The Honourable Ricardo Miranda | |
|---|---|
 Miranda in May 2015 | |
| Alberta Minister of Culture and Tourism | |
| In office February 2, 2016 – April 30, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | David Eggen |
| Succeeded by | Leela Aheer |
| Member of theLegislative Assembly of Alberta forCalgary-Cross | |
| In office May 5, 2015 – April 16, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Yvonne Fritz |
| Succeeded by | Mickey Amery |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1976-08-22)August 22, 1976 (age 49) |
| Political party | Alberta New Democratic Party |
| Residence(s) | Calgary,Alberta |
| Alma mater | University of Calgary |
| Occupation | Researcher |
Ricardo MirandaECA (born August 22, 1976) is a Canadian politician and trade unionist who was elected to theLegislative Assembly of Alberta in the2015 Alberta general election representing theelectoral district ofCalgary-Cross.[1]
On February 2, 2016, Miranda was appointed Alberta's Minister of Culture and Tourism.
Miranda was born inManagua, Nicaragua, and is Jewish.[2] In 1988, Miranda leftwar-torn Nicaragua immigrating to Canada as a refugee when he was just 10-years-old.[3] He graduated fromFather Lacombe High School in Calgary, and went on to complete a Bachelor of Arts degree from theUniversity of Calgary.
Miranda engaged for several years in activism for various workers' rights organizations. While employed as a flight attendant for Air Canada, he was elected president of his local union, one of the largest within theCanadian Union of Public Employees. He went on to work for CUPE as a researcher in the Alberta office of CUPE National, where he met and worked with Louis Arab, husband of the incumbent premier and Alberta NDP leader the Hon.Rachel Notley. As a CUPE researcher, Miranda also contributed to public policy as a board member of theParkland Institute, an Edmonton-based public policythink tank based in the Faculty of Arts at theUniversity of Alberta.[4]
Miranda's entry into politics came after encouragement by Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley, who suggested he may run for the Alberta NDP party.[5] Previously, Miranda had served as a member of various committees, including the Standing Committee on the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund and the Select Special Ethics and Accountability Committee. He also served as chair of the Standing Committee on Alberta's Economic Future.
He was elected as an MLA in the2015 Alberta general election, becoming one of the first three openlyLGBT politicians elected to the provincial legislature, alongside caucus colleaguesMichael Connolly andEstefania Cortes-Vargas.[6] In February 2016, Miranda was appointed as Alberta's Minister of Culture and Tourism in a provincial government headed by Notley.
He was defeated in the 2019 provincial election.[7]
Miranda is openlygay. In addition to belonging to a sexual minority group, Miranda has variously spoken publicly about the difficulties of his early life fleeing war and persecution, and has been the voice of Judaism in the legislature, rising to inform on the occasion of various Jewish holidays.
Miranda became Alberta's first cabinet minister to be married in asame-sex wedding. In a marriage ceremony held on December 28, 2018 in Calgary'sGlenbow Museum, Miranda married boyfriend and partner Christopher Brown. He had met Brown early in 2018. The marriage ceremony of Miranda and Brown was officiated by Alberta PremierRachel Notley.[8]
| 2019 Alberta general election:Calgary-Cross | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| United Conservative | Mickey Amery | 8,907 | 54.26 | +2.75† | $39,209 | |||
| New Democratic | Ricardo Miranda | 6,135 | 37.38 | +1.25 | $54,925 | |||
| Alberta Party | Braham Luddu | 962 | 5.86 | – | $6,936 | |||
| Liberal | Naser Kukhun | 410 | 2.50 | -6.88 | $4,299 | |||
| Total | 16,414 | 99.27 | – | |||||
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | 121 | 0.73 | – | |||||
| Turnout | 16,535 | 53.61 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 30,844 | |||||||
| United Conservativenotional hold | Swing | -2.25 | ||||||
Source(s) Source:Elections Alberta[9][10][11] Note: Expenses is the sum of "Election Expenses", "Other Expenses" and "Transfers Issued". TheElections Act limits "Election Expenses" to $50,000. †Comparison for UCP is to the combined Wildrose & PC redistributed vote in 2015 | ||||||||
| 2015 Alberta general election:Calgary-Cross | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| New Democratic | Ricardo Miranda | 4,602 | 36.13% | 31.10% | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Rick Hanson | 4,501 | 35.34% | -9.31% | ||||
| Wildrose | Moiz Mahmood | 2,060 | 16.17% | -21.81% | ||||
| Liberal | Manjot Singh Gill | 1,194 | 9.38% | -0.79% | ||||
| Green | Peter Meic | 236 | 1.85% | 0.32% | ||||
| Independent | Katherine Le Rougetel † | 143 | 1.12% | – | ||||
| Total | 12,736 | – | – | |||||
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | 98 | – | – | |||||
| Eligible electors / turnout | 31,535 | 40.70% | -3.07% | |||||
| New Democraticgain fromProgressive Conservative | Swing | -2.94% | ||||||
Source(s) Source:"06 - Calgary-Cross, 2015 Alberta general election".officialresults.elections.ab.ca.Elections Alberta. RetrievedMay 21, 2020. †Le Rougetel was a candidate of the unregisteredCommunist League. SeeRyan Rumbolt, "Communist League candidate Katherine LeRougetel enters mayoral race",Calgary Herald, 5 March 2017, accessed 8 March 2017. | ||||||||
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