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Garnett Genuis | |
|---|---|
 Genuis in 2023 | |
| Member of Parliament forSherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan | |
| Assumed office October 19, 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1987-01-23)January 23, 1987 (age 38)[1] Strathcona County, Alberta, Canada |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Other political affiliations | Provincial: Wildrose (until 2017) |
| Spouse | Dr. Rebecca Genuis |
| Children | 6 |
| Residence | Sherwood Park, Alberta[2] |
| Alma mater | Carleton University (B. PAPM) London School of Economics (MSc) |
Garnett GenuisMP/dʒɛnɪs/ (born January 23, 1987) is aCanadian politician who has served as themember of Parliament for theriding ofSherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan (inAlberta) since 2015,[3] and as the Conservative Shadow Minister for Employment since May 2025.[4]
Genuis was born in 1987[5] and grew up inStrathcona County, before moving to attendCarleton University inOttawa where he obtained a bachelor's degree in Public Affairs and Policy Management in February 2010. While studying at Carleton University, he wrote a regular column for the Sherwood Park News as a political correspondent. Genuis subsequently worked as an assistant to formerPrime MinisterStephen Harper and adviser on the staff of former ministerRona Ambrose. Genuis obtained a master's degree in public policy from theLondon School of Economics in December 2011.[6]
Genuis ran in the2012 Alberta general election as theWildrose MLA candidate forSherwood Park. He lost toProgressive Conservative candidateCathy Olesen.[7]
In March 2014, Genuis announced his intention to seek the Conservative nomination for the2015 Canadian federal election in the newly formed riding ofSherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan. He won the nomination in November 2014.[6] Genuis won the federal election on October 19, 2015, capturing 64% of the votes in the riding,[8] becoming its member of Parliament. The Conservative government of the day lost the election to theLiberals.
In November 2015, Genuis was appointed deputy critic for Human Rights and Religious Freedom. He served under head criticDavid Anderson.[9]
In March 2016, Genuis was named one of the most outspoken MPs in theHouse of Commons byMaclean's Magazine.[10] In November 2017, Genuis was namedMaclean's Parliamentarian of the Year, based on a vote by members of the House of Commons. Genuis was the youngest recipient to date of the award.[11]
In May 2019, Genuis supported Conservative leaderAndrew Scheer's vision for a foreign policy where "Canada can play an important leadership role as part of a partnership of free democracies."[12]
Genuis was re-elected to the43rd Canadian Parliament onOctober 21, 2019, with 73.4% of the popular vote. His party, however, only won 121 of 338 seats, so he remained as part of the opposition.[3] In 2019, he was given the role as Shadow Minister for Multiculturalism by then leader of the Conservative PartyAndrew Scheer.[13]
Genuis was a member of theHouse of Commons Special Committee on Canada-China Relations.[14] He has voiced concerns overHuawei's influence on Canadian campuses.[15] Genuis was against the appointment ofDominic Barton as Canada's ambassador toChina, suggesting that Barton's past work advising more than 20 Chinesestate-owned enterprises put him in a conflict of interest.[14] In September 2020, Genuis was appointed as the shadow minister for international development and human rights by the Conservative Party of Canada's leaderErin O'Toole.[16]
Genuis was re-elected to the44th Canadian Parliament in the2021 Canadian federal election with 57.5% of the popular vote in his constituency, despite experiencing a 16% decline in support compared to the 2019 general election. Following the election, Genuis was vocally supportive of Erin O'Toole's leadership of the party after the latter faced criticism for failing to increase the party's seat count from 2019.
Garnett Genuis was previously a committee member of theCanadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development & theCanadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration.[17]
In September 2024, during question period, when Conservative Party leaderPierre Poilievre asked Prime MinisterJustin Trudeau if he visited Consul GeneralTom Clark at the new residence when he was attending theUnited Nations General Assembly session, Genius replied to Trudeau's response by saying "Does he engage with them in the bathtub?". Trudeau argued that Genius's comment was homophobic, while Genius denied that he intended a sexual connotation.[18] House Speaker Greg Fergus ruled that he took Genuis "at his word," and that Genuis' comment had no homophobic intent. Fergus nonetheless asked the MP to withdraw his comment because it "provoked disorder". Genuis went on to withdraw his comment "in deference to the authority of the chair".[19]
He was re-elected in the2025 Canadian federal electionwith 66.3% of the popular vote. After that, Genuis was appointed as the shadow minister for employment by the Conservative Party of Canada’s new leaderPierre Poilievre.[20] Genuis is currently a committee member of theCanadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities.[21]
On April 5 2022 Genuis put forth motion M-57 to support the development of bystander awareness and intervention training to combat sexual harassment and violence, hate crimes & other forms of criminal activity.[22]
Genuis has been outspoken about various topics related tohuman rights in China. He has been a strong supporter of theTibet cause. In January 2016, Genuis met with theDalai Lama to discuss human rights and religious freedom.[23]
In June 2022, Genuis, along with SenatorLeo Housakos, hosted a press conference withEnes Kanter Freedom calling on the Canadian government to stop the importation of products made withforced labour coming from theXinjiang Region.[24]
Genuis supported Bill S-223, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (trafficking in human organs). This bill aims to protect people from the exploitative practices of organ harvesting.[25][26]
In April 2022, Genuis introduced private member motion M-57. This called on the Canadian government to supportbystander intervention training as a tool to combat sexual harassment and violence, hate crimes, and other forms of criminal activity.[27]
Genuis jointly seconded the private member's bill C-281, known as the International Human Rights Act, sponsored byPhilip Lawrence. This Bill contains several different important measures aimed at advancing international human rights, including changes to the Magnitsky Act, the Broadcasting Act, and the Prohibiting Cluster Munitions Act.[28][29]
Genuis spoke about democratic decline in Canada in the House of Commons, citing theInternational Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance in Stockholm.[30]
Genuis has been a vocal advocate for Bill S-216 – An Act to amend the Income Tax Act (use of resources of a registered charity).[31] S-216 also known as the Effective Charities Act, seeks to amend the Income Tax Act to ensure that charities can effectively collaborate with a wider range of charities (both domestic and international) including those without charitable status.[32]
Genuis has been an outspoken supporter of promotingenergy security in the West usingCanadian oil and gas, especially since theRussian invasion of Ukraine began.[33]
Garnett has been identified by theCampaign Life Coalition as having a perfect voting score for Life and family issues introduced to the House of Commons.[34] Contributors to the Sherwood Park-Fort Saskatchewan Conservative Riding Association sponsored anti-abortion ads that appeared on buses in Vancouver, BC.[35]
Genuis voted in support of Bill C-233 - An Act to amend theCriminal Code (sex-selective abortion), to combat sex-based discrimination, making it a criminal offence for a medical practitioner to knowingly perform an abortion sought solely on the grounds of the child's genetic sex.[36][37]
On June 22, 2021, Genuis was one of 63 MPs to vote against Bill C-6, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (conversion therapy), which was passed by majority vote, making certain aspects of conversion therapy a crime, including "causing a child to undergo conversion therapy." Genuis stated he thinks banning conversion therapy is reasonable, but Bill C-6 was too broad in scope, and therefore did more than ban conversion therapy. Genuis consequently called on the Canadian government to fix the definition of "Conversion Therapy" in Bill C-6 by doing many things, one of which would be to ensure that no laws discriminate against Canadians by limiting what services they can receive based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.[38][39][40][41]
Genuis believes in the philosophical principle of theseparation of church and state.[42] This is partly why he voted against a request for papal apology for the Catholic Church's role in residential schools.[43] The motion was put forward in reaction to the discovery of 215 unmarked graves of children at the formerKamloops Indian Residential School, and was a reiteration of the same motion tabled in May 2018.[43][44]
Genuis is aRoman Catholic. He is married to Dr. Rebecca Genuis and together, they have six children.[45]
| 2025 Canadian federal election:Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Garnett Genuis | 54,131 | 66.32 | +9.01 | ||||
| Liberal | Tanya Holm | 22,178 | 27.17 | +14.99 | ||||
| New Democratic | Chris Jones | 4,136 | 5.07 | -15.49 | ||||
| People's | Jay Sobel | 497 | 0.61 | -6.37 | ||||
| Green | Randall Emmons | 448 | 0.55 | -0.43 | ||||
| Canadian Future | Mark Horseman | 237 | 0.29 | - | ||||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 81,627 | 99.63 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 301 | 0.37 | ||||||
| Turnout | 81,928 | 78.90 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 103,840 | |||||||
| Conservativenotional hold | Swing | −2.99 | ||||||
| Source:Elections Canada[46][47] | ||||||||
| 2021 Canadian federal election:Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Garnett Genuis | 41,092 | 57.6 | −15.77 | $56,903.38 | |||
| New Democratic | Aidan Theroux | 14,740 | 20.6 | +8.46 | $7,370.63 | |||
| Liberal | Tanya Holm | 8,730 | 12.2 | +2.13 | $23,831.90 | |||
| Green | Sheldon Jonah Perris | 700 | 1.0 | −1.18 | $0.00 | |||
| People's | John Wetterstrand | 5,004 | 7.0 | +5.17 | $8,937.40 | |||
| Independent | Charles Simpson | 283 | 0.4 | - | $7,678.37 | |||
| Maverick Party | Todd Newberry | 849 | 1.2 | - | $5,182.19 | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 71,398 | 99.58 | +0.02 | $124,070.52 | ||||
| Total rejected ballots | 298 | 0.42 | −0.2 | |||||
| Turnout | 71,696 | 73.94 | −2.35 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 96,964 | |||||||
| Conservativehold | Swing | -12.12 | ||||||
| Source:Elections Canada[48][49][50] | ||||||||
| 2019 Canadian federal election:Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Garnett Genuis | 53,600 | 73.37 | +9.43 | $59,435.26 | |||
| New Democratic | Aidan Theroux | 8,867 | 12.14 | +2.33 | $8,662.98 | |||
| Liberal | Ron Thiering | 7,357 | 10.07 | −10.35 | $9,038.34 | |||
| Green | Laura Sanderson | 1,592 | 2.18 | −0.29 | $0.00 | |||
| People's | Darren Villetard | 1,334 | 1.83 | - | $1,638.00 | |||
| Veterans Coalition | Patrick McElrea | 300 | 0.41 | - | $0.00 | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 73,050 | 99.56 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 321 | 0.44 | +0.17 | |||||
| Turnout | 73,371 | 76.29 | +2.23 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 96,171 | |||||||
| Conservativehold | Swing | +3.55 | ||||||
| Source:Elections Canada[51][52] | ||||||||
| 2015 Canadian federal election:Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Garnett Genuis | 42,642 | 63.94 | +14.48 | $114,842.36 | |||
| Liberal | Rod Frank | 13,615 | 20.42 | +13.95 | $23,559.35 | |||
| New Democratic | Joanne Cave | 6,540 | 9.81 | −1.42 | $15,416.14 | |||
| Green | Brandie Harrop | 1,648 | 2.47 | −1.59 | $3,796.57 | |||
| Independent | James Ford | 1,563 | 2.34 | −26.44 | $5,420.41 | |||
| Libertarian | Stephen C. Burry | 678 | 1.02 | * | $3,387.73 | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 66,686 | 99.73 | $228,934.10 | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 180 | 0.27 | – | |||||
| Turnout | 66,866 | 74.06 | – | |||||
| Eligible voters | 90,289 | |||||||
| Conservativehold | Swing | +0.27 | ||||||
| Source:Elections Canada[53][54] | ||||||||
| 2012 Alberta general election:Sherwood Park | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Cathy Olesen | 8,747 | 45.62 | −17.52 | ||||
| Wildrose | Garnett Genuis | 5,948 | 31.02 | |||||
| Liberal | Dave Anderson | 1,837 | 9.58 | −16.48 | ||||
| New Democratic | Sarah Michelin | 1,210 | 6.31 | +0.18 | ||||
| Independent | James Ford | 1,064 | 5.55 | |||||
| Alberta Party | Chris Kuchmak | 230 | 1.20 | |||||
| Social Credit | Gordon Barrett | 137 | 0.71 | |||||
| Total valid votes | 19,173 | |||||||
| Rejected, spoiled, and declined | 184 | |||||||
| Registered electors / turnout | 30,851 | 62.74 | +15.06 | |||||
| Progressive Conservativehold | Swing | −24.27 | ||||||
Source(s) Elections Alberta."Electoral Division Results: Sherwood Park". RetrievedJuly 9, 2012. | ||||||||
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