Chris Warkentin, Member of Parliament

Grande Prairie-Mackenzie

 

I would like to thank the constituents of the Peace Country who have bestowed on me the responsibility and the privilege of representing their vision for the future. 

Biography

Chris Warkentin was born in Grande Prairie, Alberta and raised on the Warkentin family farm east of Grande Prairie, near the Town of Debolt. Chris is proud of his agricultural roots and is proud to represent the hard-working farm families who call the Peace Country home. 

After leaving home, Chris studied business and marketing at Grande Prairie Regional College. Prior to being elected in January 2006 as the MP for Peace River, Chris owned and operated a residential construction company. 

Chris was first elected to the House of Commons in the 2006 federal election and was subsequently re-elected in 2008, 2011, 2015 and 2019. 

Since being elected, Chris has sat on committees for Industry, Science and Technology, as well as Canadian Heritage. He has also had the privilege of serving as Vice Chair on both the Standing Committee of Government Operations and Estimates and the Alberta Conservative Caucus. 

In 2011 Chris was named to the Red Tape Reduction Commission – a group assembled by Prime Minister Harper to help reduce unnecessary red-tape hampering small- and medium-sized businesses. 

Chris served as the Chair of the Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Committee from 2011 to 2015. 

In February 2015, Chris was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada. 

Chris also served as co-chair of the all-party Entrepreneur Caucus, a committee created to discuss ideas for spurring growth in Canada’s small business sector. 

In November 2015 Chris was appointed as the Official Opposition Critic Responsible for Agriculture and Agri-Foods, and then had the honour of being promoted to Deputy House Leader of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition in September 2016. 

In the fall of 2020, Chris was appointed to the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics and in January 2021 he was elected Chair of the committee by his colleagues. The committee has undertaken a number of important studies including: Protection of Privacy and Reputation on Platforms such as Pornhub and Questions of Conflict of Interest and Lobbying in Relation to Pandemic Spending. 

Chris and his wife, Michelle, along with their three children Abigail, Cobi, and Kyler, live in the County of Grande Prairie.