50,318 100.00  $
Total rejected ballots 200 0.40–
Turnout 50,518 60.55
Eligible voters 83,431 ––

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Confident rookie MP one of a new breed of Tory women". The Globe and Mail. 9 December 2011. Retrieved 2015-12-20.
  2. ↑ "Michelle Rempel elected in Calgary Centre-North; Harper re-elected". Global Calgary. 2 May 2011. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
  3. ↑ National Post. "WXN's 2010 Award Winners". Retrieved 2 March 2015.
  4. ↑ "About Michelle". Michellerempel.ca. Archived from the original on 20 January 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
  5. ↑ Schneider, Katie (17 December 2010). "Tory hopeful nominated to replace Prentice". Calgary Sun. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
  6. ↑ "The Commons: The tiny, perfect Conservative". Maclean's Magazine. 8 December 2011. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
  7. ↑ Taber, Jane (9 December 2011). "Confident rookie MP one of a new breed of Tory women". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
  8. ↑ Avenue Calgary. "2014 Alumni — Top 40 Under 40". Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  9. ↑ "Parliamentarians of the Year 2012 — Michelle Rempel, rising star". Maclean's Magazine. 21 November 2012. Retrieved 29 November 2012.
  10. ↑ "Parliamentarians of the Year 2014 — Michelle Rempel, rising star". Maclean's Magazine. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  11. ↑ "Twitter on the Hill: Jason Kenney, Paul Wells the top influencers so far". 20 November 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  12. ↑ "National News: Elizabeth May named one of Canada's Top 3 Most Valuable MPs for 2013". Northumberland View. 16 December 2013. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  13. ↑ "Tory convention energizes Conservative core for 2015 campaign". Calgary Sun. 2 November 2013. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  14. ↑ "MPs face nomination battles, redrawn ridings in lead-up to 2015". 25 January 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  15. ↑ "The Honourable Michelle Rempel". Archived from the original on 2013-10-02.
  16. 1 2 "Michelle Rempel Top 40 under 40". Avenue Magazine. 3 November 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  17. ↑ "Harper Government Announces New Initiative to Support Technology Commercialization and Business Growth in the West".
  18. ↑ "Interim Conservative Leader Rona Ambrose taps women for top shadow cabinet jobs". 20 November 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  19. ↑ "'Fart' in parliament: Row blows up in Canada". BBC News. November 19, 2016. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
  20. ↑ "michelle-rempel-to-speak-at-conservative-riding-association-event-in-vernon". Vernon Morning Star. February 20, 2018. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  21. ↑ "When genocide became a political prop in Ottawa". ipolitics. November 13, 2017. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  22. ↑ "New citizenship guide to warn against 'abhorrent' practice of female genital mutilation". 25 January 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  23. ↑ "Sexual harassment legislation alone cannot change the culture in Ottawa". 30 January 2018. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
  24. ↑ "Michelle Rempel: Confront your sexism". 18 April 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
  25. ↑ Women's Executive Network. "Previous Winners — Canada's Top 100 Most Powerful Women". Retrieved 12 October 2012.
  26. ↑ Avenue Calgary. "2014 Alumni — Top 40 Under 40". Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  27. ↑ World Economic Forum. "Young Global Leaders Class of 2016". Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  28. ↑ "MP Michelle Rempel has brought the issue of "everyday sexism" into the national political conversation". Alberta Venture. 4 July 2016. Retrieved 27 July 2016. External link in |publisher= (help)
  29. ↑ "More changes in Trade Minister Fast's office, this time on policy side". The Hill Times. 22 June 2015. Retrieved 2016-01-26.
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