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Rick Strankman

Rick Strankman
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for Drumheller-Stettler
In office
April 23, 2012 – April 16, 2019
Preceded byJack Hayden
Succeeded byNate Horner
Personal details
Born (1953-06-20) June 20, 1953 (age 71)
Oyen, Alberta, Canada
Political partyIndependent
Other political
affiliations		United Conservative Party (2017-2019)
Wildrose Party (2012-2017)
SpouseDianne Strankman
Residence(s)Altario, Alberta
Websiterickstrankman.ca

Richard Strankman (born June 20, 1953) is a Canadian politician who was an elected member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, representing the electoral district of Drumheller-Stettler, from 2012 to 2019.[1]

Strankman serves on both the Standing Committee on Private Bills and the legislative policy committee on Alberta’s Economic Future. Strankman had served in several critic roles, including Tourism, Parks and Recreation, as well as Agriculture.[2]

He resigned from the United Conservative caucus on January 15, 2019,[3] and ran in the 2019 Alberta general election as an independent. Although he was not re-elected, he was one of only two candidates in the general election not representing the two largest parties (the UCP and the Alberta New Democratic Party) to finish in second place (the other such runner-up was incumbent Alberta Party MLA Greg Clark).

Career

Strankman has owned and operated a farming business since 1973. From 1999 to 2011 he also volunteered as secretary/treasurer of the Western Barley Growers Association. Although initially interested in agriculture, Strankman became increasingly involved in politics and social activism in response to federal regulation of the agriculture industry, including legislation relating to the Canadian Wheat Board. His commitment to public service began early on and as a youth Strankman was honoured with the Queen’s scout award by Boy Scouts of Canada. Strankman also has a keen interest in aviation and has held a pilot’s licence and done aerial application since 1974.[2]

Strankman was jailed in 2002 after being charged under the Customs Act for taking 756 bushels of wheat across the U.S. border in protest of the Canadian Wheat Board's monopoly. Strankman and other farmers arrested received a pardon from Prime Minister Stephen Harper on August 1, 2012, when the federal government's Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act came into effect,[4] which allowed producers to opt out of the Canadian Wheat Board and sell wheat on the open market.[5]

At a reunion with 12 of 13 farmers who had been jailed for taking wheat across the border, Strankman stood by his decision to participate in the act of civil disobedience. He served one week of a 180-day sentence.[6]

Climate Change Controversy

Strankman has been criticized for alleged Climate change denial. He has raised questions in the Legislative Assembly and in the media on whether anthropogenic climate change is real.[7]

Electoral history

2019 general election

2019 Alberta general election: Drumheller-Stettler
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
United Conservative Nate Horner 16,958 76.69% -4.89%
Independent Rick Strankman 1,841 8.33% –
Alberta Party Mark Nikota 1,461 6.61% –
New Democratic Holly Heffernan 1,446 6.54% -11.89%
Alberta Independence Jason Hushagen 230 1.04% –
Alberta Advantage Greg Herzog 176 0.80% –
Total 22,112 – –
Rejected, spoiled and declined 62 51 4
Eligible electors / turnout 29,679 74.73% 15.43%
United Conservative hold Swing 27.31%
Source(s)
Source: "59 - Drumheller-Stettler, 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. 262–268. ISBN 978-1-988620-12-1. Retrieved April 7, 2021.

2015 general election

2015 Alberta general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Wildrose Rick Strankman 7,563 47.6
Progressive Conservative Jack Hayden 5,399 34.0
New Democratic Emily Shannon 2,928 18.4

2012 general election

2012 Alberta general election: Drumheller-Stettler
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Wildrose Rick Strankman 7,452 49.38 +38.91
Progressive Conservative Jack Hayden 6,587 43.65 -25.25
New Democratic Aditya "Adi" Rao 408 2.70 -0.02
Liberal Cam Roset 362 2.40 -12.03
Alberta Party Andrew Berdahl 281 1.86 –
Total valid votes 15,090 – –
Rejected, spoiled, and declined 49 57 2
Registered electors / turnout 24,788 61.31 +17.58
Wildrose gain from Progressive Conservative Swing +32.08
Source(s)
Elections Alberta. "Electoral division results: Drumheller-Stettler". Retrieved July 16, 2018.
Chief Electoral Officer (2012). The Report of the Chief Electoral Officer on the 2011 Provincial Enumeration and Monday, April 23, 2012 Provincial General Election of the Twenty-eighth Legislative Assembly (PDF). Edmonton: Elections Alberta. pp. 342–344. OCLC 824182259. Retrieved November 16, 2020.

References

  1. ^ Alberta Election 2012: Riding-by-riding results Archived 2012-04-24 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ a b "Legislative Assembly of Alberta Rick Strankman biography". Retrieved 2013-06-11.
  3. ^ "MLA Rick Strankman quits UCP to sit as independent over ‘hyper partisan self-centered politics’". Global News, January 15, 2019.
  4. ^ ""Grain Marketing Freedom Day" championed by Prime Minister Harper". Southwest Booster. Retrieved 2013-06-11.
  5. ^ "MLA Strankman pardoned by Prime Minister Stephen Harper". Drumheller Mail. Retrieved 2013-06-11.
  6. ^ "Jailed anti-CWB protestors reunite". Western Producer. Retrieved 2013-06-11.
  7. ^ Thomson, Graham (March 15, 2016). "Graham Thomson: Wildrose tries to bury climate-change controversy unearthed by their own MLA". Edmonton Journal.
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