Marlin Schmidt

The Honourable
Marlin Schmidt
Alberta Minister of Advanced Education
In office
February 2, 2016 – April 30, 2019
PremierRachel Notley
Preceded byLori Sigurdson
Succeeded byDemetrios Nicolaides
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for Edmonton-Gold Bar
Assumed office
May 5, 2015
Preceded byDavid Dorward
Personal details
Born (1978-10-16) October 16, 1978 (age 46)
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Political partyAlberta New Democratic Party
Residence(s)Edmonton, Alberta
OccupationHydrogeologist

Marlin Schmidt ECA MLA (born October 16, 1978) is a Canadian politician who currently represents the electoral district of Edmonton-Gold Bar in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.[1] First elected in the 2015 Alberta general election, Schmidt served as the Minister of Advanced Education in the New Democratic Party (NDP) government led by Rachel Notley.

Prior to serving with the Legislative Assembly, Schmidt specialized in site remediation for over a decade. From 2008 to 2015 he worked for Alberta Environment as a soil and groundwater contamination specialist, and previous to this, he worked as a remediation specialist, beginning in 2002. He holds a master of science degree in applied environmental geosciences from University of Tübingen in Germany and a bachelor of science from Queen's University in Kingston.[2]

Schmidt drew criticism in July 2020 for comments he made in the Legislature about the late British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.[3] His remarks were in opposition to a bill proposed by the governing United Conservative Party that modified the province's referendum laws, which Schmidt said Thatcher would have opposed.[3] Schmidt went on to say that he "count[s] on enjoying the fact that Margaret Thatcher is still dead" and regretted she had died "probably 30 years too late".[4] The comments were deemed "totally inappropriate," by the Speaker of the Legislature, which prompted Schmidt to withdraw his comments and apologize.[4]

  1. ^ "Riding results: Edmonton-Gold Bar". Archived from the original on 5 October 2015.
  2. ^ "Legislative Assembly of Alberta".
  3. ^ a b Boyd, Alex (8 July 2020). "Former British PM Margaret Thatcher roasted by Alberta politician who laments she didn't die sooner". The Toronto Star. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Comments on intimidation, Margaret Thatcher prompt separate apologies in Alberta Legislature". CTV News Edmonton. 9 July 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2022.