Blaine Calkins

Blaine served as the Caucus Chair for the Alberta Caucus of the Conservative Party of Canada in both the 41st and 42nd Parliament.

As the Caucus Chair, Blaine has been responsible for facilitating dialogue between all of the Conservative MPs from Alberta and helping to coherently present issues effecting the province to Regional Ministers while in Government and directly to Conservative Leadership while in opposition.

Given the size of the Alberta Conservative Caucus and the various Ministers and prominent Members of Parliament from Alberta, previously including former Premier Jason Kenney and former Interim Leader of the Official Opposition the Hon. Rona Ambrose, Alberta Caucus continues to be an important voice in the Conservative Parliamentary Caucus.

Blaine F. Calkins (born December 25, 1968) is a Conservative Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of Canada.

He graduated from the University of Alberta in 1992 with a Bachelor of Science with specialization in zoology.

He later became a tenured faculty member at Red Deer College.

He began his career in politics as a member of the Lacombe Town Council, and as such has been involved with the board of directors of the Lacombe Municipal Ambulance Society, the board of directors for Family and Community Support Services, The Municipal Planning Commission, David Thompson Tourist Council and the Disaster Services Committee.

Blaine Calkins became a member of the Reform Party in 1996, and followed most of the party into the Canadian Alliance in 2000 and the Conservative Party in 2004.

He served on the Candidate Nomination Committee for the Reform Party in Wetaskiwin riding in 1999, and joined the board of directors for the Alliance's riding nomination committee in 2000.

Since then, he has held various board positions, including president, vice president and director of communications.

He was elected to Parliament for Wetaskiwin in 2006.

He has represented the riding of Red Deer—Lacombe in Alberta since 2015, having previously represented its predecessor, Wetaskiwin, since 2006.

Calkins was born and raised in the Lacombe, Alberta area.

The riding was abolished in 2015, and Calkins successfully ran in Red Deer—Lacombe, essentially the southern part of his old riding (including its largest city, Lacombe) combined with the northern half of the old Red Deer riding.

To date as a Parliamentarian, Calkins has served as the Deputy Shadow Minister for Parks and the Environment, Chair of the Alberta Conservative Caucus, Chair of the Legislative Committee for Bill C-18 (Ending the Canadian Wheat Board Monopoly), the Chair of the Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics Committee, the Chair of the Subcommittee of Finance for Bill C-38 (Jobs, Growth and Prosperity Act) which in part enabled the Harper government to approve pipeline projects, and served on numerous other standing committees including: Public Safety, National Defense, Justice, Environment, Fisheries and Oceans, Veterans Affairs, and currently sits at the Procedure and House Affairs.

Calkins has been a strong advocate for rural issues throughout his time in office.

He has worked to support farmers, ranchers, and small business owners in his riding, and has been a vocal advocate for rural broadband access.

He has also been a strong supporter of Canada's oil and gas industry and has pushed for policies that promote its growth and development.

In 2022, Calkins was appointed as the Chief Opposition Whip by the Interim Leader Candice Bergen.

As Chief Opposition Whip, Calkins was one of the key figures in the Conservative Party's efforts to hold the government accountable and ensure that the voices of Canadians were heard in Ottawa during the Canada Freedom Convoy and the Emergency Act.

Since October 2022, Calkins is the Shadow Minister for Hunting, Fishing, and Conservation, serving in Pierre Poilievre’s Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet.

From February 4, 2016 to September 18, 2017 Calkins was the Chair of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics.

During his time as Chair the committee undertook important studies including a review of the Privacy Act, the Access to Information Act and a review of the Security of Canada Information Sharing Act

In January 2017, while Chair of the Ethics Committee, Calkins wrote a letter to then Ethics Commissioner, Mary Dawson, highlighting a number of concerns he had about a trip Prime Minister Trudeau had accepted to the Bahamas.

On December 20, 2017 the Ethics Commissioner released her report, finding that the Prime Minister had violated multiple sections of the Conflict of Interest Act, including sections that Calkins had raised in his letter.

Blaine helped found and served as vice-chair and is currently the chair of the Conservative Hunting and Angling Caucus (CHAC).

The CHAC was founded in order to help ensure that hunters, anglers, trappers and all those who participate in the outdoor way of life are robustly represented in the Conservative Party and in parliament.

As a former Park Warden and avid outdoorsman, Blaine passionately defends the outdoor way of life, in order to ensure that future generations are able to continue this important way of life, and that Canadians have access to public lands to sustainably harvest wildlife resources as Canadians have since first contact, and First Nations people have since time immemorial.

The caucus aims to promote the conservation and sustainable use of Canada's natural resources, including fish and wildlife populations, habitats, and ecosystems.

It advocates for policies that support responsible hunting and angling, as well as other forms of outdoor recreation.

CHAC also seeks to raise awareness about the economic and cultural importance of hunting and angling in Canada, as well as the role that these activities play in the conservation of natural resources.

CHAC works with various stakeholders, including conservation groups, industry associations, and individual hunters and anglers, to advance its goals and promote its message.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Calkins promoted the benefits of outdoor activities to improve physical and mental health while adhering to social distancing measures.

In collaboration with the Canadian Hunting and Angling Caucus (CHAC), Calkins initiated the Annual Fishing Contest, an annual competition for fishing enthusiasts.

Participants use fishing lures provided by participating MPs, catch a fish, take a photo with the lure, and submit their entry with personal information and a short story.

The contest has grown in popularity, with Canadians of all ages participating from across the country.

Calkins served as the Chief Opposition Whip for the Conservative Party of Canada in 2022 during the tenure of the Interim Leader Candice Bergen.

As the Chief Opposition Whip, Calkins was responsible for ensuring that members of his party attended parliamentary sessions, voted in accordance with the party's position on legislation, and maintained proper conduct within the House of Commons.

Calkins’ role was to communicate party positions to members, coordinating the scheduling of parliamentary business, and facilitating communication between the party's leadership and its caucus members.

Calkins played an important role in ensuring that the Conservative Party of Canada was able to effectively hold the government to account while being in the transition due to the 2022 Conservative Leadership Election.