Sheldon Clare is a Canadian politician who was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia () is the deliberative assembly of the Legislature of British Columbia, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The other component of the Legislature is the lieutenant governor of British Columbi ...

in the

2024 British Columbia general election The 2024 British Columbia general election was held on October 19, 2024, to elect 93 members (MLAs) of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Legislative Assembly to serve in the 43rd parliament of the Provinces and territories of Cana ...

. He represents the electoral district of Prince George-North Cariboo as a member of the

Conservative Party of British Columbia The Conservative Party of British Columbia, commonly known as the BC Conservatives and colloquially known as the Tories, is a provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada. It is the main rival to the governing British Columbia New Demo ...

Early life and career

Clare was born and raised in

Prince George, British Columbia Prince George is a city in British Columbia, Canada, situated at the confluence of the Fraser River, Fraser and Nechako River, Nechako rivers. The city itself has a population of 76,708; the metro census agglomeration has a population of 89,490 ...

. He currently resides there as a father to two daughters, Elise and Danielle. He has a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in

International Relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

from the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

and his passion for military history led to achieve cum laude honors in his

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree from

Norwich University Norwich University is a private university in Northfield, Vermont, United States. The university was founded in 1819 as the "American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy". It is the oldest of six senior military college, senior militar ...

, a military college in

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

. Since 1993, Clare has been a part of the

College of New Caledonia A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...

(CNC) as a history instructor and as a contract negotiator for 12 years. During his time in the CNC he was the Chair of the provincial Bargaining Co-ordination Committee for six terms. He also served on the CNC

Board of Governors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulations ...

. As a reserve army officer, Clare dedicated over seven years to teaching

cadet A cadet is a student or trainee within various organisations, primarily in military contexts where individuals undergo training to become commissioned officers. However, several civilian organisations, including civil aviation groups, maritime ...

s, and his advocacy led to the establishment of a reserve infantry unit in

. His military leadership also extends to community organizations as he has served two terms as president of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 43 in Prince George and still holds the position of Legion Chair. He served as the national president of Canada's National Firearms Association (NFA) from 2010-2021, where he advocated for responsible firearms ownership and represented NFA at the World Forum on Shooting Activities' executive meeting. He is also a past multi-term president and current director at large of the Prince George Rod and Gun Club. Outside of his professional careers, Clare has a passion for music and has been a piper who has played with his local band since his teenage years. He also loves the outdoors and has interests in

hunting Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...

shooting Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missile ...

, and downhill and

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing whereby skiers traverse snow-covered terrain without use of ski lifts or other assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreational activity; however, some still use it as a m ...

. His dedication to sports also goes beyond participation as he is a certified

Biathlon Canada Biathlon Canada is the governing federation for biathlon in Canada. References External links * See also * Canadian Snowboard Federation, Canadian snowboard sports federation * Canadian Freestyle Ski Association, Canadian freestyle skiing spo ...

Technical Delegate and a trained coach, serving on the board of Biathlon BC. Other activities he enjoys includes

caving Caving, also known as spelunking (United States and Canada) and potholing (United Kingdom and Ireland), is the recreational pastime of exploring wild cave systems (as distinguished from show caves). In contrast, speleology is the scientific ...

ice climbing Ice climbing is a climbing discipline that involves ascending routes consisting entirely of frozen water. To ascend, the ice climber uses specialist equipment, particularly double ice axes (or the more modern ice tools) and rigid crampons. ...

, and

mountaineering Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become mounta ...

. These commitments to outdoor pursuits is demonstrated by his three-term chairmanship for the

Alpine Club of Canada The Alpine Club of Canada (ACC) is an amateur athletic association with its national office in Canmore, Alberta that has been a focal point for Canadian mountaineering since its founding in 1906. The club was co-founded by Arthur Oliver Wheeler, ...

's Prince George Section. He was also a key organizer or the rejuvenated Northern Hardware Canoe Race from 2015-2019, preserving local traditions.

Political career

On October 27, 2023, Clare was nominated as the Conservative Party of BC's candidate for Prince George-North Cariboo in the 2024 BC provincial election. He went on to win a seat in the Legislative Assembly of BC with 56.8% of the votes unseating

BC United BC United (BCU), known from 1903 until 2023 as the British Columbia Liberal Party or BC Liberals, is a provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada. The party has been described as conservative, neoliberal, and occupying a centre-right ...

incumbent Coralee Oakes, who ran as an independent following the collapse of her former party. Clare was named

deputy whip A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline (that members of the party vote according to the party platform rather than their constituents, individual conscience or donors) in a legislature. Whips ...

of the Conservative Party of BC caucus on November 20. Clare noted the building of the North-South Interconnector, and reducing delays in the permitting process in relation to

resource extraction Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest, and cultural value. ...

and fire supply while respecting environmental and local concerns as his major priorities for his riding of Prince George-North Cariboo. More generally, Clare has expressed his 2025 key priorities to include transportation and repairing several roads, healthcare worker recruitment,

palliative care Palliative care (from Latin root "to cloak") is an interdisciplinary medical care-giving approach aimed at optimizing quality of life and mitigating or reducing suffering among people with serious, complex, and often terminal illnesses. Man ...

fees and emergency room availability, economy and jobs, and agriculture.

Early life and career

Political career

Electoral record

References

See also