Andrew Scheer

Scheer was born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario, the son of Mary Gerarda Therese (Enright), a nurse, and James D. Scheer, a librarian, proofreader with the Ottawa Citizen, and Catholic deacon. James was born in the United States. According to a 2019 Maclean's article, Scheer's family earned considerably more than the median income for most Canadian families. Scheer has two sisters. Part of Scheer's family is from Romania. Scheer spent summers during his youth with his maternal grandparents in Mississauga. Scheer graduated from Immaculata High School, and later received the "Distinguished Catholic Alumni" award from it in 2012.

Scheer was criticized by opposition politicians for removing his campaign platform after winning the Conservative leadership race. Tory strategists suggested that the ideas proposed by Scheer during the race were not likely to be part of the Tories 2019 election platform. It was later revealed in a Dairy Farmers of Canada briefing document after the 2018 Conservative Convention in Halifax that "The powers of the leader are far reaching in preventing policy from being in the party platform. DFC [Dairy Farmers of Canada] has been told by the Leader’s office that he will exercise this power, and that this policy will not be in the Conservative election platform regardless of the outcome at convention",.

At the 2019 election, Scheer led the Tories to a gain of 26 seats for a total of 121, up from 95 at the time of dissolution. However, the Tories finished 36 seats behind the Liberals despite winning 34.4 per cent of the popular vote to the Liberals' 33.1 per cent, a margin of just over 240,000 votes. It was the first time since 1979 that a party won the most seats without winning the popular vote It was also the first time since a government took power with less than 35 per cent of the national popular vote since the John A. Macdonald-led Tories in 1867, who had 34.8 per cent.

On 12 December 2019, Scheer resigned as leader of the Official Opposition. The same day, the Conservative Party confirmed that it had been paying the difference in the cost of private school tuition for Scheer's children in Saskatchewan and the higher cost of tuition in Ottawa—insisting the tuition matter was not the reason for Scheer's resignation.

During the 2019 Canadian federal election, Scheer proposed he would legislate that corporate takeovers by foreign state-owned enterprises be subject to a national-security review.

In the leadership race, Scheer accused Justin Trudeau of wanting to legalize heroin. He has also accused Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor on Twitter of trying to "legalize" hard drugs which he corrected to "decriminalize". Scheer is critical of safe-injection sites arguing that "the government makes it quote unquote safer to inject illicit drugs". During the 2019 election, Scheer defended Conservative ads targeted at Chinese-Canadians that falsely claimed that the Liberals were planning to legalize all drugs.

Scheer has dual Canadian and American citizenship, and in August 2019 he began the process of renouncing his US citizenship, which he obtained through his American-born father. Scheer confirmed that he has filed US tax returns and the party verified that he is registered for the draft under the U.S. Selective Service System, which is a list of individuals who can be conscripted into the United States Armed Forces in the event of a national emergency. Scheer denied that he had been hiding this information, but rather stated that he had never been asked about his dual citizenship, nor about having an American-born parent, before the information was revealed by the Globe and Mail during the 2019 federal election campaign. In May 2020, he announced that he no longer plans to renounce his American citizenship, as he will not be Prime Minister.

On 4 January 2018, Scheer expelled Senator Lynn Beyak from the conservative caucus, after she refused to remove one of her letters that suggested Indigenous people want to get things for "no effort". He also stated that "Racism will not be tolerated in the Conservative caucus or Conservative Party of Canada". Scheer said that his office was only aware of the letters on 2 January, but Garnet Angeconeb, a residential school survivor, stated that he emailed Scheer and Conservative Senate Leader Larry Smith about them on 15 September 2017, and did not get a response. In response, Beyak said neither Scheer nor anyone from his office contacted her to take down a letter. A senior Conservative source confirmed Beyak's accusation.

Scheer travelled to the United Kingdom in March 2018 to "lay the groundwork" for a Canada–UK trade agreement, should he become Prime Minister after the 2019 election. In London, he met with Prime Minister Theresa May, foreign secretary Boris Johnson, and other UK ministers including Liam Fox and Sajid Javid. Scheer's trip faced minor criticism from The Globe and Mail and the Ottawa Citizen. The Citizen editorial commented that the trip was "undiplomatic" and "not statesmanlike", while the Globe editorial pointed out that a Canada–UK trade agreement had already been announced last year by Prime Minister Trudeau.

Toward the end of March 2018, the Opposition held a filibuster over the government's India trip, which was intended to persuade the governing Liberals to answer questions in the House of Commons about the apparent scandal, and provide open and transparent information to the Canadian public; the filibuster lasted 21 hours costing taxpayers $50,000 per hour in overtime fees. It was revealed that a few days before commencing the filibuster to demand information, Scheer's Office was offered a briefing by the Privy Council Office regarding the trip. A spokesperson of Scheer's responded to these claims by stating "Has the government offered Andrew a briefing? The answer is 'no' ", and "This [is] fake news." A day later, Andrew Scheer called the allegation "completely false" and stated he would accept an offer if it were made to all members of parliament. It was later revealed that the Clerk of the Privy Council Michael Wernick approached Scheer's chief of staff and Conservative MP Tony Clement to brief Scheer on any information the Privy Council may have. Clement responded that he would not confirm or deny it. A couple of weeks later, Scheer accepted a briefing on the matter.

After the Conservative Convention in August 2018, Scheer denied an allegation that the Dairy Farmers of Canada worked with his office to block a motion to change the party's position on supply management after a page from the briefing book was already made public on Twitter by a Conservative delegate.

Scheer says he wants to make maternity and parental leave less expensive for families. He has promised to make employment insurance for parental and maternity benefits tax-free. He wants to introduce a tax credit to families who send their children to private schools. Scheer also proposes raising the limit on how much employment income a parent can earn each week while on leave. He has vowed to remove HST/GST from home heating bills and lower business taxes. In February 2018 Scheer introduced a private member bill, the second of his career. Bill C-394, An Act to amend the Income Tax Act (parenting tax credit), or as he titled it the Supporting New Parents Act, would create a new tax credit intended to offset federal taxes owing on benefits received from maternity and parental leave. The parliamentary budget office found out that the credit would cost $607.6 million in lost revenue and would rise incrementally each year for the next five years.

In December 2017, when U.S. President Donald Trump announced his decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, Scheer did not take a public position. However, on 26 February 2018, Scheer stated that a Conservative Canadian government, if elected in 2019, will recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

After Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told CTV's "Question Period" that the government was examining means to block shipment of Canadian-built light-armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia in protest of the brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Scheer stated that he firmly opposed any such move by the Liberal government. The arms sale to Saudi Arabia was brokered by the former Conservative government. Scheer has stated that Canada should ban the import of oil from Saudi Arabia due to human rights and environmental concerns. In 2018 Scheer demanded that the gender-based analysis requirement imposed on Canadian pipeline projects by the Liberal government be instead applied to oil imported from Saudi Arabia.

In 2018, Scheer opposed the Global Compact for Migration.

On 8 February 2018, Scheer expressed good will towards opening the constitution in support of then-Premier Philippe Couillard's proposal based around five conditions which were: the codification of a distinct society; limits on federal spending power; while guaranteeing representation on the Supreme Court; a constitutional veto right; and increased control over immigration to Quebec in the constitution. In May 2018, Scheer promised to advocate for a robust Quebec nationalism, and to give Quebec more control over immigration and culture as well as collecting then transferring their federal income tax.

On 28 March 2018, The Journal de Montréal revealed that Scheer's personal website was offered in English only. After the publication of the article, a French version of the site was created.

In August 2018 Scheer defended a woman with links to anti-immigration activist groups such as the Front Patriotique du Quebec and the Storm Alliance after Justin Trudeau denounced her questions.

On 31 January 2018, Scheer was asked if he had ever acted inappropriately in the past, in which he responded by "No", and "A good friend of mine when I first got elected said nothing good happens in Ottawa after 8:00pm and I've tried to live by that rule."

After it was revealed that the 2015 Conservative campaign team knew about sexual misconduct allegations against former Conservative MP Rick Dykstra, Scheer responded by stating he could not speak to "decisions made by past campaign teams". However, after Conservative MPs Maxime Bernier and Brad Trost called for an investigation into the party's handling of Dykstra's candidacy while Michelle Rempel criticized the party's decision, Scheer called for a third-party investigation on 31 January 2018. On 6 February 2018, Scheer declined to comment on the fate of those involved in the mishandling of the allegations against Dykstra during the 2015 election or say whether those involved remain welcome into the party.

Scheer has described himself as focused on economic development, fiscal restraint, and reducing inefficiencies in government. A staunch opponent of the federal carbon tax, he has stated that he would balance the federal budget within two years of forming a government and open up the airline industry to foreign competition. Scheer has been likened to former Prime Minister Stephen Harper. On 27 May 2017, he was elected Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. In the 2019 federal election, the Conservatives under Scheer remained the Official Opposition but won the popular vote and gained 22 more seats than in the 2015 election. On 12 December 2019, Scheer announced he would be resigning as the leader of the Conservative Party effective upon the election of a new one.

The day after the election it was revealed that Hamish Marshall, Scheer's campaign manager, was listed as an IT specialist and one of the directors of the far right news outlet The Rebel Media. On 16 October 2017, The Globe and Mail asked Scheer if he knew that Marshall worked for the Rebel during the leadership campaign, he responded: "I didn't ask Hamish about every client he had" and then ended the interview. Later, a conservative spokesperson clarified that Scheer was aware that the Rebel was one of Marshall's many clients, but did not know the specifics. The day after, Marshall was named Conservative campaign chair for the 43rd Canadian federal election. On 21 March 2018, in an interview with Macleans, Scheer stated that Marshall and his past relationship with the Rebel should not be conflated with his selection as campaign chair.

On 16 September 2017 Scheer criticized Senator Lynn Beyak following her comments about Indigenous people. He stated that any decision to remove her would be made by the leader of the Conservatives in the Senate, Larry Smith. Beyak was eventually expelled from the caucus on 4 January 2018. Scheer has encouraged the Senate Conservative Caucus to block the passage of the Cannabis Act.

Scheer is considered pro life by the Campaign Life Coalition and "has an impeccable pro life voting record" in the House of Commons. He has said that he will respect the Conservative Party's official policy on abortion, which currently states, "A Conservative government will not support any legislation to regulate abortion". Scheer reiterated his stance on abortion during a 2017 CBC News interview, stating that he still considers himself pro-life, but would not re-open the issue if he were Prime Minister. In 2008, he was disappointed when the Order of Canada was given to Henry Morgentaler, and annoyed that his award came on Canada Day. Scheer accused the Liberal government of "imposing" the prime minister's views on upholding "women's rights and women's reproductive rights" when faith groups are applying for funding for summer jobs programs.

When asked about his stance on Canada's potential legalization of marijuana in April 2017, he said though he is not in favour of the motion, "I am very realistic, and once it's legal in a short period of time there's going to be a lot of people that work for companies that distribute it ... so we have to be very realistic as a party." During the Lac-St.Jean byelection, Scheer stated that he is opposed to the pending legalization of marijuana and made it an issue during the campaign. In an interview with Tout le Monde en Parle in May 2018, Scheer admitted that he had smoked marijuana when he was younger, but reinforced his opposition to the bill, and would not rule out the possibility to re-criminalize marijuana if he wins the election. However, in October 2018, Scheer stated that the Conservatives would not re-criminalize marijuana, noting how the Conservative Party "recognize the reality," of legal cannabis, and "do not intend to go back and make marijuana illegal again."

On 31 October 2017, it was reported that Scheer had three real estate limited partnerships (RELPs): investment vehicles that reduce the holders' tax burden by writing off up to 50 per cent of their initial investment, for those who make an average income of $75,000 or more in Saskatchewan. Scheer invested $75,000 in the RELPs, and his holdings were previously disclosed to Mary Dawson, the ethics commissioner.

Elected to the riding of Regina—Qu'Appelle at the age of 25, Scheer was re-elected in 2006, 2008, and 2011 before becoming the Speaker of the House of Commons at age 32, making him the youngest Speaker in the chamber's history. He held the speaker role for the entirety of the 41st Canadian Parliament. On 28 September 2016, Scheer announced his bid for the leadership of the Conservative Party, running under the slogan of "Real conservative. Real leader."

Scheer was re-elected in the 2015 federal election in which the Conservative government was defeated. He was appointed Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons by Leader of the Official Opposition and interim Conservative party leader Rona Ambrose. He thought about running for the position of interim Party Leader but was dissuaded by fellow caucus MP Chris Warkentin, who pointed out that the interim leader cannot take the permanent position. On 13 September 2016, he announced his resignation outside a party caucus meeting in Halifax in order to explore a bid for the leadership of the federal Conservative Party.

In 2016, Scheer publicly voiced his support for the UK's decision to vote in favour of Brexit during the referendum. Later in 2018, Scheer tweeted, "I was pro-Brexit before it was cool."

On 28 September 2016, Scheer announced his bid for the leadership of the Conservative Party, and that he had the support of 32 members of the Conservative caucus. On 27 May 2017, Scheer was elected as the second full-time leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, beating runner up Maxime Bernier and more than 12 others with 50.95% of the vote through 13 rounds. Bernier later attributed his failure to the "fake conservatives" in the supply management dairy lobby and agricultural sector. In fact, Scheer garnered laughs at the annual Press Gallery dinner with this gag:

Scheer's campaign for the Conservative Party of Canada leadership was run under the slogan "Real conservative. Real leader." He avoided advocating the social conservative issues that some of the candidates championed, saying that he wanted to "reach a broader audience of Canadians". Positions on which he took a strong stance included scrapping the carbon tax and being "tough on crime". During his political career, Scheer has been compared to former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and has been called "Harper with a smile" or "Stephen Harper 2.0". Scheer is considered a Blue Tory and is critical of the policies of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, having also been critical of Trudeau's late father, former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. Scheer considered former Canadian Prime Minister John Diefenbaker and British MEP Daniel Hannan as political influences. Scheer described U.S. Senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio as "strong conservative voices" during the 2016 Manning Center Conference. Unlike other candidates, Scheer's leadership team was focused less on headlines or eye-grabbing policy and more on data and organizing.

In October 2016, Scheer voted against the ratification of the Paris Agreement. However, he voted to reaffirm Canadian ratification on the Paris Agreement in June 2017. Pundits argued that his June 2017 vote was used as a way to avoid accusations comparing him to U.S. President Donald Trump, who pulled the United States out of the accord, a few days earlier.

Scheer voted against Bill C-210, which altered the lyrics of the national anthem to a gender-neutral form. When asked about his vote, he expressed disappointment on the bill's passing in 2016 and stated that he would sing the "old version" until the law received royal assent, which was the day after his comments.

Scheer was one of thirteen Canadians banned from travelling to Russia under retaliatory sanctions imposed by President Vladimir Putin in March 2014. Scheer supported sending peacekeepers to the Russian-Ukrainian border believing that "the defence of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity should be a priority for Canada's government on the international stage."

Scheer has publicly denounced the Liberal government's decision to end its lawsuit with Omar Khadr for what was reported to be a $10.5 million settlement. Scheer argued that Khadr's compensation should have been limited to the right of repatriation, which Khadr had received in 2012.

When the Conservative Party won a majority at the federal election in 2011, Scheer's experience as Deputy Speaker led many to consider him the front-runner to be elected Speaker of the House of Commons. On 2 June 2011, Scheer defeated Denise Savoie, the lone opposition candidate and only woman in the sixth round of balloting. Scheer became the youngest House Speaker in Canadian history and the first speaker to represent a Saskatchewan riding. Liberal MPs, who opposed Scheer's candidacy, criticized the NDP for voting for their own party member instead of tipping the balance toward Conservative MP Lee Richardson based on the MPs' beliefs that Scheer was "Harper's Boy".

During the 2011 Canadian federal election voter suppression scandal, opposition politicians raised concerns over Scheer's interventions to block questions after The Globe and Mail revealed that his riding association loaned $3,000 to Marty Burke while Burke's campaign was under scrutiny by Elections Canada over the incident.

When he was Speaker of the House from 2011 to 2015, he lived at the official residence, called the Farm, in the Gatineau Hills. Currently, he lives in Stornoway, the official residence of the leader of the opposition.

On 21 November 2008, during the 40th Canadian Parliament, he was named Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons and Chairman of Committees of the Whole, succeeding New Democrat MP Bill Blaikie.

Scheer is a hunter and firearm owner. A gridiron football fan, Scheer supports the Seattle Seahawks and Saskatchewan Roughriders; his brother-in-law is professional football player Jon Ryan. Another of his wife's brothers, Steve Ryan, ran for the Saskatchewan NDP in the 2007 and 2011 provincial elections.

In April 2006, during the 39th Canadian Parliament, Scheer was named as Assistant Deputy Chairman of Committees of the Whole, one of three deputy speakers and one of the youngest Members of Parliament to serve in that role in Commonwealth history. Also, he sponsored a bill that would create minimum sentences for those convicted of motor vehicle theft called Bill C-343, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (motor vehicle theft),

In Regina, Scheer worked as an insurance clerk, a waiter, and in the constituency office of Canadian Alliance MP Larry Spencer. In 2005, Scheer's blog as an MP listed that he was an accredited insurance broker, and in 2007 the biography section on Scheer's MP website stated that he passed the Canadian Accredited Insurance Broker program in Saskatchewan and started his insurance industry career at Shenher Insurance in Regina. While running for election in 2019 as the leader of the Conservatives, Scheer's biography on the party website stated that he had worked as an insurance broker, but upon investigation The Globe and Mail found no evidence that he was ever properly accredited as an insurance broker. Scheer responded to these claims by maintaining that he received accreditation for general insurance after leaving Shenher Insurance in Regina. As of September 2019, the provincial regulator, Insurance Councils of Saskatchewan, was reviewing the matter.

In 2005, Scheer defended Bishop Fred Henry's statements against the legalization of same-sex marriage, stating "to think that a Catholic bishop must answer to a civil authority over matters of faith is abominable. It is abhorrent to me, to other Catholics and to every member of every faith community."

Scheer was elected at age 25 as a Conservative candidate in the federal election of 2004, in the riding of Regina—Qu'Appelle, beating New Democratic Party MP Lorne Nystrom—the longest-serving member of the House of Commons at the time—by 861 votes. Near the end of the race, Scheer accused Nystrom of being soft on child pornography. He was re-elected in the federal election of 2006, once again defeating Nystrom, this time by a margin of 2,740 votes.

During the 2004 election campaign, Scheer opposed same-sex marriage. As an individual MP, he publicly voiced his opposition in the House of Commons debate against recognizing same-sex marriage and voted in favour of a 2006 motion to re-open debate on the issue. Scheer has stated that, as leader of the Conservative caucus – where there is no consensus on the issue – he will not try to reopen the debate on same-sex marriage. In 2016, Scheer supported the removal of "traditional definition of marriage" from the conservative party policy book.

Scheer married Jill Ryan at the Holy Rosary Cathedral in Regina in 2003. The couple have five children together. Scheer is a practising Catholic who attends Sunday mass and is an active member of the Knights of Columbus. His children attend a private faith-based school. According to Global News, "Scheer’s French is passable, but he’s not fluently bilingual."

Note: Conservative vote is compared to the Canadian Alliance vote in 2000 election.

In 1998, Scheer began his Bachelor of Arts studies in criminology, political science, and history at the University of Ottawa, from which he would ultimately graduate in 2008, receiving his BA degree four years after he was first elected to Parliament. During his earlier university years, Scheer worked on several political campaigns, including the Unite the Right campaign to merge the Progressive Conservative and Reform parties and Preston Manning's campaign to lead the Canadian Alliance. He also worked in the correspondence department of the Office of the Leader of the Opposition under Stockwell Day. Scheer also worked on Ottawa city councillor Karin Howard's youth advisory committee. In his third year of university, Scheer ran as a school trustee for the Ottawa-Carleton Catholic School Board in the 2000 Ottawa municipal elections, but lost to incumbent Kathy Ablett. After meeting his future wife Jill Ryan at the University of Ottawa, Scheer moved to her hometown of Regina, Saskatchewan, and continued his studies at the University of Regina, taking some courses for his BA there.

Andrew James Scheer PC MP (born 20 May 1979) is a Canadian politician who currently serves as the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada and leader of the Official Opposition since 2017. Scheer has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for the riding of Regina—Qu'Appelle since 2004.