Rebecca Schulz ECA MLA (/ʃʊlts/ SHUULTS; born July 30, 1984) is a Canadian politician who was elected in the 2019 Alberta general election to represent the electoral district of Calgary-Shaw in the 30th Alberta Legislature.[2]
Rebecca Schulz | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Minister of Environment and Protected Areas | |
| Assumed office June 9, 2023 | |
| Premier | Danielle Smith |
| Preceded by | Sonya Savage |
| Minister of Municipal Affairs | |
| In office October 24, 2022 – June 9, 2023 | |
| Premier | Danielle Smith |
| Preceded by | Ric McIver |
| Succeeded by | Ric McIver |
| Minister of Children's Services | |
| In office April 30, 2019 – June 11, 2022 | |
| Premier | Jason Kenney |
| Preceded by | Danielle Larivee |
| Succeeded by | Matt Jones |
| Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for Calgary-Shaw | |
| Assumed office April 30, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Graham Sucha |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 30, 1984[1] |
| Political party | United Conservative Party |
| Spouse | Cole Schulz |
| Children | 2 |
| Residence(s) | Calgary, Alberta |
| Education | |
| Website | |
She is a member of the United Conservative Party. She was appointed to the Executive Council of Alberta as the Minister of Children's Services on April 30, 2019, by Alberta Premier Jason Kenney.
Schulz was a candidate for leader of the United Conservative Party in 2022 following the resignation of Premier Jason Kenney as leader.[3] Schulz placed fourth.
After the leadership race election, Premier Danielle Smith appointed Rebecca Schulz as the Minister of Municipal Affairs, she was sworn in on October 24, 2022. Since June 9, 2023, she serves as Alberta's Minister of Environment and Protected Areas.
Background
editSchulz holds a Master's degree in Communication from Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in English from the University of Saskatchewan.
Rebecca Schulz first got involved in politics in 2009 when she worked in the Office of the 14th Premier of Saskatchewan, Brad Wall.[4] She also worked as an event coordinator at the University of Ottawa - L'Hereux Dubé Social Justice Fund for seven months, a senior communications officer at SaskEnergy, and a media relations officer at the Government of Saskatchewan. Then, Rebecca Schulz worked as a manager of media relations at Saskatchewan Government Insurance from 2012 to 2013, and as Director of Communications at the Ministry of Education in the Government of Saskatchewan. Just before becoming an MLA, she worked as Director of Alumni Marketing and Communications at the University of Calgary.[5]
Rebecca Schulz grew in a small town in Saskatchewan. She and her husband, Cole moved to Alberta, and they have two young children.[6]
Political career
editMinister of Children's Services (2019–2022)
editSchulz was appointed to the Executive Council of Alberta as the Minister of Children's Services on April 30, 2019, by Alberta Premier Jason Kenney.
As the Minister of Children's Services, she sponsored Bill 39, the Child Care Licensing (Early Learning and Child Care) Amendment Act, 2020. The bill passed on December 1, 2020. This Act is to be interpreted and applied in a manner that supports and preserves the safety, security, well-being, and development of the child in addition to flexible childcare choice and accessibility for families. Lastly, it seeks to engage parents, guardians, and community members in the provision of childcare supports the child's optimal development.[7]
She was responsible for negotiating on behalf of Alberta the federal-provincial agreement on childcare.[8]
2022 Leadership Bid
editOn June 14, 2022, Schulz resigned as the Minister of Children's Services and announced her candidacy in the 2022 United Conservative Party leadership election following the resignation of Premier Jason Kenney as leader.[9] Her leadership campaign was supported by co-chairs Rona Ambrose, Calgary MP Stephanie Kusie, MLA Jeremy Nixon, MLA Ric McIver, and MLA Jason Copping. Schulz placed fourth in the leader race and was eliminated with 8.4% of the vote in the fourth round.
Her main platform items focused on healthcare, education, and uniting the United Conservative Party.[10] "I want our grassroots party members to know that in me, they will have somebody who will always listen and hear their concerns, hear where they're coming from," Min. Schulz told a reporter during her leadership campaign.
Min. Schulz also suggested implementing a "small business tax holiday" for small business owners in Alberta. This policy proposal was put forward by Min. Schulz due to, as she puts it, the economic struggle felt by small business owners during the COVID-19 pandemic in Alberta. "I absolutely believe that these entrepreneurs are at the heart of the entrepreneurial spirit we were talking about," Schulz stated.[11] "They are absolutely vital to our province's economic growth, and recovery."
Minister of Municipal Affairs (2022–2023)
editAfter the leadership race election, Premier Danielle Smith appointed Rebecca Schulz as the Minister of Municipal Affairs, she was sworn in on October 24, 2022.[12]
Minister of Environment and Protected Areas (2023–Ongoing)
edit
Since June 9, 2023, Minister Schulz serves as the Minister of Environment and Protected Areas under Premier Danielle Smith's leadership.
Her mandate includes defending Alberta's energy sector, especially from federal overreach, working with the Minister of Energy and Minerals on provincial frameworks to develop the province's energy sector and reduce emissions, and reviewing Alberta's water management strategy, which would increase water availability and licenses notably in municipalities.[13]
Electoral record
edit| 2023 Alberta general election: Calgary-Shaw | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| United Conservative | Rebecca Schulz | 13,970 | 56.34 | -8.98 | ||||
| New Democratic | David Cloutier | 10,591 | 42.71 | +17.09 | ||||
| Solidarity Movement | Pietro Cervo | 236 | 0.95 | – | ||||
| Total | 24,797 | 99.19 | – | |||||
| Rejected and declined | 203 | 0.81 | ||||||
| Turnout | 25,000 | 63.16 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 39,581 | |||||||
| United Conservative hold | Swing | -13.03 | ||||||
Source(s)
Source: Elections Alberta[14] | ||||||||
| 2019 Alberta general election: Calgary-Shaw | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| United Conservative | Rebecca Schulz | 14,261 | 65.32% | 4.21% | ||||
| New Democratic | Graham Sucha | 5,594 | 25.62% | -5.65% | ||||
| Alberta Party | Bronson Ha | 1,331 | 6.10% | 2.30% | ||||
| Liberal | Vesna Samardzija | 290 | 1.33% | -2.50% | ||||
| Green | John Daly | 212 | 0.97% | – | ||||
| Alberta Independence | Jarek Bucholc | 146 | 0.67% | – | ||||
| Total | 21,834 | – | – | |||||
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | 134 | 49 | 3 | |||||
| Eligible electors / turnout | 32,198 | 68.24% | 10.77% | |||||
| United Conservative gain from New Democratic | Swing | % | ||||||
Source(s)
Source: "23 - Calgary-Shaw, 2019 Alberta general election". officialresults.elections.ab.ca. Elections Alberta. Retrieved May 21, 2020. | ||||||||
| 2022 United Conservative Party leadership election | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Round 6 | ||||||
| Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | |
| Danielle Smith | 34,949 | 41.3 | 34,981 | 41.4 | 35,095 | 41.7 | 38,496 | 46.2 | 39,270 | 47.7 | 42,423 | 53.77 |
| Travis Toews | 24,831 | 29.4 | 25,054 | 29.7 | 25,593 | 30.4 | 26,592 | 31.9 | 30,794 | 37.4 | 36,480 | 46.23 |
| Brian Jean | 9,301 | 11.1 | 9,504 | 11.3 | 10,157 | 12.1 | 11,251 | 13.5 | 12,203 | 14.8 | Eliminated | |
| Rebecca Schulz | 5,835 | 6.9 | 6,180 | 7.3 | 6,784 | 8.0 | 6,972 | 8.4 | Eliminated | |||
| Todd Loewen | 6,496 | 7.7 | 6,512 | 7.7 | 6,596 | 7.8 | Eliminated | |||||
| Rajan Sawhney | 1,787 | 2.1 | 2,246 | 2.7 | Eliminated | |||||||
| Leela Aheer | 1,394 | 1.6 | Eliminated | |||||||||
| Total | 84,593 | 100.00 | 84,405 | 100.00 | 84,225 | 100.00 | 83,3177 | 100.00 | 82,267 | 100.00 | 78,903 | 100.00 |
References
edit- ^ Schulz, Rebecca [@rebeccakschulz] (July 30, 2022). "Today is our mom's 38th birthday!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "On the road with Jason Kenney and Laureen Harper as the Alberta election enters its final leg". National Post. 2019-04-12. Retrieved 2019-04-17.
- ^ "Calgary MLA Rebecca Schulz launches UCP leadership bid". CBC. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
- ^ "Minister Rebecca Schulz". Canada Strong & Free Network. Retrieved 2024-05-29.
- ^ "Member Information". www.assembly.ab.ca. Retrieved 2023-03-20.
- ^ "YouCount.ca". www.youcount.ca. Retrieved 2023-03-20.
- ^ Bill 39, Child Care Licensing (Early Learning and Childcare) Amendment Act. 2020, 2nd Sess, 30th Leg, Alberta, 2020 (assented to 9 December 2020), Improving child care, Alberta.ca.
- ^ "Calgary MLA Rebecca Schulz launches UCP leadership bid". CBC. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
- ^ French, J. (14 June 2022). "Calgary MLA Rebecca Schulz launches UCP leadership bid". CBC News. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
- ^ "UCP Leadership Candidate Schulz Lays Out Her Platform - Bridge City News - May 28, 2024". bridgecitynews.ca. 2022-07-06. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
- ^ "UCP Leadership Candidate Schulz Lays Out Her Platform - Bridge City News - May 28, 2024". bridgecitynews.ca. 2022-07-06. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
- ^ "Minister of Municipal Affairs". www.alberta.ca. Retrieved 2023-03-20.
- ^ Smith, Danielle (2023). "Mandate Letter, Minister of Environment and Protected Areas" (PDF). Government of Alberta. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
- ^ "23 - Calgary-Shaw". officialresults.elections.ab.ca. Elections Alberta. Retrieved June 8, 2023.