# David Shepherd (Canadian politician)

David Murray Shepherd (born 1973) is a Canadian politician who was elected in the 2015 Alberta general election to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta to represent the electoral district of Edmonton-Centre, and re-elected in the 2019 Alberta general election to represent its successor district, Edmonton-City Centre.

## Personal life

Shepherd has a Bachelors of Arts in Professional Communications from Royal Roads University where he received the Chancellor's award in 2014. He also has a diploma in music performance and live sound recording from MacEwan University. Shepherd worked in a variety of jobs such as taxpayer service agent, salesperson, musician and studio engineer.
Before being elected, Shepherd worked in the Communications field as a trainer/facilitator for the Canada Revenue agency, and advisor and writer for the North Edge Business Association, Communications Officer for the City of Edmonton and a writer for Alberta Health.
During his time as a musician, David played piano and keyboards for the Mike McDonald Band, the James Murdoch Band, Tanyss Nixi and others. He also performed his own music and, in 2010, released a solo album, Gotta Leave Where You're From.
Shepherd is an avid cyclist and volunteered for the Edmonton Bike Coalition as a spokesperson and organizer.

## Political Work

In 2017, David worked with then Minister of Culture and Tourism, Ricardo Miranda, to secure a proclamation making Alberta the fourth province in Canada to recognize February as Black History Month. He also worked with the then-Speaker of the Legislature, Bob Wanner, to host the first celebration of Black History Month at the Alberta Legislature. It is now an annual event.
After his reelection in 2019, David was named the Critic for Health for the Alberta NDP Caucus. He remained in that role until January 2024. In September 2024, he was appointed as the Alberta NDP Caucus' Shadow Minister for Public Safety and Emergency Services and Deputy House Leader.

## Electoral history
### 2023 general election

vte2023 Alberta general election: Edmonton-City Centre :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | New Democratic | David Shepherd | 12,431 | 74.89 | +8.87 |
| | United Conservative | Richard Wong | 3,691 | 22.24 | +0.46 |
| | Green | David Clark | 476 | 2.87 | +1.21 |
| Total | Total | Total | 16,598 | 98.84 | – |
| Rejected and declined | Rejected and declined | Rejected and declined | 195 | 1.16 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 16,793 | 51.00 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 32,928 |
| | New Democratic hold | New Democratic hold | Swing | Swing | +4.21 |
| Source(s) Source: Elections Alberta |||||||

### 2019 general election

vte2019 Alberta general election: Edmonton-City Centre :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | New Democratic | David Shepherd | 13,598 | 66.0% | +11.59% |
| | United Conservative | Lily Le | 4,485 | 21.8% | +3.68% |
| | Alberta Party | Bob Philp | 1,907 | 9.3% | -- |
| | Green | Chris Alders | 342 | 1.7% | -- |
| | Independence | John R. Morton | 169 | 0.8% | -- |
| | Independent | Blake N. Dickinson | 95 | 0.5% | -- |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 20,596 |
| Rejected, spoiled, and declined | Rejected, spoiled, and declined | Rejected, spoiled, and declined | 191 | 76 | 22 |
| Registered electors and turnout | Registered electors and turnout | Registered electors and turnout | 38,887 | 53.5% |
| | New Democratic hold | New Democratic hold | Swing | Swing | % |
| Source(s) "2019 Provincial General Election Results". Elections Alberta. Retrieved 2019-04-30. |||||||

### 2015 general election

vte2015 Alberta general election: Edmonton-Centre :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | New Democratic | David Shepherd | 8,983 | 54.39% | 38.19% |
| | Liberal | Laurie Blakeman | 4,199 | 25.42% | -14.95% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Catherine Keill | 2,228 | 13.49% | -17.34% |
| | Wildrose | Joe Byram | 772 | 4.67% | -7.94% |
| | Independent | Greg Keating | 295 | 1.79% | – |
| | Independent | Rory Joe Koopmans | 40 | 0.24% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 16,517 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 64 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 34,976 | 47.41% | -2.10% |
| | New Democratic gain from Liberal | New Democratic gain from Liberal | Swing | Swing | 9.71% |
| Source(s) Source: "Elections Alberta 2015 General Election". Elections Alberta. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||