Cindy Ady

Cindy Lou Ady is a Canadian politician and was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. She served in this capacity from the 2001 provincial election, being re-elected in both the 2004 provincial election and 2008 provincial election, until the 2012 election, sitting as a Progressive Conservative. From 2008 to 2011, she served as the Minister of the Tourism, Parks and Recreation department in the Ed Stelmach government. On March 5, 2012, Ady announced that she would not seek re-election in the upcoming provincial general election.[3]

Cindy Ady
Cindy Ady speaking at a salute to Alberta Olympic and Paralympic athletes held in Calgary on April 5, 2010
MLA for Calgary-Shaw
In office March 15, 2001 – April 23, 2012
Preceded by	Jon Havelock
Former Minister of Tourism, Parks and Recreation in the Alberta government
In office March 13, 2008 – October 12, 2011
Preceded by	New portfolio
Succeeded by	Jack Hayden (politician)
Former Associate Minister of Tourism Promotion in the Alberta government
In office June 21, 2007 – March 13, 2008
Preceded by	New portfolio
Succeeded by	Portfolio terminated
Personal details
Born	Cindy Lou Ady[1] 1956/1957 (age 63–64)[2] San Antonio, Texas, United States
Political party	Progressive Conservative
Spouse(s)	Don Ady
Children	Four sons: Brent, Justin, Jeffrey, Scott
Alma mater	Brigham Young University
Occupation	Consultant
Website	http://www.cindyady.com

Early life

Ady was born in San Antonio, Texas and attended Brigham Young University from 1975 until 1979, where she studied Communications.[4] She owned a custom home construction business and was later, after moving to Canada, a self-employed community development consultant. In this capacity she developed a business plan and funding proposal for Centennial High School, which opened in 2004.[5]

Political career

Electoral record

Ady first sought public office in the 2001 provincial election in the constituency of Calgary-Shaw. In that election, she received 80.7% of the vote.[6] In 2004, she was re-elected with 63.4% of the vote, receiving the greatest percentage of the popular vote in Calgary next to Art Johnston, who garnered 63.8%. In the 2008 provincial election, Ady won her seat again, receiving 58.2% of the vote: the largest percentage of the popular vote of any elected Calgary MLA.[6]

Backbencher

Ady started off as a backbencher in the Ralph Klein government. During her first term, she sponsored the St. Mary's College Amendment Act, a private bill that allowed St. Mary's College to become a university college and grant degrees after being passed without objection.[7][8] During her second term she sponsored a pair of government bills. The Pharmacy and Drug Amendment Act, which passed with all-party support, changed the regulatory regime faced by pharmacies and eliminated the requirement that doctors' prescriptions include a precise amount to be prescribed, to allow pharmacists some discretion on the question.[9][10] The Personal Directives Amendment Act amended the province's statute involving personal directives - a written instruction on personal matters to be brought into effect in the event of the director's incapacity - to allow them to be suspended in the event that somebody making one regains capacity. It too passed with all-party support.[11][12]

Minister

On June 21, Premier Ed Stelmach appointed Ady Associate Minister of Tourism Promotion as part of an effort to put more Calgarians in cabinet after his party lost the riding of Calgary Elbow to Liberal Craig Cheffins.[13] After the 2008 election, she was promoted to a full minister, of Tourism, Parks and Recreation.[14] In this capacity, she sponsored the Travel Alberta Act, which would establish Travel Alberta, hitherto a government department, as a statutory corporation.[15] Ady has a strong record in terms of attendance in the legislature for Members. Her absenteeism is one of the lowest for all MLAs and Ministers.[16] Ady's accessibility and use of resources to keep the public informed on key issues has been praised. In October, 2011, she was replaced as Minister of Tourism, Parks and Recreation by Jack Hayden (politician).

Olympics

Minister Ady attended the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games, representing the Government of Alberta. Part of the government's advertising was showcased through exclusive booking of the Rocky Mountaineer, which did runs between Vancouver and Whistler.[17] As part of her role as Minister for Tourism, Parks and Recreation, Ady also helped host a provincial pavilion known as Alberta House, at the corner of Beaty and Robson Streets in Vancouver.[17] Some estimates have pegged the return on investment for the whole marketing project to be near $70 million, versus the $7 million initial investment. The Government of Alberta official report stated that the media exposure and return generated was worth nearly $70 million.[18]

Post-Olympic Recreation Promotion

Following the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, Minister Ady supported the establishment of an Olympic Legacy Network.[19] Ady stated that the project looked to utilize, "...opportunities to use our Olympic legacies for the long-term benefit of sport and tourism."[20] The project has already had success with the December 2010 Alberta/British Columbia Joint Legacy Event. This event hosted the World Championships for bobsleigh and skeleton racing in 2010.[21]

Personal life

Ady is married to Don Ady, son of former Cardston and Cardston-Chief Mountain MLA Jack Ady,[4] whom she identifies as her political hero.[22] The pair has four sons: Brent, Jeffrey, Justin, and Scott. They currently reside in south Calgary, within her riding of Calgary-Shaw.[5] Ady is an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Election results

2001 Alberta general election: Calgary-Shaw
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Cindy Ady	20,306	80.72%	5.43%
	Liberal	Jim McPherson	3,595	14.29%	−3.21%
	New Democratic	Ryan Falkenberg	729	2.90%	−0.07%
	Alberta First	Peter Singleton	222	0.88%
	Independent	Kevin Agar	153	0.61%
	Independent	Darren Popik	151	0.60%
Total			25,156
Rejected, spoiled and declined			55
Eligible electors / Turnout			49,366	51.0%
	Progressive Conservative hold		Swing		4.32%
Source: "Calgary-Shaw Official Results 2001 Alberta general election" (PDF). Elections Alberta. Retrieved March 9, 2010.

2004 Alberta general election: Calgary-Shaw
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Cindy Ady	6,735	63.44%	−17.28%
	Liberal	John Roggeveen	2,410	22.70%	8.41%
	Alberta Alliance	Barry Chase	620	5.84%
	Green	Rick Papineau	381	3.59%
	New Democratic	Jarrett Young	300	2.83%	−0.07%
	Separation	Daniel Doherty	170	1.60%	0.72%
Total			10,616
Rejected, spoiled, and declined			83
Eligible electors / Turnout			26,408	40.51%
	Progressive Conservative hold		Swing		−12.85%
Source: "Calgary-Shaw Statement of Official Results 2004 Alberta general election" (PDF). Elections Alberta. Retrieved April 11, 2010.

2008 Alberta general election results ( Calgary-Shaw )			Turnout 39.9%
Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	%
	Progressive Conservative	Cindy Ady	7,122	51.2%
	Liberal	John Roggeveen	3,002	24.5%
	Wildrose Alliance	Richard Dur	1,282	10.5%
	Green	Jennifer Oss-Saunders	499	4.1%
	NDP	Jenn Carlson	335	2.7%

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. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-10-21. Retrieved 2015-06-06.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
3. "Personal Announcement". Cindy Ady. Archived from the original on 2013-10-21. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
4. "Biography for Mrs. Cindy Ady". Legislative Assembly of Alberta. Retrieved 2007-06-27.
5. "Cindy Ady's biography on her website". Retrieved 2008-03-10.
6. "Alberta's past election results". Retrieved 2008-03-06.
7. "Bill Status Report for the 25th Legislature - 4th Session (2004)". Archived from the original on 2008-01-13. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
8. "Private Bills, Second Reading – Bill Pr. 1: St. Mary's College Amendment Act, 2004" (PDF). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Legislative Assembly of Alberta. 2004-03-30. p. 781.
9. "Bill Status Report for the 26th Legislature - 1st Session (2005)". Archived from the original on 2006-10-05. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
10. "Government Bills and Orders, Second Reading – Bill 38: Pharmacy and Drug Amendment Act, 2005" (PDF). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Legislative Assembly of Alberta. 2005-04-07. p. 630.
11. "Bill Status Report for the 26th Legislature - 3rd Session (2007)". Archived from the original on 2011-06-04. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
12. "Government Bills and Orders, Second Reading – Bill 40: Personal Directives Amendment Act, 2007" (PDF). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Legislative Assembly of Alberta. 2007-04-07. p. 1876.
13. "Stelmach puts more Calgarians in cabinet". Globe and Mail. 2006-06-22. Archived from the original on 2007-07-09. Retrieved 2007-06-27.
14. Markusoff, Jason (2008-03-12). "Stelmach reveals new, bigger cabinet". Calgary Herald. Archived from the original on 2012-11-04. Retrieved 2008-03-12.
15. "Government Bills and Orders, Second Reading – Bill 2: Travel Alberta Act" (PDF). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Legislative Assembly of Alberta. 2008-05-05. p. 464.
16. Fekete, Jason (2010-05-04). "Alberta MLA absenteeism - who's skipping out, who's got perfect attendance?". Calgary Herald. Archived from the original on 2010-05-10. Retrieved 2011-03-31.
17. News, CBC (2010-01-06). "Alberta charters luxury train for Vancouver Olympics". CBC News Online. Retrieved 2015-05-23.
18. "Alberta in Vancouver Olympic Summary Report". Archived from the original on 2010-12-12. Retrieved 2011-01-27.
19. "After Vancouver 2010: The Legacy". Archived from the original on 2010-12-12. Retrieved 2011-01-27.
20. "Ady meets in Utah to explore creation of Olympic network". Retrieved 2011-01-27.
21. "British Columbia and Alberta announce joint Olympic legacy event". Archived from the original on 2010-12-13. Retrieved 2011-01-27.
22. "Calgary candidate profiles, Alberta election 2008". Calgary Sun. Archived from the original on 2008-03-04. Retrieved 2008-04-16.