Richard John Feehan | |
|---|---|
| Minister of Indigenous Relations of Alberta | |
| In office February 2, 2016 – April 30, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Kathleen Ganley |
| Succeeded by | Rick Wilson |
| Member of theLegislative Assembly of Alberta forEdmonton-Rutherford | |
| In office May 5, 2015 – May 29, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Fred Horne |
| Succeeded by | Jodi Calahoo Stonehouse |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1960-02-11)February 11, 1960 (age 65) |
| Political party | Alberta New Democratic PartyBC NDP |
| Alma mater | Wilfrid Laurier UniversityUniversity of CalgaryUniversity of Alberta |
| Occupation | University instructor and social worker |
Richard John Feehan (born February 11, 1960) is a Canadian politician. He was a member of theLegislative Assembly of Alberta (MLA), representing theelectoral district ofEdmonton-Rutherford from 2015 until 2023.[1]
Richard Feehan was born on February 11, 1960 to parents Bernie and Kathleen Feehan.[2] His father was a Judge on the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta and his mother was chair of Grant MacEwan’s social work program for 30 years.[3][4] Feehan has six siblings, and is married with three adult children.[5][2]
Feehan graduated from theUniversity of Alberta with a Bachelor of Arts in 1980, from theUniversity of Calgary with a Bachelor of Social Work and fromWilfrid Laurier University with a Masters of Social Work in 1986.[2]
Before entering politics, Feehan worked in a variety of roles, including as the program director of the Edmonton Social Planning Council and vice-president of Catholic Social Services in Edmonton.[6] He taught in the Edmonton division of the University of Calgary’s faculty of social work for a decade, before being elected.[7]
Feehan ran forEdmonton City Council in the2013 Edmonton municipal election in Ward 10, on a platform of local sustainability and infrastructure renewal. He placed second, losing to community organizer Michael Walters.[8]
In the2015 Alberta general election, Feehan was nominated as theAlberta New Democratic Party candidate forEdmonton-Rutherford. Feehan was elected as MLA, receiving 63.94% of the vote, a 55.62% increase in the NDP's share of the vote, which was the party's largest increase from the2012 Alberta general election.[9][10]
Following the election, Feehan was appointedAlberta NDP caucus chair byPremierRachel Notley.[11] Shortly after, he was elected Deputy Chairman of Committees in the29th Alberta Legislature.[12]
In 2016, Feehan was appointed to theExecutive Council of Alberta as Minister of Indigenous Relations.[13] During his time as Minister, he oversaw the investment of $35 million in Indigenous-led renewable energy projects,[14] implemented supports for families ofMissing and Murdered Indigenous Women,[15] and participated in engagement sessions for survivors of theSixties Scoop, culminating in the Albertan government's apology for its role.[16][17] Feehan also instituted training on Indigenous history and culture for all Albertan public servants in June 2018.[18]
Feehan was re-elected in the2019 Alberta general election and was appointed as the Official Opposition's Indigenous relations critic.[19]
In April 2022, Feehan announced he would not seek re-election in the2023 Alberta general election.[1]
| 2019 Alberta general election:Edmonton-Rutherford | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| New Democratic | Richard Feehan | 12,154 | 54.81 | -7.52 | ||||
| United Conservative | Hannah Presakarchuk | 7,737 | 34.89 | +1.83 | ||||
| Alberta Party | Aisha Rauf | 1,600 | 7.22 | +7.03 | ||||
| Liberal | Claire Wilde | 375 | 1.69 | -2.72 | ||||
| Green | Valerie Kennedy | 191 | 0.86 | – | ||||
| Alberta Independence | Lionel Levoir | 117 | 0.53 | – | ||||
| Total | 22,174 | 99.50 | – | |||||
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | 111 | 0.50 | ||||||
| Turnout | 22,285 | 69.47 | ||||||
| Eligible electors | 32,077 | |||||||
| New Democratichold | Swing | -4.68 | ||||||
Source(s) Source:"41 - Edmonton-Rutherford, 2019 Alberta general election".officialresults.elections.ab.ca.Elections Alberta. RetrievedMay 21, 2020. Alberta. Chief Electoral Officer (2019).2019 General Election. A Report of the Chief Electoral Officer. Volume II(PDF) (Report). Vol. 2. Edmonton, Alta.:Elections Alberta. pp. 160–163.ISBN 978-1-988620-12-1. RetrievedApril 7, 2021. | ||||||||
| 2015 Alberta general election:Edmonton-Rutherford | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| New Democratic | Richard Feehan | 11,214 | 63.94% | 55.62% | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Chris Labossiere | 3,940 | 22.46% | -19.73% | ||||
| Wildrose | Josef Pisa | 1,644 | 9.37% | -7.44% | ||||
| Liberal | Michael Chan | 741 | 4.22% | -17.77% | ||||
| Total | 17,539 | – | – | |||||
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | 23 | 37 | 41 | |||||
| Eligible electors / turnout | 29,253 | 60.18% | -0.79% | |||||
| New Democraticgain fromProgressive Conservative | Swing | 10.64% | ||||||
Source(s) Source:"43 - Edmonton-Rutherford, 2015 Alberta general election".officialresults.elections.ab.ca.Elections Alberta. RetrievedMay 21, 2020. Chief Electoral Officer (2016).2015 General Election. A Report of the Chief Electoral Officer(PDF) (Report). Edmonton, Alta.:Elections Alberta. | ||||||||
| Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| Michael Walters | 11,807 | 63.9 |
| Richard John Feehan | 3,818 | 20.7 |
| Hafis Devji | 1,509 | 8.2 |
| Dan 'Can Man Dan' Johnstone | 907 | 4.9 |
| Ray Bessel | 444 | 2.4 |