Heather Forsyth

Heather Mae Forsyth (born August 1, 1950) is a former Canadian politician. She was named interim leader of the Wildrose Party on December 22, 2014, following the defection of the previous leader, Danielle Smith, and eight other MLAs.[2] Forsyth is a former member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta representing the constituency of Calgary-Fish Creek as a Wildrose Alliance representative.[3] She was a Progressive Conservative until she crossed the floor on January 4, 2010.[4] In the 2012 Alberta general election, Forsyth was reelected along with 16 other Wildrose MLAs to form the Official Opposition.[5] Wildrose Leader Danielle Smith then appointed Forsyth as Health Critic.[3] Forsyth retired from Alberta politics in 2015 after her stint as interim leader of the Wildrose Party. [6]

Heather Forsyth
Leader of the Opposition in Alberta
In office December 22, 2014 – May 5, 2015
Preceded by	Danielle Smith
Succeeded by	Brian Jean
Leader of the Wildrose Party Interim
In office December 22, 2014 – March 28, 2015
Preceded by	Danielle Smith
Succeeded by	Brian Jean
Minister of Children's Services in Alberta
In office November 25, 2004 – December 15, 2006
Preceded by	Iris Evans
Succeeded by	Janis Tarchuk
Solicitor General of Alberta Minister of Public Security
In office March 16, 2001 – November 25, 2004
Preceded by	Vacant
Succeeded by	Harvey Cenaiko
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for Calgary-Fish Creek
In office June 15, 1993 – May 5, 2015
Preceded by	William Edward Payne
Succeeded by	Richard Gotfried
Personal details
Born	Heather Mae Forsyth[1] August 1, 1950 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Political party	Conservative
Other political affiliations	Wildrose (2010-2015) Progressive Conservative (1993-2010)
Residence	Calgary, Alberta
Occupation	Retired Politician

Political work

Heather Forsyth was first elected on June 15, 1993 and served for a total of 21 years, 10 months and 21 days.[3] She spent the entire length of her political career representing the Calgary-Fish Creek constituency.[3] Forsyth was a member of the Progressive Conservative party from June 15, 1993 until January 4, 2010 until she crossed the floor to the Wildrose Party, which she remained a part of until her retirement in 2015.[3] While in office, she served as member, chair and deputy chair of numerous standing committees, 56 in total.[3] Forsyth also held positions such as Critic for Service Alberta, Health, Critic for Culture and Community Services, Critic for Employment and Immigration, Critic for Health and Wellness as well as Critic for Seniors.[3] Forsyth also held the position of Solicitor General from March 19, 2001 until November 24, 2004, and was Minister of Children's Services from November 25, 2004 until December 14, 2006.[3]

In 1997, Forsyth led the Task Force on Children Involved in Prostitution and helped submit a report that recommended changes to the Child Welfare Act entitled, Children Involved In Prostitution: Report by The Task Force on Children Involved in Prostitution.[7][8] In 2000, Forsyth was chair of the Alberta Advisory Committee on Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation and was involved with the report entitled A Framework for Action: A Coordinated and Integrated Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplant System for Alberta.[9] In 2007, Forsyth led the Crime Reduction and Safe Communities Task Force as chair and submitted the report entitled Keeping Communities Safe: Report and Recommendations.[10]

Forsyth was successful in winning 6 elections over her political career.[3] Typically, Forsyth was elected with substantial leads over her opponents but notably, one of her narrowest victories occurred in the 2012 Alberta general election, where she edged out her main competitor from the Progressive Conservative Party, Wendelin Fraser, by a count of 38 votes.[11] Forsyth is perhaps best known for being named Interim Leader of the Wildrose Party, which occurred after the departure of former Wildrose leader, Danielle Smith and nine other former Wildrose MLAs to the Progressive Conservative party.[2] At the time, Forsyth knew that she would not be seeking reelection due to family reasons, but said that she would be willing to offer her leadership until the next election that would eventually take place on May 5, 2015.[2]

Charity work

Heather Forsyth is also known for her charity golf tournament: The Peanut Butter Classic. The tournament is an annual women's charity golf tournament.[12] Forsyth founded the charity, which collects and donates jars of peanut butter for the Calgary Food Bank in 2003.[13] Since its foundation, the Peanut Butter Classic has also raised over 1.7 million dollars for charities in the Calgary area including Alcove, an addictions recovery centre for women that offers accommodations for women and children to keep them together.[13] The charity is entirely oranzized and operated by volunteers.[12] Calgary firefighters have been involved in volunteering at the event since its earliest days.[13] The tournament gives 98% of its proceeds to charity.[13]

Election results

1993 Alberta general election: Calgary-Fish Creek
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Heather Forsyth	7,855	54.65%	6.68%
	Liberal	Marie Cameron	5,346	37.20%	-0.63%
	New Democratic	Kerin Spaargaren	558	3.88%	-10.32%
	Independent	Roy Carey	544	3.78%
	Natural Law	Darlene Holt	70	0.49%
Total			14,373
Rejected, spoiled and declined			18
Eligible electors / Turnout			22,447	64.11%
	Progressive Conservative hold		Swing		3.66%
Source: "Calgary-Fish Creek results 1993 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved March 15, 2010.

1997 Alberta general election: Calgary-Fish Creek
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Heather Forsyth	8,274	66.62%	11.97%
	Liberal	Marie Cameron	3,020	24.32%	-12.88%
	Social Credit	Jeff Willerton	778	6.26%
	New Democratic	Muriel Turner-Wilkinson	348	2.80%	-1.08%
Total			12,420
Rejected, spoiled and declined			27
Eligible electors / Turnout			22,697	54.84%
	Progressive Conservative hold		Swing		12.43%
Source: "Calgary-Fish Creek results 1997 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved March 15, 2010.

2001 Alberta general election: Calgary-Fish Creek
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Heather Forsyth	9,716	74.54%	7.92%
	Liberal	Marc Doll	2,853	21.89%	-2.43
	New Democratic	Ryan Todd	465	3.57%	0.77%
Total			13,034
Rejected, spoiled and declined			42
Eligible electors / Turnout			22,554	58.01%
	Progressive Conservative hold		Swing		5.18%
Source "Calgary-Fish Creek Official Results 2001 Alberta general election" (PDF). Elections Alberta. Retrieved March 27, 2010.

2004 Alberta general election: Calgary-Fish Creek
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Heather Forsyth	6,829	57.83%	−16.71%
	Liberal	Tore Badenduck	2,845	24.09%	2.20%
	New Democratic	Eric Leavitt	793	6.72%	3.15%
	Alberta Alliance	Mike Kuipers	781	6.61%
	Green	Chris Sealy	561	4.75%
Total			11,809
Rejected, spoiled, and declined			52
Eligible electors / Turnout			26,174	45.32%
	Progressive Conservative hold		Swing		−9.46%
Source: "Calgary-Fish Creek Statement of Official Results 2004 Alberta general election" (PDF). Elections Alberta. Retrieved March 28, 2010.

2008 Alberta general election: Calgary-Fish Creek
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Heather Forsyth	6,884	52.30%	−5.53%
	Liberal	Laura Shutiak	4,038	30.68%	6.59%
	Wildrose Alliance	Jamie Buchan	1,261	9.58%	2.97%
	Green	Kerry Fraser	556	4.22%	−0.53%
	New Democratic	Eric Leavitt	423	3.22%	−3.50%
Total			13,162
Rejected, spoiled, and declined			41
Eligible electors / Turnout			31,180	42.35%
	Progressive Conservative hold		Swing		−6.06%
Source: The Report on the March 3, 2008 Provincial General Election of the Twenty-seventh Legislative Assembly. Elections Alberta. July 28, 2008. pp. 202–205.

2012 Alberta general election: Calgary-Fish Creek
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Wildrose	Heather Forsyth	7,672	43.94	+34.36
	Progressive Conservative	Wendelin Fraser	7,634	43.72	−8.58
	Liberal	Nazir Rahemtulla	1,260	7.22	−23.46
	New Democratic	Eric Leavitt	894	5.12	+1.91
	Wildrose gain from Progressive Conservative		Swing		+21.47

References

1. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-10-21. Retrieved 2014-09-15.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
2. "Heather Forsyth named Alberta Wildrose interim leader". Maclean's. The Canadian Press. December 22, 2014. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
3. "Member Profiles". Legislative Assembly Of Alberta. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
4. "Wildrose Party announces Heather Forsyth as new interim leader". The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Gale Group. December 22, 2014. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
5. "Election Results". Elections Alberta. Retrieved 2019-11-04.
6. Bellefontaine, Michelle (May 5, 2018). "Barriers to women in politics 'socialist crap,' Heather Forsyth tells UCP meeting". CBC News. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
7. "ISYS 9 Search Results for heather forsyth". www.assembly.ab.ca. Retrieved 2019-11-05.
8. Task Force on Children Involved in Prostitution (Alta.); Alberta; Alberta Family and Social Services; Task Force on Children Involved in Prostitution (Alta.) (1997). Children involved in prostitution: report. Edmonton: The Task Force. OCLC 1070966827.
9. "Framework for Action: A Coordinated and Integrated Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplant System for Alberta. April 19, 2000". librarysearch.assembly.ab.ca. Retrieved 2019-11-05.
10. "Keeping communities safe : report and recommendations". librarysearch.assembly.ab.ca. Retrieved 2019-11-05.
11. "Election Results". Elections Alberta. Retrieved 2019-11-04.
12. Young, Claire; May 29, Calgary Herald Updated; 2015 (2015-05-29). "Peanut Butter Classic swings into action helping women and children | Calgary Herald". Retrieved 2019-11-04.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
13. Young, Claire (June 22, 2018). "Peanut Butter Classic raises $160,000 for Alcove". Calgary Herald. Calgary Herald. Retrieved October 27, 2019.