George Groeneveld is a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 politician and current Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta

Legislative Assembly of Alberta

The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is one of two components of the Legislature of Alberta, the other being the Queen, represented by the Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta. The Alberta legislature meets in the Alberta Legislature Building in the provincial capital, Edmonton...

 representing the constituency of Highwood

Highwood (electoral district)

Highwood is a provincial electoral district in southern Alberta, Canada. The district is one of 83 in the province mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of voting....

 as a Progressive Conservative

Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta

The Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta is a provincial centre-right party in the Canadian province of Alberta...

.

Early life

Groeneveld was born in Blackie, Alberta

Blackie, Alberta

Blackie is a hamlet in Alberta, Canada within the Municipal District of Foothills No. 31. It is located approximately southeast of Calgary on Highway 799.- History :...

. Agriculture has long been an important part of his life, both personally and professionally. In addition to owning and operating a family farm, Groeneveld served as regional director of the Alberta Wheat Pool

Alberta Wheat Pool

The Alberta Wheat Pool was the first of Canada's wheat farmer co-operatives.-Early years:In 1923, the United Farmers of Alberta met with then Attorney General John Edward Brownlee to consider setting up a Wheat Pool just in Alberta...

. In this role, he attended the Canadian International Grains Institute, expanding his knowledge of the handling, marketing, and commercial applications for a variety of crops. Groeneveld also holds the distinction of being Agricore United's

Agricore United

Agricore United was a farmer-directed agri-business in Canada. It supplied crop nutrition and crop protection products, and offered grain handling and marketing services. It was created on November 1, 2001 by the merger of Agricore and United Grain Growers. It was headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba...

 first vice-president.

Political career

Groeneveld first sought public office in the 2004 provincial election

Alberta general election, 2004

The Alberta general election of 2004 was the twenty-sixth general election for the province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on November 22, 2004 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta....

 in the constituency of Highwood

Highwood (electoral district)

Highwood is a provincial electoral district in southern Alberta, Canada. The district is one of 83 in the province mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of voting....

. In that election, he received 64% of the vote. In 2006, following the leadership race for the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta

Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta

The Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta is a provincial centre-right party in the Canadian province of Alberta...

, newly-elected Premier Ed Stelmach

Ed Stelmach

Edward Michael "Ed" Stelmach, MLA is a Canadian politician and served as the 13th Premier of Alberta, Canada, from 2006 to 2011. The grandson of Ukrainian immigrants, Stelmach was born and raised on a farm near Lamont and speaks fluent Ukrainian. He spent his entire pre-political adult life as a...

 appointed Groeneveld as Minister of Agriculture and Food. In the 2008 provincial election that followed, Groeneveld secured his position as MLA for Highwood with 65% of the vote. In March 2008, he was reappointed as Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Personal life

Groeneveld is married to Judith. The couple has four children together. In his free time, he enjoys golfing and attending his grandchildren's hockey games. Groeneveld also ensures that he remains true to his roots, making time to assist his son with the cattle at the family farm. He is an active member of his community and Gladys United Church.

Election results

2008 Alberta general election results ( Highwood Highwood (electoral district) Highwood is a provincial electoral district in southern Alberta, Canada. The district is one of 83 in the province mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of voting....  )			font style="font-size: 90%;">Turnout 42.7%
Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	%	Progressive Conservative	George Groeneveld	7,716	65%	Liberal Alberta Liberal Party The Alberta Liberal Party is a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada. Originally founded in 1905, when the province was created, it was the dominant political party until 1921 when it was defeated. It has never been in government since that time...	Stan Shedd	1,647	14%	Green Green Party of Alberta The Green Party of Alberta, also known as the Alberta Greens, was a provincial political party in the province of Alberta, Canada.The Alberta Greens were formed in 1986 and received official party status on April 6, 1990...	John Barrett	690	6%	NDP Alberta New Democratic Party The Alberta New Democratic Party or Alberta NDP is a social-democratic political party in Alberta, Canada, which was originally founded as the Alberta section of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation...	Carolyn Boulton	392	3%	Wildrose Alliance Wildrose Alliance Party of Alberta The Wildrose Party, formerly Wildrose Alliance Party, is a conservative provincial political party in Alberta, Canada. It includes free market conservative, libertarian and socially conservative factions and was formed in 2008 following a merger of the Wildrose Party of Alberta and the Alberta...	Daniel W. Doherty	1,405	12%
2004 Alberta general election Alberta general election, 2004 The Alberta general election of 2004 was the twenty-sixth general election for the province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on November 22, 2004 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta....  results ( Highwood Highwood (electoral district) Highwood is a provincial electoral district in southern Alberta, Canada. The district is one of 83 in the province mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of voting....  )			font style="font-size: 90%;">Turnout 45.2%
Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	%	Progressive Conservative	George Groeneveld	6,737	63.6%	Liberal Alberta Liberal Party The Alberta Liberal Party is a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada. Originally founded in 1905, when the province was created, it was the dominant political party until 1921 when it was defeated. It has never been in government since that time...	Lori Czerwinski	1,846	17.4%	Alberta Alliance	Brian Wickhorst	731	6.9%	NDP Alberta New Democratic Party The Alberta New Democratic Party or Alberta NDP is a social-democratic political party in Alberta, Canada, which was originally founded as the Alberta section of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation...	Catherine Whelan Costen	433	4.1%	Separation Separation Party of Alberta The Separation Party of Alberta is a political party that advocates the secession of Alberta from Canada. Its leader is Bruce Hutton.-History:...	Cory Morgan	300	2.8%	Green Green Party of Alberta The Green Party of Alberta, also known as the Alberta Greens, was a provincial political party in the province of Alberta, Canada.The Alberta Greens were formed in 1986 and received official party status on April 6, 1990...	Sheelagh Matthews	547	5.2%