# Marilyn Burns (politician)

Marilyn Burns (born 1956 or 1957) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who currently serves as the leader of the Alberta Advantage Party. She was previously active in the Alberta Alliance Party and the Wildrose Party.
Born in Edmonton, Alberta, she was educated at a Christian college in Moose Jaw, at Athabasca University, and then at the University of Calgary Faculty of Law, from which she earned a Bachelor of Laws. She articled with Ogilvie and Company, and since 2001 has been practicing has a personal injury lawyer with McCourt Law Offices in Edmonton. Prior to practicing law, she worked jobs that included farm worker, waitress, piano instructor, deli clerk, school secretary, nurse's aide, and summer camp instructor. She is a single mother of four children.
Burns ran in the 2004 Alberta general election in Stony Plain for the Alberta Alliance Party, and placed third of five candidates. When party founder Randy Thorsteinson stepped down as leader in 2005, she ran in the ensuing leadership contest to replace him. She finished second of four candidates, losing on the third and final ballot to Paul Hinman. She was involved with the founding of the Wildrose Party of Alberta and, when that party joined with the Alberta Alliance to form the Wildrose Party in 2008, she joined the new party and served as president of its Edmonton-South West constituency association. She opposed Wildrose's 2017 merger with the Progressive Conservatives (PCs) to form the United Conservative Party (UCP) on the grounds that she saw it as a takeover of Wildrose by the PCs, and was one of a group of about fifty disaffected Wildrose members who, rather than joining the UCP, founded the Alberta Advantage Party. She was acclaimed as leader of that party at its inaugural convention in February 2018. In the 2019 Alberta general election, she stood for election as the Alberta Advantage candidate in Edmonton-South West, where she finished in fourth place, with 0.9% of the vote.

## Electoral record
### 2023 Alberta general election

vte2023 Alberta general election: Lac Ste. Anne-Parkland :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | United Conservative | Shane Getson | 14,923 | 68.96 | +3.22 |
| | New Democratic | Oneil Carlier | 5,868 | 27.12 | +3.71 |
| | Alberta Party | Janet Jabush | 463 | 2.14 | -5.61 |
| | Green | Vanessa Diehl | 205 | 0.95 | – |
| | Advantage Party | Marilyn Burns | 182 | 0.84 | -0.56 |
| Total | Total | Total | 21,641 | 99.61 | – |
| Rejected and declined | Rejected and declined | Rejected and declined | 85 | 0.39 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 21,726 | 61.27 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 35,460 |
| | United Conservative hold | United Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | -0.25 |
| Source(s) Source: Elections Alberta |||||||

### 2022 by-election

Alberta provincial by-election, 15 March 2022: Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | United Conservative | Brian Jean | 3,717 | 63.6% | -2.73 |
| | New Democratic | Ariana Mancini | 1,081 | 18.5% | -6.01 |
| | Wildrose Independence | Paul Hinman | 628 | 10.8% | – |
| | Liberal | Abdulhakim Hussein | 211 | 3.6% | – |
| | Alberta Party | Michelle Landsiedel | 98 | 1.7% | -4.08 |
| | Independent | Brian Deheer | 57 | 1.0% | – |
| | Alberta Advantage Party | Marilyn Burns | 25 | 0.4% | – |
| | Alberta Independence | Steven Mellott | 24 | 0.4% | -1.43 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 5,837 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 24.27% |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 24,048 |

### 2019 Alberta general election

vte2019 Alberta general election: Edmonton-South West :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | United Conservative | Kaycee Madu | 10,254 | 44.99 | +5.96 |
| | New Democratic | John Archer | 9,539 | 41.85 | -11.97 |
| | Alberta Party | Mo Elsalhy | 2,668 | 11.70 | +9.04 |
| | Alberta Advantage | Marilyn Burns | 208 | 0.91 | – |
| | Green | Rigel Vincent | 125 | 0.55 | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 22,794 | 99.29 | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 162 | 0.71 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 22,956 | 70.15 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 32,726 |
| | United Conservative notional gain from New Democratic | United Conservative notional gain from New Democratic | Swing | Swing | +8.97 |
| Source(s) Source: "43 - Edmonton-South West, 2019 Alberta general election". officialresults.elections.ab.ca. Elections Alberta. Retrieved May 21, 2020. Alberta. Chief Electoral Officer (2019). 2019 General Election. A Report of the Chief Electoral Officer. Volume II (PDF) (Report). Vol. 2. Edmonton, Alta.: Elections Alberta. pp. 168–170. ISBN 978-1-988620-12-1. Retrieved April 7, 2021. |||||||

### 2005 Alberta Alliance leadership election

1st Ballot :
| Candidate | Votes | % |
| Paul Hinman | 485 | 43.0% |
| Marilyn Burns | 244 | 21.6% |
| David Crutcher | 211 | 18.7% |
| Ed Klop | 188 | 16.7% |
| Total | 1,128 | 1,128 |
2nd Ballot :
| Candidate | Votes | % |
| Paul Hinman | 548 | 50.0% |
| Marilyn Burns | 312 | 28.5% |
| David Crutcher | 236 | 21.5% |
| Total | 1,096 | 1,096 |
3rd Ballot :
| Candidate | Votes | % |
| Paul Hinman | 626 | 61.2% |
| Marilyn Burns | 387 | 38.2% |
| Total | 1,013 | 1,013 |

### 2004 Alberta general election

vte2004 Alberta general election: Stony Plain :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Fred Lindsay | 5,581 | 44.51% | -22.69% |
| | Liberal | Bill Fraser | 3,381 | 26.97% | 3.38% |
| | Alberta Alliance | Marilyn Burns | 1,904 | 15.19% | – |
| | New Democratic | Ruth Yanor | 1,362 | 10.86% | 1.65% |
| | Social Credit | Henry Neumann | 310 | 2.47% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 12,538 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 44 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 26,086 | 48.23% | -9.71% |
| | Progressive Conservative hold | Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | -13.03% |
| Source(s) Source: "Stony Plain Official Results 2004 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||