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Jeremy Harrison

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Jeremy Harrison
Member of the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly
for Meadow Lake
Assumed office
November 7, 2007
Preceded byMaynard Sonntag
Member of Parliament
for Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River
In office
June 28, 2004 – February 5, 2006
Preceded byRick Laliberte
Succeeded byGary Merasty
Leader of the Government in the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan
In office
August 13, 2019 – May 24, 2024
PremierScott Moe
Preceded byGreg Brkich
Succeeded byLori Carr
In office
December 5, 2011 – June 5, 2014
PremierBrad Wall
Preceded byDan D'Autremont
Succeeded byKen Cheveldayoff
Personal details
Born (1978-01-29) January 29, 1978 (age 46)
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Political partySaskatchewan Party
Other political
affiliations
Conservative Party of Canada
Residence(s)Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada
Occupationlawyer, political staffer

Jeremy Harrison (born January 29, 1978) is a Canadian provincial politician who is currently a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan, representing the riding of Meadow Lake. Harrison is also the former Canadian Member of Parliament for the riding of Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, a riding that encompasses the northern half of the province of Saskatchewan.

Early life

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Born in Saskatoon, Harrison joined the Reform Party in 1996 and served in numerous positions in Reform, the Canadian Alliance, and the Conservative Party of Canada, including time as a political staffer in the Office of the Leader of the Opposition in Ottawa. He worked for Stephen Harper's leadership campaign in 2002, and from 2002 to 2004 he served on the national executive of the Canadian Alliance. During this time Harrison was also enrolled at the University of Saskatchewan College of Law. He graduated from that institution with a Bachelor of Law degree in the spring of 2004. He later graduated with a Master's in Public Administration from the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy.

Federal politics

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He was elected to Parliament as a Conservative in the 2004 federal election.[1] Harrison was defeated in the 2006 federal election by Liberal opponent Gary Merasty. On election night, the margin was 106 votes, which was reduced to 73 when election official reviewed the count sheets.[2][3] He challenged the result, alleging threats and ballot stuffing by the Liberals,[4] but a judicial recount confirmed Merasty's victory, by a reduced margin of 67 votes.[5] On February 20, Harrison announced that he would not pursue the matter further.[6]

Harrison was cited as being part of the Conservative Party of Canada's alleged In-and-Out scheme during the 2006 election.[7]

Provincial politics

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Harrison was named as the Saskatchewan Party's candidate in Meadow Lake in June 2007.[8][9]

He was initially declared defeated in the 2007 election, narrowly losing to incumbent MLA Maynard Sonntag in Meadow Lake,[10] but was subsequently declared elected after a count error was noted the following day.[11] The count of absentee ballots on November 19 confirmed Harrison's victory.[12]

Following the election, Harrison was named legislative secretary to the minister of energy and resources, northern resources and oilsands development.[13] On May 29, 2009, Premier Brad Wall appointed Harrison to the Executive Council of Saskatchewan as Minister of Municipal Affairs.[14][15] On June 29, 2010, he was moved to Minister of Enterprise and Minister Responsible for Trade in a cabinet shuffle.[16][17]

Harrison was re-elected in the 2011 election.[18] Following the election, he was given an additional role as Government House Leader.[19] Harrison was dropped from cabinet in May 2012,[20] but retained his position as Government House Leader.[21][22]

On June 5, 2014, Harrison returned to cabinet when appointed associate minister of the economy responsible for trade, tourism, innovation and immigration.[23][24]

On August 20, 2017, Harrison announced his bid for the leadership of the Saskatchewan Party just days after party leader and Premier Brad Wall announced that he was retiring from politics.[25] Harrison withdrew from the race on September 1, and announced he would instead back Scott Moe—the eventual winner.[26][27]

On January 19, 2022, Harrison recommended that Dennis Fitzpatrick, the board chair of the Saskatchewan Research Council after Fitzpatrick raised conflict of interest concerns with him on January 11 about SRC CEO Mike Crabtree's single sourcing to close business associates also on the board for a $100 million rare-earth element processing project. Harrison had asked staffers to begin drafting the required order in council hours after his phone call with Fitzpatrick to be presented to cabinet and signed by the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan on January 19. The order in council was reversed by a further order in council on January 21, also at Harrison's recommendation, all without Fitzpatrick's knowledge. That day, Harrison told Fitzpatrick he was launching a review into conflict of interest matter but also allegations by those allegedly conflicted board members against Fitzpatrick's conduct, and that substantive board meetings would be paused. On March 7, 2022, the review said it did not substantiate any of the concerns by either party and found that there had been a breakdown in SRC leadership. Shortly afterwards, Fitzpatrick was fired.[28]

Harrison said to CBC that the January 19, 2022 firing was reversed because he had learned of the allegations that day in a written letter from Fitzpatrick, despite there being records of him ordering the terminating order in council immediately after his January 11 phone call. In January 2023, Harrison said that he was not involved in the board politics of the SRC.[28]

On May 16, 2024, Harrison was accused by Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Randy Weekes of sending him "intimidating and harassing" text messages in order to influence his rulings, and of bringing a rifle into the Legislative Building.[29][30] After initially denying the allegation, Harrison admitted that with the knowledge of security officials, he had brought "a properly cased long gun" into the building for about ten minutes before leaving for a hunting trip, so that the gun would not be left in his vehicle unattended. He stated that "in retrospect, I should not have done this", and resigned as house leader.[31][32]

Electoral history

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2016 Saskatchewan general election

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2016 Saskatchewan general election: Meadow Lake
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Saskatchewan Jeremy Harrison 4,309
New Democratic Dwayne Lasas 1,411
Liberal Eric McCrimmon 296
Green Eric Schalm 105
Total valid votes 100.0  
Eligible voters
Saskatchewan hold Swing -
Source: Elections Saskatchewan,[33] Global News.[34]

2011 Saskatchewan general election

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2011 Saskatchewan general election: Meadow Lake
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Saskatchewan Jeremy Harrison 4,207 61.97 +13.11
New Democratic Helen Ben 2,491 36.69 -11.66
Green Susan Merasty 91 1.34 *
Total 6,789 100.00
Saskatchewan hold Swing -

2007 Saskatchewan general election

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2007 Saskatchewan general election: Meadow Lake
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Saskatchewan Jeremy Harrison 3,507 48.86 +4.59
New Democratic Maynard Sonntag 3,471 48.35 -1.92
Liberal Don Coupland 200 2.79 -2.67
Total 7,178 100.00
Saskatchewan gain from New Democratic Swing -

2006 Canadian general election

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2006 Canadian federal election: Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Liberal Gary Merasty 10,191 41.37 +11.50 $69,229
Conservative (x)Jeremy Harrison 10,124 41.09 +3.70 $78,578
New Democratic Anita Jackson 3,787 15.37 -4.72 $43,976
Green John McDonald 534 2.17 -0.60 $128
Total valid votes 24,636 100.00  
Total rejected ballots 88 0.36 -0.03
Turnout 24,724 58.43 +11.02
  Liberal gain from Conservative Swing -3.9

2004 Canadian general election

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2004 Canadian federal election: Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Conservative Jeremy Harrison 7,279 37.39 +1.62 $27,194
Liberal Al Ducharme 5,815 29.87 -11.94 $52,686
New Democratic Earl Cook 3,910 20.09 -1.72 $9,005
Independent (x)Rick Laliberte 1,923 9.88 -31.93
Green Marcella Gall 539 2.77
Total valid votes 19,466 100.00 
Total rejected ballots 76 0.39 -0.01
Turnout 19,542 47.41 -12.1
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing -6.8

Note: Conservative vote is compared to the total of the Canadian Alliance vote and Progressive Conservative vote in the 2000 election.

References

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  1. ^ "Harrison ousts Laliberte". The Star Phoenix. Saskatoon. June 29, 2004.
  2. ^ "Liberal's margin shrinks in Saskatchewan riding". CBC News. January 29, 2006. Retrieved 2015-12-07.
  3. ^ "Final results give Merasty slim win". The Star Phoenix. Saskatoon. January 30, 2006. Archived from the original on January 11, 2016. Retrieved 2015-12-07.
  4. ^ "Election 'stolen,' ex-MP charges". The Leader-Post. Regina. January 25, 2006. Archived from the original on January 11, 2016. Retrieved 2015-12-07.
  5. ^ "Liberals hold on to Saskatchewan riding after judicial recount". CBC News. February 10, 2006. Retrieved 2015-12-07.
  6. ^ "Harrison gives up fight to overturn election". CBC News. February 20, 2006. Archived from the original on March 11, 2007.
  7. ^ "Harrison undaunted". The Leader-Post. Regina. May 7, 2008. Archived from the original on January 11, 2016. Retrieved 2015-12-07.
  8. ^ "Former Sask. Tory MP running provincially". CBC News. June 15, 2007. Retrieved 2015-12-07.
  9. ^ "Former MP to take run at provincial politics". The Star Phoenix. Saskatoon. June 16, 2007. Archived from the original on January 11, 2016. Retrieved 2015-12-07.
  10. ^ "NDP's Sonntag wins tight race in Meadow Lake". The Star Phoenix. Saskatoon. November 8, 2007.
  11. ^ "Meadow Lake changes hands". The Star Phoenix. Saskatoon. November 9, 2007.
  12. ^ "Sask. Party retains seats". The Star Phoenix. Saskatoon. November 20, 2007.
  13. ^ "Wall becomes 14th premier". The Leader-Post. Regina. November 22, 2007. Archived from the original on December 26, 2015. Retrieved 2015-12-07.
  14. ^ "4 new faces join Sask. cabinet". CBC News. May 29, 2009. Retrieved 2015-12-07.
  15. ^ "Four in, four out as Sask. premier shuffles his cabinet". The Globe and Mail. May 29, 2009. Retrieved 2015-12-07.
  16. ^ "Provincial cabinet shuffled in Sask". The Western Producer. June 29, 2010. Retrieved 2015-12-07.
  17. ^ "MLA Duncan promoted". Weyburn Review. July 7, 2010. Retrieved 2015-12-07.
  18. ^ "Sask Party incumbent wins in Meadow Lake riding". Global News. November 7, 2011. Retrieved 2015-12-07.
  19. ^ "Legislative Reports – Saskatchewan". Canadian Parliamentary Review. 2012. Retrieved 2015-12-07.
  20. ^ "Norris, 6 others out in major Sask. cabinet shuffle". CBC News. May 25, 2012. Retrieved 2015-12-07.
  21. ^ "Sask. cabinet shuffled; Stewart new ag minister". The Western Producer. May 25, 2012. Retrieved 2015-12-07.
  22. ^ "Major reorganization in provincial cabinet shuffle". The Battlefords News-Optimist. May 28, 2012. Retrieved 2012-12-07.
  23. ^ "Wall adds 3 new faces to Saskatchewan cabinet". CBC News. June 5, 2014. Retrieved 2015-12-07.
  24. ^ "Saskatchewan premier shuffles cabinet; several major portfolios unchanged". Saskatoon: CTV News. June 5, 2014. Retrieved 2015-12-07.
  25. ^ "Meadow Lake MLA Jeremy Harrison enters race to succeed Premier Brad Wall". The Leader Post. Regina. August 20, 2017. Retrieved 2017-08-23.
  26. ^ "Former environment minister Scott Moe wins race to become Saskatchewan premier". National Observer. The Canadian Press. 2018-01-27. Retrieved 2020-10-06.
  27. ^ "Jeremy Harrison withdraws from Sask. Party leadership race, backs Scott Moe". CBC News. 2017-09-01. Retrieved 2017-09-01.
  28. ^ a b Leo, Geoff (October 21, 2024). "Minister Jeremy Harrison fired Crown corp board chair who blew the whistle on apparent conflicts of interest". CBC News. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
  29. ^ "Sask. NDP search for answers on MLA Jeremy Harrison gun allegations". Global News. 2024-05-23. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
  30. ^ "Weekes lambastes MLA on way out as Speaker, makes 'disturbing' allegations". Regina Leader-Post. 2024-05-16. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
  31. ^ "Sask. cabinet minister admits to bringing firearm into Legislative Building". Global News. 2024-05-24. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
  32. ^ "Harrison brought gun to Legislative Building a decade ago, steps down as house leader". 650 CKOM. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
  33. ^ "Register of Official Candidates by Constituency - March 19 - FINAL" (PDF). Elections Saskatchewan. 19 March 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 April 2016. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  34. ^ McElroy, Justin (5 April 2016). "Saskatchewan election results 2016: Sask. Party wins Meadow Lake riding". Global News. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
[edit]
Saskatchewan provincial government of Scott Moe
Cabinet posts (2)
Predecessor Office Successor
Post Established Minister of Immigration and Careers Training
February 2, 2018–
Incumbent
Steven Bonk Minister of Export and Trade Development
February 2, 2018–
Incumbent
Saskatchewan provincial government of Brad Wall
Cabinet posts (4)
Predecessor Office Successor
Bill Boyd Minister of the Economy
August 23, 2016–August 19, 2017
Steven Bonk
Post Established Minister Responsible for Trade, Tourism, Innovation, and Immigration
June 5, 2014–August 19, 2017
Steven Bonk
Ken Cheveldayoff Minister of Enterprise
June 29, 2010–May 25, 2012
Ministry Abolished
Bill Hutchinson Minister of Municipal Affairs
May 29, 2009–June 29, 2010
Darryl Hickie