Brandy Payne (born 1978) is a Canadian politician elected in the

2015 Alberta general election The 2015 Alberta general election was held on May 5, 2015, following a request of Premier Jim Prentice to the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Donald Ethell to dissolve the Legislative Assembly on April 7, 2015. This election elected members to th ...

to the

Legislative Assembly of Alberta The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is the deliberative assembly of the province of Alberta, Canada. It sits in the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton. The Legislative Assembly currently has 87 members, elected first past the post from singl ...

representing the

electoral district An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...

Calgary-Acadia Calgary-Acadia is a current provincial electoral district in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Created in 2010, the district is one of 87 districts mandated to return a single member (MLA) to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past ...

. On February 2, 2016, Payne was appointed Associate Minister of Health, assigned with implementing the recommendations of mental health review and the growing opioid crisis.

Background

Payne earned a journalism degree from

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning World ...

, where she graduated with high honours. She also attended

Mount Royal University Mount Royal University (MRU) is a public university in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. History Mount Royal University was founded by Alberta provincial charter by the Arthur Sifton government on December 16, 1910 and officially opened on September 8 ...

with a focus on Project Management. Prior to her election, Payne worked in administrative and management capacities for over 15 years, and as owner and operator of her own yoga business since 2010. In the 2015 election, Payne beat former Tory cabinet minister

Jonathan Denis Jonathan Brian Denis, (born September 22, 1975) is a Canadian politician and lawyer. On May 9, 2012, he was named Solicitor General, Attorney General, and Minister of Justice for the province of Alberta. He represented the constituency of Calga ...

, despite being outspent $79,171 to $240 during the campaign. Prior to her cabinet appointment, Payne served as deputy chair of the Select Special Ethics and Accountability Committee. She is also a past member of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts and the Standing Committee on Families and Communities. Payne joined Stephanie McLean as the first pregnant women in Alberta to hold cabinet posts. She and her husband, Scott, are raising two young daughters. On March 29, 2018, Payne announced that she would not be seek re-election in 2019.

References

1978 births Alberta New Democratic Party MLAs Businesspeople from Calgary Living people Members of the Executive Council of Alberta Politicians from Calgary Women government ministers of Canada Women MLAs in Alberta 21st-century Canadian politicians 21st-century Canadian women politicians {{Alberta-politician-stub