Laurie Blakeman
| Laurie Blakeman | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| MLA for Edmonton-Centre | |
|
In office March 11, 1997 – May 5, 2015 |
|
| Preceded by | Michael Henry |
| Succeeded by | David Shepherd |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
May 23, 1958 Edmonton, Alberta |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Spouse(s) | Ben Henderson |
| Residence | Edmonton, Alberta |
| Alma mater | University of Alberta |
| Occupation | Non-profit manager |
| Website | http://www.laurieblakeman.ca |
Laurie Blakeman (born May 23, 1958) is a Canadian politician, who represented the electoral district of Edmonton-Centre in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. She is a member of the Alberta Liberal Party, and was first elected in the 1997 election.
She graduated with a bachelor's degree in fine arts in acting and a certificate in public administration from the University of Alberta. Before entering politics, she worked for the Alberta Advisory Council on Women's Issues, the Phoenix Theatre and Theatre Network, the Medical Council of Canada, and the Alberta Snowmobile Association.
Blakeman first sought political office in the 1997 provincial election, when she ran as a Liberal candidate in Edmonton-Centre to replace retiring Liberal MLA Michael Henry. She was elected, finishing more than a thousand votes ahead of the second-place finisher, Progressive Conservative Don Weideman. This gap narrowed when Weideman challenged her re-election bid in the 2001 election, but grew to more than three thousand votes in 2004. The 2008 election would bring a new Progressive Conservative Opponent, in Bill Donahue, but a similar result, as Blakeman handily retained her seat. For the 2015 election, Blakeman ran for three political parties, Liberal, Alberta Party and Greens. All to no avail as she lost her seat in the legislature in the 2015 election which saw the NDP sweep to power for the first time.
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