Werner Schmidt (born January 18, 1932) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

former politician, a teacher, and school principal.

Political career

Schmidt was vice-president of Lethbridge Community College when he was chosen to succeed

Harry Strom Harry Edwin Strom (July 7, 1914 – October 2, 1984) was the ninth premier of Alberta, from 1968 to 1971. His two-and-a-half years as Premier were the last of the thirty-six-year Social Credit dynasty, as his defeat by Peter Lougheed saw its r ...

as leader of the

Alberta Social Credit Party Alberta Social Credit was a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada, that was founded on social credit monetary policy put forward by Clifford Hugh Douglas and on conservative Christian social values. The Canadian social credit movement w ...

following the defeat of Strom's government in 1971 despite the fact that Schmidt had never held a seat in the

Alberta legislature The Legislature of Alberta is the unicameral legislature of the province of Alberta, Canada. The legislature is made of two elements: the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta,. and the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. The legislature has existed s ...

. Schmidt defeated former Highways Minister Gordon Taylor, former Education Minister

Robert Curtis Clark Robert Curtis "Bob" Clark (July 2, 1937 – July 10, 2020) was a teacher, civil servant and politician. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1960 to 1981 including time as a Cabinet Minister in Premier Ernest Manning's government ...

in an upset victory at the 1973 Alberta Social Credit leadership convention. After his leadership election, Schmidt ran in the electoral district of

Calgary-Foothills Calgary-Foothills is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the northwest corner of Calgary. It elected six consecutive Progressive Conservative MLAs from its creation in 1971 until oust ...

in a by-election held on June 25, 1973 but was defeated by Stewart McCrae. Under his leadership the party only won four seats in the 1975 provincial election and Schmidt, failing to win his own seat, returned to private life. Schmidt left

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 ...

and moved to

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

joining the

Reform Party of Canada The Reform Party of Canada (french: Parti réformiste du Canada) was a right-wing populist and conservative federal political party in Canada that existed under that name from 1987 to 2000. Reform was founded as a Western Canada-based protest ...

at its inception and was a member of its first Executive Council. He was an unsuccessful candidate in the 1988 federal election before winning a seat in the 1993 election representing Okanagan Centre. He was re-elected in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

representing Kelowna. He won election again in

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

as a

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 ...

MP with 60% of the vote and won his fourth straight victory in the 2004, this time as a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

. As a Member of Parliament, Schmidt served as Critic for Industry, Critic for Public Works and Government Services and Critic for Seniors. He has also been a member of several Standing Committees including the Standing Committee on Industry, the Standing Committee on Finance, and the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs. He served as Caucus Chair of the Canadian Alliance and Caucus Vice Chair when the party became the Conservative Party of Canada. Schmidt retired from politics with the dissolution of parliament for the 2006 federal election.

Electoral history

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schmidt, Werner 1932 births Living people Alberta Social Credit Party leaders Alberta Social Credit Party candidates in Alberta provincial elections People from Kelowna People from Lethbridge County Reform Party of Canada MPs Canadian Alliance MPs Conservative Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from British Columbia Canadian Mennonites Canadian people of German descent 21st-century Canadian politicians