Richard Starke

Richard Starke
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for Vermilion-Lloydminster
In office
April 23, 2012 – March 19, 2019
Preceded byLloyd Snelgrove
Succeeded byGarth Rowswell
Minister of Tourism, Parks and Recreation
In office
February 4, 2013 – September 15, 2014
PremierAlison Redford
Dave Hancock
Preceded byChristine Cusanelli
Succeeded byMaureen Kubinec
Personal details
Born (1960-06-18) June 18, 1960 (age 64)
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Political partyIndependent PC
SpouseAlison Starke
Children2
Alma materUniversity of Saskatchewan
ProfessionVeterinarian

Richard Karl Alfred Starke (born June 18, 1960) is a Canadian politician who represented the electoral district of Vermilion-Lloydminster in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. Starke was elected to his first term as MLA for Vermilion-Lloydminster on April 23, 2012. Starke was appointed the minister for Tourism, Parks, and Recreation on February 4, 2013.[1] He was not included in the Cabinet sworn in on September 15, 2014,[2] but was appointed Chair of the Rural Health Services Review Committee on September 23, 2014. He is one of only two PC MLAs to be elected outside the city of Calgary in the 2015 provincial election.

Starke ran for the leadership of the Progressive Conservatives in 2017 but was decisively beaten by Jason Kenney who campaigned on a merger with the Wildrose Party. When the merger was approved by both party memberships, Starke was the only MLA from either party to not join the United Conservative Party caucus. Richard Starke was permitted to maintain his PC status in the legislature even though the party was no longer functioning.[3]

  1. ^ Henton, Darcy; Kleiss, Karen (February 5, 2013). "Cabinet rookies booted; with tough budget looming, premier shuffles ministers". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
  2. ^ "Jim Prentice's new cabinet unveiled". 15 September 2014.
  3. ^ "Graham Thomson: Alberta NDP tries to capture the last Progressive Conservative MLA". Edmonton Journal. 3 March 2018.