George Groeneveld (born October 31, 1940) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

politician and was a Member of the

Legislative Assembly of Alberta The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is the deliberative assembly of the province of Alberta, Canada. It sits in the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton. Since 2012 the Legislative Assembly has had 87 members, elected first past the post f ...

representing the constituency of Highwood as a Progressive Conservative.

Early life

Groeneveld was born in

Blackie, Alberta Blackie is a hamlet (place), hamlet in Alberta, Canada within the Foothills County. It is located approximately southeast of Calgary on Alberta Highway 799, Highway 799. History The community was named after John Stuart Blackie, a Scottish ...

. He served as regional director of the

Alberta Wheat Pool The Alberta Wheat Pool was the first of Canada's wheat agricultural cooperative, farmer co-operatives in 1923. History Early years In 1923, the United Farmers of Alberta met with then Attorney General John Edward Brownlee to consider setting up ...

. In this role, he attended the Canadian International Grains Institute. Groeneveld was Agricore United's first vice-president.

Political career

Groeneveld first sought public office in the 2004 provincial election in the constituency of Highwood. In that election, he received 64% of the vote. In 2006, following the leadership race for the

Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta The Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta, often referred to as the Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta, was a provincial centre-right party in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta that existed fro ...

, newly elected Premier Ed Stelmach appointed Groeneveld as Minister of Agriculture and Food. In the 2008 provincial election that followed, Groeneveld secured his position as MLA for Highwood with 65% of the vote. In March 2008, he was reappointed as Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Personal life

Groeneveld is married to Judith. The couple has four children together, Sandra, Brett, Tyler, and Marla. He is an active member of his community and Gladys United Church.

Election results

References

Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta MLAs Members of the United Church of Canada Living people Members of the Executive Council of Alberta 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta 1940 births {{Alberta-MLA-stub