Russ Hiebert - Career

Career

In 2004 Hiebert won the Conservative Party of Canada nomination against veteran MP Val Meredith by 80 ballots in a vote by about 850 riding members. Meredith believes she lost the nomination because she didn't take a hard enough stand on family values. In 2010 Hiebert drew criticism when it was revealed that he was the second-highest spending MP.

On June 28, 2004, Hiebert was elected to the House of Commons in the 2004 federal election. He ran against Liberal candidate Judy Higginbotham, a veteran Surrey City Councillor, winning by more than 3400 votes. During his first term as MP, Hiebert served on the Ethics and Privacy Committee, formed and co-chaired the all-party Border Caucus, and co-chaired the Conservative Party Task Force on Safe Streets and Healthy Communities.

In the 2006 election, he was re-elected by an increased plurality when he received 47% of the vote; his nearest competitor, Liberal candidate Jim McMurtry, received 31%.

On February 8, 2006, Prime Minister Stephen Harper appointed Hiebert parliamentary secretary to the Minister of National Defence, Gordon O'Connor. Hiebert generated positive headlines in January 2007 when he delivered wheelchairs to a hospital in Kandahar, Afghanistan. In June 2006 he was elected by his colleagues from all parties to the chairmanship of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. He also continued to serve as Conservative co-chairman of the all-party Parliamentary Border Caucus.

On October 10, 2007, Hiebert was appointed as the inaugural parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Minister of Western Economic Diversification, Rona Ambrose. Hiebert was also the leading government member of the Standing Committee on Ethics, Privacy and Access to Information which held hearings on the high profile Mulroney-Schreiber affair in fall 2007 and spring 2008.

Hiebert was elected to a third term on October 14, 2008 in the 2008 general election, garnering 57% of the vote. His nearest competitor, Liberal Judy Higginbotham, received 21 per cent.

His activities during his third term included leading a parliamentary committee's study into the activities of the Canadian Human Rights Commission, including review of the Section 13 hate speech provisions of the Canadian Human Rights Act. Hiebert served on the Commons Finance Committee, the Natural Resources Committee, and the International Human Rights Sub-Committee.

In the 41st Canadian general election, Hiebert won the riding with approximately 54% of the vote. He currently serves on the International Trade Committee and the Ethics, Privacy and Access to Information Committee of the House of Commons. He also continues to serve as Canadian Branch Chairman of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and the Conservative Co-Chairman of the Parliamentary Border Caucus.