Heather Forsyth
Encyclopedia
Heather Forsyth is a Canadian
politician and current member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
representing the constituency of Calgary-Fish Creek
as a Wildrose Alliance
representative. She was a Progressive Conservative until she crossed the floor on January 4, 2010.
, Saskatchewan
. Prior to being elected into the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Forsyth spent 15 years in the advertising industry as a sales and marketing manager, receiving both the Silver Marketing Award and the 1989 President’s Award. During this time, she was also an avid volunteer with various community groups, the Children’s Wish Foundation, the Calgary Board of Health, the Alberta Youth Justice Committee, and the Alberta Social Services Appeal Advisory Board.
in the constituency of Calgary-Fish Creek
. In that election, she received 55% of the vote. She was reelected in each of the subsequent elections in 1997
, 2001
, 2004
, and 2008, receiving 67%, 75%, 58% and 52% of the vote respectively.
Prior to her appointment to Cabinet, Forsyth was arguably best known for fighting for the issue of child prostitution. Her efforts resulted in the Protection of Children Involved in Prostitution Act, which recognized child prostitutes as victims of sexual abuse in need of protection.
On March 16, 2001, Forsyth was appointed as Alberta’s Solicitor General. Throughout her tenure as Solicitor General, she continued to be a champion for children, launching the high-risk offender website and launching Canada’s first Amber Alert program. The Integrated Response to Organized Crime (IROC) initiative, among other initiatives, was also advanced while she held the office of Solicitor General.
On November 25, 2004, Forsyth became Minister of Children’s Services, a position she held for two years. During this time, she focused her efforts on strengthening families and communities. She passed legislation to protect drug-endangered children (DECA – the first law of its type to be passed in Canada), created Bad Guy Patrol, a website dedicated to children’s education Internet safety through a partnership with Microsoft, and worked on many strategies regarding family violence and bullying.
In 2007, she became chair of the Crime Reduction and Safe Communities Task Force where she met with Albertans and stakeholders to discuss crime in their communities and reported back to the Minister of Justice with her findings.
Forsyth was the chair of the Standing Committee on the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund and was a member of the Standing Committee on Private Bills and the Standing Committee on Privileges and Elections, Standing Orders and Printing.
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 Calgary-Fish Creek
Calgary Fish Creek
Calgary Fish Creek is a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada. The district is one of 83 mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of voting....
as a Wildrose Alliance
Wildrose Alliance Party of Alberta
The Wildrose Party, formerly Wildrose Alliance Party, is a conservative provincial political party in Alberta, Canada. It includes free market conservative, libertarian and socially conservative factions and was formed in 2008 following a merger of the Wildrose Party of Alberta and the Alberta...
representative. She was a Progressive Conservative until she crossed the floor on January 4, 2010.
Early life
Forsyth was born in SaskatoonSaskatoon
Saskatoon is a city in central Saskatchewan, Canada, on the South Saskatchewan River. Residents of the city of Saskatoon are called Saskatonians. The city is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Corman Park No. 344....
, Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
. Prior to being elected into the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Forsyth spent 15 years in the advertising industry as a sales and marketing manager, receiving both the Silver Marketing Award and the 1989 President’s Award. During this time, she was also an avid volunteer with various community groups, the Children’s Wish Foundation, the Calgary Board of Health, the Alberta Youth Justice Committee, and the Alberta Social Services Appeal Advisory Board.
Political career
Forsyth first sought public office in the 1993 provincial electionAlberta general election, 1993
The Alberta general election of 1993 was the twenty-third general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on June 15, 1993 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta...
in the constituency of Calgary-Fish Creek
Calgary Fish Creek
Calgary Fish Creek is a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada. The district is one of 83 mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of voting....
. In that election, she received 55% of the vote. She was reelected in each of the subsequent elections in 1997
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....
, 2001
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....
, 2004
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....
, and 2008, receiving 67%, 75%, 58% and 52% of the vote respectively.
Prior to her appointment to Cabinet, Forsyth was arguably best known for fighting for the issue of child prostitution. Her efforts resulted in the Protection of Children Involved in Prostitution Act, which recognized child prostitutes as victims of sexual abuse in need of protection.
On March 16, 2001, Forsyth was appointed as Alberta’s Solicitor General. Throughout her tenure as Solicitor General, she continued to be a champion for children, launching the high-risk offender website and launching Canada’s first Amber Alert program. The Integrated Response to Organized Crime (IROC) initiative, among other initiatives, was also advanced while she held the office of Solicitor General.
On November 25, 2004, Forsyth became Minister of Children’s Services, a position she held for two years. During this time, she focused her efforts on strengthening families and communities. She passed legislation to protect drug-endangered children (DECA – the first law of its type to be passed in Canada), created Bad Guy Patrol, a website dedicated to children’s education Internet safety through a partnership with Microsoft, and worked on many strategies regarding family violence and bullying.
In 2007, she became chair of the Crime Reduction and Safe Communities Task Force where she met with Albertans and stakeholders to discuss crime in their communities and reported back to the Minister of Justice with her findings.
Forsyth was the chair of the Standing Committee on the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund and was a member of the Standing Committee on Private Bills and the Standing Committee on Privileges and Elections, Standing Orders and Printing.
Personal life
Forsyth is married to Gordon. The couple has two sons together. She enjoys reading, golfing, gardening and giving back to the community. Forsyth founded and is the current chair of the Peanut Butter Classic Society, a non-profit organization that raises funds through an annual golf tournament to assist women and children. Of the many honours she has received, Forsyth identifies being given the Blackfoot name “Aahsoikinnah-kaiki”, which means healing woman, as one of her greatest.Election results
| 2008 Alberta general election results ( Calgary-Fish Creek Calgary Fish Creek Calgary Fish Creek is a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada. The district is one of 83 mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of voting.... ) |
font style="font-size: 90%;">Turnout 46.8% | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % |
Progressive Conservative | Heather Forsyth | 6,883 | 52% |
Liberal 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... |
Laura Shutiak | 4,052 | 31% |
Wildrose Alliance Wildrose Alliance Party of Alberta The Wildrose Party, formerly Wildrose Alliance Party, is a conservative provincial political party in Alberta, Canada. It includes free market conservative, libertarian and socially conservative factions and was formed in 2008 following a merger of the Wildrose Party of Alberta and the Alberta... |
Jamie Buchan | 1,261 | 10% |
Green Green Party of Alberta The Green Party of Alberta, also known as the Alberta Greens, was a provincial political party in the province of Alberta, Canada.The Alberta Greens were formed in 1986 and received official party status on April 6, 1990... |
Kerry T. Fraser | 556 | 4% |
NDP 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... |
Eric Leavitt | 423 | 3% | |
| 2004 Alberta general 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.... results ( Calgary-Fish Creek Calgary Fish Creek Calgary Fish Creek is a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada. The district is one of 83 mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of voting.... ) |
font style="font-size: 90%;">Turnout 45.3% | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % |
Progressive Conservative | Heather Forsyth | 6,829 | 57.8% |
Liberal 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... |
Tore Badenduck | 2,845 | 24.1% |
Alberta Alliance | Mike Kuipers | 781 | 6.6% |
NDP 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... |
Eric Leavitt | 793 | 6.7% |
Green Green Party of Alberta The Green Party of Alberta, also known as the Alberta Greens, was a provincial political party in the province of Alberta, Canada.The Alberta Greens were formed in 1986 and received official party status on April 6, 1990... |
Chris Sealy | 561 | 4.8% | |
| 2001 Alberta general 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.... results ( Calgary-Fish Creek Calgary Fish Creek Calgary Fish Creek is a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada. The district is one of 83 mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of voting.... ) |
font style="font-size: 90%;">Turnout 57.9% | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % |
Progressive Conservative | Heather Forsyth | 9,716 | 74.5% |
Liberal 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... |
Marc Doll | 2,853 | 21.9% |
NDP 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... |
Ryan Todd | 465 | 3.6% | |||||||||
| 1997 Alberta general 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.... results ( Calgary-Fish Creek Calgary Fish Creek Calgary Fish Creek is a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada. The district is one of 83 mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of voting.... ) |
font style="font-size: 90%;">Turnout 54.7% | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % |
Progressive Conservative | Heather Forsyth | 8,274 | 66.6% |
Liberal 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... |
Marie Cameron | 3,020 | 24.3% |
NDP 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... |
Muriel Turner-Wilkinson | 348 | 2.8% |
Social Credit Social Credit Party of Alberta The Alberta Social Credit Party is a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada, that was founded on the social credit monetary policy and conservative Christian social values.... |
Jeff Willerton | 778 | 6.3% | |||||
| 1993 Alberta general election Alberta general election, 1993 The Alberta general election of 1993 was the twenty-third general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on June 15, 1993 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta... results ( Calgary-Fish Creek Calgary Fish Creek Calgary Fish Creek is a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada. The district is one of 83 mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of voting.... ) |
font style="font-size: 90%;">Turnout 64% | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % |
Progressive Conservative | Heather Forsyth | 7,855 | 54.7% |
Liberal 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... |
Marie Cameron | 5,346 | 37.2% |
NDP 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... |
Kerin Spaargaren | 558 | 3.9% |
NLP Natural law Natural law, or the law of nature , is any system of law which is purportedly determined by nature, and thus universal. Classically, natural law refers to the use of reason to analyze human nature and deduce binding rules of moral behavior. Natural law is contrasted with the positive law Natural... |
Darlene Holt | 70 | 0.0% |
Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do... |
Roy Carey | 544 | 3.8% | |