Yvonne Marie Fritz (born September 17, 1950) is a

Canadian Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...

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. Since 2012 the Legislative Assembly has had 87 members, elected first past the post f ...

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 (heraldry), 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 ...

along with Gwin Clark.

Early life

Fritz was born September 17, 1950, in

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, 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 Hig ...

and is of

Métis The Métis ( , , , ) are a mixed-race Indigenous people whose historical homelands include Canada's three Prairie Provinces extending into parts of Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and the northwest United States. They ha ...

heritage. Prior to entering politics, she worked as a

Registered Nurse A registered nurse (RN) is a healthcare professional who has graduated or successfully passed a nursing program from a recognized nursing school and met the requirements outlined by a country, state, province or similar government-authorized ...

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

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

and

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, 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 Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

for more than 33 years.

Election results

References

1950 births Calgary city councillors Women municipal councillors in Alberta Living people Politicians from Saskatoon Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta MLAs Women MLAs in Alberta Members of the Executive Council of Alberta 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta 20th-century Canadian women politicians 21st-century Canadian women politicians Women government ministers of Canada First Nations politicians {{Alberta-MLA-stub