Yvonne Marie Fritz (born September 17, 1950) 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 ...

politician and former 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 ...

representing the constituency of Calgary-Cross as a Progressive Conservative. She designed the

flag of Calgary The official flag of Calgary features a cowboy hat and the letter "C" on a red field, with white strips on the top and bottom of the field. The flag was adopted in 1983 as a result of a contest. Gwynneth Llewellyn and Yvonne Fritz, a former Legis ...

along with Gwin Clark.

Early life

Fritz was born September 17, 1950 in

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Yellowhead Highway, and has served as th ...

. Prior to entering politics, she worked as a Registered Nurse at Calgary General Hospital for 20 years.

Political life

Fritz first sought public office in the 1986 Calgary municipal by-election for Ward 5 and was defeated in a very close race by Jon Havelock but was elected in the 1988 general election as the alderman for Ward 5. She served in that capacity until 1993 when she sought the position of MLA for the new constituency of Calgary-Cross. In the

1993 Alberta general election The 1993 Alberta general election was held on June 15, 1993, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. The Conservative government was re-elected, taking 51 seats out of 83 (61 percent of the seats) but only having support of 45 per ...

, Fritz was the successful candidate receiving 60% of the vote. In the subsequent elections 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 ...

and 2001, she proved successful again, receiving 67% and 75% of the vote respectively. While sitting as a Private Member, she served on the Treasury Board and chaired both the Alberta Multicultural Commission and the Women's Breast Cancer Screening Council. She also sponsored three important Private Members' Bills, including a bill for mandatory bicycle helmet use for children and teenagers. In the 2004 provincial election, Fritz secured her position as MLA for Calgary-Cross for a fourth time with 58% of the vote. Following the election, she was appointed as Minister for Seniors and Community Supports, a position she held until 2006. That year, Fritz became Chair of the Cabinet Policy Committee for Managing Growth Pressures. In 2007, Premier Stelmach appointed her as Associate Minister of Affordable Housing and Urban Development. In the 2008 provincial election, Fritz received 57% of the vote. In April 2008, she was sworn in as Minister of the newly created ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

Personal life

Fritz is married to Lanny. The couple has two grown children. She has been a resident of the Pineridge community in Calgary for more than 33 years.

Election results

References

1950 births Calgary city councillors Women municipal councillors in Canada Living people Politicians from Saskatoon Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta MLAs Women MLAs in Alberta Members of the Executive Council of Alberta 21st-century Canadian politicians 21st-century Canadian women politicians Women government ministers of Canada {{Alberta-politician-stub