Valerie Meredith (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Ross; born 22 April 1949) is a Canadian politician and realtor. Meredith served as a member of the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

from 1993 to 2004. Born in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, Meredith was a town councillor in

Slave Lake, Alberta Slave Lake is a town in northern Alberta, Canada that is surrounded by the Municipal District of Lesser Slave River No. 124. It is approximately northwest of Edmonton. It is located on the southeast shore of Lesser Slave Lake at the junction ...

from 1973 until 1977 when she became Mayor, serving until 1980. In 1988, Meredith made an unsuccessful attempt to enter politics as a Reform party candidate in the

Surrey—White Rock—South Langley Surrey—White Rock—South Langley (formerly known as Surrey—White Rock, South Surrey—White Rock and Surrey) was a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1968 to 197 ...

riding. Her second campaign for the riding in

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

was successful. She was re-elected in 1997 and 2000 in

South Surrey—White Rock—Langley South Surrey—White Rock—Langley was a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1997 to 2004. Geography This electoral district included the City of White Rock and C ...

as the Reform party transitioned into the

Canadian Alliance The Canadian Alliance (french: Alliance canadienne), formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance (french: Alliance réformiste-conservatrice canadienne), was a centre-right to right-wing federal political party in Canada that existed u ...

then the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

. In all, she was a member of the

35th Military units *35th Fighter Wing, an air combat unit of the United States Air Force *35th Infantry Division (United States), a formation of the National Guard since World War I *35th Infantry Regiment (United States), a regiment created on 1 July 1 ...

, 36th and

37th Canadian Parliament The 37th Canadian Parliament was in session from January 29, 2001, until May 23, 2004. The membership was set by the 2000 Canadian federal election, 2000 federal election on November 27, 2000, and it changed only somewhat due to resignations and ...

s. In early 2001, she temporarily joined the

Democratic Representative Caucus The Democratic Representative Caucus, also called the Democratic Representative Association, was a parliamentary group in the 37th Canadian Parliament consisting of Members of Parliament who left the Canadian Alliance in 2001 in protest against t ...

group in protest of

Stockwell Day Stockwell Burt Day Jr. (born August 16, 1950) is a Canadian former politician who led the Canadian Alliance from 2000 to 2001, and a member of the Conservative Party of Canada. A provincial cabinet minister from Alberta, Day served as minister ...

's Alliance Party leadership. Following electoral district restructuring and the formation of the new Conservative Party, Meredith attempted to become the Conservative candidate in South Surrey—White Rock—Cloverdale. She lost the party's riding nomination to

Russ Hiebert Russel "Russ" Hiebert (born February 8, 1969) is a Canadian lawyer, politician and businessman. He was the Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of Canada for South Surrey—White Rock—Cloverdale from 2004 to 2015. He was born in Stei ...

and left federal politics after the 2004 general election. Following her departure from federal politics, she became a partner in The Parliamentary Group, a political lobby organisation based in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, Ontario. Meredith's father is

Joseph Donovan Ross Dr. Joseph Donovan Ross (March 13, 1911 – May 22, 1984) was a medical doctor and politician from Alberta, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1952 to 1971. He also served as Minister of Health in the Alberta provinci ...

, an

cabinet minister who was a 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 singl ...

from 1952 until 1971. She has four children from a former marriage. As of 2021, Meredith is a member of the board of directors of the

Maverick Party The Maverick Party, formerly known as Wexit Canada, is a Canadian federal political party. It advocates for constitutional changes to benefit, or the independence of, Western Canada, which includes British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Mani ...

References

External links

*
The Parliamentary Group
(current activity), accessed 16 July 2006
Biography on the Maverick Party website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meredith, Val 1949 births Living people Canadian Alliance MPs Canadian real estate agents Women members of the House of Commons of Canada Conservative Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from British Columbia Politicians from Edmonton Politicians from Surrey Reform Party of Canada candidates in the 1988 Canadian federal election Reform Party of Canada MPs Women in British Columbia politics 20th-century Canadian women politicians 21st-century Canadian politicians 21st-century Canadian women politicians Politicians affected by a party expulsion process