Kristopher Wells | |
---|---|
Senator for Alberta | |
Assumed office August 31, 2024 | |
Nominated by | Justin Trudeau |
Appointed by | Mary Simon |
Personal details | |
Born | October 7,1971 |
Political party | Non-affiliated |
Alma mater | University of Alberta (BEd,MEd,PhD) |
Profession | Academic |
Kristopher Wells (born October 7,1971) [1] [2] is a Canadian politician and academic serving as a senator from Alberta since 2024. He is also an associate professor at MacEwan University and the editor-in-chief of the international Journal of LGBT Youth .
Wells has earned three degrees from the University of Alberta:a Bachelor of Education,a Master of Education,and a Doctor of Philosophy. [3] [4]
Wells was a public school teacher in St. Albert,Alberta. He then worked as a diversity consultant for Edmonton Public Schools,where he helped develop the first sexual and gender identity school board policy in Western Canada. [5]
From 2012 to 2018,he worked at the University of Alberta as an assistant professor and as the faculty director of the Institute for Sexual Minority Studies and Services. [3] In 2018,he was appointed MacEwan University's first Canada Research Chair and was the founding director of the MacEwan Centre for Sexual and Gender Diversity. [5] [6] Wells has served on various committees in Alberta,including the Society for Safe and Caring Schools and Communities,REACH Edmonton,the Alberta Hate Crimes Committee,the Edmonton Police Chief's Community Advisory Council,and the LGBTQ2+ National Monument Committee. [7] He has been a critic of the Alberta government's plan to require parental consent before children under 16 can change their names or preferred gender pronouns in schools. [7]
Wells is the co-creator of pride tape,a campaign that encouraged NHL hockey players to use rainbow-patterned hockey tape on their sticks as a way of showing support for LGBT rights. [8]
As of 2024 [update] ,Wells is an associate professor in the Department of Child and Youth Care,part of the Faculty of Health and Community Studies at MacEwan University. He holds the Canada Research Chair (Tier II) for the Public Understanding of Sexual and Gender Minority Youth and serves as the founding director for the MacEwan Centre for Sexual and Gender Diversity. [9] [5] His academic work specializes in sexual- and gender-minority youth,education,and culture. He is the editor-in-chief of the international Journal of LGBT Youth . [10]
Wells was appointed to the Senate of Canada on August 31,2024. He was recommended by the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments and appointed by Governor General of Canada Mary Simon on the advice of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. [5]
The appointments of Wells and Daryl Fridhandler as senators from Alberta were criticized by Alberta Premier Danielle Smith for ignoring the results of the province's unofficial Senate nominee election. [8]
Wells is a recipient of the Alberta Centennial Medal,the Alberta Award for Study of Canadian Human Rights and Multiculturalism,the Alberta Teachers' Association's Public Education Award,and the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal. [11] [5] In 2015,Wells received the University of Alberta Alumni Horizon Award. [12] [13]
Alberta is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta borders British Columbia to the west,Saskatchewan to the east,the Northwest Territories to the north,and the U.S. state of Montana to the south. It is one of the only two landlocked provinces in Canada,with Saskatchewan being the other. The eastern part of the province is occupied by the Great Plains,while the western part borders the Rocky Mountains. The province has a predominantly continental climate but experiences quick temperature changes due to air aridity. Seasonal temperature swings are less pronounced in western Alberta due to occasional Chinook winds.
The University of Calgary is a public research university located in Calgary,Alberta,Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta,founded in 1908,prior to being instituted into a separate,autonomous university in 1966. It is composed of 14 faculties and over 85 research institutes and centres. The main campus is located in the northwest quadrant of the city near the Bow River and a smaller south campus is located in the city centre. The main campus houses most of the research facilities and works with provincial and federal research and regulatory agencies,several of which are housed next to the campus such as the Geological Survey of Canada. The main campus covers approximately 200 hectares.
Edgar Peter Lougheed was a Canadian lawyer and Progressive Conservative politician who served as the tenth premier of Alberta from 1971 to 1985,presiding over a period of reform and economic growth.
A gay–straight alliance,gender–sexuality alliance (GSA) or queer–straight alliance (QSA) is a student-led or community-based organization,found in middle schools,high schools,colleges,and universities. These are primarily in the United States and Canada. Gay–straight alliance is intended to provide a safe and supportive environment for lesbian,gay,bisexual,transgender,and all LGBTQ+ individuals,children,teenagers,and youth as well as their cisgender heterosexual allies. The first GSAs were established in the 1980s. Scientific studies show that GSAs have positive academic,health,and social impacts on schoolchildren of a minority sexual orientation and/or gender identity. Numerous judicial decisions in United States federal and state court jurisdictions have upheld the establishment of GSAs in schools,and the right to use that name for them.
Sir James Alexander Lougheed, was a businessman,lawyer and politician from Alberta,Canada. He served as a senator for 35 years,and held a number of Cabinet positions.
The 2004 Alberta Senate nominee election,formally the 3rd Alberta Senate nominee election of Alberta was held on November 22,2004,to nominate appointments to the Senate of Canada. The Senate nominee election was held in conjunction with the 2004 Alberta general election.
The 1989 Alberta Senate nominee election,formally the 1st Alberta Senate nominee election of Alberta was held on October 16,1989,to nominate appointments to the Senate of Canada. The Senate nominee election was held in conjunction with Alberta municipal elections under the Local Authorities Election Act,and resulted in the first Canadian Senator appointed following a popular election.
John Walter Grant MacEwan was a Canadian farmer,professor at the University of Saskatchewan,Dean of Agriculture at the University of Manitoba,the 28th Mayor of Calgary and both a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) and the ninth Lieutenant Governor of Alberta,Canada. MacEwan University in Edmonton,Alberta,and the MacEwan Student Centre at the University of Calgary as well as the neighbourhoods of MacEwan Glen in Calgary and MacEwan in Edmonton are named after him.
Franco-Albertans are francophone residents of the Canadian province of Alberta. Franco-Albertans is a term primarily used to denote the province's francophone residents. In the 2016 Canadian Census,there were 86,705 Albertans that stated their mother tongue was French.
The 1998 Alberta Senate nominee election,formally the 2nd Alberta Senate nominee election of Alberta was held on October 19,1998,to nominate appointments to the Senate of Canada. The Senate nominee election was held in conjunction with Alberta municipal elections under the Local Authorities Election Act.
The Alberta order of precedence is a nominal and symbolic hierarchy of important positions within the province of Alberta. It has no legal standing but is used to dictate ceremonial protocol at events of a provincial nature.
Calgary is the largest city in the Canadian province of Alberta. It is the largest metro area within the three prairie provinces. As of 2021,the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,680,000 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in Canada.
Kent Hehr is a Canadian politician from Alberta. He served as the Liberal Member of Parliament for the riding of Calgary Centre from 2015 to 2019. Hehr was named Minister of Veterans Affairs in the federal Cabinet,headed by Justin Trudeau,on November 4,2015,and was shuffled to be Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities in August 2017. Hehr resigned from cabinet on January 25,2018,after allegations of workplace misconduct surfaced from when he was the Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for Calgary-Buffalo.
The Fairy Tales Queer Film Festival(formerly the Fairy Tales International Gay &Lesbian Film Festival) is an annual event held in Calgary,Alberta,Canada. Since its founding in 1999,the festival has attracted over 35,000 attendees. It is currently the longest running LGBT film festival in Alberta.
The 2012 Alberta Senate nominee election,formally the 4th Senate nominee election of Alberta,was held to elect three nominees for appointment to the Senate of Canada to represent the province of Alberta. It was to be held in the fall of 2010 but was delayed by then-Premier Ed Stelmach. His successor,Alison Redford,announced that it would,be held in conjunction with the 2012 provincial election before June 1 2012. On March 26 it was announced that it would be held on April 23 2012. The results followed the provincial election closely,with the Progressive Conservatives winning all three positions and the Wildrose Party a close second.
Harry Edwin Strom was the ninth premier of Alberta,from 1968 to 1971. His two-and-a-half years as Premier were the last of the thirty-six-year Social Credit dynasty,as his defeat by Peter Lougheed saw its replacement by a new era Progressive Conservative government. He is remembered as an honest,decent man who lacked the political skills of his predecessor,Ernest Manning,or of Lougheed.
Irfan Chaudhry is a hate crime researcher who has served as director of Edmonton,Alberta's MacEwan University's Office of Human Rights,Diversity,and Equity (OHRDE) since February 2018. Chaudry has frequently been consulted by the media for his expert opinion on hate crimes. He taught sociology and criminology at McEwan University for eight years.
The Edmonton Queer History Project (EQHP) is a community-engaged research project focused on documenting,preserving,and making visible the history of Edmonton's 2SLGBTQ+ community. One of EQHP's most prominent initiatives is a map of 27 locations around Downtown Edmonton,each with historical significance to the local 2SLGBTQ+ community,that was initially launched in March 2022. The Project also launched an interactive website,two podcasts,and regularly hosts walking tours following the EQHP downtown map to promote the city's queer history that is often absent in school curriculum and left out of public conversation.
Daryl Fridhandler is a Canadian corporate lawyer,arbitrator,businessman,and politician. He was appointed to the Senate of Canada on August 31,2024. He was nominated by the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments and appointed by Governor General of Canada Mary Simon on the recommendation of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.