# Heather Klimchuk

Heather May Klimchuk ECA (born August 10, 1958) is a Canadian politician who was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta representing the constituency of Edmonton-Glenora as a Progressive Conservative, from 2008 to 2015. She was Minister of Human Services from 2014 until defeated in the 2015 provincial election.

## Political career

Before being elected in the 2008 Alberta General Election, Klimchuk also ran the 2001 and 2004 election campaigns of former Edmonton-Glenora MLA Drew Hutton.
She was narrowly elected as MLA for Edmonton-Glenora in the 2008 election over Alberta Liberal Party incumbent Bruce Miller by 96 votes, less than 1% of votes cast. In the 2011 PC leadership election Klimchuk supported Gary Mar, who was defeated by Alison Redford. Klimchuk was re-elected by a more comfortable margin in the 2012 election and was named Minister of Human Services on September 15, 2014 in the first cabinet of Jim Prentice. She has previously served as Minister of Culture and Community Services and Minister of Service Alberta. Klimchuk was defeated in the 2015 Alberta general election as the Alberta NDP won every seat in Edmonton.
She was considered to be part of the progressive or Red Tory wing of the PC Party.

## Personal life

Klimchuk has a long family history with the PC Party. Her father worked on Premier Peter Lougheed's first electoral campaign and was a classmate of Joe Clark's at law school. Her public service experience prior to serving as a Member of the Legislature includes working as a researcher and writer for both Premier Lougheed and Premier Don Getty.She also assisted with the initiation of the Alberta Seniors´ information phone line.
In the 1980s Klimchuk worked as a hair model, often entering competitions.
Post-politics she became Director of Alberta Ballet.
Klimchuk holds a bachelor of arts (special) from the University of Alberta in political science. She and her husband, Wade, have two children: Kyrsten and Keifer.

## Election results

vte2008 Alberta general election: Edmonton-Glenora :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Heather Klimchuk | 4,604 | 39.90% | 11.22% |
| | Liberal | Bruce Miller | 4,508 | 39.07% | 3.94% |
| | New Democratic | Arlene Chapman | 1,743 | 15.11% | -15.81% |
| | Green | Peter Johnston | 408 | 3.54% | 1.47% |
| | Wildrose Alliance | Elden Van Hauwaert | 275 | 2.38% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 11,538 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 36 | 20 | 2 |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 27,266 | 42.46% | -14.11% |
| | Progressive Conservative gain from Liberal | Progressive Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | Swing | -1.69% |
| Source(s) Source: "31 - Edmonton-Glenora, 2008 Alberta general election". officialresults.elections.ab.ca. Elections Alberta. Retrieved May 21, 2020. The Report on the March 3, 2008 Provincial General Election of the Twenty-seventh Legislative Assembly. Elections Alberta. July 28, 2008. pp. 294–297. |||||||
vte2012 Alberta general election: Edmonton-Glenora :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Heather Klimchuk | 6,183 | 38.24% | -1.66% |
| | New Democratic | Ray Martin | 4,143 | 25.62% | 10.52% |
| | Wildrose Alliance | Don Koziak | 2,732 | 16.90% | 14.51% |
| | Liberal | Bruce Miller | 1,670 | 10.33% | -28.74% |
| | Alberta Party | Sue Huff | 1,441 | 8.91% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 16,169 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 119 | 55 | 6 |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 29,262 | 55.68% | 13.23% |
| | Progressive Conservative hold | Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | 5.89% |
| Source(s) Source: "34 - Edmonton-Glenora, 2012 Alberta general election". officialresults.elections.ab.ca. Elections Alberta. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||
2015 Alberta general election :
| Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| New Democratic | Sarah Hoffman | 12,403 | 68.5 |
| Progressive Conservative | Heather Klimchuk | 3,137 | 17.3 |
| Wildrose | Don Koziak | 1,381 | 7.6 |
| Liberal | Karen Sevcik | 542 | 3.0 |
| Alberta Party | Chris Vilcsak | 445 | 2.5 |
| Green | David Parker | 199 | 1.1 |