Kent Hehr | |
|---|---|
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| Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities | |
| In office August 28, 2017 – January 25, 2018 | |
| Prime Minister | Justin Trudeau |
| Preceded by | Carla Qualtrough |
| Succeeded by | Kirsty Duncan |
| Minister of Veterans Affairs | |
| In office November 4, 2015 – August 28, 2017 | |
| Prime Minister | Justin Trudeau |
| Preceded by | Erin O'Toole |
| Succeeded by | Seamus O'Regan |
| Associate Minister of National Defence | |
| In office November 4, 2015 – August 28, 2017 | |
| Prime Minister | Justin Trudeau |
| Preceded by | Julian Fantino |
| Succeeded by | Seamus O'Regan |
| Member of Parliament forCalgary Centre | |
| In office October 19, 2015 – October 21, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Joan Crockatt |
| Succeeded by | Greg McLean |
| Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta forCalgary-Buffalo | |
| In office March 3, 2008 – May 5, 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Harvey Cenaiko |
| Succeeded by | Kathleen Ganley |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1969-12-16)December 16, 1969 (age 55) |
| Political party | Liberal Party of Canada |
| Alma mater | University of Calgary |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Website | www |
Kent HehrPC (born December 16, 1969)[1] is a former Canadian politician fromAlberta. He served as theLiberal Member of Parliament for the riding ofCalgary Centre from 2015 to 2019. Hehr was namedMinister of Veterans Affairs in thefederal Cabinet, headed byJustin Trudeau, on November 4, 2015, and was shuffled to beMinister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities in August 2017. Hehr resigned from cabinet on January 25, 2018, after allegations of workplace misconduct surfaced from when he was theMember of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta forCalgary-Buffalo.[2][3]
On September 6, 2021, it was reported that Hehr would file nomination papers to run formayor in the2021 Calgary municipal election.[4] He filed for that office but withdrew his candidacy later in September, citing the heightened risks fromCOVID-19 infection for people with spinal cord injuries.[5]
Before entering politics, Hehr worked as a disability activist and a lawyer.
As a teenager, Hehr was active in sports including both baseball and hockey. These are interests which Hehr is still passionate about to this day. He played for the Alberta Junior Hockey League champion Calgary Canucks in 1989–90 and for theMount Royal College Cougars the following year.
He had a goal of becoming a physical education teacher. However, on October 3, 1991, Hehr was shot as a bystander in a drive-by shooting. He was rendered a C5quadriplegic; he is paralyzed from the chest down.[6] His injuries ended his plans, and instead Hehr pursued post-secondary studies at Mount Royal College and then at theUniversity of Calgary, from which he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Canadian Studies and a Bachelor of Laws. Upon graduation he was named graduate of the decade and ranked among the top 40 graduates in 40 years. Prior to being elected Member of the Legislative Assembly, Hehr practised law at Fraser Milner Casgrain.
Hehr also became active in the community, leading various groups, such as the Alberta branch of the Canadian Paraplegic Association. In 2008, he was listed as one of "20 Compelling Calgarians" by theCalgary Herald.[7]
Hehr has also been active in numerous community groups within Calgary. He has served on the following boards in the past few years:[8]
In June 2006, Hehr won the Liberal nomination for Calgary-Buffalo, in the heart of downtown Calgary.[9] He was subsequently elected to the legislature in theMarch 3, 2008 general election.[3]
After the election, Hehr was chosen to be the Shadow Minister for Justice and Solicitor General for the Alberta Liberal Caucus.[10]As the Shadow Minister, Hehr worked to tackle crime in the province while focusing on other justice issues.
In the legislature, Hehr served on the following committees:[11]
Hehr campaigned for mayor in the2010 Calgary municipal election but withdrew a month before the vote to endorseNaheed Nenshi.[12]
In 2014, Hehr proposed a private member's bill into the Alberta Legislature that would urge public schools to support students who wished to create gay-straight alliances.[13] The bill, while supported by the Liberals,Alberta NDP and someProgressive Conservatives, was voted down by a majority of PC andWildrose MLAs in April.[14]
Six months laterLaurie Blakeman brought a private members bill forward which essentially adopted Hehr's motion. Instead of allowing a vote to proceed on this motion, the PC government brought in their own bill, the essence of which allowed public, Catholic, and private school entities to decide whether or not they would allow a Gay-Straight Alliance in their district. Ultimately the PCs brought in a reformed bill that effectively allowed Gay-Straight Alliances in all schools throughout the province.
For Hehr, himself a shooting victim, a major focus has been on gun violence in the province. Soon after he was elected, the City of Calgary became trapped in a gang war which has claimed the lives of many young individuals.[15]
Hehr put pressure on the government to help reduce these numbers. He started by calling on the province to increase the number of police officers on the beat in downtown Calgary. The Mayor and the Police Chief have also joined in his call to increase the number of police officers.[16]
Hehr's most recent call was to give police the power to seize vehicles that contain unregistered firearms, along with the gun.[15] Bill 201 was defeated in second reading on March 9, 2009, with no Conservative MLA support.[17]
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On July 17, 2014, following some speculation, Hehr announced he would seek the Liberal nomination inCalgary Centre for the2015 federal election.[18][19] On November 28, he was acclaimed as the Liberal candidate.[20] The Liberals were very optimistic about their chances in the riding.Conservative incumbentJoan Crockatt had only won a 2012 by-election with 37 percent of the vote, the worst showing for a Tory in Calgary in recent memory. Additionally, a redistribution made the riding slightly friendlier to the Liberals on paper.
At the October 19, 2015 election, Hehr defeated Crockatt by 750 votes. AlongsideCalgary Skyview member of ParliamentDarshan Kang, who was elected the same evening, Hehr became the first Liberal elected in Calgary sincePat Mahoney in1968.[20] He and Kang are only the fifth and sixth Liberals to represent Calgary ridings in the party's entire history.
Hehr was appointedMinister of Veterans Affairs andAssociate Minister of National Defence inJustin Trudeau's firstcabinet on November 4, 2015.[21]
In a cabinet shuffle in late 2017, Hehr becameMinister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities, succeedingCarla Qualtrough on August 28, 2017.[22][23]
In November 2017, it was reported that the Ethics Commissioner was investigating Hehr following accusations that he used Parliamentary Resources to help his father campaign for a seat on the Calgary Board of Education.[24] He was subsequently cleared in this investigation.
In December 2017, Hehr was accused of making insensitive remarks to a group ofthalidomide survivors. In a meeting early that year, the members of the group accused Hehr of inappropriate touching, saying "Well you don't have it so bad. Everyone in Canada has a sob story", and in reference to their reduced life expectancy "So you probably have about 10 years left then now, that's good news for the Canadian government."[25] He denied making the statement.
Shortly after, a wife of a veteran withposttraumatic stress disorder came forward accusing him of poor treatment during a meeting in October 2016. The woman said he was "very condescending", gave her only two minutes of his time, when asked a question about the government denying maternity benefits he replied "Well, Ms. McCrea, that is the old question, like asking ... 'When did you stop beating your wife?'",[26] and when asked about support for her family he allegedly responded "you married him, he's your responsibility".[27]
Hehr resigned from cabinet on January 25, 2018, amid two separate allegations ofsexual harassment dating to his time in the Alberta legislature. One woman claimed that he had made sexually suggestive remarks to her, while another claimed he'dtouched her inappropriately. Hehr apologized for the first incident, saying that while he did not remember meeting the woman, he realized that he had made her uncomfortable. However, he maintained that the second incident was the product of unintentional contact. On June 6, 2018, following the completion of the investigation, Trudeau decided that Hehr would not return to cabinet.[2]
He lost his seat to ConservativeGreg McLean in the 2019 federal election, losing over half of his vote from 2015.
On September 6, 2021,Global News reported that Hehr would be filing nomination papers to run for mayor in the2021 Calgary municipal election, which was scheduled for October 18.[4] After announcing his mayoral campaign that day, Hehr said that he would allow the report into hissexual misconduct allegations to be made public. He had previously argued that they should not be released over privacy concerns. Hehr withdrew from the race on September 21, the last possible day to do so, citing personal health risks from COVID-19.[28]
| 2019 Canadian federal election:Calgary Centre | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Greg McLean | 37,306 | 56.64 | +11.34 | $111,276.33 | |||
| Liberal | Kent Hehr | 17,771 | 26.98 | -19.54 | $112,059.94 | |||
| New Democratic | Jessica Buresi | 6,516 | 9.89 | +4.32 | $832.79 | |||
| Green | Thana Boonlert | 2,853 | 4.33 | +2.13 | $7,973.82 | |||
| People's | Chevy Johnston | 907 | 1.38 | - | $13,514.03 | |||
| Animal Protection | Eden Gould | 247 | 0.38 | - | $1,717.18 | |||
| Independent | Michael Pewtress | 138 | 0.21 | $1,189.15 | ||||
| Christian Heritage | Dawid Pawlowski | 126 | 0.19 | - | none listed | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 65,864 | 99.42 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 385 | 0.58 | +0.21 | |||||
| Turnout | 66,249 | 68.21 | -1.89 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 97,129 | |||||||
| Conservativegain fromLiberal | Swing | +15.44 | ||||||
| Source:Elections Canada[29][30][31] | ||||||||
| 2015 Canadian federal election:Calgary Centre | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Kent Hehr | 28,496 | 46.52 | +27.40 | $190,509.57 | |||
| Conservative | Joan Crockatt | 27,746 | 45.30 | −10.07 | $157,845.73 | |||
| New Democratic | Jillian Ratti | 3,412 | 5.57 | −9.59 | $19,466.71 | |||
| Green | Thana Boonlert | 1,347 | 2.20 | −8.13 | $3,584.84 | |||
| Independent | Yogi Henderson | 248 | 0.39 | $1,203.28 | ||||
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | 61,249 | 100.00 | $222,181.20 | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 227 | 0.37 | – | |||||
| Turnout | 61,476 | 72.36 | – | |||||
| Eligible voters | 84,960 | |||||||
| Liberalgain fromConservative | Swing | +18.73 | ||||||
| Source:Elections Canada[32][33] | ||||||||
| 2012 Alberta general election:Calgary-Buffalo | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Liberal | Kent Hehr | 4,740 | 41.47% | -7.36% | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Jamie Lall | 3,506 | 30.67% | -8.18% | ||||
| Wildrose | Mike Blanchard | 2,415 | 21.13% | – | ||||
| New Democratic | Rebecca Eras | 539 | 4.72% | 0.59% | ||||
| Alberta Party | Cory Mack | 230 | 2.01% | – | ||||
| Total | 11,430 | – | – | |||||
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | 176 | – | – | |||||
| Eligible electors / turnout | 26,220 | 44.26% | 13.88% | |||||
| Liberalhold | Swing | 0.41% | ||||||
Source(s) Source:"05 - Calgary-Buffalo, 2012 Alberta general election".officialresults.elections.ab.ca.Elections Alberta. RetrievedMay 21, 2020. | ||||||||
| 2008 Alberta general election:Calgary-Buffalo | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Liberal | Kent Hehr | 4,583 | 48.83% | 12.42% | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Sean Chu | 3,646 | 38.85% | -4.68% | ||||
| Green | Stephen Ricketts | 611 | 6.51% | -2.16% | ||||
| New Democratic | Robert Lawrence | 387 | 4.12% | -1.79% | ||||
| Social Credit | Antoni (Tony) Grochowski | 158 | 1.68% | 0.74% | ||||
| Total | 9,385 | – | – | |||||
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | 103 | – | – | |||||
| Eligible electors / turnout | 31,223 | 30.39% | -1.33% | |||||
| Liberalgain fromProgressive Conservative | Swing | 1.43% | ||||||
Source(s) Source:"03 - Calgary-Buffalo, 2008 Alberta general election".officialresults.elections.ab.ca.Elections Alberta. RetrievedMay 21, 2020. The Report on the March 3, 2008 Provincial General Election of the Twenty-seventh Legislative Assembly. Elections Alberta. July 28, 2008. pp. 178–180. | ||||||||
| 29th Canadian Ministry (2015–2025) – Cabinet ofJustin Trudeau | ||
| Cabinet posts (3) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Predecessor | Office | Successor |
| Carla Qualtrough | Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities August 28, 2017 – January 25, 2018 | Kirsty Duncan |
| Erin O'Toole | Minister of Veterans Affairs November 4, 2015 – August 28, 2017 | Seamus O'Regan |
| Julian Fantino | AssociateMinister of Defence November 4, 2015 – August 28, 2017 | Seamus O'Regan |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
