David Eggen

The Honourable
David Eggen
MLA

David Eggen in May 2015
MLA for Edmonton-Calder
Assumed office
April 23, 2012
Preceded by Doug Elniski
In office
November 22, 2004  March 3, 2008
Preceded by Brent Rathgeber
Succeeded by Doug Elniski
Personal details
Born 1962 (age 5354)
Political party New Democrat
Spouse(s) Somboon Eggen[1]
Alma mater University of Alberta
Occupation teacher
Portfolio Minister of Education, Minister of Culture

David Manson Eggen (born 1962) is a Canadian politician. He was a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for the riding of Edmonton-Calder from 2004 to 2008, and was re-elected to represent the same district in 2012.[2] Eggen declared his intention to stand in the NDP leadership election being held to choose a successor to Brian Mason.[3] He is currently Minister of Education and Minister of Culture.[4]

Educator

Born in 1962,[5] Eggen was educated at the University of Alberta where he received a Bachelor of Education degree in 1984. Eggen then went to Zimbabwe, where he taught for three years. At this point, he returned to Edmonton, where he taught at local schools from 1990 to 2004. He also coached a wide variety of sports for high school and community teams. In 1996 and 1997, he also served as an education consultant to the Wat Dhammamongkol Temple in Bangkok, Thailand. He volunteered as an animator at Fort Edmonton Park. He is a provincial trustee with the Forum for Young Albertans. He is also a member of the Diversity, Equity and Human Rights committee for the Alberta Teachers’ Association and an amateur musician. He lives in Edmonton with his wife and their two daughters.

Political career

Eggen was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta as a New Democrat in the 2004 Alberta general election, narrowly defeating incumbent Progressive Conservative Brent Rathgeber. He was the first NDP representative elected in Edmonton-Calder since 1993, increasing his party's share of the vote from 18% to 36%. His victory was widely attributed to a two-year canvassing campaign in the run-up to the election. He served as the NDP's critic for Agriculture and Food, Environment, K-12 Education, Sustainable Resource Development, and Tourism and Culture.

He was defeated in the 2008 election by Progressive Conservative Doug Elniski. After this defeat Eggen assumed the Alberta executive director's position for Friends of Medicare, an advocacy group that supports public healthcare.[6] Eggen regained his seat in the 2012 provincial election and retained it with a greatly increased margin in the 2015 election.

Electoral history

2001 general election

Alberta general election, 2001: Edmonton-Centre
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
LiberalLaurie Blakeman 5,095 44.01% 0.05%
Progressive ConservativeDon Weideman 4,446 38.41% 4.91%
New DemocraticDavid Eggen 1,959 16.92% -0.09%
CommunistNaomi Rankin 76 0.66% *
Total 11,576
Rejected, spoiled and declined 105
Eligible electors / Turnout 20,90751.58%
Liberal hold Swing 2.48%
"Edmonton-Centre Official Results 2001 Alberta general election" (PDF). Elections Alberta. Retrieved March 27, 2010. 

2004 general election

2004 Alberta general election results[7] Turnout 49.18% Swing
Affiliation Candidate Votes % Party Personal
New DemocraticDavid Eggen 4,067 36.01% 16.10%
Progressive ConservativeBrent Rathgeber 3,730 33.02% -8.97%
LiberalBrad Smith 2,985 26.43% -11.67%
Alberta AllianceVicki Kramer 513 4.54%
Total 11,295
Rejected, spoiled, and declined 92
Eligible electors / Turnout 23,671 %
     NDP pickup from Progressive Conservative Swing 12.54%

2008 general election

2008 Alberta general election results[8] Turnout 38.53% Swing
Affiliation Candidate Votes % Party Personal
Progressive ConservativeDoug Elniski 4,557 40.86% 6.03%
New DemocraticDavid Eggen 4,356 39.05% 3.04%
LiberalJim Kane 1,839 16.49% -9.94%
Green Michael Brown 402 3.60% *
Total 11,514
Rejected, spoiled, and declined 59
Eligible electors / Turnout 30,033 %
Progressive Conservative gain from New Democratic Swing 4.54%

2012 general election

Alberta general election, 2012
Party Candidate Votes%∆% *
     NDP David Eggen 5,729 38.41%
Progressive ConservativeBev Esslinger 5,183 34.75%
WildroseRich Neumann 2,787 18.69%
LiberalAlex V Bosse 970 6.50%
Alberta PartyDavid Clark 194 1.30%
Social CreditMargaret Saunter 52 0.35%
Total '14,925 100%

2015 general election

Alberta general election, 2015
Party Candidate Votes%
New DemocraticDavid Eggen 12,835 70.6%
Progressive ConservativeTom Bradley 3,220 17.7%
WildroseAndrew Altimas 1,570 8.6%
LiberalAmit Batra 550 3.0%

Cabinet

David Eggen was sworn into Cabinet on May 24, 2015 as part of the NDP government led by Rachel Notley. There had been speculation since the election that Eggen would receive a large portfolio in Cabinet. He was appointed as Minister of Education and Minister of Culture and Tourism.

In fall 2015, Eggen introduced Bill 8, a proposal to reform the collective bargaining structure for public school teachers in Alberta. Bill 8 proposes to introduce a two-table bargaining system, similar to the structure in Ontario, where the provincial government would handle big items like salary and local boards would negotiate local issues. The existing system sees all issues bargained locally.

There was criticism that school boards were not adequately consulted, but documents provided by Eggen's office to the media detailed consultations that had taken place in September and October 2015.[9]

References

  1. "Alberta Election 2012: NDP picks up support, falls short of goal". Edmonton Journal, April 23, 2012.
  2. "David Eggen to seek leadership of Alberta NDP". Edmonton Journal. May 25, 2014. Retrieved May 25, 2014.
  3. "Rachel Notley sworn in as Alberta premier, reveals cabinet," CBC News May 24, 2015.
  4. The optimist: Two-time MLA David Eggen says political winds are shifting Klinkenberg, Marty. Edmonton Journal [Edmonton, Alta] 11 Oct 2014: B.4.
  5. Loome, Jeremy (June 10, 2008). "Ex-MLA now heads Friends of Medicare". Edmonton Sun. Retrieved 2008-06-10.
  6. "Edmonton-Calder Statement of Official Results 2004 Alberta general election" (PDF). Elections Alberta. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
  7. The Report on the March 3, 2008 Provincial General Election of the Twenty-seventh Legislative Assembly. Elections Alberta. July 28, 2008. pp. 272–275.
  8. http://www.metronews.ca/news/calgary/2015/12/02/education-minister-bill-8-despite-requests-for-delay.html
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