30 Facts About Norm Letnick

Norm Letnick was born on 1957 and is a Canadian politician, who was first elected as a member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2009 provincial election and re-elected in 2013,2017, and 2020.

Norm Letnick was elected as a member of the BC Liberal Party in the riding of Kelowna-Lake Country.

Norm Letnick graduated from Heriot-Watt University with a master of business administration and achieved candidacy status toward a doctorate in health economics at the University of British Columbia before setting the pursuit of a PhD aside to focus on his public duties as minister of Agriculture.

Norm Letnick served as a municipal councillor in the Town of Banff in the 1990s and in the City of Kelowna between 2005 and 2008.

Norm Letnick married Helene in 1981 and they have three children and two grandchildren.

Norm Letnick graduated in 1980 from the University of Calgary with a Bachelor of Commerce Degree and a nomination for a Rhodes Scholarship and then in 2002 from Scotland's Heriot-Watt University with a Master of Business Administration degree.

Norm Letnick was elected to the municipal council in Banff, Alberta in 1992, and re-elected in 1995.

Norm Letnick served as the chairman of Banff council's housing advisory committee and became the charter president of the non-profit Banff Housing Corporation and served as such for six years.

Norm Letnick campaigned in favour of developing Banff by an additional 850,000 square feet of commercial space during a town-wide plebiscite, which was supported by the residents but reduced by the federal Minister of Canadian Heritage, Sheila Copps, who had jurisdiction over the development of Banff.

In 1991 Norm Letnick was a member of the Banff Mineral Springs Hospital board of directors.

Norm Letnick led an initiative to stop the hospital from offering morning after pills in accordance with the guidelines of the owners of the hospital the Catholic Health Association of Canada.

In 1998 the 40-year-old Norm Letnick ran for mayor of Banff and was the pre-election favorite, but came second to a 51-year-old lawyer.

Norm Letnick participated in several community service organizations such as the Rotary and Gyro clubs.

Norm Letnick was recruited to join Kelowna's Advisory Planning Commission, and was appointed to municipal task forces looking into access to the new Kelowna bridge and the downtown entertainment district.

Six other candidates ran, including Ben Stewart, Norm Letnick placed second by 55 votes to Ron Cannan who went on to win the riding for the Conservatives.

Norm Letnick was appointed to a two-person task force, with fellow councilor Michele Rule, to investigate and provide City Council with recommendations on affordable housing.

On other local issues, Norm Letnick voted against condominium development on agricultural land and voted in favour of holding a referendum on amalgamation with Westside which the council refused.

Norm Letnick began positioning himself in April 2008 to run for provincial office, informing his MLA Sindi Hawkins who had been diagnosed with cancer, that he would seek to replace her if she did not seek re-election.

However, it was retiring MLA Al Horning in a neighbouring riding that asked Norm Letnick to replace him.

In Fall 2009 Norm Letnick was appointed by Randy Hawes, fellow BC Liberal MLA and the Minister of State for Mining, to lead a committee investigating a management strategy for aggregate extraction and processing in the Central Okanagan area.

Norm Letnick distinguished himself from the BC Liberals in November 2009 when he voted against their Assistance to Shelter Act which allowed police to use force in taking a person at risk to emergency shelters.

Norm Letnick still stands as the only MLA in the legislature since 2009 who has voted against his party.

Norm Letnick was a vocal proponent of independent power producers and of the Harmonized Sales Tax, though he delivered a local petition against the HST to the Legislative Assembly on behalf of some of the constituents in his riding and those of Westside Kelowna and Kelowna Mission.

The unpopularity of the HST within his riding led to Norm Letnick being included in a list of 24 MLAs, in June 2010, who the FightHST group would explore for potential recall.

Norm Letnick endorsed George Abbott as soon as he entered the race, citing the respect Abbott has of people within and outside the party.

In May 2011, Norm Letnick introduced a private member bill called the Emergency Intervention Disclosure Act into the Legislative Assembly.

Norm Letnick cited encouragement from fire fighters and paramedics, as well as a Clark campaign pledge to debate more private member bills, as reasons for bringing the proposed legislation forward.

The legislation only received first reading in the third session but Norm Letnick brought it back in the fourth session as Bill M-204 in November 2011.

In September 2012 Norm Letnick was appointed Minister of Agriculture for the province of British Columbia.

On November 22,2023, Norm Letnick announced that he would not be seeking a fifth term in the Legislature.