David Hancock
Encyclopedia
David Hancock is a Canadian
politician and current Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
representing the constituency of Edmonton-Whitemud
as a Progressive Conservative
.
, Northwest Territories
and grew up in Hazelton
, British Columbia
. He went to high school in Fort Vermillion, Alberta before moving to Edmonton
in 1972.
Before being elected, Hancock was a partner with Matheson and Company, Barristers and Solicitors, having received his law degree from the University of Alberta
.
Hancock was politically involved from a young age, serving as the president of the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta
's youth wing from 1974–1976. He later served as party president from 1990–1992. Under his leadership, the Progressive Conservative Party instituted a one-member-one-vote system for leadership conventions and introduced a Statement of Principles and a grassroots policy development process.
's retirement after serving one term in the Legislature for the Alberta Liberal Party
left open the constituency of Edmonton-Whitemud
, the riding once held by former Premier Don Getty
. Hancock secured the PC nomination and squared off against Corky Meyer of the Liberals and Charan Khehra of the Alberta New Democratic Party
in the 1997 provincial election
. Hancock won the constituency with 51 per cent of the vote, beating runner-up Meyer by 2,020 votes. He was one of only two Progressive Conservatives elected in Edmonton's 19 constituencies (Julius Yankowsky
, Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview, was the other.)
Hancock was returned to the Legislature in the 2001 provincial election
, increasing his share of the popular vote to 59 per cent. He defeated Liberal candidate Bruce King, the runner-up, by 4,381 votes. In the 2004 provincial election
, Hancock was one of only three out of 10 incumbent PC MLAs in Edmonton to retain their seat. He survived Liberal Donna Smith's bid for the seat, defeating her by 929 votes while winning 46 per cent of the vote. Hancock was elected to his fourth term in the 2008 provincial election, winning 58 per cent of the vote in beating Liberal Nancy Cavanaugh by 5,049 votes.
Two years into his first term, Hancock was promoted to Minister of Justice and Government House Leader. During his five years as Justice Minister, he worked to limit conditional sentencing for violent crime and drunk driving offenders. He also developed a flagging system to identify Alberta's chronic drunk drivers and introduced specialized domestic violence courts.
Hancock remained Justice Minister and House Leader after his re-election in 2001, but was also given the job of Attorney General. He served in those roles until after the 2004 election, when Klein appointed him Minister of Advanced Education. During his time in that job, Hancock was most noted for passing the Access to the Future Act, which created a $1 billion endowment fund for post-secondary education. The fund is now valued at $3 billion. He also approved degree-granting status for several small colleges in the province. He resigned that post in April 2006 to seek the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party.
When Ed Stelmach
won the leadership and subsequently became Premier in December 2006, he promoted Hancock to the high-profile health portfolio. As Minisiter of Health and Wellness, he presided over funding increases for the Alberta Bone and Joint Health Institute, enhanced access to cardiac and cancer care through process improvements, and an increase of primary care networks to 26 across the province. Hancock also initiated several health prevention measures, including a wellness fund for healthy communities, expansion of metabolic screening, and a new colorectal cancer screening program.
Stelmach appointed Hancock Minister of Education following the provincial election in March 2008. Since then, Hancock has approved funding increases to accredited private schools, and announced plans to build 18 new schools in Edmonton and Calgary.
and Ted Morton
. Hancock was unable to secure any endorsements from PC caucus members, but was endorsed by Edmonton-Centre Conservative MP Laurie Hawn
. He placed fifth out of eight candidates on the first ballot, garnering 7,595 votes, more than 20,000 votes behind the first place Dinning. Hancock, along with five others, were dropped from the second ballot. Along with fellow leadership candidates Mark Norris
and Lyle Oberg
, Hancock supported Stelmach on the final ballot.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
politician and current Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
Legislative Assembly of Alberta
The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is one of two components of the Legislature of Alberta, the other being the Queen, represented by the Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta. The Alberta legislature meets in the Alberta Legislature Building in the provincial capital, Edmonton...
representing the constituency of Edmonton-Whitemud
Edmonton-Whitemud
Edmonton-Whitemud is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Canada. In 1989, its constituents unseated the Premier of the day, Donald Getty, by voting for Liberal candidate, Percy Wickman....
as a Progressive Conservative
Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta
The Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta is a provincial centre-right party in the Canadian province of Alberta...
.
Early life
Hancock was born August 10, 1955 in Fort ResolutionFort Resolution, Northwest Territories
Fort Resolution is a "settlement corporation" in the South Slave Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada...
, Northwest Territories
Northwest Territories
The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...
and grew up in Hazelton
Hazelton, British Columbia
Hazelton is a small town located at the junction of the Bulkley and Skeena Rivers in northern British Columbia, Canada. It was founded in 1866 and has a population of 293...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
. He went to high school in Fort Vermillion, Alberta before moving to Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
in 1972.
Before being elected, Hancock was a partner with Matheson and Company, Barristers and Solicitors, having received his law degree from the University of Alberta
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory, its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the best universities in Canada...
.
Hancock was politically involved from a young age, serving as the president of the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta
Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta
The Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta is a provincial centre-right party in the Canadian province of Alberta...
's youth wing from 1974–1976. He later served as party president from 1990–1992. Under his leadership, the Progressive Conservative Party instituted a one-member-one-vote system for leadership conventions and introduced a Statement of Principles and a grassroots policy development process.
Electoral record
Mike PercyMike Percy (politician)
Michael B. Percy is an academic and former politician in Alberta, Canada.Percy, an economics professor at the University of Alberta, was elected as an Alberta Liberal Party member in Edmonton-Whitemud after former MLA Percy Wickman switched to a new riding. Percy held the riding for one term,...
's retirement after serving one term in the Legislature for the Alberta Liberal Party
Alberta Liberal Party
The Alberta Liberal Party is a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada. Originally founded in 1905, when the province was created, it was the dominant political party until 1921 when it was defeated. It has never been in government since that time...
left open the constituency of Edmonton-Whitemud
Edmonton-Whitemud
Edmonton-Whitemud is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Canada. In 1989, its constituents unseated the Premier of the day, Donald Getty, by voting for Liberal candidate, Percy Wickman....
, the riding once held by former Premier Don Getty
Don Getty
Donald Ross Getty, OC, AOE is a retired Canadian politician who served as the 11th Premier of Alberta between 1985 and 1992. A member of the Progressive Conservatives, he served as Energy Minister and Federal and Intergovernmental Affairs Minister in the government of Peter Lougheed before...
. Hancock secured the PC nomination and squared off against Corky Meyer of the Liberals and Charan Khehra of the Alberta New Democratic Party
Alberta New Democratic Party
The Alberta New Democratic Party or Alberta NDP is a social-democratic political party in Alberta, Canada, which was originally founded as the Alberta section of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation...
in the 1997 provincial election
Alberta general election, 1997
The Alberta general election of 1997 was the twenty-fourth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on March 11, 1997 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta....
. Hancock won the constituency with 51 per cent of the vote, beating runner-up Meyer by 2,020 votes. He was one of only two Progressive Conservatives elected in Edmonton's 19 constituencies (Julius Yankowsky
Julius Yankowsky
Julius Edward Yankowsky is a former provincial level politician from Alberta, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1993 until he was defeated in 2004.-Political career:...
, Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview, was the other.)
Hancock was returned to the Legislature in the 2001 provincial election
Alberta general election, 2001
The Alberta general election of 2001 was the twenty-fifth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on March 12, 2001 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta....
, increasing his share of the popular vote to 59 per cent. He defeated Liberal candidate Bruce King, the runner-up, by 4,381 votes. In the 2004 provincial election
Alberta general election, 2004
The Alberta general election of 2004 was the twenty-sixth general election for the province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on November 22, 2004 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta....
, Hancock was one of only three out of 10 incumbent PC MLAs in Edmonton to retain their seat. He survived Liberal Donna Smith's bid for the seat, defeating her by 929 votes while winning 46 per cent of the vote. Hancock was elected to his fourth term in the 2008 provincial election, winning 58 per cent of the vote in beating Liberal Nancy Cavanaugh by 5,049 votes.
In Cabinet
Hancock has spent his entire provincial political career in cabinet. As a rookie MLA in the 24th Alberta Legislature, Premier Ralph Klein named him Minister of Intergovernmental and Aboriginal Affairs. In that capacity, he spearheaded the creation of the Aboriginal Policy Framework, which set out the basic structure for existing and new governmental policies regarding aboriginal affairs.Two years into his first term, Hancock was promoted to Minister of Justice and Government House Leader. During his five years as Justice Minister, he worked to limit conditional sentencing for violent crime and drunk driving offenders. He also developed a flagging system to identify Alberta's chronic drunk drivers and introduced specialized domestic violence courts.
Hancock remained Justice Minister and House Leader after his re-election in 2001, but was also given the job of Attorney General. He served in those roles until after the 2004 election, when Klein appointed him Minister of Advanced Education. During his time in that job, Hancock was most noted for passing the Access to the Future Act, which created a $1 billion endowment fund for post-secondary education. The fund is now valued at $3 billion. He also approved degree-granting status for several small colleges in the province. He resigned that post in April 2006 to seek the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party.
When Ed Stelmach
Ed Stelmach
Edward Michael "Ed" Stelmach, MLA is a Canadian politician and served as the 13th Premier of Alberta, Canada, from 2006 to 2011. The grandson of Ukrainian immigrants, Stelmach was born and raised on a farm near Lamont and speaks fluent Ukrainian. He spent his entire pre-political adult life as a...
won the leadership and subsequently became Premier in December 2006, he promoted Hancock to the high-profile health portfolio. As Minisiter of Health and Wellness, he presided over funding increases for the Alberta Bone and Joint Health Institute, enhanced access to cardiac and cancer care through process improvements, and an increase of primary care networks to 26 across the province. Hancock also initiated several health prevention measures, including a wellness fund for healthy communities, expansion of metabolic screening, and a new colorectal cancer screening program.
Stelmach appointed Hancock Minister of Education following the provincial election in March 2008. Since then, Hancock has approved funding increases to accredited private schools, and announced plans to build 18 new schools in Edmonton and Calgary.
2006 Leadership bid
In April 2006, Hancock resigned his post as Minister of Advanced Education and announced his intentions to replace Klein as the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party. He was considered a long shot against favourites like former provincial treasurer Jim DinningJim Dinning
Jim Dinning is a Canadian Progressive Conservative politician and businessman. He was a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta , and now serves on the board of directors of a variety of Canadian companies. Dinning ran for the leadership of the Alberta Progressive Conservatives to replace...
and Ted Morton
Ted Morton
Frederick Lee Morton , known commonly as Ted Morton, is a Canadian politician and Minister of Energy for the Province of Alberta. As a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta he represents the constituency of Foothills-Rocky View as a Progressive Conservative...
. Hancock was unable to secure any endorsements from PC caucus members, but was endorsed by Edmonton-Centre Conservative MP Laurie Hawn
Laurie Hawn
Laurie Daniel Hawn PC CD MP is a retired Lieutenant Colonel of the Royal Canadian Air Force, later the Canadian Forces Air Command, businessman, and federal politician from Edmonton, Alberta...
. He placed fifth out of eight candidates on the first ballot, garnering 7,595 votes, more than 20,000 votes behind the first place Dinning. Hancock, along with five others, were dropped from the second ballot. Along with fellow leadership candidates Mark Norris
Mark Norris
Mark Norris is an Alberta politician, former MLA and candidate for the leadership of the Progressive Conservatives.Norris was born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta and earned his Bachelor of Arts in political science from St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia.He returned to Edmonton...
and Lyle Oberg
Lyle Oberg
Lyle Oberg is an Albertan politician and former member of the Legislative Assembly.Oberg was born near Forestburg, Alberta in 1960. A physician by profession, Oberg was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta as an Progressive Conservative in 1993. He was first appointed to the...
, Hancock supported Stelmach on the final ballot.