Arnold Viersen MP (born May 3, 1986) is a Canadian Conservative politician who was elected to represent the riding of Peace River—Westlock in the 2015 Canadian federal election.[1][2] He identifies as a social conservative.[3]
Arnold Viersen | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of Parliament for Peace River—Westlock | |
| Assumed office October 19, 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Riding Created |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 3, 1986 Barrhead, Alberta, Canada |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse |
Melissa Bredenhof (m. 2011) |
| Children | 6 |
| Residence(s) | Barrhead, Alberta |
| Profession | Mechanic |
Background
editViersen attended Covenant Canadian Reformed School in Neerlandia from Grade 1 through Grade 12, and currently resides near his childhood home on an acreage in Westlock County. Before entering politics, Viersen worked as a journeyman auto mechanic.[4]
Career
editIn the 42nd Canadian Parliament, Viersen served on the Indigenous and Northern Affairs Committee, and was named the Official Opposition's Deputy Critic of Rural Affairs. On December 8, 2016, Viersen's Private Member's Motion (M-47) received unanimous consent in the House of Commons.[5] The official text of this motion reads: "That the Standing Committee on Health be instructed to examine the public health effects of the ease of access and viewing of online violent and degrading sexually explicit material on children, women and men, recognizing and respecting the provincial and territorial jurisdictions in this regard, and that the said Committee report its findings to the House no later than July 2017."[6] The Health Committee's ensuing study was the first Government of Canada study into the public health effects of pornography since 1985.[7]
In June 2022, after the Supreme Court of the United States decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization overturned abortion rights from Roe v. Wade, Viersen celebrated the ruling on Facebook, calling abortion in Canada the "greatest human rights tragedy of our time."[8] On May 6, 2024, Viersen put forward a petition calling for the government to restrict abortion.[9]
In a June 2024 interview on Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith's podcast, Viersen said that he would vote against abortion, gay marriage. and cannabis legalization. Afterward Viersen, released a statement that those stances were his alone, and party leader Pierre Poilievre said that they were not reflective of the party's stance. In addition, Viersen stated that he felt ambushed by Erskine-Smith's questions in which Erskine-Smith disputed by stating Viersen stances on those issuses are well known.[10]
Electoral record
edit| 2021 Canadian federal election: Peace River—Westlock | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Arnold Viersen | 29,486 | 63.0 | -17.6 | $57,120.49 | |||
| New Democratic | Gail Ungstad | 6,019 | 12.9 | +5.4 | $10,267.72 | |||
| People's | Darryl Boisson | 5,916 | 12.6 | +9.5 | $3,808.47 | |||
| Maverick | Colin Krieger | 2,573 | 5.5 | — | $8,852.55 | |||
| Liberal | Leslie Penny | 2,431 | 5.2 | -0.9 | $1,390.57 | |||
| Green | Jordan Francis MacDougall | 364 | 0.8 | -1.9 | $0.00 | |||
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | 46,789 | – | – | $135,210.15 | ||||
| Total rejected ballots | 198 | 0.42 | -0.25 | |||||
| Turnout | 46,987 | 63.2 | -7.2 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 74,324 | |||||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | -11.5 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[11][12] | ||||||||
| 2019 Canadian federal election: Peace River—Westlock | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Arnold Viersen | 41,659 | 80.6 | +11.25 | $61,848.92 | |||
| New Democratic | Jennifer Villebrun | 3,886 | 7.5 | -6.89 | none listed | |||
| Liberal | Leslie Penny | 3,148 | 6.1 | -6.74 | $5,946.81 | |||
| People's | John Schrader | 1,579 | 3.1 | - | $4,989.63 | |||
| Green | Peter Nygaard | 1,377 | 2.7 | +0.18 | none listed | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 51,649 | 100.0 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 347 | |||||||
| Turnout | 51,996 | 70.4 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 73,809 | |||||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +9.07 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[13][14] | ||||||||
| 2015 Canadian federal election: Peace River—Westlock | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Arnold Viersen | 34,342 | 69.35 | -8.46 | $74,852.55 | |||
| New Democratic | Cameron Alexis | 7,127 | 14.39 | +1.35 | $10,844.13 | |||
| Liberal | Chris Brown | 6,360 | 12.84 | +9.20 | $6,504.94 | |||
| Green | Sabrina Lee Levac | 1,247 | 2.52 | -1.34 | – | |||
| Libertarian | Jeremy Sergeew | 443 | 0.89 | – | $108.02 | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 49,519 | 100.00 | $259,766.62 | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 170 | 0.34 | – | |||||
| Turnout | 49,689 | 65.93 | – | |||||
| Eligible voters | 75,362 | |||||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | -4.90 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[15][16] | ||||||||
References
edit- ^ Arnold Viersen – Parliament of Canada biography
- ^ "Arnold Viersen elected as first MP for new riding of Peace River-Westlock". Edmonton Journal. 19 October 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
- ^ Charlebois, Kathleen (September 3, 2015). "Twenty-nine year old Arnold Viersen leads the Conservative Party in Peace River-Westlock". Whitecourt Star. Postmedia. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
- ^ Katie Richard (October 2, 2019). "Peace River-Westlock Conservative Candidate: Arnold Viersen". Reach 96.3 FM. Archived from the original on October 29, 2019. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
- ^ "M-47 Instruction to the Standing Committee on Health (Violent and sexual online material) 42nd Parliament, 1st Session - Members of Parliament - House of Commons of Canada".
- ^ "M-47 Instruction to the Standing Committee on Health (Violent and sexual online material) 42nd Parliament, 1st Session - Members of Parliament - House of Commons of Canada".
- ^ Thompson, Elizabeth (December 13, 2016). "Commons committee to study health effects of violent online pornography". CBC News. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
- ^ "'It feels so good': Alberta MP celebrates overturning of Roe v. Wade". CTV News. June 25, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
- ^ "Could notwithstanding clause be used on abortion? Poilievre's office says 'never' - National | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved 2024-05-11.
- ^ Taylor, Stephanie (June 5, 2024). "Alberta MP felt 'ambushed' by Liberal MP's podcast questions on abortion". Global News. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
- ^ "List of confirmed candidates – September 20, 2021 Federal Election". Elections Canada. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
- ^ "Election Night Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
- ^ "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
- ^ "Election Night Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
- ^ "October 19, 2015 Election Results — Peace River—Westlock (Validated results)". Elections Canada. 24 October 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
- ^ "Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates". Archived from the original on 2015-08-15. Retrieved 2020-05-02.