Bob Benzen

Bob Benzen (born March 3, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the member of Parliament (MP) for Calgary Heritage from 2017 to 2022. He was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in a by-election on April 3, 2017.^[2] He succeeded former Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who had resigned as an MP in 2016.

Bob Benzen
Member of Parliament for Calgary Heritage
In office April 3, 2017 – December 31, 2022[1]
Preceded by	Stephen Harper
Succeeded by	Shuvaloy Majumdar
Personal details
Born	(1959-03-03) March 3, 1959 (age 66) Three Hills, Alberta, Canada
Political party	Conservative
Spouse	Sue Benzen
Children	3
Residence(s)	Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Profession	Businessman

Prior to his election, Benzen was a businessman specializing in data storage and information management for energy companies.^[3]

Benzen was responsible for initiating Erin O'Toole's removal as Conservative leader in 2022, after he submitted a letter from 36 Conservative MPs calling for a leadership review.^[4]

Politics

Benzen voted in support of Bill C-233, an act to amend the Criminal Code of Canada (sex-selective abortion), which would make it an indictable or summary offence for a medical practitioner to knowingly perform an abortion solely on the grounds of the child's genetic sex.^{[5][non-primary source needed]}

Benzen voted against a bill that would prohibit forcing children or adults to undergo conversion therapy aimed at altering their sexual orientation; however, the bill was ultimately passed and conversion therapy in Canada was banned.^[6][7]

On October 21, 2022, Benzen announced that he would retire from his role as MP on December 31, 2022.^[8] The by-election to replace him was held on July 24, 2023.^[9] He was succeeded by Shuvaloy Majumdar.^[10]

Electoral record

v t e 2021 Canadian federal election: Calgary Heritage
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Bob Benzen	30,870	57.66	-13.07	$68,220.18
	New Democratic	Kathleen Johnson	9,320	17.41	+8.26	$1,119.48
	Liberal	Scott Forsyth	8,960	16.73	+2.77	$8,531.08
	People's	Bailey Bedard	2,682	5.01	+3.06	$2,115.28
	Green	Malka Labell	766	1.43	-2.08	$21.70
	Maverick	Annelise Freeman	714	1.33	–	$4,651.15
	Rhinoceros	Mark Dejewski	230	0.43	–	$0.00
Total valid votes/expense limit			53,542	99.42	-0.13	$111,217.22
Total rejected ballots			313	0.58	+0.13
Turnout			53,855	65.89	-4.76
Eligible voters			81,735
	Conservative hold		Swing		-10.66
Source: Elections Canada[11]

v t e 2019 Canadian federal election: Calgary Heritage
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Bob Benzen	40,817	70.72	-0.76	$75,391.36
	Liberal	Scott Forsyth	8,057	13.96	-7.76	$6,153.00
	New Democratic	Holly Heffernan	5,278	9.14	+6.25	$143.81
	Green	Allie Tulick	2,027	3.51	+1.73	none listed
	People's	Stephanie Hoeppner	1,123	1.95	-	none listed
	Independent	Hunter Mills	228	0.40	-	none listed
	Christian Heritage	Larry R. Heather	185	0.32	-1.10	$4,539.49
Total valid votes/expense limit			57,715	99.55
Total rejected ballots			260	0.45	+0.16
Turnout			57,975	70.65	+37.19
Eligible voters			82,059
	Conservative hold		Swing		+3.50
Source: Elections Canada[12][13][14]

v t e Canadian federal by-election, April 3, 2017: Calgary Heritage Resignation of Stephen Harper
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Bob Benzen	19,383	71.47	+7.71
	Liberal	Scott Forsyth	5,889	21.72	−4.25
	New Democratic	Khalis Ahmed	785	2.89	−4.39
	Green	Taryn Knorren	484	1.78	−0.35
	Christian Heritage	Jeff Willerton	385	1.42
	Libertarian	Darcy Gerow	114	0.42	−0.00
	National Advancement	Stephen J. Garvey	76	0.28
Total valid votes/expense limit			27,116	99.71	–
Total rejected ballots			78	0.29	−0.10
Turnout			27,194	33.46	−39.16
Eligible voters			81,270
	Conservative hold		Swing		+5.98
Source: Elections Canada[15]