Damien C. Kurek MP (born November 28, 1989) is a Canadian politician and farmer who was elected to represent the riding of Battle River—Crowfoot in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2019 Canadian federal election.[2] He was re-elected in the 2021 election.
Damien Kurek | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament for Battle River—Crowfoot | |
| Assumed office October 21, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Kevin Sorenson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 28, 1989[1] |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Residence(s) | Special Areas, Alberta, Canada |
Personal life
editBorn in 1989, Kurek grew up on a farm outside of Consort, Alberta.[3]
When he was fifteen, Kurek went on a trip to Ottawa and put a call into then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office. A ten-minute meeting was arranged with Kurek, Harper, and Kurek's Member of Parliament at the time, Hon. Kevin Sorenson. Kurek is quoted as saying, “For a kid who loved politics, that was the pinnacle of everything you could possibly imagine.”[4]
Kurek joined his local Electoral District Association in 2016 and served on it until 2019 when he put his name forward as the Conservative candidate for Battle River—Crowfoot.
Kurek married his wife, Danielle, on June 9, 2012, in Saskatoon[5] and has three sons, Matthew, Emerson and Winston.
Kurek resides in Alberta's Special Areas. He also continues to work on his family farm.[6]
Education
editKurek obtained his High School Diploma in 2008 from Consort Public School. After high school, Kurek went to Eston College, where he obtained an associate diploma in Biblical Studies in 2010. Kurek also holds a bachelor's degree in political science and communications from Trinity Western University as of 2015.[7]
Career
editPrior to his election as Member of Parliament, Kurek worked as a farmer and seasonally in the oil and gas sector. Since a young age, he has also been involved in his family's multigenerational farm near Consort, AB. He also served under the riding's previous MP, Kevin Sorenson in Ottawa in 2015 and in the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly, in various roles while Brad Wall was Premier of Saskatchewan.[8] Up until putting his name forward to become the Conservative candidate for Battle River—Crowfoot, Kurek worked for Hon. Kevin Sorenson in his constituency office in Camrose, Alberta.[9]
Political career
editSince being elected to Parliament in the 2019 general election, Kurek has held several roles as part of the Conservative Party of Canada.
Electoral record
edit| 2021 Canadian federal election: Battle River—Crowfoot | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Damien Kurek | 41,819 | 71.3 | -14.2 | $82,245.43 | |||
| New Democratic | Tonya Ratushniak | 5,761 | 9.8 | +4.7 | $1,764.29 | |||
| People's | Dennis Trepanier | 5,440 | 9.3 | +6.7 | $1,916.25 | |||
| Liberal | Leah Diane McLeod | 2,515 | 4.3 | +0.2 | $0.00 | |||
| Maverick | Jeff Golka | 2,393 | 4.1 | – | $28,982.24 | |||
| Green | Daniel Brisbin | 554 | 0.9 | -1.8 | $234.04 | |||
| Veterans Coalition | John Irwin | 178 | 0.3 | — | none listed | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 58.660 | – | – | $135,622.71 | ||||
| Total rejected ballots | 260 | |||||||
| Turnout | ||||||||
| Eligible voters | ||||||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | -9.45 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[10] | ||||||||
| 2019 Canadian federal election: Battle River—Crowfoot | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Damien Kurek | 53,309 | 85.5 | +4.59 | $61,063.42 | |||
| New Democratic | Natasha Fryzuk | 3,185 | 5.1 | -1.44 | $0.00 | |||
| Liberal | Dianne Clarke | 2,557 | 4.1 | -5.26 | none listed | |||
| Green | Geordie Nelson | 1,689 | 2.7 | -0.48 | $2,467.23 | |||
| People's | David A. Michaud | 1,620 | 2.6 | - | none listed | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 62,360 | 100.0 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 352 | |||||||
| Turnout | 62,712 | 77.3 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 81,123 | |||||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +3.02 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[11][12][13] | ||||||||
References
edit- ^ "Conservatives roll on with Kurek leading the way". Bashaw Star. September 25, 2019. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
- ^ "Conservative Damien Kurek to represent Battle River-Crowfoot". The Stettler Independent. October 21, 2019. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
- ^ "Conservatives roll on with Kurek leading the way". Bashaw Star. September 25, 2019. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
- ^ "Damien Kurek joins the race for federal Conservative local nomination". Stettler Independent. May 28, 2019. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
- ^ Kurek, Damien. "Facebook post". Facebook. Damien C. Kurek. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
- ^ Kurek, Damien. "About Me". Damien C. Kurek. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
- ^ Kurek, Damien. "Education". LinkedIn. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
- ^ "Meet Your MP". Battle River--Crowfoot. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
- ^ Weber, Mark (September 5, 2021). "Meet the candidate – Conservative – Damien Kurek". Stettler Independent. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
- ^ "List of confirmed candidates – September 20, 2021 Federal Election". Elections Canada. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
- ^ "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.