Ron Liepert
Encyclopedia
Ronald Liepert is a Canadian
politician and current Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
representing the constituency of Calgary-West
as a Progressive Conservative
.
, Saskatchewan
. He grew up on the farm and attended a small rural school. He left high school in the middle of grade 11 at the age of 17. He moved to Calgary where he took a job with Rosco Steel. For three years Liepert returned to the family farm to help with the crop, but he became disillusioned with farming and he settled into Calgary, Alberta year round. He was working at Burns Foods in 1971 when he decided to enroll in the Columbia School of Broadcasting. In 1972 Liepert, married and with an infant daughter, joined CHAB (AM)
in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan
. In the mid 1970s he took a position with CFCW (AM)
radio in Camrose, Alberta
, and from there he moved to the ITV network (later rebranded to CITV-TV
) in Edmonton, Alberta near the end of the 70s.
From 1980 to 1985, Liepert held the position of Press Secretary to Premier Lougheed
. Following that responsibility, he moved to the ministry of Alberta Economic Development as the Trade Director of Western U.S. Operations where he remained until 1991. That year, he moved to the private sector to work for Telus
where he was involved in both the purchase of Ed Tel and the BCTel
merger in addition to the rebranding of AGT
to Telus. From 2000 to 2004, Liepart owned his own public relations/communications consulting company and operated a childcare centre in Calgary’s
core.
Liepert first ran for a seat to the Alberta Legislature as a Progressive Conservative candidate in the electoral district of Edmonton-Highlands-Beverly in the 1993 Alberta general election
. He finished third in the five way race behind winning candidate Alice Hanson
and incumbent John McInnis
.
After spending some time in the private sector with Telus and a period self-employment doing public relations/communications consulting and owning a childcare centre, Liepert desired to return to the political life. He first sought public office in the 2004 provincial
election in the constituency of Calgary-West
. In that election, Liepert received 52% of the vote. During his first two years as an MLA, he served as the chair of the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund Committee, a co-chair for the Film Advisory Council, and was a Local Authority Elections Act special committee review team member.
Following the 2006 leadership race for the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta
, newly-elected Premier Ed Stelmach
appointed Liepert as the Minister of Education. During his tenure as Education Minister, he also served as a member of the Cabinet Policy Committee on Community Services. In the 2008 provincial election, Liepert was reelected with 48% of the vote and appointed by the Premier as the Minister of Health and Wellness. In addition to his ministerial responsibilities, Liepert also currently serves as a member of the Privileges and Elections, Standing Orders and Printing Committee.
He faced criticism over the handling of the flu immunization campaign for the 2009 flu pandemic
.
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 Calgary-West
Calgary West
Calgary West is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1917 to 1953, and since 1979. It is located in the western part of the City of Calgary....
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
Liepert was born in SaltcoatsSaltcoats, Saskatchewan
Saltcoats is a small town in East Central Saskatchewan near the Manitoba border in Canada. The town's population is around 500. The town was built in the late 19th century, and its economy was driven by the railway...
, Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
. He grew up on the farm and attended a small rural school. He left high school in the middle of grade 11 at the age of 17. He moved to Calgary where he took a job with Rosco Steel. For three years Liepert returned to the family farm to help with the crop, but he became disillusioned with farming and he settled into Calgary, Alberta year round. He was working at Burns Foods in 1971 when he decided to enroll in the Columbia School of Broadcasting. In 1972 Liepert, married and with an infant daughter, joined CHAB (AM)
CHAB (AM)
CHAB is a radio station broadcasting an Oldies format. Licensed to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, it serves south-central Saskatchewan. It first began broadcasting in 1922 at 1200 kHz as 10AB , before moving to 1220 kHz in 1941 and to its current dial position in 1946. The station is currently...
in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan
Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan
Moose Jaw is a city in south-central Saskatchewan, Canada on the Moose Jaw River. It is situated on the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Regina. Residents of Moose Jaw are known as Moose Javians. It is best known as a retirement and tourist city that serves as a hub to the hundreds of small towns...
. In the mid 1970s he took a position with CFCW (AM)
CFCW (AM)
CFCW is a country music radio station in Camrose, Alberta, Canada, broadcasting on 790 kHz AM. The station is owned by Newcap Broadcasting. CFCW also has studios in the NewCap Broadcast Centre in West Edmonton Mall....
radio in Camrose, Alberta
Camrose, Alberta
Camrose is a city in central Alberta, Canada, amid some of the richest farmland in the prairies. It is a relatively small city which originally grew up along a railroad and now grows along Highway 13. Camrose is a scenic community with many parks, leading to its moniker "The Rose City"...
, and from there he moved to the ITV network (later rebranded to CITV-TV
CITV-TV
CITV-DT is a television station in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Known on air as Global Edmonton, the station is owned by Shaw Media, and is an owned-and-operated station of the Global Television Network. It transmits on channel 13 and cable 8 in Edmonton, and is carried on the Bell TV and Shaw...
) in Edmonton, Alberta near the end of the 70s.
From 1980 to 1985, Liepert held the position of Press Secretary to Premier Lougheed
Peter Lougheed
Edgar Peter Lougheed, PC, CC, AOE, QC, is a Canadian lawyer, and a former politician and Canadian Football League player. He served as the tenth Premier of Alberta from 1971 to 1985....
. Following that responsibility, he moved to the ministry of Alberta Economic Development as the Trade Director of Western U.S. Operations where he remained until 1991. That year, he moved to the private sector to work for Telus
TELUS
Telus is a national telecommunications company in Canada that provides a wide range of telecommunications products and services including internet access, voice, entertainment, video, and satellite television. The company is based in Burnaby, British Columbia, part of Greater Vancouver...
where he was involved in both the purchase of Ed Tel and the BCTel
BCTel
BC Telephone and later BC Tel was the legal operating name for the province wide telephone company operating throughout the province of British Columbia, Canada....
merger in addition to the rebranding of AGT
Alberta Government Telephones
Alberta Government Telephones was formed by the Liberal government of Alexander Cameron Rutherford in 1906 following the acquisitions by the government of several independent telephone companies...
to Telus. From 2000 to 2004, Liepart owned his own public relations/communications consulting company and operated a childcare centre in Calgary’s
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
core.
Political career
Liepert accepted the position of Press Secretary in 1980 when the offer was made by Premier Lougheed. He was at the Premier’s side during the energy negotiations of the early 1980s and at the Constitutional Accord of 1982. He also took part in a number of federal-provincial conferences. He remained Press Secretary until 1985. Following that role, from 1986 to 1991, he held the position of Trade Director of Western U.S. Operations for Alberta Economic Development.Liepert first ran for a seat to the Alberta Legislature as a Progressive Conservative candidate in the electoral district of Edmonton-Highlands-Beverly in the 1993 Alberta general election
Alberta general election, 1993
The Alberta general election of 1993 was the twenty-third general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on June 15, 1993 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta...
. He finished third in the five way race behind winning candidate Alice Hanson
Alice Hanson
Alice Ann Hanson was a provincial politician from Alberta, Canada. She served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1993 to 1997 sitting with the Liberal caucus in opposition.-Political career:...
and incumbent John McInnis
John McInnis (Alberta politician)
John McInnis is a former provincial level politician from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1989 to 1993.-Political career:...
.
After spending some time in the private sector with Telus and a period self-employment doing public relations/communications consulting and owning a childcare centre, Liepert desired to return to the political life. He first sought public office in the 2004 provincial
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....
election in the constituency of Calgary-West
Calgary West
Calgary West is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1917 to 1953, and since 1979. It is located in the western part of the City of Calgary....
. In that election, Liepert received 52% of the vote. During his first two years as an MLA, he served as the chair of the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund Committee, a co-chair for the Film Advisory Council, and was a Local Authority Elections Act special committee review team member.
Following the 2006 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 Liepert as the Minister of Education. During his tenure as Education Minister, he also served as a member of the Cabinet Policy Committee on Community Services. In the 2008 provincial election, Liepert was reelected with 48% of the vote and appointed by the Premier as the Minister of Health and Wellness. In addition to his ministerial responsibilities, Liepert also currently serves as a member of the Privileges and Elections, Standing Orders and Printing Committee.
Alberta Minister of Health and Wellness
As the Health Minister Liepert dismantled the nine health regions of Alberta in favour of a Alberta Health Services "super"Board.He faced criticism over the handling of the flu immunization campaign for the 2009 flu pandemic
2009 flu pandemic
The 2009 flu pandemic was an influenza pandemic, and the second of the two pandemics involving H1N1 influenza virus , albeit in a new version...
.
Personal life
Liepert is married to Linda. The couple has two adult children. He enjoys golfing and served as a board member at the Pinebrook Golf Club in Calgary. Liepert has coordinated various charitable affairs, such as celebrity sport dinners and several fundraising campaigns and benefits. He also volunteers his time at a variety of other community events.Election results
| 2008 Alberta general election results ( Calgary-West Calgary West Calgary West is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1917 to 1953, and since 1979. It is located in the western part of the City of Calgary.... ) |
font style="font-size: 90%;">Turnout 43.8% | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % |
Progressive Conservative | Ron Liepert | 8,428 | 48.0% |
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... |
Beth Gignac | 5,693 | 32.4% |
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... |
Bob Babcock | 2,273 | 12.9% |
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... |
James Kohut | 773 | 4.4% |
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... |
Chantelle Dubois | 401 | 2.3% | |
| 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 ( Calgary-West Calgary West Calgary West is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1917 to 1953, and since 1979. It is located in the western part of the City of Calgary.... ) |
font style="font-size: 90%;">Turnout 42.3% | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % |
Progressive Conservative | Ron Liepert | 6,969 | 52.1% |
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... |
Derek Smith | 4,284 | 32.0% |
Alberta Alliance | John Keyes | 989 | 7.4% |
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... |
James Kohut | 731 | 5.5% |
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... |
Chantelle Dubois | 408 | 3.0% | |