Brent Chapman | |
---|---|
Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia for Surrey South | |
Assumed office October 19, 2024 | |
Preceded by | Elenore Sturko |
Personal details | |
Born | 1959or1960(age 64–65) |
Political party | BC Conservatives |
Brent Chapman is a Canadian politician who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2024 British Columbia general election. He represents the electoral district of Surrey South as a member of the Conservative Party of British Columbia.
Chapman was born in 1959or1960. He worked as an actor with minor roles in some films and as a small business owner. [1] [2]
Chapman was selected as the Conservative Party of British Columbia candidate in Surrey South for the 2024 general election. The incumbent MLA,Elenore Sturko,ran in nearby Surrey-Cloverdale as a result of changes made after the 2021 electoral redistribution. [3]
During the election,Chapman was forced to repeatedly apologize for past controversial statements about Muslims,Palestinians,and mass shootings. In the final weeks of the campaign,Chapman had to issue multiple apologies for past political statements denigrating Muslims and Palestinians,and endorsing conspiracy theories after former BC Liberal MLA and current CKNW radio host Jas Johal drew attention to them. [3] [4] On October 14,2024,Chapman posted on social media that he had received legal advice not to continue commenting on his previous social media posts. On October 15,Chapman hid from Global News reporters when they sought to interview him at his campaign office. The same day,BC Conservative leader John Rustad declined to answer whether or not Chapman would be allowed to be a cabinet minister or sit with the party caucus if elected,instead stating BC voters had a choice between Chapman or a continued New Democratic government. [5]
Chapman defeated NDP candidate Haroon Ghaffar in the general election. [3]
In February 2017,Chapman made a social media post suggesting that the Quebec City mosque shooting,Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting,Aurora theater shooting,and the Pulse nightclub shooting were faked for political reasons. On October 14,2024,Chapman tweeted saying that those shootings were real and he had been questioning the chaotic nature of reporting after such shootings. [3] [5] The posts led to fresh calls for Chapman to step down as a candidate. Conservative leader Rustad issued a statement that Chapman's posts did not reflect the party's or his views. [4]
In November 2015,Chapman shared a video from fake news website called "Jew News" that misrepresented refugees upset with Macedonian police restrictions as refusing Red Cross packages because of the cross and being non-halal. Chapman called for a boycott of Air Canada because of its role in airlifting Syrian refugees to Canada. [2]
In January 2017,after Donald's Trump victory in the 2016 United States presidential election,Chapman,who had posted pro-Trump content on social media,posted a graphic indicating the proper way to commit suicide by gunshot to help "those liberals who said they would kill themselves if Trump were elected". [6]
In mid-September 2024,Chapman said on a podcast that he believed that the United Nations was conspiring to control Canadian municipalities via contracts,citing the work of Freedom Convoy protestor Maggie Hope Braun. Chapman also said that the World Health Organization's proposed International Treaty on Pandemic Prevention,Preparedness and Response would allow it to confiscate personal property,and that the BC Conservatives had 45 to 50 people who were opposed to the treaty. [7]
In August 2024,one of Chapman's campaign social media accounts reposted a meme that public health harm reduction policies were akin to the fate of the Warsaw Ghetto boy during the Holocaust. [8]
In September 2024,Chapman appeared on a podcast and referred to the mainstream narrative around Canadian Indian residential school gravesites as a "massive fraud" and cult-like. Chapman also said that Canadians should feel proud of their national history. [3] The Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs condemned the comments as racist and called for Chapman to be removed as a candidate. Chapman issued a statement saying that the clip was being taken out of context and said that he "[had] an immense amount of respect and love for First Nations people and their historic suffering." [9]
In November 2015,Chapman made a Facebook post describing Palestinians as "inbred walking,talking,breathing time bombs." Chapman also made another post describing Muslims as inbred and speculated that "coexistence with Islam" was impossible. The National Council of Canadian Muslims criticized his comments as Islamophobic and the B.C. Muslim Association stated that Chapman should resign as a candidate. On October 9,2024,Chapman issued a statement describing his past comments as "completely unacceptable" and not reflective of him today. [3] [5] [10]
Chapman is married to Conservative MP Kerry-Lynne Findlay and has four adult children. [1] [2]
BC United (BCU),known from 1903 until 2023 as the British Columbia Liberal Party or BC Liberals,is a provincial political party in British Columbia,Canada. The party has been described as conservative,neoliberal,and occupying a centre-right position on the left–right political spectrum. The party commonly describes itself as a "free enterprise coalition" and draws support from members of both the federal Liberal and Conservative parties. Since the 1990s,BC United has been the main centre-right opposition to the centre-left New Democratic Party (NDP). Once affiliated with the Liberal Party of Canada,the British Columbia Liberal Party became independent in 1987. The party changed its name to BC United on April 12,2023.
The Conservative Party of British Columbia,commonly the BC Conservatives and colloquially known as the Tories,is a provincial political party in British Columbia,Canada.
Gulzar Singh Cheema is an Indian-born Canadian physician and politician. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1988 to 1993,and a member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 2001 to 2004,making him one of only a few Canadian politicians to have sat in two provincial legislatures since Confederation. He is the first Indian-born provincial legislator in Canada. He was also a cabinet minister in the government of Premier of British Columbia Gordon Campbell from 2001 to 2004,and was a candidate of the Liberal Party of Canada in the federal election of 2004.
Mary Ruth Polak is a Canadian politician,who served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia (MLA) for the riding of Langley from 2005 until her defeat in the 2020 provincial election. She was re-elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in 2017,having represented the constituents of Langley since 2005 and was appointed Minister of Health on June 12,2017 by Premier Christy Clark. Prior to her new cabinet post,she served as the Minister of the Environment,Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure,Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation,Minister of Children and Family Development and Minister Responsible for Child Care,Minister of Healthy Living and Sport,and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health for the Conversation on Health. Before being elected to the legislative assembly,Polak served as a trustee and former chair of the Surrey School Board in Surrey,British Columbia. She currently resides in Langley,British Columbia.
Kevin Falcon is a former Canadian provincial politician who was the leader of BC United and became the Leader of the Opposition in May 2022. He was the member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for the district of Vancouver-Quilchena,from April 2022,when he won the seat in a by-election until the 2024 provincial election,for which he suspended his party's campaign and withdrew his candidacy for re-election. He formerly served as the MLA for Surrey-Cloverdale as a member of the then BC Liberals from 2001 to 2013. He served as both the 12th deputy premier of British Columbia,and the province's minister of Finance.
Sukhminder "Sukh" Singh Dhaliwal is a Canadian businessman and politician,who has served as the Liberal Member of Parliament for Surrey—Newton since 2015. He was previously the Member of Parliament for Newton—North Delta from 2006 to 2011.
Bruce Ralston is a Canadian politician. He was a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) of British Columbia,representing the riding of Surrey-Whalley from 2005 until 2024. A member of the New Democratic Party (NDP),he has served in the cabinets of Premiers John Horgan and David Eby.
John Rustad is a Canadian politician who has served as the leader of the Conservative Party of British Columbia since 2023 and as the Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia for Nechako Lakes since 2009. A former BC Liberal before his expulsion from caucus in 2022,he was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in 2005,representing Prince George–Omineca. He served in Premier Christy Clark's cabinet as Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation,and Minister of Forests,Lands and Natural Resource Operations.
Brenda Joy Locke is a Canadian politician who currently serves as the mayor of Surrey,British Columbia. She was elected to the post in 2022 after defeating the incumbent Doug McCallum. She previously served on the Surrey City Council from 2018 to 2022,and in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 2001 to 2005,representing the electoral district of Surrey-Green Timbers as a member of the British Columbia Liberal Party.
Nechako Lakes is a provincial electoral district in British Columbia,Canada. It was established by the Electoral Districts Act,2008,came into effect upon the dissolution of the British Columbia Legislature in April 2009,and was first contested in the 2009 election. The district includes the northern communities of Burns Lake,Vanderhoof,Houston and surrounding areas.
Andrew John Weaver is a Canadian scientist and former politician who represented the riding of Oak Bay-Gordon Head from 2013 to 2020 in the British Columbia Legislative Assembly. Weaver was the leader of the Green Party of British Columbia from 2015 to 2020. After leaving the Green caucus in January 2020,he continued to sit as an independent member but did not run for reelection in the 2020 BC election.
Jinny Jogindera Sims is an Indian-born Canadian politician,who was elected as a New Democratic Party Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2017 provincial election in Surrey-Panorama and represented the riding until 2024. She previously was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 2011 election. She represented the electoral district of Newton—North Delta as a member of the New Democratic Party. Sims was also a candidate for Mayor of Surrey in the October 2022 civic elections. She placed fourth with 12.58% of the vote.
Kerry-Lynne Donna Findlay is a Canadian politician who has served as the member of Parliament for South Surrey—White Rock since 2019,and previously represented the electoral district of Delta—Richmond East in the House of Commons of Canada from 2011 to 2015. A member of the Conservative Party,she had served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice,Associate Minister of National Defence,and Minister of National Revenue while that party was in power under Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
Andrew Wilkinson is an Australian-born Canadian politician. He is the former leader of the British Columbia Liberal Party,and served as the leader of British Columbia's Official Opposition. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2013 provincial election and re-elected in 2017 and 2020. He represented the electoral district of Vancouver-Quilchena.
Sonia Furstenau is a Canadian politician who is currently the leader of the Green Party of British Columbia. Furstenau served as the MLA for Cowichan Valley from 2017 until 2024,when she unsuccessfully attempted to switch constituencies.
Ian Paton is a Canadian politician who was elected in the 2017 British Columbia general election to represent the electoral district of Delta South in the 41st Parliament of British Columbia. He is a member of the Conservative Party of British Columbia caucus,and was first elected as a member of the BC Liberals. Prior to his election to the legislature,Paton was a farmer and municipal councillor in Delta.
Peter Gordon Milobar is a Canadian politician serving as an MLA from Kamloops. Milobar was elected in the 2017 provincial election as a member of the BC Liberal caucus,representing the electoral district of the Kamloops-North Thompson. He is the Official Opposition Critic for Finance. He previously served as the Official Opposition Critic for Environment and Climate Change and also for Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation.
Karin Kirkpatrick is a Canadian politician who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2020 British Columbia general election. She represented the electoral district of West Vancouver-Capilano as a member of BC United. She served as the Official Opposition critic for Education,Children,Family Development,and Childcare. As of May 6,2024,she serves as the Shadow Minister for Housing,Childcare,Autism &Accessibility,Gender Equity &Inclusion.
Trevor Halford is a Canadian politician,who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2020 British Columbia general election. Spouse Holly Halford He represents the electoral district of Surrey-White Rock as a member of the Conservative Party of British Columbia,originally being elected as a BC Liberal. As of May 4,2024,he serves as the Shadow Minister for Transportation &Infrastructure,ICBC &Affordability,TransLink,BC Transit &Sport. Previously,he served as the Official Opposition Critic for Mental Health and Addictions. On September 3,2024,Trevor Halford was announced as the Conservative Party of British Columbia candidate for Surrey-White Rock.
The 2024 British Columbia general election was held on October 19,2024,to elect members of the Legislative Assembly to serve in the 43rd parliament of the Canadian province of British Columbia.