Donna Kennedy-Glans

For the rugby player, see Donna Kennedy.

Donna Kennedy-Glans
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for Calgary Varsity
In office
23 April 2012 – 5 May 2015
Preceded byHarry B. Chase
Succeeded byStephanie McLean
Personal details
Born (1960-05-05) 5 May 1960 (age 64)
near Tillsonburg, Ontario
Political partyProgressive Conservative (2012–2014)
Independent (2014)
Progressive Conservative (2014-present)
Alma materWilfrid Laurier University
University of Western Ontario
ProfessionBusinesswoman, Philanthropist

Donna Marie Kennedy-Glans (born 5 May 1960) is a Canadian politician who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta representing the electoral district of Calgary-Varsity from April 2012 to May 2015.[1][2] She was elected initially as a member of the Progressive Conservative caucus, and chaired the all-party Standing Committee on Resource Stewardship. On 13 December 2013, she was sworn into the Cabinet of Alberta to fill the newly created post of Associate Minister – Electricity and Renewable Energy.[3][4]

On 25 October 2012, Kennedy-Glans was one of eight PC MLA and cabinet members who accompanied then Premier Allison Redford on a flight in a government fleet aircraft to attend a PC party fundraiser in Grande Prairie on 25 October 2012.[5] In his 2014 report, then provincial Auditor General Merwan Saher found Redford's use of government fleet aircraft for partisan purposes to be inappropriate.[5]

Kennedy-Glans announced that she was resigning from cabinet and leaving the PC caucus to sit as an independent on 17 March 2014, in protest against the leadership of Alison Redford.[6] She officially rejoined the PC caucus on 17 September 2014, after Jim Prentice assumed the leadership of the party.[7]

Kennedy-Glans declared as a candidate for the leadership of the Alberta Progressive Conservative Party. She withdrew her candidacy in a letter to supporters on 8 November 2016, following the party's Annual General Meeting, saying: "Right now, politics in Alberta is polarizing and there is limited opportunity for centrist voices to be heard."[8] Following Jason Kenney's Progressive Conservative leadership victory Kennedy-Glans announced, that 10 days prior to the vote, she had been named to his transition team.[9]

  1. ^ Alberta Election 2012: Riding-by-riding results. The Globe and Mail, 23 April 2012.
  2. ^ "Calgary-Varsity - CBC News | Elections Alberta - Divisions". Archived from the original on 6 May 2015.
  3. ^ "Alberta's Redford shakes up cabinet". Global News. 13 December 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  4. ^ "Alberta Cabinet swearing-in ceremony - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  5. ^ a b "Redford's 'aura of power' led to misuse of public money, Alberta AG says". CBC. 7 August 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  6. ^ "Alberta PC associate minister Donna Kennedy-Glans quits in another blow to Alison Redford’s already shaky leadership". National Post, 17 March 2014.
  7. ^ "Kennedy-Glans returns to Alberta PC caucus". Global News. 17 September 2014. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  8. ^ Bennett, Dean (8 November 2016). "Two female candidates quit Alberta Progressive Conservative leadership race". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
  9. ^ "Battle for the centre: After Kenney's unite-the-right win, where will progressives go?". CBC. 20 March 2017. Retrieved 2 May 2017.