Grant Jacob Schmidt (born July 21, 1948) is a former political figure in

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

, Canada. He represented Melville from 1982 to 1991 in the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan as a Progressive Conservative. He was born in

Balcarres, Saskatchewan Balcarres ( ); 2006 population 598) is a town located in southern Saskatchewan, Canada along Highway 10 and Highway 22, approximately 85 km northeast of Regina. Highway 619 and Highway 310 are nearby highways to this community. Nei ...

, the son of George Schmidt and Helen Banerd, and received a law degree from the

University of Saskatchewan A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

. Schmidt articled in Melville and practised law there. In 1971, he married Sheron Steyck. Schmidt served in the Saskatchewan cabinet as Minister of Labour, as Minister of Social Services, as Minister of Human Resources, Labour & Employment, as Minister of Consumer and Commercial Affairs, as Minister of Economic Diversification and Trade, as Minister of Justice and Attorney General and as Provincial Secretary. He was defeated by

Evan Carlson Evan Carlson (born June 28, 1953) is a Canadian politician, who represented the electoral district of Melville in the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan from 1991 to 1995. Background Born and raised in Melville, Carlson worked as a farmer b ...

when he ran for reelection to the assembly in 1991. The PC Party subsequently went dormant in the wake of revelations of fraud committed by several PC MLA's and caucus workers. Like many former PC members, Schmidt joined the

Saskatchewan Party The Saskatchewan Party is a centre-right political party in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Since 2007, it has been the province's governing party; both the party and the province are currently led by Premier Scott Moe. The party was esta ...

. Although Schmidt himself was never implicated in any wrongdoing, he was nevertheless barred from securing the

nomination in the Melville-Saltcoats provincial riding and ran unsuccessfully as an independent candidate in the 2003 election. Schmidt subsequently rejoined the Progressive Conservatives after the party was revived by his former cabinet colleague

Rick Swenson Rick Swenson, sometimes known as the "King of the Iditarod", (born 1950 in Willmar, Minnesota), is an American dog musher who was first to win the 1,049-mile (1688.2 km) Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race across the U.S. state of Alaska five times, a re ...

. He was eventually named President of the PC Party. Schmidt's son Kurt Schmidt ran as a PC candidate in the 2016 general election.

References

1948 births Living people Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan MLAs Attorneys-General of Saskatchewan {{Saskatchewan-politician-stub