Jump to content

Peter Schiefke

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Peter Schiefke
Chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities
Assumed office
September 2021
MinisterOmar Alghabra
Preceded byVance Badawey
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change
Assumed office
December, 2019
MinisterJonathan Wilkinson
Preceded bySean Fraser
Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister (Youth)
Assumed office
December 2, 2015
MinisterJustin Trudeau
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction
Assumed office
August 31, 2018
MinisterBill Blair
Member of Parliament
for Vaudreuil—Soulanges
Assumed office
October 19, 2015
Preceded byJamie Nicholls
Personal details
Born1979
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Political partyLiberal
SpouseDr. Paula Ruttle
Alma materConcordia University
McGill University
ProfessionEnvironmentalist

Peter Schiefke MP (born April 13, 1979) is a Canadian environmentalist and Liberal politician, who was elected to represent the riding of Vaudreuil—Soulanges in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2015 federal election.[1]

Biography

[edit]

Peter Schiefke spent his early childhood in Hudson, Quebec and subsequently moved onto the island of Montreal where he attended and graduated from Dalkeith Elementary School and Rosemount High School. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Concordia University and a Master of Science in Renewable Resources from McGill University. He was a member of the Quebec pop group INMOTION[2] in September 2000. This group had some success in the early 2000s and appeared on the Radio-Canada television program La Fureur.

While a student at Concordia in 2002, Peter Schiefke launched the We Will Always Remember (WWAR) project, aimed at raising awareness among youth of the sacrifices made by Canadian soldiers around the world, for which he received the Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation in 2003.[3] In 2006, he and Awel Uwihanganye founded the Concordia Volunteer Abroad Program (CVAP), now known as Community, Empowerment, Education, Development (CEED). This organization organizes cooperation and development projects in the Gulu region of Uganda.

Peter Schiefke also co-founded Youth Action Montreal[4] in 2006 with Mohamed Shuriye to promote the engagement of Montreal college and university students in sustainable development and environmental protection. In 2007, this organization organized the conference "Less Talk, More Action: A Youth Summit on Climate Change", which was attended by Al Gore and David Suzuki and brought together thousands of people at the Palais des congrès de Montréal.[5] In 2009, he was appointed National Director of The Climate Reality Project Canada Foundation,[6] and after his term was appointed to the Board of Directors.

Political career

[edit]

Peter Schiefke ran for the Liberal Party of Canada nomination in Vaudreuil-Soulanges in July 2014, with the federal election coming up the following year. On February 24, 2015, he was chosen as the candidate on the second ballot at a nomination meeting where he was up against two other candidates. On October 19, he was elected with 46.6% of the vote, defeating sitting New Democratic Party MP Jamie Nicholls.

In December 2015 he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister for Youth.[7] As Parliamentary Secretary for Youth, he worked closely with the Prime Minister in the creation of the first-ever Prime Minister’s Youth Council,[8] the creation of the first-ever Youth Policy for the Government of Canada, and advocated for increases to student aid, bursaries, and entrepreneurship programs. In August 2018, he was asked to take on additional responsibilities and serve as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction, Bill Blair. In this role, he helped lead the implementation of the Cannabis Act, which legalized recreational use of cannabis in Canada on October 17, 2018, and helped lead Canada’s response to the record numbers of asylum seekers and irregular migrants entering Canada through irregular and regular points of entry.

He ran again in the 2019 election and was re-elected with 47.3% of the vote. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau subsequently appointed him the Parliamentary Secretary for Environment and Climate Change in December 2019. During his time as Parliamentary Secretary, he was asked to take on a leadership role in the Government efforts to protect 25% of Canada’s Nature by 2025, update and strengthen Canada’s Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) that had not been updated since 1999, and implement a ban on harmful single-use plastics. The ban on harmful single-use plastics was announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on October 7, 2020, and is projected to come into force at the end of 2022. The CEPA legislation, Bill C-28: Strengthening Environmental Protection for a Healthier Canada Act, was tabled in the House of Commons on April 13, 2021, but ultimately died on the order paper when the election was called on August 15 of that same year. The Bill is projected to be re-introduced in the 44th Parliament. In March 2021, he was appointed the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship and served in that capacity until the Federal election was called on August 15 of the same year.

On September 20, 2021 he was elected for a third consecutive term as the Member of Parliament for Vaudreuil-Soulanges, receiving 46.4% of the vote. On December 16, 2021 he was elected the Chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure, and Communities.

Electoral record

[edit]
2021 Canadian federal election: Vaudreuil—Soulanges
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Liberal Peter Schiefke 30,001 46.5 -0.8 $86,137.80
Bloc Québécois Thierry Vadnais-Lapierre 14,308 22.2 -2.2 $2,242.01
Conservative Karen Cox 10,556 16.3 +4.8 $10,931.31
New Democratic Niklas Brake 6,780 10.5 -0.3 $403.80
Green Cameron Stiff 1,631 2.5 -2.5 $1,085.30
Free Ginette Destrempes 1,288 2.0 N/A $399.41
Total valid votes/expense limit 64,564 98.1 $125,354.78
Total rejected ballots 1,233 1.9
Turnout 65,797 66.9
Eligible voters 98,289
Liberal hold Swing +0.7
Source: Elections Canada[9]
2019 Canadian federal election: Vaudreuil—Soulanges
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Liberal Peter Schiefke 32,254 47.3 +0.68 $108,254.46
Bloc Québécois Noémie Rouillard 16,600 24.4 +9.36 none listed
Conservative Karen Cox 7,804 11.5 -2.31 none listed
New Democratic Amanda MacDonald 7,368 10.8 -11.51 none listed
Green Cameron Stiff 3,405 5.0 +2.79 none listed
People's Kaylin Tam 711 1.0 none listed
Total valid votes/expense limit 68,142 100.0
Total rejected ballots 962
Turnout 69,104 72.4
Eligible voters 95,435
Liberal hold Swing -4.34
Source: Elections Canada[10][11]
2015 Canadian federal election: Vaudreuil—Soulanges
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Liberal Peter Schiefke 30,550 46.62 +34.23
New Democratic Jamie Nicholls 14,627 22.31 -21.19
Bloc Québécois Vincent François 9,858 15.04 -8.62
Conservative Marc Boudreau 9,048 13.81 -3.8
Green Jennifer Kaszel 1,445 2.21 -0.63
Total valid votes/expense limit 65,528 100.0     $231,083.77
Total rejected ballots 714
Turnout 66,242
Eligible voters 89,766
Source: Elections Canada[12][13]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Liberal Peter Schiefke elected in Vaudreuil—Soulanges, Global News, October 19, 2015.
  2. ^ "Artistes I". www.quebecpop.com. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  3. ^ Canada, Anciens Combattants (14 February 2019). "Peter Christopher Schiefke - Mention élogieuse du ministre des Anciens Combattants - Anciens Combattants Canada". www.veterans.gc.ca. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  4. ^ "Youth Action Montreal | YOUTH DIGITAL MEDIA ECOLOGIES IN CANADA". ydme.ca. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  5. ^ "Lighting the fire of activism". Retrieved 9 June 2020 – via PressReader.
  6. ^ "The Climate Reality Project Canada". The Climate Reality Project Canada. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  7. ^ "Peter Schiefke député de Vaudreuil-Soulanges nommé secrétaire parlementaire en matière de Jeunesse | INFOSuroit.com" (in French). 3 December 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  8. ^ "Prime Minister's Youth Council". 6 March 2023.
  9. ^ "List of confirmed candidates – September 20, 2021 Federal Election". Elections Canada. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  10. ^ "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  11. ^ "Election Night Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  12. ^ Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Vaudreuil—Soulanges, 30 September 2015
  13. ^ Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates
[edit]