Bob Benzen

Bob Benzen
Member of Parliament for Calgary Heritage
In office April 3, 2017 – December 31, 2022[1]
Preceded by	Stephen Harper
Succeeded by	Shuvaloy Majumdar
Personal details
Born	(1959-03-03) March 3, 1959 (age 65) Three Hills, Alberta, Canada
Political party	Conservative
Spouse	Sue Benzen
Children	3
Residence(s)	Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Profession	Businessman

Bob Benzen (born March 3, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the member of Parliament (MP) for Calgary Heritage from 2017 to 2022. He was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in a by-election on April 3, 2017.^[2] He succeeded former Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who had resigned as an MP in 2016.

Prior to his election, Benzen was a businessman specializing in data storage and information management for energy companies.^[3]

Benzen was responsible for initiating Erin O'Toole's removal as Conservative leader in 2022, after he submitted a letter from 36 Conservative MPs calling for a leadership review.^[4]

Politics

Benzen voted in support of Bill C-233, an act to amend the Criminal Code of Canada (sex-selective abortion), which would make it an indictable or summary offence for a medical practitioner to knowingly perform an abortion solely on the grounds of the child's genetic sex.^{[5][non-primary source needed]}

Benzen voted against a bill that would prohibit forcing children or adults to undergo conversion therapy aimed at altering their sexual orientation; however, the bill was ultimately passed and conversion therapy in Canada was banned.^[6][7]

On October 21, 2022, Benzen announced that he would retire from his role as MP on December 31, 2022.^[8] The by-election to replace him was held on July 24, 2023.^[9] He was succeeded by Shuvaloy Majumdar.^[10]

Electoral record

v t e 2021 Canadian federal election: Calgary Heritage
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Bob Benzen	30,870	57.66	-13.07	$68,220.18
	New Democratic	Kathleen Johnson	9,320	17.41	+8.26	$1,119.48
	Liberal	Scott Forsyth	8,960	16.73	+2.77	$8,531.08
	People's	Bailey Bedard	2,682	5.01	+3.06	$2,115.28
	Green	Malka Labell	766	1.43	-2.08	$21.70
	Maverick	Annelise Freeman	714	1.33	–	$4,651.15
	Rhinoceros	Mark Dejewski	230	0.43	–	$0.00
Total valid votes/Expense limit			53,542	99.42	-0.13	$111,217.22
Total rejected ballots			313	0.58	+0.13
Turnout			53,855	65.89	-4.76
Eligible voters			81,735
	Conservative hold		Swing		-10.66
Source: Elections Canada[11]

v t e 2019 Canadian federal election: Calgary Heritage
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Bob Benzen	40,817	70.72	-0.76	$75,391.36
	Liberal	Scott Forsyth	8,057	13.96	-7.76	$6,153.00
	New Democratic	Holly Heffernan	5,278	9.14	+6.25	$143.81
	Green	Allie Tulick	2,027	3.51	+1.73	none listed
	People's	Stephanie Hoeppner	1,123	1.95	-	none listed
	Independent	Hunter Mills	228	0.40	-	none listed
	Christian Heritage	Larry R. Heather	185	0.32	-1.10	$4,539.49
Total valid votes/expense limit			57,715	99.55
Total rejected ballots			260	0.45	+0.16
Turnout			57,975	70.65	+37.19
Eligible voters			82,059
	Conservative hold		Swing		+3.50
Source: Elections Canada[12][13][14]

v t e Canadian federal by-election, April 3, 2017: Calgary Heritage Resignation of Stephen Harper
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Bob Benzen	19,383	71.47	+7.71
	Liberal	Scott Forsyth	5,889	21.72	−4.25
	New Democratic	Khalis Ahmed	785	2.89	−4.39
	Green	Taryn Knorren	484	1.78	−0.35
	Christian Heritage	Jeff Willerton	385	1.42
	Libertarian	Darcy Gerow	114	0.42	−0.00
	National Advancement	Stephen J. Garvey	76	0.28
Total valid votes/expense limit			27,116	99.71	–
Total rejected ballots			78	0.29	−0.10
Turnout			27,194	33.46	−39.16
Eligible voters			81,270
	Conservative hold		Swing		+5.98
Source: Elections Canada[15]

References

1. https://twitter.com/BobBenzen/status/1609259741322280962 ^{[bare URL]}
2. "Byelection results: Liberal Mona Fortier, Conservative Bob Benzen projected to win". CBC News, April 3, 2017.
3. Bob Benzen Official Website, April 3, 2017.
4. "Conservative caucus revolt triggers vote on Erin O'Toole's leadership". Cbc.ca. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
5. House of Commons (June 2, 2021). "2nd reading of Bill C-233, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (sex-selective abortion)". LEGISinfo. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
6. Siever, Kim (June 23, 2021). "Canadian MPs approve conversion therapy ban". Alberta Worker. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
7. House of Commons (December 8, 2021). "Bill C-4 An Act to amend the Criminal Code (conversion therapy)". LEGISinfo.
8. "Calgary Heritage MP Bob Benzen to ring in new year with return to private life". 20 October 2022.
9. "Federal byelection called for Calgary Heritage - Calgary | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved 2023-06-19.
10. https://enr.elections.ca/ElectoralDistricts.aspx?ed=1612&lang=e ^{[bare URL]}
11. "forty-fourth general election 2021 — Poll-by-poll results". Archived from the original on July 8, 2022. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
12. "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
13. "forty-third general election 2019 — Poll-by-poll results". Elections Canada. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
14. "Candidate Campaign Returns". Elections Canada. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
15. "Official Voting Results". www.elections.ca. Retrieved 2022-12-31.

External links

• Bob Benzen – Parliament of Canada biography