Kathleen Ganley

The Honourable
Kathleen Ganley
Ganley in June 2024
Minister of Justice and Solicitor General of Alberta
In office
May 24, 2015 – April 30, 2019
PremierRachel Notley
Preceded byJonathan Denis
Succeeded byDoug Schweitzer
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for Calgary-Mountain View
Assumed office
April 16, 2019
Preceded byDavid Swann
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for Calgary-Buffalo
In office
May 5, 2015 – April 16, 2019
Preceded byKent Hehr
Succeeded byJoe Ceci
Minister of Aboriginal Affairs
In office
May 24, 2015 – February 2, 2016
Preceded byJim Prentice
Succeeded byRichard Feehan
Personal details
Born1976 or 1977 (age 47–48)
Edmonton, Alberta
Political partyAlberta New Democratic Party
Residence(s)Calgary, Alberta
Alma materUniversity of Calgary
OccupationLawyer
PortfolioMinister of Justice and Solicitor General

Kathleen Teresa Ganley ECA (born 1978) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who was elected in the 2019 Alberta general election to represent the electoral district of Calgary-Mountain View in the 30th Alberta Legislature. She was previously elected in 2015 to represent Calgary-Buffalo in the 29th Legislature. She is a member of the New Democratic Party of Alberta.[1] On May 24, 2015 she was sworn in as the Minister of Justice and Minister of Aboriginal Affairs for the province of Alberta.[2] On February 2, 2016 six new members were sworn into Alberta's Cabinet, and Kathleen Ganley retained the role of Minister of Justice and Solicitor General for the province of Alberta becoming one of the first non-conservatives to be appointed since the early 1960s.[3] The department of Aboriginal Relations was renamed to Indigenous Relations, reflecting the preference of Indigenous communities, with Richard Feehan appointed Minister of Indigenous Relations.[4]

In 2024, she ran for the position of leader of the Alberta NDP, ultimately losing out to former Mayor of Calgary Naheed Nenshi after receiving 5,899 votes or about 8% of the vote.[5]

Life and career

Ganley was born in Edmonton and moved to Calgary before she turned two.[6] She has degrees in Psychology and in Philosophy from the University of Calgary. She graduated from the University of Calgary faculty of law in 2012. As a lawyer, she specialized in labour and employment.[6] She also worked as a clerk in a provincial court.[7] Ganley gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Wren, in November 2017.[8]

Electoral history

2015 general election

2015 Alberta general election: Calgary-Buffalo
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
New Democratic Kathleen T. Ganley 4,671 35.11% 30.39% $3,118
Progressive Conservative Terry Rock 3,738 28.09% -2.58% $92,068
Liberal David Khan 3,282 24.67% -16.80% $54,749
Wildrose Leah Wamboldt 1,351 10.15% -10.97% $2,900
Green Sabrina Lee Levac 263 1.98% $500
Total 13,305
Rejected, spoiled and declined 162
Eligible electors / turnout 32,950 40.87% -3.39%
New Democratic gain from Liberal Swing -1.89%
Source(s)
Source: "05 - Calgary-Buffalo, 2015 Alberta general election". officialresults.elections.ab.ca. Elections Alberta. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
"2015-2016 Annual Report of the Chief Electoral Officer" (PDF). Elections Alberta. Retrieved 2018-05-02.

2019 general election

2019 Alberta general election: Calgary-Mountain View
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
New Democratic Kathleen Ganley 12,526 47.32% 18.45%
United Conservative Jeremy Wong 9,708 36.68% 2.24%
Alberta Party Angela Kokott 2,345 8.86%
Liberal David Khan 1,474 5.57% -31.10%
Green Thana Boonlert 315 1.19%
Alberta Independence Monica Friesz 102 0.39%
Total 26,470
Rejected, spoiled and declined 203 86 7
Eligible electors / turnout 38,316 69.63% 15.24%
New Democratic gain from Liberal Swing 1.43%
Source(s)
Source: "18 - Calgary-Mountain View, 2019 Alberta general election". officialresults.elections.ab.ca. Elections Alberta. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

2023 general election

2023 Alberta general election: Calgary-Mountain View
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
New Democratic Kathleen Ganley 16,516 64.70 +17.38
United Conservative Pamela Rath 8,468 33.17 -3.50
Liberal Frances Woytkiw 335 1.31 -4.26
Solidarity Movement Christopher Wedick 119 0.47
Pro-Life Lucas Hernandez 90 0.35
Total 25,528 99.03
Rejected and declined 251 0.97
Turnout 25,779 65.42
Eligible voters 39,403
New Democratic hold Swing +10.44
Source(s)

References

  1. ^ Howell, Trevor (13 April 2015). "Calgary-Buffalo Riding: Ganley, Khan, Levac, Rock and Wamboldt". Calgary Herald. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  2. ^ "Rachel Notley sworn in as Alberta premier, reveals cabinet," CBC News, May 24, 2015.
  3. ^ "Meet the Minister: Kathleen Ganley-Justice". Alberta Views - The Magazine for Engaged Citizens. 2018-12-01. Retrieved 2019-11-04.
  4. ^ "Alberta's new Cabinet focused on jobs, economic growth and diversification". Alberta.ca. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  5. ^ "Former Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi named Alberta NDP leader in landslide victory | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved 2024-07-23.
  6. ^ a b "Rachel Notley government features 3 Calgary MLAs in slimmed-down cabinet," CBC News. May 24, 2015.
  7. ^ Darcy Henton, "Kathleen Ganley is the new Justice Minister, Solicitor-General," Calgary Herald, May 24, 2015.
  8. ^ James Wood (28 November 2017). "Justice Minister Ganley goes on maternity leave; Marlin Schmidt to take over". Calgary Herald. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  9. ^ "18 - Calgary-Mountain View". officialresults.elections.ab.ca. Elections Alberta. Retrieved June 8, 2023.