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Blake Richards | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chief Opposition Whip | |
| In office September 2, 2020 – February 5, 2022 | |
| Leader | Erin O'Toole |
| Preceded by | Mark Strahl |
| Succeeded by | Blaine Calkins |
| Member of Parliament forAirdrie—Cochrane Banff—Airdrie (2015-2025) Wild Rose (2008–2015) | |
| Assumed office October 14, 2008 | |
| Preceded by | Myron Thompson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1974-11-08)November 8, 1974 (age 51) |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse | Carmen Richards |
| Residence(s) | Airdrie,Alberta, Canada |
| Education | Red Deer College,University of Calgary |
| Profession | Real estate agent Firefighter |
Blake RichardsMP (born November 8, 1974) is aCanadian politician. He has been aConservativeMember of Parliament since 2008, having been elected to represent the now defunctelectoral district (or riding) ofWild Rose in theOctober 14, 2008 andMay 2, 2011 federal elections and subsequently the riding ofBanff—Airdrie in federal elections held in2015,2019, and2021. In2025, he was re-elected in the constituency ofAirdrie—Cochrane.
Richards was born inOlds,Alberta. Prior to starting his real estate business, Richards worked in the oil field and agriculture-related industries, and attendedRed Deer College and theUniversity of Calgary, where he earned a degree inpolitical science.
He served his community as a volunteer firefighter and minor hockey coach before being elected to the House of Commons in 2008.
Richards was elected in the 2008 federal election and re-elected in the 2011, 2015, 2019, 2021, and 2025 federal elections.
Richards is currently the Shadow Minister for Veterans Affairs. He previously served as ChiefOpposition Whip, Official Opposition Shadow Minister for Small Business, Export Promotion and Tourism. In the41st Parliament, Richards chaired the Parliamentary Tourism Caucus and the House of Commons' Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development and the Special Committee on Co-operatives. He has also been a member of the committees on Finance; International Trade; Public Safety and National Security; Procedure and House Affairs; Canadian Heritage; Agriculture; and Transport, Infrastructure and Communities.
Through the Rocky Mountain Hockey Challenge, Richards has raised $360,000 for regional groups that assist victims of crime.
In 2010, Richards spearheaded a national petition that called for changes to the national pardons system after it was revealed that convicted sex offenderGraham James had received a pardon in 2007 for his offences. The petition attracted thousands of supporters from across Canada and in June 2010, Bill C-23A, an act to limit pardons for serious crimes, received Royal Assent.[1][2]
In October 2011, Richards introduced Private Member's Bill C-309 in the House of Commons. It received Royal Assent in June 2013. As a result, it is now an offence under theCriminal Code of Canada to wear a mask or to otherwise conceal one's identity during a riot or an unlawful assembly.
On November 30, 2017, House of Commons SpeakerGeoff Regan ordered that Richards be removed from the House for "excessive heckling" following three repeated warnings.[3]
In 2018, Richards' Motion 110, directing the Human Resources Committee to study the impact of pregnancy and infant loss on parents, was supported unanimously in the House of Commons.[4]
Richards has three times been recognized as the Hardest Working and Best Constituency MP inThe Hill Times' Annual Politically Savvy Survey and has been recognized with a Canadian Tourism Award for his work in Parliament on behalf of the tourism industry.
Richards says his priority as a representative is to be "focused on being a strong voice for the people of Airdrie–Cochrane—bringing their priorities, values, and concerns straight to the heart of Parliament."[5]
| 2025 Canadian federal election:Airdrie—Cochrane | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Blake Richards | 50,252 | 71.22 | +11.32 | ||||
| Liberal | Sean Secord | 16,714 | 23.69 | +13.53 | ||||
| New Democratic | Sarah Zagoda | 2,591 | 3.67 | −11.25 | ||||
| Libertarian | David Sabine | 623 | 0.88 | N/A | ||||
| Christian Heritage | Christopher Bell | 380 | 0.54 | N/A | ||||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 70,560 | 99.36 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 457 | 0.64 | ||||||
| Turnout | 71,017 | 75.40 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 94,181 | |||||||
| Conservativenotional hold | Swing | −1.11 | ||||||
| Source:Elections Canada[6][7] | ||||||||
| Note: number of eligible voters does not include voting day registrations. | ||||||||
| 2019 Canadian federal election:Banff—Airdrie | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Blake Richards | 55,504 | 71.09 | +7.71 | $82,810.16 | |||
| Liberal | Gwyneth Midgley | 8,425 | 10.79 | -15.28 | none listed | |||
| New Democratic | Anne Wilson | 8,185 | 10.48 | +3.70 | $7,710.51 | |||
| Green | Austin Mullins | 3,315 | 4.25 | +0.48 | $824.70 | |||
| People's | Nadine Wellwood | 2,651 | 3.40 | New | none listed | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 78,080 | 100.0 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 393 | |||||||
| Turnout | 78,473 | 73.1 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 107,281 | |||||||
| Conservativehold | Swing | +7.05 | ||||||
| Source:Elections Canada[8][9][10] | ||||||||
| 2015 Canadian federal election:Banff—Airdrie | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Blake Richards | 42,228 | 63.37 | –7.36 | $86,619.91 | |||
| Liberal | Marlo Raynolds | 17,380 | 26.08 | +18.02 | $72,801.97 | |||
| New Democratic | Joanne Boissonneault | 4,521 | 6.78 | –6.29 | $17,953.20 | |||
| Green | Mike MacDonald | 2,509 | 3.77 | –3.98 | $3,011.33 | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 66,638 | 100.00 | $243,369.66 | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 179 | 0.27 | – | |||||
| Turnout | 66,817 | 73.25 | – | |||||
| Eligible voters | 91,222 | |||||||
| Conservativehold | Swing | –12.69 | ||||||
| This riding was created from parts ofWild Rose andMacleod, both of which elected Conservative candidates in the 2011 election.Blake Richards was the incumbent from Wild Rose. Changes are based on redistributed results. | ||||||||
| Source:Elections Canada[11][12] | ||||||||
| 2011 Canadian federal election:Wild Rose | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Blake Richards | 43,669 | 74.7 | +1.8 | $49,673 | |||
| New Democratic | Jeff Horvath | 6,595 | 11.3 | +3.1 | $3,784 | |||
| Green | Michael MacDonald | 4,071 | 7.0 | -5.6 | $5,270 | |||
| Liberal | John Reilly | 3,908 | 6.7 | +1.0 | $43,616 | |||
| Christian Heritage | Randy VandenBroek | 181 | 0.3 | – | – | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 58,424 | 100.0 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 128 | 0.2 | 0.0 | |||||
| Turnout | 58,552 | 61.7 | +6.0 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 94,970 | – | – | |||||
| Conservativehold | Swing | +3.7 | ||||||
| 2008 Canadian federal election:Wild Rose | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Blake Richards | 36,869 | 72.9 | +0.4 | $50,972 | |||
| Green | Lisa Fox | 6,390 | 12.6 | +1.8 | $14,559 | |||
| New Democratic | Jeff Horvath | 4,169 | 8.2 | +0.9 | $5,001 | |||
| Liberal | Jenn Turcott | 2,890 | 5.7 | -4.0 | $6,555 | |||
| Libertarian | Krista Zoobkoff | 246 | 0.5 | – | ||||
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | 50,564 | 100.0 | $101,401 | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 107 | 0.2 | 0.0 | |||||
| Turnout | 50,671 | 56 | -9.0 | |||||
| Conservativehold | Swing | +2.2 | ||||||
