Blake Richards
 |
Blake Richards | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chief Opposition Whip | |
| In office September 2, 2020 – February 5, 2022 | |
| Leader | Erin O'Toole |
| Preceded by | Mark Strahl |
| Succeeded by | Blaine Calkins |
| Member of Parliament for Airdrie—Cochrane Banff—Airdrie (2015–2025) Wild Rose (2008–2015) | |
| Assumed office October 14, 2008 | |
| Preceded by | Myron Thompson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 8, 1974 |
| Party | Conservative |
| Spouse | Carmen Richards |
| Education | Red Deer College, University of Calgary |
| Profession | Real estate agent Firefighter |
Blake Richards MP (born November 8, 1974) is a Canadian politician. He has been a Conservative Member of Parliament since 2008, having been elected to represent the electoral district (riding) of Wild Rose in the 2008 and 2011 federal elections and subsequently the riding of Banff—Airdrie in federal elections held in 2015, 2019, and 2021. In 2025, he was re-elected in the constituency of Airdrie—Cochrane.
Early life and career
[edit]Richards was born in Olds, Alberta. Prior to starting his real estate business, Richards worked in the oil field and agriculture-related industries, and attended Red Deer College and the University of Calgary, where he earned a degree in political science.
He served his community as a volunteer firefighter and minor hockey coach before being elected to the House of Commons in 2008.
Federal politics
[edit]Richards was elected in the 2008 federal election and re-elected in the 2011, 2015, 2019, 2021, and 2025 federal elections.
Richards is currently the Shadow Minister for Veterans Affairs. He previously served as Chief Opposition Whip, Official Opposition Shadow Minister for Small Business, Export Promotion and Tourism. In the 41st Parliament, Richards chaired the Parliamentary Tourism Caucus and the House of Commons' Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development and the Special Committee on Co-operatives. He has also been a member of the committees on Finance; International Trade; Public Safety and National Security; Procedure and House Affairs; Canadian Heritage; Agriculture; and Transport, Infrastructure and Communities.
Through the Rocky Mountain Hockey Challenge, Richards has raised $360,000 for regional groups that assist victims of crime.
In 2010, Richards spearheaded a national petition that called for changes to the national pardons system after it was revealed that convicted sex offender Graham James had received a pardon in 2007 for his offences. The petition attracted thousands of supporters from across Canada and in June 2010, Bill C-23A, an act to limit pardons for serious crimes, received Royal Assent.[1][2]
In October 2011, Richards introduced Private Member's Bill C-309 in the House of Commons. It received Royal Assent in June 2013. As a result, it is now an offence under the Criminal Code of Canada to wear a mask or to otherwise conceal one's identity during a riot or an unlawful assembly.
On November 30, 2017, House of Commons Speaker Geoff Regan ordered that Richards be removed from the House for "excessive heckling" following three repeated warnings.[3]
In 2018, Richards' Motion 110, directing the Human Resources Committee to study the impact of pregnancy and infant loss on parents, was supported unanimously in the House of Commons.[4]
Richards has three times been recognized as the Hardest Working and Best Constituency MP in The Hill Times' Annual Politically Savvy Survey and has been recognized with a Canadian Tourism Award for his work in Parliament on behalf of the tourism industry.
Richards says his priority as a representative is to be "focused on being a strong voice for the people of Airdrie–Cochrane—bringing their priorities, values, and concerns straight to the heart of Parliament."[5]
He was elected vice chair of the Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs in the 45th Canadian Parliament in 2025.
Electoral record
[edit]| 2025 Canadian federal election: Airdrie—Cochrane | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Blake Richards | 50,252 | 71.22 | +11.32 | $69,906.14 | |||
| Liberal | Sean Secord | 16,714 | 23.69 | +13.53 | $16,513.62 | |||
| New Democratic | Sarah Zagoda | 2,591 | 3.67 | –11.25 | $5,708.11 | |||
| Libertarian | David Sabine | 623 | 0.88 | – | $907.71 | |||
| Christian Heritage | Christopher Bell | 380 | 0.54 | – | $1,250.00 | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 70,560 | 99.36 | – | $139,222.40 | ||||
| Total rejected ballots | 457 | 0.64 | – | |||||
| Turnout | 71,017 | 74.70 | – | |||||
| Eligible voters | 95,076 | |||||||
| Conservative notional hold | Swing | −1.11 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[6][7] | ||||||||
| 2021 Canadian federal election: Banff—Airdrie | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Blake Richards | 43,677 | 56.73 | –14.36 | $82,283.53 | |||
| New Democratic | Sarah Zagoda | 12,482 | 16.21 | +5.73 | $5,649.63 | |||
| Liberal | David Gamble | 9,572 | 12.43 | +1.64 | $27,675.24 | |||
| People's | Nadine Wellwood | 5,808 | 7.54 | +4.14 | $25,373.84 | |||
| No Affiliation | Derek Sloan | 2,020 | 2.62 | – | $124,282.97 | |||
| Maverick | Tariq Elnaga | 1,475 | 1.92 | – | $17,960.91 | |||
| Green | Aidan Blum | 1,405 | 1.82 | –2.43 | none listed | |||
| Independent | Caroline O'Driscoll | 489 | 0.64 | – | $10,142.91 | |||
| Independent | Ron Voss | 60 | 0.08 | – | none listed | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 76,988 | 99.49 | – | $141,669.12 | ||||
| Total rejected ballots | 396 | 0.51 | +0.01 | |||||
| Turnout | 77,384 | 68.78 | –3.70 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 112,509 | |||||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | –10.05 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[8][9][10] | ||||||||
| 2019 Canadian federal election: Banff—Airdrie | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Blake Richards | 55,504 | 71.09 | +7.72 | $79,955.07 | |||
| Liberal | Gwyneth Midgley | 8,425 | 10.79 | –15.29 | $8,319.50 | |||
| New Democratic | Anne Wilson | 8,185 | 10.48 | +3.70 | $7,756.53 | |||
| Green | Austin Mullins | 3,315 | 4.25 | +0.48 | $824.70 | |||
| People's | Nadine Wellwood | 2,651 | 3.40 | – | $21,834.65 | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 78,080 | 99.50 | – | $134,325.72 | ||||
| Total rejected ballots | 393 | 0.50 | +0.23 | |||||
| Turnout | 78,473 | 72.48 | +0.70 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 108,264 | |||||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +11.51 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[11][12][13] | ||||||||
| 2015 Canadian federal election: Banff—Airdrie | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Blake Richards | 42,228 | 63.37 | –7.36 | $86,619.91 | |||
| Liberal | Marlo Raynolds | 17,380 | 26.08 | +18.02 | $72,801.97 | |||
| New Democratic | Joanne Boissonneault | 4,521 | 6.78 | –6.30 | $17,953.20 | |||
| Green | Mike MacDonald | 2,509 | 3.77 | –3.97 | $3,011.33 | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 66,638 | 99.73 | – | $243,369.66 | ||||
| Total rejected ballots | 179 | 0.27 | +0.02 | |||||
| Turnout | 66,817 | 71.79 | +1.29 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 93,079 | |||||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | –12.69 | ||||||
| This riding was created from parts of Wild Rose and Macleod, both of which elected Conservative candidates in the 2011 election. Blake Richards was the incumbent from Wild Rose. Changes are based on redistributed results. | ||||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[14][15][16] | ||||||||
| 2011 Canadian federal election: Wild Rose | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Blake Richards | 43,669 | 74.7 | +1.8 | $49,673 | |||
| New Democratic | Jeff Horvath | 6,595 | 11.3 | +3.1 | $3,784 | |||
| Green | Michael MacDonald | 4,071 | 7.0 | -5.6 | $5,270 | |||
| Liberal | John Reilly | 3,908 | 6.7 | +1.0 | $43,616 | |||
| Christian Heritage | Randy VandenBroek | 181 | 0.3 | – | – | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 58,424 | 100.0 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 128 | 0.2 | 0.0 | |||||
| Turnout | 58,552 | 61.7 | +6.0 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 94,970 | – | – | |||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +3.7 | ||||||
| 2008 Canadian federal election: Wild Rose | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Blake Richards | 36,869 | 72.9 | +0.4 | $50,972 | |||
| Green | Lisa Fox | 6,390 | 12.6 | +1.8 | $14,559 | |||
| New Democratic | Jeff Horvath | 4,169 | 8.2 | +0.9 | $5,001 | |||
| Liberal | Jenn Turcott | 2,890 | 5.7 | -4.0 | $6,555 | |||
| Libertarian | Krista Zoobkoff | 246 | 0.5 | – | ||||
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | 50,564 | 100.0 | $101,401 | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 107 | 0.2 | 0.0 | |||||
| Turnout | 50,671 | 56 | -9.0 | |||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +2.2 | ||||||
References
[edit]- ↑ Snow, Stacie (March 14, 2012). "Airdrie-born bill becomes law". Airdrie City View. Archived from the original on April 21, 2019. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
- ↑ Wilson, Sara (December 2, 2013). "Wild Rose MP Blake Richards brings drunk driving petition to House of Commons". Cochrane Eagle. Archived from the original on April 21, 2019. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
- ↑ Harris, Kathleen (November 30, 2017). "Speaker gives Tory MP the boot from House for heckling". CBC News. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
- ↑ "Richards Stands with Bereaved Parents as Motion 110 is Passed".
- ↑ "Home".
- ↑ "Forty-Fifth General Election 2025 — Poll-by-poll Results: Airdrie—Cochrane". elections.ca. Elections Canada. 2025.
- ↑ Canada, Chief Electoral Officer (2025). "Candidate Campaign Returns, 2025 General Election: Part 3C – Summary of Electoral Campaign Expenses and Other Outflows – Election expenses subject to the limit – Total". elections.ca. Elections Canada.
Expenses are reported "as amended" where amendments have been filed; otherwise, they are reported "as submitted".
- ↑ Canada, Library of Parliament (2026). "Elections and Ridings: Banff--Airdrie, Alberta (2021)". lop.parl.ca.
- ↑ "Forty-Fourth General Election 2021 — Poll-by-poll Results: Banff—Airdrie". elections.ca. Elections Canada. 2021.
- ↑ Canada, Chief Electoral Officer (2021). "Candidate Campaign Returns, 2021 General Election: Part 3C – Summary of Electoral Campaign Expenses and Other Outflows – Election expenses subject to the limit – Total". elections.ca. Elections Canada.
Expenses are reported "as amended" where amendments have been filed; otherwise, they are reported "as submitted".
- ↑ Canada, Library of Parliament (2026). "Elections and Ridings: Banff--Airdrie, Alberta (2019)". lop.parl.ca.
- ↑ "Forty-Third General Election 2019 — Poll-by-poll Results: Banff—Airdrie". elections.ca. Elections Canada. 2019.
- ↑ Canada, Chief Electoral Officer (2019). "Candidate Campaign Returns, 2019 General Election: Part 3C – Summary of Electoral Campaign Expenses and Other Outflows – Election expenses subject to the limit – Total". elections.ca. Elections Canada.
Expenses are reported "as amended" where amendments have been filed; otherwise, they are reported "as submitted".
- ↑ Canada, Library of Parliament (2026). "Elections and Ridings: Banff--Airdrie, Alberta (2015)". lop.parl.ca.
- ↑ "Forty-Second General Election 2015 — Poll-by-poll Results: Banff—Airdrie". elections.ca. Elections Canada. 2015.
- ↑ Canada, Chief Electoral Officer (2015). "Candidate Campaign Returns, 2015 General Election: Part 4 – Campaign Financial Summary – Total election expenses subject to the limit". elections.ca. Elections Canada.
Expenses are reported "as amended" where amendments have been filed; otherwise, they are reported "as submitted".
