Jackie Lovely (born 1964/1965) is a Canadian politician who was elected in the 2019 Alberta general election to represent the electoral district of Camrose in the 30th Alberta Legislature. She is a member of the United Conservative Party.^[2]

Before Politics

Before serving with the Legislative Assembly, Ms. Lovely was employed with the Good Samaritan Society, a charitable organization providing care services and programs to aging populations. Previously, she spent over 20 years with a family-owned property management and real estate company and more than 15 years as a project coordinator for a global energy distributor. She was an English as a second language instructor and a member and vice president of the Camrose and Leduc chambers of commerce. She is also a Rotarian.^[3]

Ms. Lovely holds an MBA from Cape Breton University, a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Saskatchewan, and a diploma in hotel and restaurant administration from Saskatchewan Polytechnic.^[4]

Political career

Before being elected to represent Camrose in the 2019 Alberta General Election, as a member of the United Conservative party, she ran unsuccessfully in 2012 and 2015 in the riding of Edmonton-Ellerslie, as the candidate for the Wildrose Party.^[5]

In April 2021, she proposed Bill 216, the Fire Prevention and Fire Services Recognition Act, aimed at creating a “Fire Services Recognition Day” within Fire Prevention Week.^[6]

On November 23, 2021, Lovely was appointed the Parliamentary Secretary for Status of Women, a position which she held until October 23, 2022.^[3]

Lovely tabled Bill 205, the Official Sport of Alberta Act. “The sport commonly known as rodeo, including chuckwagon races, is hereby recognized and declared as the official sport of Alberta,” the bill reads, following its introduction in the legislature in December of 2022, which as of March 29, 2023, is yet to pass. Calgary-North MLA Muhammad Yaseen introduced a similar private member’s bill in December 2020 and a committee report recommended it proceed onto next steps to become law.^[7]

Jackie Lovely was re-elected at the 2023 Alberta general election with a reduced majority.^[8]

Essay contest controversy

Lovely and UCP MLA for Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville Jackie Armstrong-Homeniuk were judges for the Her Vision Inspires contest.^[9] The contest was announced in February 2022 and was a partnership between the Legislative Assembly of Alberta and the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians Canadian Region. Young women between the ages of 17 and 25 were asked to describe their "unique vision for Alberta" and what they would do if they were elected to be an MLA.^[9]

On August 8, 2022, NDP MLA Janis Irwin saw that a third-place essay, attributed to someone called S. Silver, called immigration "a sickly mentality that amounts to a drive for cultural suicide," that women are “not exactly” equal to men, and that it was "misguided" and "harmful" to let women have careers traditionally dominated by men.^[10] The essay also proposed financial incentives to boost birth rates, and awarding medals to women with more than two children. The writer was awarded $200.^[9][11]

Lovely confirmed to CBC News that she and Armstrong-Homeniuk were part of the judging panel, and apologized for her role in the essay contest. Neither her or Armstrong-Homeniuk explained how the essay was chosen.^[9] She confirmed her role in the contest one day after she won her nomination for the Camrose riding ahead of the 2023 Alberta general election.

Electoral history

References