Introduction
John Barlow MP (born October 13, 1971) is a Canadian politician who was elected to represent the riding of Macleod in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2014 by-election.
Barlow was re-elected on October 19, 2015, in the riding of Foothills, and again on October 21, 2019.
Prior to his election, Barlow was a newspaper editor. Barlow had previously run for the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta in Highwood during the 2012 Alberta general election, losing to Wildrose leader Danielle Smith.
Political career
Barlow was first elected to represent the riding of Macleod in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2014 by-election resulting from the retirement of former Member of Parliament Ted Menzies.
He was re-elected on October 19, 2015, in the riding of Foothills, Alberta and again on October 21, 2019.
Interprovincial Trade Critic
In 2016, Barlow was appointed as the Interprovincial Trade Critic by Rona Ambrose, the interim Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. As critic, he focused on the campaign, #FreeTheBeer, which is intended to build public pressure for the provinces to ratify a free trade deal for Canada, specifically focused on alcohol trade between provinces.
Also in 2016, Barlow tabled his Private Member's Bill C-351, "An Act to amend the Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act and the Excise Act, 2001 (importation)". If passed, this legislation would:
- allow producers to sell their product directly to consumers anywhere in Canada without permission of a provincial liquor board, and
- allow a person to transport alcohol from one province to another for personal use.
Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Agri-Food (Associate)
In 2016, newly elected leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, Andrew Scheer, appointed Barlow as the Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Agri-Food (Associate). Simultaneously, Barlow also sits on the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food.
Shadow Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour
On Friday September 7, 2018, Honourable Andrew Scheer, Leader of the Official Opposition, appointed John Barlow, Member of Parliament for Foothills as Shadow Minister of Employment, Workforce Development, and Labour. He was also appointed as the Vice-Chair for the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities. This position was previously held by MP Steven Blaney.
Electoral record
| 2019 Canadian federal election: Foothills | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | John Barlow | 53,872 | 82.1 | +6.4 | ||||
| Liberal | Cheryl Moller | 3,856 | 5.9 | -7.46 | ||||
| New Democratic | Mickail Hendi | 3,767 | 5.7 | -0.73 | ||||
| Green | Bridget Lacey | 2,398 | 3.7 | +0.45 | ||||
| People's | Greg Hession | 1,698 | 2.6 | - | ||||
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | 65,591 | 100.0 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 290 | |||||||
| Turnout | 65,881 | 76,6 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 86,027 | |||||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +7.05 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada | ||||||||
| 2015 Canadian federal election | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | John Barlow | 46,166 | 75.70 | -2.12 | – | |||
| Liberal | Tanya MacPherson | 8,149 | 13.36 | +9.84 | – | |||
| New Democratic | Alison Thompson | 3,919 | 6.43 | -3.67 | – | |||
| Green | Romy S. Tittel | 1,983 | 3.25 | -1.50 | – | |||
| Libertarian | Cory Morgan | 424 | 0.70 | -3.12 | – | |||
| Christian Heritage | Marc Slingerland | 345 | 0.57 | – | – | |||
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | 60,986 | 100.00 | $234,738.91 | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 141 | 0.23 | – | |||||
| Turnout | 61,127 | 74.20 | – | |||||
| Eligible voters | 82,380 | |||||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | -5.98 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada | ||||||||
| Canadian federal by-election, June 30, 2014: Macleod | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Conservative | John Barlow | 12,616 | 69.16 | −8.33 | ||||
| Liberal | Dustin Fuller | 3,092 | 16.95 | +13.27 | ||||
| Green | Larry Ashmore | 991 | 5.43 | +0.81 | ||||
| Christian Heritage | David J. Reimer | 774 | 4.24 | +3.75 | ||||
| New Democratic | Aileen Burke | 770 | 4.22 | −6.11 | ||||
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | 18,243 | 100.0 | – | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 81 | 0.44 | – | |||||
| Turnout | 18,324 | 19.92 | −41.60 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 92,007 | |||||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | −10.80 | ||||||
| By-election due to the resignation of Ted Menzies. | ||||||||
| Source: Elections Canada | ||||||||
| 2012 Alberta general election: Highwood | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Wildrose | Danielle Smith | 10,094 | 52.59% | 41.14% | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | John Barlow | 8,159 | 42.51% | −22.11% | ||||
| Liberal | Keegan Gibson | 547 | 2.85% | −10.90% | ||||
| New Democratic | Miles Dato | 392 | 2.04% | −1.30% | ||||
| Total | 19,192 | |||||||
| Eligible electors / Turnout | 32,649 | 58.8% | ||||||