Rachael Harder

Rachael Harder MP (born 1986) is a Canadian politician who was elected to represent the riding of Lethbridge in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2015 federal election.[1] Harder is the Shadow Minister for the Status of Women.[2] Harder was reelected to represent Lethbridge in the 2019 Canadian federal election, gaining over 60 per cent of the popular vote. Harder won her seat with over 30,000 more votes than her competitors.[3]

Rachael Harder MP
Rachael Harder in 2015
Official Opposition Critic for Status of Women
Incumbent
Assumed office August 30, 2017
Leader	Andrew Scheer
Preceded by	Rona Ambrose
Member of Parliament for Lethbridge
Incumbent
Assumed office October 19, 2015
Preceded by	Jim Hillyer
Personal details
Born	1986 (age 33–34) Kathyrn, Alberta, Canada
Political party	Conservative
Residence	Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
Alma mater	Briercrest College and Seminary (AA) University of Lethbridge (BA, BEd)

Early Life and Schooling

Harder grew up on a farm in southern Alberta.[4] At the age of eleven, Harder began her own business raising and boarding dogs.[4] While first attending Briercrest College and Seminary in Saskatchewan,[5] Harder graduated with great distinction from the University of Lethbridge with a Bachelor of Education and Bachelor of Social Sciences.[4]

Political positions

2019 federal election platform

Harder's Conservative platform included a focus on the expansion of the energy sector, and the completion of pipelines.[6] Issues relating to environment were the end of carbon pricing in Canada, as well as the prohibition of dumping sewage in waterways, such as the West Coast and the St. Lawrence River.[6] Harder also cited crime and the opioid crisis as a major issue to be tackled, as well as an advance of aid to local peace officers.[6]

Criticism of Alberta public school teachers

In 2011, Harder told Christian Week that many public school teachers in Alberta encourage sexual experimentation, which Harder believes results in unsafe sexual activities.[7]

Abortion stance

Harder is opposed to abortion, except where necessary to protect the life of the mother.[8] The pro-life organization Campaign Life Coalition gave Harder a near-perfect voting record and she has said that she will "always advocate for the preborn".[9] She has voted to fund resource centres that provide aid for pregnant women but do not offer abortions, and gave two centres in her riding $12,000 in federal grants.[10] Harder also co-sponsored Bill C-225 in January 2016, which would have made it "an offence to cause injury or death to a preborn child while committing or attempting to commit an offence against a pregnant woman and to add pregnancy as an aggravating circumstance for the purpose of sentencing".[11]

In September 2017, Harder was nominated by Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer to chair the parliamentary committee on the Status of Women. However, MPs from other parties walked out and a vote did not occur due in protest to her pro-life position.[12][10][13][14] Liberal MP Monsef explained that the committee "decided that having their spokesperson, and their chair, be someone who does not support a woman's right to choose, is not supportive a person's rights, is not the best choice".[10]

Criticism of carbon taxation

Harder is opposed to the implementation of the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, stating it will increase household debt and will not be effective in its goal to reduce green house gas emissions.[15] Her critique of Carbon Pricing extends to Canada's involvement in the Paris Accord, stating that the targets are too high for Canada to meet.[16] Harder also is an advocate for higher government transparency with regards to carbon pricing, criticizing the Liberal Party of Canada's fiscal expenditures.[15]

Electoral record

2019 Canadian federal election: Lethbridge
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Rachael Harder	41,713	65.8	+9.04
	New Democratic	Shandi Bleiken	9,110	14.7	-5.8
	Liberal	Amy Bronson	8,443	13.6	-4.9
	Green	Stephnie Watson	1,939	3.1	+0.53
	People's	Grant Hepworth	1,007	1.6	-
	Christian Heritage	Marc Slingerland	670	1.1	-0.21
Total valid votes/Expense limit			61,882	100.0
Total rejected ballots			335
Turnout			62,217	70.5
Eligible voters			88,226
	Conservative hold		Swing		+7.42
Source: Elections Canada[17][18]

2015 Canadian federal election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Rachael Harder	32,321	56.8	+4.29	–
	New Democratic	Cheryl Meheden	11,674	20.5	-9.45	–
	Liberal	Mike Pyne	10,532	18.5	+9.37	–
	Green	Kas MacMillan	1,461	2.6	-1.88	–
	Christian Heritage	Geoffrey Capp	746	1.3	-2.27	–
	Rhinoceros	Solly Krygier-Paine	209	0.4	–	–
Total valid votes/Expense limit			56,943	100.0		$215,495.48
Total rejected ballots			158	–	–
Turnout			57,101	69.44%	–
Eligible voters			82,225
	Conservative hold		Swing		+6.87
Source: Elections Canada[19][20]

References

1. Martin, Kevin (24 August 2015). "Canada Election 2015: Lethbridge candidates and the issues". Calgary Sun. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
2. "Andrew Scheer announces Conservative 'shadow cabinet' - Macleans.ca". 30 August 2017. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
3. Vogt, Terry (2019-10-22). "Candidates react to Conservative landslide in Lethbridge". Calgary. Retrieved 2019-12-05.
4. "Rachael Harder". Canada's Official Opposition. Retrieved 2019-12-05.
5. "Rachael Harder represents the Conservative Party". Lethbridge Campus Media. Retrieved 2019-12-05.
6. "Harder targets water pollution, drugs in federal election campaign kickoff". The Lethbridge Herald - News and Sports from around Lethbridge. 2019-09-13. Retrieved 2019-12-05.
7. "Worrying trends in teen sexuality". ChristianWeek. 2011-12-14. Retrieved 2018-12-14 from: http://www.christianweek.org/worrying-trends-in-teen-sexuality/
   
8. www.arcc-cdac.ca (PDF) http://www.arcc-cdac.ca/action/Rachael-Harder-position-abortion.pdf. Retrieved 2018-12-14. Missing or empty |title= (help)
9. Coalition, Campaign Life. "MP Rachael Harder - Lethbridge - Voting Records - Campaign Life Coalition". https://www.campaignlifecoalition.com. Retrieved 2018-12-14. External link in |website= (help)
10. Sep 26, John Paul Tasker · CBC News · Posted; October 27, 2017 4:42 PM ET | Last Updated; 2017. "Liberals walk out after Conservatives pick anti-abortion MP for status of women committee chair | CBC News". CBC. Retrieved 2018-12-14.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
11. https://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/42-1/bill/C-225/first-reading
12. "Voting out anti-abortion MP Rachael Harder - Macleans.ca". www.macleans.ca. Retrieved 2018-12-14.
13. www.catholicregister.org https://www.catholicregister.org/item/26108-mp-rachael-harder-shunned-by-committee-due-to-pro-life-beliefs. Retrieved 2018-12-14. Missing or empty |title= (help)
14. "Anti-abortion Tory MP Rachael Harder loses bid for status of women committee chair | The Star". thestar.com. Retrieved 2018-12-14.
15. "Rachael Harder, "Main Estimates, 2018-19" on June 14th, 2018 | openparliament.ca". openparliament.ca. Retrieved 2019-12-05.
16. "Rachael Harder, "Carbon Pricing" on June 17th, 2019 | openparliament.ca". openparliament.ca. Retrieved 2019-12-05.
17. "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
18. "Election Night Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
19. "Voter Information Service - Who are the candidates in my electoral district?". www.elections.ca. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
20. "Elections Canada On-line - Élection Canada en-ligne". www.elections.ca. Retrieved 28 November 2017.

External links

• Rachael Harder – Parliament of Canada biography