Laila Goodridge is a Canadian politician in

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

, Canada, who has served as the member of Parliament (MP) for

Fort McMurray—Cold Lake Fort McMurray—Cold Lake is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 2015. It was created in 2012, mostly from the more urbanized portion of Fort McMurray—Athabasca ( ...

from the Conservative Party since 2021. Goodridge served as

Member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche from 2018 to 2021. She was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta in the

Fort McMurray-Conklin Fort McMurray-Conklin was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada, mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using first-past-the-post balloting from 2012 to 2019. History The electoral district was ...

by-election on July 12, 2018. She was appointed Parliamentary Secretary for the

Francophonie The Francophonie or Francophone world is the whole body of people and organisations around the world who use the French language regularly for private or public purposes. The term was coined by Onésime Reclus in 1880 and became important a ...

on June 23, 2019. In August 2021 Goodridge resigned as MLA to successfully run as the Conservative Party's MP candidate in Fort McMurray—Cold Lake MP in the 2021 Canadian federal election. She is currently the Conservative Party's shadow minister for addictions after serving as shadow minister for families, children and social development.

Political career

Internships and constituency work

Goodridge first developed an interest in politics in high school when she read the platforms of every major Canadian political party; she settled on supporting what was then the

Canadian Alliance The Canadian Alliance (), formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance (), was a centre-right to right-wing federal political party in Canada that existed under that name from 2000 to 2003. The Canadian Alliance was the new name of the ...

. After the Alliance and

Progressive Conservative Party of Canada The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (PC; ) was a Centrism, centre to centre-right List of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada that existed from 1942 to 2003. From Canadian Confederation in 1867 unti ...

merged in 2003, she entered politics later that year as a campaign volunteer for

Brian Jean Brian Michael Jean (born February 3, 1963) is a Canadian politician who, since June 9, 2023, has been Alberta's minister of Energy and Minerals. He has served as member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche since ...

, who was running as the Conservative Party's MP candidate in

Fort McMurray—Athabasca Fort McMurray—Athabasca (formerly Athabasca) was a federal electoral district (Canada), electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1968 to 2015. It was a predominantly rural riding in no ...

. She considered running as a Conservative Party candidate in the 2014 Fort McMurray-Athabasca by-election after Jean resigned as MP, but decided not to pursue the nomination. During the 2015 Alberta general election, Goodridge ran as a

Wildrose Party The Wildrose Party (legally Wildrose Political Association, formerly the ''Wildrose Alliance Political Association'') was a conservative provincial political party in Alberta, Canada. The party was formed by the merger in early 2008 of the Alb ...

candidate in the riding of

Grande Prairie-Wapiti Grande Prairie-Wapiti is a Provinces and territories of Canada, provincial electoral district (Canada), electoral district in northwestern Alberta, Canada. It is one of 87 mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta ...

. She finished third behind Alberta NDP candidate Mary Dahr. The seat was won by PC MLA Wayne Drysdale. Goodridge was an active volunteer and staffer in conservative politics. Prior to the 2015 Alberta election she was working for Minister of the Environment

Leona Aglukkaq Leona Aglukkaq (Inuktitut syllabics: ᓕᐅᓇ ᐊᒡᓘᒃᑲᖅ; born June 28, 1967) is a Canadian politician. She was a member of the non-partisan Legislative Assembly of Nunavut representing the riding of Nattilik from 2004 until stepping ...

. She was also the former constituency assistant for Conservative

Calgary Centre Calgary Centre (; formerly known as Calgary South Centre) is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1968. The riding consists of many young adults who have a relativ ...

Joan Crockatt Joan Crockatt (born December 5, 1955) is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in a by-election on November 26, 2012. A member of the Conservative Party of Canada, she represented the electoral district of Calga ...

, and was an intern for Conservative Senator and former Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages

Josée Verner Josée Verner, (born December 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician. She represented the electoral district of Louis-Saint-Laurent in the House of Commons of Canada from 2006 to 2011 as a member of the Conservative Party of Canada. She also serve ...

. Goodridge was hired by Jean in 2016 to help with disaster recovery work following the

2016 Fort McMurray wildfire On May 1, 2016, a wildfire began southwest of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. On May 3, it swept through the community, forcing the largest wildfire evacuation in Alberta's history, with upwards of 88,000 people forced from their homes. ...

, then moved to Edmonton to work as a Legislative Outreach Assistant for the Wildrose and United Conservative Party.

Provincial politics

Jean resigned as MLA for

in February 2018 after his failed bid to become leader of the United Conservative Party. Goodridge won a nomination race against three other candidates. She was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta during the

by-election on July 12, 2018. She was re-elected to represent the constituency of

Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche is a current provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada. The district will be one of 87 districts mandated to return a single member (MLA) to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post m ...

in the

30th Alberta Legislature The 30th Alberta Legislative Assembly was constituted after the general election on April 16, 2019. The United Conservative Party (UCP), led by Jason Kenney, won a majority of seats and formed the government. The New Democrats, led by outgoing P ...

in the

2019 Alberta general election The 2019 Alberta general election was held on April 16, 2019, to elect 87 members to the 30th Alberta Legislature. In its first general election contest, the Jason Kenney-led United Conservative Party (UCP) won 54.88% of the popular vote and 63 ...

on April 16, 2019. She was appointed Parliamentary Secretary for the Francophonie on June 23. In addition to serving as an MLA, Goodridge was the Chair of the Standing Committee on Families and Communities and a member of the Special Standing Committee on Members' Services and the Select Special Democratic Accountability Committee.

Federal politics

On August 15, 2021,

David Yurdiga David Yurdiga (born March 26, 1964) is a former Canadian politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 2014 to 2021. Political career Yurdiga entered politics in 2007 when he was acclaimed to Athabasca County's council as a repr ...

, MP for

, resigned as the Conservative Party of Canada's candidate in the riding for the

2021 Canadian federal election The 2021 Canadian federal election was held on September 20, 2021, to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons to the 44th Canadian Parliament. The Writ of election, writs of election were issued by Governor General of ...

. A Conservative Party spokesperson cited "private medical issues" as the reason for Yurdiga's resignation. Conservative Party leader

Erin O'Toole Erin Michael O'Toole (born January 22, 1973) is a Canadian lawyer, former military officer and politician who was the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada and the leader of the Official Opposition from 2020 to 2022. O'Toole was elected ...

asked Goodridge if she would resign as MLA and replace Yurdiga. Goodridge accepted the nomination and was elected to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

on September 20 with a victory of 67%, followed by McDonald's 12.8%. Goodridge remained neutral during the

2022 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election In 2022, the Conservative Party of Canada held a leadership election to elect the successor to Erin O'Toole. He was removed on February 2, 2022, as leader by the party's caucus in the House of Commons of Canada by a vote of 73–45. Five can ...

, but welcomed the election of

Pierre Poilievre Pierre Marcel Poilievre (born June 3, 1979) is a Canadian politician who has been the Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, Conservative Party since 2022. He was the Member of Parliament (Canad ...

as party leader. On November 10, Goodridge was named the Conservative Party's shadow minister for families, children and social development. Prior to the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

, Goodridge began lobbying for improvements to how Canada accepts refugees. She has also helped Ukrainian refugee applicants arrive in Canada. Goodridge was banned from entering Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. Goodridge, whose mother is part of the

Ukrainian diaspora in Canada Ukrainian may refer or relate to: * Ukraine, a country in Eastern Europe * Ukrainians, an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine * Demographics of Ukraine * Ukrainian culture, composed of the material and spiritual values of the Ukrainian peopl ...

, called the ban "a badge of honour." On October 12, 2022, Conservative Party Leader

appointed Goodridge shadow minister of addictions.

2021 nomination controversy

Goodridge's appointment as the Conservative Party's federal candidate during the 2021 election was met with controversy from some local party members. Yurdiga had announced his resignation one day before Prime Minister

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau (born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of Canada from 2015 to 2025. He led the Liberal Party from 2013 until his resignation in 2025 and was the member of Parliament ...

dropped the

writ In common law, a writ is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court. Warrant (legal), Warrants, prerogative writs, subpoenas, and ''certiorari'' are commo ...

announcing the election. Conservative Party officials said Goodridge's appointment was necessary because the party did not want to divert resources away from the election to run a local nomination race. The Conservative Party's rules and procedures for candidate nominations allow party officials to alter or suspend rules if a general election is called, and Goodridge's appointment was made on the first day of the campaign. An unsigned and anonymous letter from an unknown number of board members for Fort McMurray's Conservative Party

Riding Association An electoral district association (), commonly known as a riding association () or constituency association, is the basic unit of a political party at the level of the electoral district An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) distr ...

said they were "blindsided" and "appalled" when

appointed Goodridge to be the candidate. The unnamed members claimed there were “outstanding and credible candidates" interested in running for the position, and a nomination race could be completed in as little as one week.

People's Party of Canada The People's Party of Canada (PPC; ) is a federal political party in Canada. The party was formed by Maxime Bernier in September 2018, shortly after his resignation from the Conservative Party of Canada. It is placed from the right to the far ...

candidate Shawn McDonald said during a campaign event in Fort McMurray that he left the Conservative Party because he was one of these candidates when the appointment was announced. Yurdiga endorsed McDonald instead of Goodridge.

Personal life

Goodridge was born and raised in Fort McMurray. She graduated from Father Patrick Mercredi Community High School, and was active in community and school theatre. She spent several years working as a political adviser in Alberta's oil sands. She is fluent in French and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from University of Alberta's Campus Saint-Jean. Goodridge was 38 weeks pregnant with her first son when she ran in the

Electoral results

2025 federal election

2021 federal election

2019 general election

2018 by-election

2015 general election

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodridge, Laila Living people 1980s births 21st-century members of the House of Commons of Canada Conservative Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Alberta University of Alberta alumni United Conservative Party MLAs Women members of the House of Commons of Canada Women MLAs in Alberta 21st-century Canadian women politicians People from Fort McMurray Canadian people of Ukrainian descent 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta