Mike Ellis (Canadian politician)

Last updated

Mike Ellis
Mike Ellis UCP.jpg
Deputy Premier of Alberta
Assumed office
June 9, 2023

Michael George Ellis ECA MLA (born January 9, 1973) is a Canadian politician who has represented Calgary-West in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta since 2014, sitting as a member of the Progressive Conservatives and later the United Conservative Party (UCP). Ellis was sworn in as Deputy Premier and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services in Alberta. Prior to entering politics, he worked as a police officer.

Contents

Background

Ellis was born and raised in Calgary, where he was a police sergeant with the Calgary Police Service between 2003 and 2015. [1]

He is married with three children. [2]

Political career

Ellis was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta in a by-election on October 27, 2014, as a Progressive Conservative (PC). [1] He was re-elected in the 2015, 2019, and 2023 provincial elections and has also been the government whip.

He had previously challenged his predecessor, Ken Hughes, in a nomination contest in the same district for the 2012 Alberta general election, [3]

Premier Jason Kenney named Ellis as Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions in a 2021 cabinet shuffle. [4]

Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services

Ellis was appointed Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services by Premier Danielle Smith on October 24, 2022, upon Smith's victory of the 2022 United Conservative Party leadership election. [5]

In December 2022 Ellis updated the Alberta Police Act to include an independent committee that handles complaints made towards police. [6]

Ellis has introduced plans to have police carry mandatory body cams. [7]

Ellis gave the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT) $4.4 million to combat gang and gun violence. [8]

Ellis supported Danielle Smith during her leadership bid, saying she shared his "values for improving public safety." [9]

During the 2023 Alberta general election, Ellis joined the far-right Rebel News' hosts Ezra Levant and Sheila Gunn Reid for their live-coverage of the event. [10] Ellis continued as Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services in the June 2023 cabinet shuffle. [11] In April 2025, the National Police Federation and RCMP Deputy Commissioner Rob Hill said that comments made by Ellis in the Legislative Assembly about the state of rural policing misled the public. [12] [13]

Deputy Premier of Alberta

Following the defeat of former Deputy Premier Kaycee Madu in the 2023 Alberta general election and cabinet reshuffling of Nathan Neudorf, Ellis was sworn in as the sole Deputy Premier of Alberta on June 9, 2023. [11] [14]

Election results

2023 Alberta general election : Calgary-West
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
United Conservative Mike Ellis 12,79356.67-9.44
New Democratic Joan Chand'oiseau9,46841.94+16.48
Green Jason McKee3131.39
Total22,57499.15
Rejected and declined1930.85
Turnout22,76766.25
Eligible voters34,363
United Conservative hold Swing -12.96
Source(s)
2019 Alberta general election : Calgary-West
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
United Conservative Mike Ellis 14,97466.11-6.08
New Democratic Gulshan Akter5,76825.47-2.34
Alberta Party Frank Penkala1,6107.11
Liberal Yasna Oluic-Kovacevic2981.32
Total22,651
Rejected, spoiled and declined65406
Eligible electors / turnout32,57069.76%13.25%
United Conservative hold Swing
Source(s)
Source: "26 - Calgary-West, 2019 Alberta general election". officialresults.elections.ab.ca. Elections Alberta . Retrieved May 21, 2020.
2015 Alberta general election : Calgary-West
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Progressive Conservative Mike Ellis 8,31246.79%2.50%
New Democratic Mizanur Rahman4,94027.81%24.72%
Wildrose Gerard Lucyshyn4,51225.40%-16.18%
Total17,764
Rejected, spoiled and declined752022
Eligible electors / turnout31,60456.51%20.78%
Progressive Conservative hold Swing
Source(s)
Source: "27 - Calgary-West, 2015 Alberta general election". officialresults.elections.ab.ca. Elections Alberta . Retrieved May 21, 2020.
Alberta provincial by-election, October 27, 2014: Calgary-West
Resignation of Ken Hughes on September 26, 2014
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Progressive Conservative Mike Ellis 4,83644.295.56
Wildrose Sheila Taylor4,53041.58+4.25
Liberal David Khan 9278.51+1.05
New Democratic Brian Malkinson 3373.09+0.08
Alberta Party Troy Millington2642.42+1.45
Total10,894
Rejected, spoiled and declined1771
Eligible electors / turnout30,54135.73
Progressive Conservative hold Swing
Source(s)
Alberta. Chief Electoral Officer (2015). Report on the October 27, 2014 By-elections in: Calgary-Elbow, Calgary-Foothills, Calgary-West, Edmonton-Whitemud (PDF) (Report). Edmonton: Legislative Assembly of Alberta; Chief Electoral Officer. ISBN   978-098653678-6 . Retrieved April 20, 2021.

References

  1. 1 2 "Calgary-West elects PC Party's Mike Ellis". CBC News, October 27, 2014.
  2. "Calgary-West: The issues, the candidates". Calgary Sun , October 25, 2014.
  3. "Mike Ellis out of second PC party Calgary-West contest" Archived 2014-10-28 at the Wayback Machine . Calgary Herald , February 21, 2012.
  4. von Scheel, Elise; Bellefontaine, Michelle (July 8, 2021). "Alberta Premier Jason Kenney shuffles his cabinet". CBC News .
  5. "Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services". www.alberta.ca. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
  6. "Alberta to create Police Review Commission for misconduct investigations, still finalizing RCMP participation". Edmonton. 2022-12-08. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
  7. Cummings, Medeleine (March 14, 2023). "Body-worn cameras to be mandatory for all police officers in Alberta, province says".
  8. "Alberta announces $4M in police funding to address gangs, gun violence".
  9. Green, Arthur C. (21 September 2022). "Smith endorsed by MLA Ellis from Calgary West". Western Standard. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
  10. "MLA Mike Ellis joins Rebel News' Live Coverage of Alberta Election Night". YouTube . 30 May 2023.
  11. 1 2 "Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services". www.alberta.ca. Retrieved 2023-06-10.
  12. "RCMP association slams Alberta Public Safety Minister". Red Deer Advocate. 2025-04-14. Retrieved 2025-05-08.
  13. "RCMP joins police union in accusing Alberta public safety minister of spreading misinformation | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved 2025-05-08.
  14. @MikeEllisUCP (June 9, 2023). "I am incredibly honoured and privileged to be appointed as Deputy Premier and to continue the important work as Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services. I look forward to rolling up my sleeves with this cabinet and getting to work for all Albertans! #ableg" (Tweet). Retrieved 2023-06-10 via Twitter.
  15. "26 - Calgary-West". officialresults.elections.ab.ca. Elections Alberta . Retrieved June 8, 2023.