Manmeet Singh Bhullar ( pa, ਮਨਮੀਤ ਭੁੱਲਰ) (March 1, 1980 – November 23, 2015) was a Canadian politician and Member of 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 sin ...
who represented the constituency of
Calgary-Greenway as a
Progressive Conservative. He served as a cabinet minister from 2011 until the defeat of the
Progressive Conservative government in 2015. He was widely seen as a rising star in the Progressive Conservative caucus. Bhullar was killed when he was struck by a tractor trailer on a road when he went to help a stranded motorist on November 23, 2015.
Early life
Bhullar was born March 1, 1980 in the community of
Penbrooke Meadows in
Calgary. His family then moved to the community of
Whitehorn where he attended Chief Justice Milvain School and Annie Gale Junior High School. Manmeet then attended
Lester B. Pearson High School in
Pineridge, where he was a member of the school's football team.
Education
Bhullar earned his
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...
with a
Sociology
Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...
concentration from
Athabasca University in 2005. Bhullar 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, ...
as part of his post-secondary education. In 2011, Bhullar received his
Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Ch ...
from the
University of Windsor
, mottoeng = Goodness, Discipline and Knowledge
, established =
, academic_affiliations = CARL, COU, Universities Canada
, former_names = Assumption College (1857-1956)Assumption University of Windsor (1956-1963)
, type = Public universi ...
.
Community involvement
Manmeet became very active in the community early on. Bhullar was the founder of a youth organization called "Inspire." Bhullar co-ordinated the Walking Hunger Away campaign in Calgary and led a team of volunteers to raise money on behalf of the Calgary Health Region. Bhullar also worked with other youth groups in that time. Because of his community work Bhullar was a recipient of the
Alberta Centennial Medal
The Alberta Centennial Medal is a commemorative medal celebrating Alberta's first 100 years of participating in Canadian Confederation.
History
In 2005, the ''Alberta Centennial Medal Act'' established the Alberta Centennial Medal.
Purpose
The ...
, the Centennial Medallion, and the Athabasca University Leadership Award. Bhullar has been a strong advocate for the issues of East Calgarians in the Alberta legislature.
Political life
Bhullar became active in politics early on by helping Rick D. Orman, the first MLA for Calgary-Montrose, in his re-election campaign. While seeking his post-secondary education, Bhullar was an organizer for Jim Prentice's leadership campaign for the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003.
Bhullar then worked with
Jim Prentice
Peter Eric James Prentice (July 20, 1956 – October 13, 2016) was a Canadian politician who served as the 16th premier of Alberta from 2014 to 2015. In the 2004 federal election he was elected to the House of Commons of Canada as a candidat ...
when he was
MP for
Calgary Centre-North
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, making ...
, aiding him with his role as Regional Minister for Alberta and the Territories.
Bhullar first sought public office in the 2008 provincial election in the constituency of
Calgary-Montrose. At 28 years of age, he became the youngest member elected to Alberta's 27th legislature. He was appointed to the position of Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Advanced Education and Technology on March 12, 2008, making him the youngest politician to serve as a parliamentary assistant or secretary in Canada at the time.
In January 2010 he was made Parliamentary Assistant to Municipal Affairs.
Minister of Service Alberta
On October 12, 2011 Bhullar was appointed to Cabinet as Minister of Service Alberta making him the first turbaned Sikh to hold a ministerial position. In this portfolio, Bhullar oversaw the province's vast network of registry agents, led Alberta's open government initiative and was the lead consumer advocate in government. He is credited with finishing the "final mile" that has connected 98% of Albertans to high-speed internet and for pushing the CRTC to implement a national wireless code to protect mobile phone users. Bhullar also received accolades for his work to crack down on unscrupulous contractors taking advantage of citizens after Alberta's flooding in 2013 and for laying the groundwork for a stronger condominium act, including a new dispute resolution system for condominium owners.
Minister of Human Services
On December 13, 2013 Bhullar was promoted to the position of Minister of Human Services putting him in charge of the third largest ministry by expenditures in government and overseeing more than 4,000 employees. There he has been credited with fixing Alberta's child intervention system. He changed the law to empower families to speak up about their experiences with the system, made new investments in mental health supports for families involved in child intervention, hosted the first ever Alberta Minister's Forum on Child Sexual Abuse and began a campaign to find a mentor for every child in care in the province.
Minister of Infrastructure
Bhullar was appointed as Minister of Infrastructure in Fall 2014 by newly elected premier
Jim Prentice
Peter Eric James Prentice (July 20, 1956 – October 13, 2016) was a Canadian politician who served as the 16th premier of Alberta from 2014 to 2015. In the 2004 federal election he was elected to the House of Commons of Canada as a candidat ...
. He held the position until dissolution of the Legislature in 2015.
Opposition
Bhullar was one of only 10 Progressive Conservative MLAs who were returned in the
2015 provincial election that defeated the Prentice government. He sat on the opposition benches in the Alberta legislature until his death.
Death
Bhullar died in a motor vehicle collision north of
Red Deer, Alberta
Red Deer is a city in Alberta, Canada, located midway on the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor. Red Deer serves central Alberta, and key industries include health care, retail trade, construction, oil and gas, hospitality, manufacturing and education ...
while driving from Calgary to Edmonton in bad weather on the
Queen Elizabeth II highway, on November 23, 2015. Bhullar had stopped to assist a driver involved in a collision and sustained fatal injuries after he was struck by a semi truck that had lost control descending a hill.
Election results
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhullar, Manmeet
1980 births
2015 deaths
Accidental deaths in Alberta
Athabasca University alumni
Canadian politicians of Indian descent
Canadian Sikhs
Lawyers in Alberta
Members of the Executive Council of Alberta
Politicians from Calgary
Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta MLAs
Road incident deaths in Canada
University of Windsor alumni
University of Windsor Faculty of Law alumni
21st-century Canadian politicians