Tracy Allard (born 1971) is a Canadian politician who has represented

Grande Prairie Grande Prairie is a city in northwest Alberta, Canada within the southern portion of an area known as Peace River Country. It is located at the intersection of Highway 43 (part of the CANAMEX Corridor) and Highway 40 (the Bighorn Highway), a ...

in 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 ...

since 2019. A member of the

United Conservative Party The United Conservative Party of Alberta (UCP) is a conservative political party in the province of Alberta, Canada. It was established in July 2017 as a merger between the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta and the Wildrose Party ...

(UCP), she served as minister of municipal affairs from August 2020 to January 2021.

Early life

Tracy Allard attended the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top thre ...

completing a

Bachelor of Commerce A Bachelor of Commerce (abbreviated BComm or BCom; also, ''baccalaureates commercii'') is an undergraduate degree in business, usually awarded in Canada, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Ireland, New Zealand, Ghana, South Africa, Myanmar, ...

and a certificate in disability management. She and her husband Serge own and operate two

Tim Hortons Tim Hortons Inc., commonly nicknamed Tim's, or Timmie's is a Canadian multinational coffeehouse and restaurant chain. Based in Toronto, Tim Hortons serves coffee, doughnuts, and other fast-food items. It is Canada's largest quick-service res ...

franchises, located in

Grande Prairie, Alberta Grande Prairie is a city in northwest Alberta, Canada within the southern portion of an area known as Peace River Country. It is located at the intersection of Highway 43 (part of the CANAMEX Corridor) and Highway 40 (the Bighorn Highway), ...

Political career

Allard was selected as the United Conservative candidate in

. She won the seat

2019 Alberta general election The 2019 Alberta general election was held on April 16, 2019, to elect 87 members to the 30th Alberta Legislature. In its first general election contest, the Jason Kenney-led United Conservative Party (UCP) won 54.88% of the popular vote and 63 ...

, with the UCP also forming government. In November 2019, Allard was appointed as chairwoman of the Northern Alberta Development Council. In March 2020, Allard was one of seven people named to a panel of Joint Working Group on

Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) is an epidemic of violence against Indigenous women in Canada, the United States, and Latin America; notably those in the FNIM (First Nations, Inuit, Métis) and Native American communities. Acros ...

which will work on recommendations for Alberta's action plan regarding the issue. Allard was appointed as Minister of Municipal Affairs on August 25, 2020, and the former Minister

Kaycee Madu Kelechi "Kaycee" Madu (born ) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who has served as the deputy premier of Alberta and minister of skilled trades and professions since October 24, 2022. A member of the United Conservative Party (UCP), Madu has re ...

was appointed Minister of Justice and Solicitor General. On October 21, 2020, Allard tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

COVID-19 Controversy

Travel Scandal

In December 2020, Allard took a family vacation to

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

despite federal and provincial government advice to avoid non-essential travel and the border between Canada and the United States being closed. Premier

Jason Kenney Jason Thomas Kenney (born May 30, 1968) is a Canadian former politician who served as the 18th premier of Alberta from 2019 until 2022 and the leader of the United Conservative Party (UCP) from 2017 until 2022. He also served as the member of ...

originally defended Allard stating that such travel was important to protect the travel industry, including Calgary-based

Westjet WestJet Airlines Ltd. is a Canadian airline headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, near Calgary International Airport. It is the second-largest Canadian airline, behind Air Canada, operating an average of 777 flights and carrying more than 66,130 ...

. On January 4, 2021, Allard resigned as Minister of Municipal Affairs over the matter.

Vaccination Campaign

In September 2021, Allard sent a newsletter to her constituents that encouraged the government to support "natural immunity" which was criticized by the opposition

Alberta New Democratic Party The Alberta New Democratic Party (french: Nouveau Parti démocratique de l'Alberta), commonly shortened to Alberta's NDP, is a social-democratic political party in Alberta, Canada. It is the provincial Alberta affiliate of the federal New Demo ...

Electoral history

References

United Conservative Party MLAs Living people Women MLAs in Alberta People from Grande Prairie 21st-century Canadian politicians Members of the Executive Council of Alberta Women government ministers of Canada 21st-century Canadian women politicians 1971 births Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls movement {{Alberta-politician-stub