Donna Kennedy-Glans | |
---|---|
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for Calgary Varsity | |
In office 23 April 2012 – 5 May 2015 | |
Preceded by | Harry B. Chase |
Succeeded by | Stephanie McLean |
Personal details | |
Born | near Tillsonburg, Ontario | 5 May 1960
Political party | Progressive Conservative (2012–2014) Independent (2014) Progressive Conservative (2014-present) |
Alma mater | Wilfrid Laurier University University of Western Ontario |
Profession | Businesswoman, 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]