Werner Schmidt

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Werner Schmidt
Member of Parliament for Kelowna
In office
1997–2006
Preceded bynew district
Succeeded byRon Cannan
Member of Parliament for Okanagan Centre
In office
1993–1997
Preceded byAl Horning
Succeeded bydistrict abolished
Leader of the Alberta Social Credit Party
In office
1973–1975
Preceded byHarry Strom
Succeeded byRobert Curtis Clark
Personal details
Born (1932-01-18) January 18, 1932 (age 89)
Coaldale, Alberta, Canada
Political partyConservative (2004–present)
Other political
affiliations		Reform (1993–2004)

Werner Schmidt (born January 18, 1932) is a Canadian former politician, a teacher, and school principal.

Political career[]

Schmidt was vice-president of Lethbridge Community College when he was chosen to succeed Harry Strom as leader of the Alberta Social Credit Party following the defeat of Strom's government in 1971 despite the fact that Schmidt had never held a seat in the Alberta legislature. Schmidt defeated former Highways Minister Gordon Taylor, former Education Minister Robert Curtis Clark in an upset victory at the 1973 Alberta Social Credit leadership convention. After his leadership election, Schmidt ran in the electoral district of Calgary-Foothills in a by-election held on June 25, 1973 but was defeated by Stewart McCrae.[1]

Under his leadership the party only won four seats in the 1975 provincial election and Schmidt, failing to win his own seat, returned to private life.

Schmidt left Alberta and moved to British Columbia joining the Reform Party of Canada at its inception and was a member of its first Executive Council. He was an unsuccessful candidate in the 1988 federal election before winning a seat in the 1993 election representing Okanagan Centre. He was re-elected in 1997 representing Kelowna. He won election again in 2000 as a Canadian Alliance MP with 60% of the vote and won his fourth straight victory in the 2004, this time as a Conservative.

As a Member of Parliament, Schmidt served as Critic for Industry, Critic for Public Works and Government Services and Critic for Seniors. He has also been a member of several Standing Committees including the Standing Committee on Industry, the Standing Committee on Finance, and the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs.

He served as Caucus Chair of the Canadian Alliance and Caucus Vice Chair when the party became the Conservative Party of Canada.

Schmidt retired from politics with the dissolution of parliament for the 2006 federal election.

Electoral history[]

2004 Canadian federal election: Kelowna—Lake Country
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Conservative Werner Schmidt 25,553 48.0 -19.7 $61,185
Liberal Vern Nielsen 14,109 26.5 +2.7 $58,986
New Democratic Starleigh Grass 8,954 16.8 +10.5 $14,000
Green Kevin Ade 3,903 7.3 – $4,993
Marijuana Huguette Plourde 447 0.8 –
Canadian Action Michael Cassidyne-Hook 271 0.5 -1.6
Total valid votes 53,237 100.0
Total rejected ballots 159 0.3 -0.1
Turnout 53,396 62.1 -1.9

Note: Conservative vote is compared to the total of the Canadian Alliance vote and Progressive Conservative vote in 2000 election.

2000 Canadian federal election: Kelowna—Lake Country
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Alliance Werner Schmidt 33,810 59.5 +9.5 $44,990
Liberal Joe Leask 13,564 23.9 +1.5 $46,876
Progressive Conservative Doug Mallo 4,708 8.3 -8.5 $9,791
New Democratic John O. Powell 3,572 6.3 -1.3 $9,493
Canadian Action Jack W. Peach 1,199 2.1 – $3,652
Total valid votes 56,853 100.0
Total rejected ballots 223 0.4 +0.2
Turnout 57,076 64.0 +1.2

Note: Canadian Alliance vote is compared to the Reform vote in 1997 election.

1997 Canadian federal election: Kelowna—Lake Country
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Reform Werner Schmidt 25,246 50.0 – $48,355
Liberal Janna Francis 11,306 22.4 – $32,838
Progressive Conservative Al Horning 8,477 16.8 – $47,498
New Democratic Fred Steele 3,838 7.6 – $11,443
Green David Hughes 1,612 3.2 – $1,014
Total valid votes 50,479 100.0
Total rejected ballots 123 0.2
Turnout 50,602 62.8

References[]

  1. ^ "By-elections 1905-1973". Elections Alberta. Archived from the original on June 7, 2009. Retrieved November 22, 2009.

External links[]

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