Barry Morishita

Jeanne Morishita

​

(m. 1986)​

Barry Morishita
Leader of the Alberta Party
In office September 1, 2021 –October 15, 2023
Children	2
Alma mater	Rosemary High School

Barry Morishita is a Canadian politician who served as the leader of the Alberta Party from 2021 to 2023. ^{[1] [2]} He previously served on the city council of Brooks in 1998 and became the city's mayor in 2016. ^[3]

Background

Morishita's father, Douglas, was born in 1945 while his family was interred at the Tashme Incarceration Camp, during World War II. He moved to Brooks at the end of the war, where Morishita was born. ^[4]

He graduated Rosemary High School in 1983. ^[4]

In 1986, he married his wife, Jeanne.

Before his entry into politics he owned and operated an auto part store along with some business partners. ^[4]

Political career

Morishita was first elected in Brooks city council in 1998 at the age of 32. ^[3] He was elected Mayor of Brooks in 2016 ^[5] and president of the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association in 2017. ^[6] In September 2021, he stepped down from both roles to become leader of the Alberta Party after the resignation of former party leader Stephen Mandel. ^[7] He ran in a by-election for the southern Alberta seat of Brooks-Medicine Hat on November 8, 2022 but lost to the UCP candidate, Alberta premier Danielle Smith. ^{[8] [9] [10]}

On October 15, 2023, Morishita resigned as leader of the Alberta Party. ^[11]

Electoral record

2023 general election

v t e 2023 Alberta general election : Brooks-Medicine Hat
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	United Conservative	Danielle Smith	13,315	66.49	+11.98
	New Democratic	Gwendoline Dirk	5,477	27.35	+0.61
	Alberta Party	Barry Morishita	1,233	6.16	-10.37
Total			20,025	99.54	–
Rejected and declined			92	0.46
Turnout			20,117	56.85
Eligible voters			35,385
	United Conservative hold		Swing		-1.82
Source(s) Source: Elections Alberta [12]

2022 by-election

Alberta provincial by-election, 8 November 2022: Brooks-Medicine Hat
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	United Conservative	Danielle Smith	6,919	54.51	-6.15
	New Democratic	Gwendoline Dirk	3,394	26.74	+8.85
	Alberta Party	Barry Morishita	2,098	16.53	+9.60
	Alberta Independence	Bob Blayone	225	1.77	+0.80
	Wildrose Independence	Jeevan Mangat	56	0.44
Total valid votes			12,692
Total rejected ballots			45
Turnout			12,695	35.51	-30.27
Eligible voters			35,872
	United Conservative hold		Swing		-7.48
Elections Alberta [13]

2001 general election

v t e 2001 Alberta general election : Strathmore-Brooks
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Lyle Oberg	8,585	75.09%	2.51%
	Liberal	Barry Morishita	1,774	15.52%	2.76%
	Independent	Christopher Sutherland	511	4.47%	–
	New Democratic	Don MacFarlane	290	2.54%	-3.48%
	Social Credit	Rudy Martens	273	2.39%	-6.26%
Total			11,433	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			29	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			24,372	47.03%	0.05%
	Progressive Conservative hold		Swing		-0.12%
Source(s) Source: "Strathmore-Brooks Official Results 2001 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

References

1. "We Have a New Leader". Alberta Party. Archived from the original on 2021-11-06. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
2. "Barry Morishita steps down as AM president to run for Alberta Party leader". edmontonjournal. Archived from the original on 2021-11-05. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
3. "Making the Alberta Party relevant is Barry Morishita's new job – daveberta.ca – Alberta Politics". 10 September 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-11-05. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
4. "Morishita always wanted to serve his community, now province | Alberta | prairiepost.com". 2021-09-28. Archived from the original on 2021-09-28. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
5. "Brooks voters choose new mayor in byelection". calgaryherald. Archived from the original on 2021-11-06. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
6. "2019 Board Elections | Alberta Urban Municipalities Association" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-01-28. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
7. "Former Brooks mayor Barry Morishita new leader of Alberta Party | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Archived from the original on 2023-03-04. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
8. Sarah Moore (8 October 2022). "Danielle Smith will run in Brooks-Medicine Hat byelection". CBC News. Archived from the original on 3 November 2022. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
9. Bennett, Dean (November 8, 2022). "Danielle Smith captures victory in Brooks-Medicine Hat byelection". CBC News. Archived from the original on December 10, 2022. Retrieved December 11, 2022.
10. Herring, Jason (2022-11-09). "Premier Danielle Smith wins byelection that gives her seat in Alberta legislature". National Post. Retrieved 2022-11-09.
11. Sorenson, Les (6 November 2023). "The Alberta Party Political Association Announces the Resignation of Leader Barry Morishita". Alberta Party. Archived from the original on 9 November 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
12. "52 - Brooks-Medicine Hat". officialresults.elections.ab.ca. Elections Alberta . Retrieved June 9, 2023.
13. "By-Election November 8, 2022 - 52 - Brooks-Medicine Hat". officialresults.elections.ab.ca. Elections Alberta. Archived from the original on 24 November 2022. Retrieved 24 November 2022.