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 |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse |
Melissa Bredenhof (m. 2011) |
| Children | 6 |
| Residence(s) | Barrhead, Alberta |
| Profession | Mechanic |
Background
Viersen 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
In 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
| 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
External links
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