Brian Jean

Brian Michael Jean (born February 3, 1963) is a Canadian politician who was the Leader of the Opposition of Alberta and the last leader of the Wildrose Party (2015-2017). He was a federal Member of Parliament who represented the riding of Athabasca from 2004 to 2006 and Fort McMurray—Athabasca from 2006 to 2014 in the House of Commons.

Brian Jean
Leader of the Opposition in Alberta
In office May 5, 2015 – July 24, 2017
Premier	Rachel Notley
Preceded by	Heather Forsyth
Succeeded by	Nathan Cooper
Leader of the Wildrose Party
In office March 28, 2015 – July 24, 2017
Preceded by	Heather Forsyth (interim)
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for Fort McMurray-Conklin
In office May 5, 2015 – March 5, 2018
Preceded by	Don Scott
Succeeded by	Laila Goodridge
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities
In office February 7, 2006 – May 24, 2011
Minister	Lawrence Cannon John Baird Chuck Strahl Denis Lebel
Preceded by	Charles Hubbard
Succeeded by	Pierre Poilievre
Member of the Canadian Parliament
In office June 28, 2004 – January 17, 2014
Preceded by	David Chatters
Succeeded by	David Yurdiga
Constituency	Athabasca (2004–06) Fort McMurray—Athabasca (2006–14)
Personal details
Born	Brian Michael Jean (1963-02-03) February 3, 1963 Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
Political party	United Conservative Party
Other political affiliations	Conservative (federal) Wildrose (provincial, until 2017)
Spouse(s)	Kimberley Michelutti ( m. 2016)
Residence	Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada
Alma mater	Bond University
Occupation	Lawyer
Website	brianjean.ca

After resigning from the House in 2014, he returned to political life in February 2015 by announcing he would seek the leadership of the Wildrose Party.[1] He was elected party leader on March 28, 2015.[2] In the 2015 provincial election, Jean was elected in the provincial riding of Fort McMurray-Conklin and became Leader of the Opposition as the Wildrose Party formed the Official Opposition to the governing Alberta New Democratic Party.[3] Jean ceased to lead the Wildrose Party with the merger into the United Conservative Party and ran to be leader of the new party,[4] losing to Jason Kenney.[5] He resigned his seat in the Alberta legislature on March 5, 2018.[6]

Background

Jean was born in Kelowna, British Columbia, and moved to Fort McMurray, Alberta when he was four years old in 1967.

Jean has a Bachelor of Science degree from Warner Pacific College in Portland, Oregon, and Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Laws degrees from Bond University in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. He also attended the law school at the University of Calgary, where he received qualification to be admitted to the Law Society of Alberta. This allowed him to practice law for 11 years in Fort McMurray prior to his political career.

Jean has worked as a farmhand, a printer's assistant, a businessperson, a lawyer, and an inspirational speaker. In his community, Jean served as the chairman of the Children's Health Foundation in Northern Alberta, chair of the Alberta Summer Games, president of the Fort McMurray Downtown Business Association, and director of the Fort McMurray Chamber of Commerce.

Federal political career

Jean was first elected to the House of Commons as a Conservative Party of Canada candidate in the riding of Athabasca in 2004, sitting in the Official Opposition to Paul Martin's Liberal government. He was re-elected in the renamed riding of Fort McMurray—Athabasca in 2006, when the Conservatives formed government under Stephen Harper. In February 2006, Jean was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities Lawrence Cannon. Jean was re-elected again in 2008 and 2011. After the 2011 election, he declined reappointment as Parliamentary Secretary in order to focus on his constituency needs. In the House of Commons, Jean served on the Finance, Justice, and Industry Committees.

On January 10, 2014, Jean announced that he would be resigning his seat on January 17, 2014 to return to private life in Fort McMurray.[7][8]

Provincial politics

The Wildrose Party was in disarray in late 2014 after leader Danielle Smith and eight other MLAs crossed the floor to the ruling Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta. A leadership election was organized to choose a new leader and Jean was encouraged to run. Jean entered the race on February 25, 2015, and was elected party leader on March 28, 2015 with 55% of the vote, defeating Cypress-Medicine Hat MLA Drew Barnes and former Strathcona County Mayor Linda Osinchuk.[2]

The 2015 Alberta election was held on May 5, 2015, less than two months after Jean became Wildrose leader. The party retained its standing as Official Opposition in the legislature, growing its caucus from 17 in 2012, and 5 at dissolution, to 21. For the first time in Alberta history, the New Democratic Party formed government, with Rachel Notley becoming Premier. This marked the end of 43 years of government by the Progressive Conservatives.

On August 30, 2016 Jean, responding to questions about the need for more seniors housing in the city he represents, told an audience he has been "beating this drum" for more than a decade. "I will continue to beat it, I promise," Jean said. "But it's against the law to beat Rachel Notley." He quickly apologized for what he later characterized as an "inappropriate attempt" at humour.[9]

Jean's former federal caucus colleague Jason Kenney became Progressive Conservative leader after winning that party's leadership election in early 2017. Kenney's platform called for uniting the Progressive Conservative and Wildrose parties to form a united right-of-centre alliance. On March 20, 2017, Jean met with Kenney to begin unity discussions.[10]

On May 18, 2017, Jean and Kenney announced that their two parties had come to a merger agreement and on July 22, 2017 the merger was passed with 95% support from both the PCs and the Wildrose. The merger agreement formed the United Conservative Party, a leadership election occurred on October 28, 2017, in which Jean was defeated by Kenney, and a founding convention to be held in 2018.[11]

Jean announced his resignation from the legislature on March 5, 2018, saying he wished to spend more time with his family and rebuild his house which had been destroyed in the 2016 Fort McMurray Wildfire.[6]

Electoral record

Provincial

2015 Alberta general election: Fort McMurray-Conklin
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Wildrose	Brian Jean	2,950	43.85%	+3.70%
	New Democratic	Ariana Mancini	2,071	30.79%	+22.86%
	Progressive Conservative	Don Scott	1,502	22.33%	−26.62%
	Liberal	Melinda Hollis	204	3.03%	+0.06%
Total valid votes			6,727	99.10%	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			61	0.90%	+0.07%
Eligible electors / Turnout			15,272	44.45%	+8.15%
	Wildrose gain from Progressive Conservative		Swing		+15.16
Source(s) Elections Alberta. "Election Results - Fort McMurray-Conklin". Retrieved 2018-03-14.

Federal

2011 Canadian federal election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Brian Jean	21,988	71.84	+4.72	$68,113
	New Democratic	Berend Wilting	4,053	13.24	+0.33	$24
	Liberal	Karen Young	3,230	10.55	-0.05	$20,825
	Green	Jule Asterisk	1,374	4.49	-1.88	$2,734
Total valid votes/Expense limit			30,605	100.00
Total rejected ballots			144	0.47	+0.13
Turnout			30,749	40.75	+5
Eligible voters			75,456	–	–

2008 Canadian federal election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Brian Jean	17,160	67.12	+2.67	$48,046
	New Democratic	Mark Voyageur	3,300	12.91	-1.58	$1,853
	Liberal	John Webb	2,710	10.60	-4.17	$5,459
	Green	Dylan Richards	1,628	6.37	+1.47
	Independent	Shawn Reimer	350	1.37	–	$666
	First Peoples National	John Malcolm	233	0.91	-0.47
	Christian Heritage	Jacob Strydhorst	186	0.73	–	$733
Total valid votes/Expense limit			25,567	100.00	$101,823
Total rejected ballots			86	0.34	+0.03
Turnout			25,653	36	-12

2006 Canadian federal election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Brian Jean	20,342	64.45	+4.16	$59,027
	Liberal	Mel H. Buffalo	4,663	14.77	-9.28	$3,333
	New Democratic	Roland Lefort	4,573	14.49	+4.03	$19,091
	Green	Ian Hopfe	1,547	4.90	-0.28	$8
	First Peoples National	John Malcolm	437	1.38	–
Total valid votes			31,549	100.00
Total rejected ballots			97	0.31	-0.06
Turnout			31,646	48.32	+0.47

2004 Canadian federal election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Brian Jean	17,942	60.3	-6.40	$84,096
	Liberal	Doug Faulkner	7,158	24.05	-4.35	$52,713
	New Democratic	Robert Cree	3,115	10.46	+7.94	$4,942
	Green	Ian Hopfe	1,542	5.18	+4.18	$112
Total valid votes			29,757	100.00
Total rejected ballots			112	0.37	+0.07
Turnout			29,869	47.85	-8.43

References

1. "Brian Jean enters Wildrose leadership race". Calgary Herald. February 25, 2015. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
2. "Brian Jean named new Wildrose leader". Edmonton Journal. March 28, 2015. Retrieved March 28, 2015.
3. "Brian Jean brings Wildrose back to respectability". Globe and Mail. May 5, 2015. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
4. "Rona Ambrose says proposed PC-Wildrose merger what Alberta needs". CBC News. May 18, 2017. Retrieved May 19, 2017.
5. Wood, James (October 29, 2017). "Kenney wins big in UCP leadership race, fires warning shot at NDP". Calgary Herald. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
6. Franson, Jason (March 5, 2018). "Former Wildrose leader Brian Jean resigns from Alberta legislature". The Globe and Mail. Fort McMurray, Alberta. The Canadian Press. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
7. "Alberta Conservative MP Brian Jean stepping down". CBC News. January 10, 2014. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
8. "Conservative MP representing oil sands resigns". Globe and Mail. January 10, 2014. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
9. Trynacity, Kim; Bell, Roberta (August 31, 2016). "Wildrose leader's 'beat Rachel Notley' joke provokes widespread condemnation". CBC News. Edmonton, Alberta. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
10. "Brian Jean, Jason Kenney take first steps toward uniting Alberta conservative parties". CBC News. Retrieved 2017-04-19.
11. Graney, Emma (May 19, 2017). "Wildrose-PC members to vote on new united party July 22". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved 29 May 2020.

External links

• Brian Jean – Parliament of Canada biography