Jim Eglinski
Canadian politician (born 1948)
Jim Eglinski | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament for Yellowhead | |
| In office November 17, 2014 – October 21, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Rob Merrifield |
| Succeeded by | Gerald Soroka |
| Mayor of Yellowhead County | |
Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 14, 2020 | |
| Mayor of Fort St. John, British Columbia | |
| In office 2005–2008 | |
| Preceded by | Steve Thorlakson |
| Succeeded by | Bruce Lantz |
| Personal details | |
| Born | William James Eglinski (1948-12-15) December 15, 1948 (age 75) Two Hills, Alberta, Canada |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Residence(s) | Edson, Alberta, Canada |
| Profession | Politician |
William James Eglinski (born December 15, 1948) is a Canadian politician who served as the Member of Parliament for the federal electoral district of Yellowhead, in western Alberta, from 2014 to 2019. He is a member of the Conservative Party.
Background
Eglinski was born in Two Hills, Alberta and raised in Chipman, Alberta on a farm.[1] He worked for 40 years as a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer, and served as a councillor and eventually mayor for the town of Fort St. John, British Columbia.[2]
Federal Politics
Eglinski was first elected to represent the riding Yellowhead in a 2014 by-election.[3][4]
He was re-elected in the 2015 Canadian federal election with over 70 percent of the vote.[5] In the 42nd Canadian Parliament, his Conservative Party formed the Official Opposition. While he was not assigned to a critic role, Eglinski did introduce one private member bill into the House of Commons, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (abuse of vulnerable persons) (Bill C-206), which sought to make physical, emotional, sexual or financial abuse of a senior or someone who depends on others due to a mental or physical disability to be an aggravating circumstance for sentencing purposes. The bill was introduced on December 10, 2015, but did not advance to second reading.
In 2016, Eglinski surprised many by participating in the flag-raising to kick off Pride Week in Jasper, Alberta, a rare move for a Conservative MP. Acknowledging that he once opposed condoning homosexuality and saw no need for LGBT pride celebration, Eglinski credited his change of heart to the coming-out of one of his grandchildren.[6]
In the 2017 Conservative Party leadership contest, Eglinski initially endorsed eventual winner Andrew Scheer, but later switched his endorsement to Erin O'Toole.[7]
In late 2017, Eglinski faced nomination challenge for re-election from Ryan Ouderkirk, a parliamentary assistant to fellow MP David Yurdiga. "Surprised" by and "not happy" with the challenge, Eglinski announced in January 2018 that he would not seek re-election in 2019.[8]
Electoral record
| 2015 Canadian federal election: Yellowhead | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Jim Eglinski | 37,950 | 72.3 | -5.77 | – | |||
| Liberal | Ryan Maguhn | 7,467 | 14.2 | +11.31 | – | |||
| New Democratic | Ken Kuzminski | 4,753 | 9.0 | -3.88 | – | |||
| Green | Sandra Wolf Lange | 1,538 | 2.9 | -2.44 | – | |||
| Libertarian | Cory Lystang | 817 | 1.6 | -1.4 | – | |||
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | 52,525 | 100.0 | $257,007.56 | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 161 | – | – | |||||
| Turnout | 52,686 | 71.2% | – | |||||
| Eligible voters | 73,996 | |||||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | -8.54 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[9][10] | ||||||||
| ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Jim Eglinski | 7,884 | 62.6 | |||||
| Liberal | Ryan Heinz Maguhn | 2,518 | 20.0 | |||||
| New Democratic | Eric Rosendahl | 1,203 | 9.5 | |||||
| Independent | Dean Williams | 622 | 4.9 | |||||
| Libertarian | Cory Lystang | 374 | 3.0 | |||||
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | 100.0 | – | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | - | |||||||
| Turnout | 12,601 | 16.06 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 78,481 | |||||||
| By-election due to the resignation of Rob Merrifield. | ||||||||
| Source: "List of candidates — Yellowhead (Alberta) — By-election (Monday, November 17, 2014)". Elections Canada. Archived from the original on October 27, 2014. Retrieved November 8, 2014. | ||||||||
References
- ^ "Edson Leader - September 23, 2013 - 0022". Archived from the original on 2015-05-26. Retrieved 2015-05-26.
- ^ "Jim Eglinski: In the running" Archived 2014-11-29 at the Wayback Machine. Whitecourt Press, October 8, 2014.
- ^ "Yellowhead byelection called for Nov. 17". The Fitzhugh, October 15, 2014.
- ^ "Jim Eglinski to be elected in Yellowhead riding, CBC projects". CBC News, November 17, 2014.
- ^ "Conservatives Take Yellowhead In Landslide". Whitecourt Press, October 8, 2014. Archived 2014-11-29 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Markusoff, Jason (2017-07-26). "The Tory MP who made his peace with Pride Week". Maclean's.
- ^ "Erin O'Toole winning Conservative caucus as it shuns leadership front-runners Bernier, O'Leary". CBC News. 2017-03-28.
- ^ Rana, Abbas (2018-01-22). "Seven Conservative MPs face divisive nomination challenges, party denies it's behind the move". The Hill Times.
- ^ Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Yellowhead, 30 September 2015
- ^ Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates Archived 2015-08-15 at the Wayback Machine
External links
- Official website
- Jim Eglinski – Parliament of Canada biography
