Leonard Warren Webber (born November 10, 1960) 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 who has served as the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for the riding of

Calgary Confederation Calgary Confederation is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 2015. It was created in 2012 from the electoral districts of Calgary Centre-North (70%), Calgary West (2 ...

since 2015 as a member of the Conservative Party of Canada. During the

43rd Canadian Parliament The 43rd Canadian Parliament was in session from December 5, 2019, to August 15, 2021, with the membership of its Lower House, the House of Commons of Canada, having been determined by the results of the 2019 federal election held on October 21 ...

his private member bill ''An Act to amend the Canada Revenue Agency Act (organ and tissue donors)'' (Bill C-210) was adopted to allow Canadians to indicate their intent to sign up as a donor through their annual income tax return. Previously, he was a Conservative 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-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 ...

from 2004 to 2014, serving cabinet portfolios of Minister of International & Intergovernmental Affairs and Minister of Aboriginal Relations.

Early life

Webber was born November 10, 1960 in Calgary,

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 ...

. His father, Dr. Neil Webber, served as the Member of the Legislative Assembly for the constituency of

Calgary-Bow Calgary-Bow is a provincial electoral district in the city of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The district is one of 87 districts mandated to return a single member (MLA) to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of ...

from 1975 until 1989 and was also a member of cabinet. (Len) Webber graduated from the

University of Calgary The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being ins ...

with a Bachelor of Commerce degree and went on to acquire his Journeyman Communications Electrician certificate from the

Southern Alberta Institute of Technology The Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) is a polytechnic institute in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. SAIT offers more than 110 career programs in technology, trades and business. Established in 1916, it is Calgary's second oldest post-se ...

(SAIT). He then pursued work as an apprentice electrician and managed his own contracting company for 10 years. Prior to seeking office, Webber served as vice president and director of the Webber Academy, a private University preparatory school in southwest Calgary.

Political career

Webber first sought public office in the 2004 provincial election in the constituency of

. In that election, he received 57% of the vote. In addition to his responsibilities as MLA during his first term, Webber held the position of Deputy Government Whip and was chair of the Advisory Committee on Climate Change, the MLA Review Committee of Private Investigators and Security Guards Act, the Healthy Aging and Continuing Care in Alberta Committee, and the MLA Task Force on Affordable Housing and Homelessness in Alberta. He also acted as co-chair of the MLA Task Force on Continuing Care Health Service and Accommodation Standards Committee and served as a member of numerous other committees and boards. In the 2008 provincial election, Webber was reelected as MLA for Calgary-Foothills with 48% of the vote. He serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the

Calgary Stampede The Calgary Stampede is an annual rodeo, exhibition, and festival held every July in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The ten-day event, which bills itself as "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth", attracts over one million visitors per year and featu ...

, the Calgary Homeless Foundation, and WorldSkills Calgary 2009. Webber was re-elected in

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, and in March 2014 left the Progressive Conservative caucus to sit as an independent in protest against the leadership of

Alison Redford Alison Merrilla Redford (born March 7, 1965) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician. She was the 14th premier of Alberta, having served in this capacity from October 7, 2011, to March 23, 2014. Redford was born in Kitimat, British Columbia ...

. Webber resigned his seat in the legislature on September 29, 2014, one day after winning the federal Conservative Party of Canada nomination for the newly created urban riding of

. He was elected in the 2015 federal election, to be the Member of Parliament for Calgary Confederation, though his party formed the official opposition. During the

42nd Canadian Parliament The 42nd Canadian Parliament was in session from December 3, 2015, to September 11, 2019, with the membership of its lower chamber, the House of Commons of Canada, having been determined by the results of the 2015 federal election held on Octob ...

he introduced one private member bill which passed the House of Commons but died in the senate. He was re-elected in the 2019 federal election. During the

Webber re-introduced his private member bill ''An Act to amend the Canada Revenue Agency Act (organ and tissue donors)'' (Bill C-210), adopted in June 2021 with all party support, to allow Canadians to indicate their intent to sign up as a donor through their annual income tax return. Before being elected to the House of Commons, Webber served three terms as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for the constituency of Calgary-Foothills and served in the cabinet portfolios of Minister of International & Intergovernmental Affairs and Minister of Aboriginal Relations..

Personal life

Webber has three daughters. His wife is deceased. Webber has been involved with Hospice Calgary, the MS Society, the Calgary Foundation, and the Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission (AADAC). He is an advocate for events surrounding breast cancer awareness and research. Webber is a recipient of the Alberta Centennial Medal and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for his many philanthropic contributions.

Electoral record

Federal

Provincial

References

External links

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Legislative Assembly of Alberta
{{DEFAULTSORT:Webber, Len 1960 births Conservative Party of Canada MPs Independent Alberta MLAs Living people Members of the Executive Council of Alberta Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Alberta Politicians from Calgary Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta MLAs University of Calgary alumni Electricians 21st-century Canadian politicians