Branden Leslie
- Born
- near Portage la Prairie
- Career
- Conservative political staffer; policy and government relations manager with Grain Growers Canada
- Political Experience
- Campaign manager for Candice Bergen; Elected to the Canadian House of Commons in a by-election on 19 June 2023
- Notable
- Criticized Friesen for his role as Manitoba's health minister during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pro-life. Would have voted against the ban on conversion therapy.
Based on publicly available information — may contain inaccuracies
Business & Financial Interests
Before entering federal politics, Branden Leslie had a career in political organization and agricultural advocacy. He is known to have served as the campaign manager for his predecessor, former Conservative MP Candice Bergen. He also reportedly worked for the Grain Growers of Canada, an organization that represents the interests of grain farmers across the country.
Key Relationships & Connections
Branden Leslie has a well-documented political relationship with former Conservative cabinet minister and interim party leader, Candice Bergen. He worked as her campaign manager before succeeding her as the Member of Parliament for Portage—Lisgar. Through his previous employment, he also has established connections with the Grain Growers of Canada.
Public Controversies
Branden Leslie's 2023 by-election campaign attracted significant media attention, largely because he was running against People's Party of Canada leader Max Bernier. During the campaign, Leslie's public statements and views on certain topics, including the World Economic Forum, were reportedly the subject of media coverage and public debate. The race was often framed as a test of the Conservative Party's appeal to its right-wing base.
Where Branden falls on key policy spectrums
Your Money
People & Society
How We're Governed
Land & Community
Branden Leslie won with 31,889 votes (69.4%)
Total votes cast: 45,965
How does Branden Leslie's voting record line up with your values?
Madam Speaker, I was at the committee when the government brought forward very substantial amendments to the member's legislation. I am curious how she can rectify the difference between what the intention of the bill originally was and what the government ultimately ended up doing by gutting it.
Mr. Speaker, it is great to see you in the chair. I hope members will indulge me by allowing me to acknowledge that today is a very special day for my family. Today is my daughter Morgan's first birthday. After a few challenges after her birth, the lead-up to her birthday and the celebration this weekend offer us as a family much time to reflect upon and appreciate just how tough my little girl
Madam Speaker, Thanksgiving used to be simple. We filled the table, squeezed in another chair and gave thanks that everyone was together. Families are now doing the math before they sit down. Can we afford the turkey? Do we need to skip something else? Do we invite fewer people, perhaps not the embarrassing uncle? Feeding everybody simply costs too much. This Thanksgiving, a turkey dinner will
Madam Speaker, last year, a group of community activists told a Manitoba court that licensed hunters could pass its checkpoint, yet this fall, hunters are once again being turned away. The province has issued a cease and desist letter, while the RCMP says it is still waiting for direction. A public highway is not a private driveway. Hunters have legal authority to hunt during hunting season and
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for the kind words. It is a huge challenge, because people do not understand farming at scale. If we are running a combine right now, and have a particularly late harvest in parts of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, we are running at $250 an hour in diesel running all day with multiple combines. That is our profit at the end of the year going up in smoke. This is not
Madam Speaker, I must admit I am a big fan of my colleague from across the way. I appreciate working with him on the environment committee. He mentioned yet another big, grand announcement the government has made and that somehow we are supposed to believe it is going to lead to some sort of outcome sometime in the future. However, the reality is that the affordability crisis is striking at the
Toronto—St. Paul's Madam Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for. Every day, Canadians across the country wake up, work hard and do their best to provide for their families, yet despite all of their efforts, far too many are finding it harder than ever to make ends meet. Whether it is the cost of groceries, housing, fuel or everyday essentials, families and seniors are feeling
Madam Speaker, I will reject elements of that because I can watch the supply chain work. Let us take a chicken barn producing chickens. It takes diesel to transport them to the processor and the grocery store at very high prices. People are then putting that chicken back on the shelf because they cannot afford it and are trying to make tough decisions about what healthy food to put on their
C-69 Mr. Speaker, let me take members back in time a few years. When the Liberals introduced Bill, they told us that the new process would make project reviews more efficient, predictable and timely. Now, eight years later, that sales pitch has not aged well at all. C-39 C-5 Now we have Bill, and the government's own explanation says its approval system suffers from lengthy timelines that delay
Could you share that data, as well as the verification processes?
That would help us down the road in figuring that out as we develop more programs.
Thank you.
Ultimately—I hope you would agree—it would be of value to have the government release that data so we can see what was saved for the economy and for individual families who are embracing these programs, these new technologies and these retrofits, versus what was spent. Then we can identify whether this a good use of taxpayers' money and if it actually worked in the real world. Is that a fair
Thank you, Madam Chair. I'd like to start with you, Ms. Cloutier. You mentioned in your previous response that the program is saving folks about 30% on average. Is this based on submitted energy bills before and after, or is it estimated?
Is this delineated by...? Our previous witness basically said that all measures generally worked less than promised, but some—windows and doors—really don't work as well as I even thought. Is that broken down? Do you have that data? I assume 30% is an average. It's a nice round number.
It would be very helpful.