RJ Sigurdson

Richard Junior (RJ) Sigurdson ECA MLA is a Canadian politician who has been the Alberta Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation since June 2023. He was elected in the 2019 Alberta general election to represent the electoral district of Highwood in the 30th Alberta Legislature.^[1]

The Honourable Richard Junior Sigurdson ECA MLA
Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation
Incumbent
Assumed office June 9, 2023
Preceded by	Nate Horner
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for Highwood
Incumbent
Assumed office April 16, 2019
Preceded by	Wayne Anderson
Personal details
Political party	United Conservative Party
Residence	Okotoks, Alberta

Policies

In February 2021, in an Okotoks Today article, Sigurdson said that he shared the concerns of his constituents regarding the June 2020 rescinding of the 1976 coal policy.^[2] Sigurdson supports "protecting the watershed of southern Alberta and the integrity of the eastern slopes of the Canadian Rockies."

In response to the Level 1 more stringent COVID-19 restrictions announced by Premier Jason Kenney on April 6, 2021, Sigurdson and 16 other UCP MLAs signed an open letter to the premier, calling on him to roll back the restrictions.^[3] All of the MLAs who cosigned the appeal represent ridings outside the two largest cities of Calgary and Edmonton.^[3]

Electoral history

2023 general election

v t e 2023 Alberta general election: Highwood
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	United Conservative	R.J. Sigurdson	17,990	68.90	-4.36
	New Democratic	Jessica Hallam	7,540	28.88	+11.37
	Wildrose Independence	Mike Lorusso	580	2.22	–
Total			26,110	99.22	–
Rejected and declined			204	0.78
Turnout			26,314	67.31
Eligible voters			39,093
	United Conservative hold		Swing		-7.86
Source(s) Source: Elections Alberta[4]

2019 general election

v t e 2019 Alberta general election: Highwood
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	United Conservative	R.J. Sigurdson	18,635	73.26%	-0.78%
	New Democratic	Erik Overland	4,453	17.51%	-1.51%
	Alberta Party	Ron Kerr	1,988	7.82%	3.51%
	Alberta Independence	Dan Irving	362	1.42%	–
Total			25,438	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			208	35	9
Eligible electors / turnout			35,422	72.43%	16.62%
	United Conservative hold		Swing		23.83%
Source(s) Source: "65 - Highwood, 2019 Alberta general election". officialresults.elections.ab.ca. Elections Alberta. Retrieved May 21, 2020. Alberta. Chief Electoral Officer (2019). 2019 General Election. A Report of the Chief Electoral Officer. Volume II (PDF) (Report). Vol. 2. Edmonton, Alta.: Elections Alberta. pp. 296–301. ISBN 978-1-988620-12-1. Retrieved April 7, 2021.