Jonathan Denis

Early life and education

Jonathan Denis is the son of a soldier in the Canadian forces. He graduated in 1993 from Luther College, a private school in Regina, SK. He received a commerce degree from the University of Regina in 1997 and a law degree from the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon in 2000. While in law school, Denis was invited as a speaker at an international law conference in Montreal, Quebec.

Career Pre-Politics (2000-2008)

For approximately two months in 1996, Denis was a staffer for Lynda Haverstock when she was an Independent MLA in the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly. Haverstock had previously been leader of the Saskatchewan Liberal Party.

Prior to becoming an MLA, Denis was a senior associate, specializing in government relations, at Miller Thomson LLP, a major Canadian law firm. He was also the co-founder and President of 3D Contact Inc., the other founder being Nepean-Carleton MP Pierre Poilievre Listed contacts of 3D Contact Inc. are Stephen Harper, Stockwell Day, and Ted Morton. He was also the founder of a successful real estate investment firm named Liberty West Properties Inc. Denis resigned from both positions after being elected.

Private MLA (2008-2010), 2008 Election

Denis sought public office for the Alberta Progressive Conservatives in the 2008 provincial election in the constituency of Calgary-Egmont where he received 43.6% of the vote, beating former Calgary School Board chair Cathie Williams.

Denis initially served as a member of the Standing Committee on the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund, the Public Accounts Committee, the Standing Committee on Health, and the Cabinet Policy Committee on Health.[12] In 2008, Deputy Premier Ron Stevens also appointed Denis to the Alberta/Alaska Bilateral Council.

In 2008, Health and Wellness Minister Ron Liepert asked Denis to conduct a widely based consultation for the Alberta Pharmaceutical Strategy. Denis's report came up with ten key recommendations for changes to pharmaceutical policy for the Alberta government.

Also in 2008, Sustainable Resources Minister Ted Morton appointed Denis to the Land Use Framework Committee

On September 16, 2009, Denis was named the Parliamentary Assistant for Energy.

As a lawyer since 2001, Denis introduced the new Alberta Rules of Court as Bill 31, 2009. This bill provided sweeping reforms to court process and completely new rules of court and procedure for Alberta.

Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs (2010-2011)

Denis was sworn in as Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs as well as Deputy Government House Leader on January 15, 2010,.

On April 6, 2011, denis provided $638,000.00 in provincial housing money to support tenants of the YWCA's Ophelia House in Calgary. Ophelia House supports women experiencing homelessness.

In 2011, the Canadian Taxpayers' Federation wrote an article praising Denis for reducing spending in his department by 39% while still achieving targets.

Solicitor General & Minister of Public Security (2011-2012), 2012 Election

On October 12, 2011, Denis was sworn in as Solicitor General and Minister of Public Security. He was re-elected in the newly named riding of Calgary-Acadia on April 23, 2012.

Minister of Justice, Attorney General, & Solicitor General (2012-2015), 2015 Election

Denis was named Minister of Justice, Solicitor General, Attorney General, and Provincial Secretary Alberta on May 9, 2012.

Denis has pursued a "law and order" policy on crime, increasing the amount of RCMP in rural areas and a provincial grant for 300 new police officers in the cities.

On September 1, 2012, Denis enacted strict penalties on drunk drivers. Following this drunk driving law, drunk driving charges went down two years in a row, including 17% in 2015.

On April 17, 2014, Denis supported removing the previous preamble to the Marriage Act which made the Act gender-neutral, respecting the LGBTQ community and same-sex marriage.

On June 13, 2014, Denis provided a grant from the Civil Forfeiture Fund to the Edmonton Pride Centre. The grant was used to support programs for LGBTQ youth.

On July 21, 2014, Denis doubled the limit in Alberta small claims court to $50,000.00, which allows "self-represented litigants to avoid more complicated civil proceedings in Court of Queen’s Bench." This move was lauded by many Alberta lawyers as a positive step for access to justice.

Denis was re-appointed to his previous positions by new Premier Jim Prentice on September 15, 2014. Prentice subsequently appointed Denis Government House Leader.

On September 24, 2014, Denis attended the YWCA's 9th annual "Walk a Mile in her Shoes" to raise funds and awareness toward ending domestic abuse.

Denis resigned on April 25, 2015, during the 2015 election campaign, due to "legal proceedings" between himself and his estranged wife, Breanna Palmer. On May 4, 2015, Court of Queen's Bench Justice Craig Jones cleared Denis's name and "revoked" the order that his wife had obtained against him, stating that Palmer's "recollection of the events was inaccurate". Denis continued as a candidate but was defeated in the May 5, 2015 general election in a close three-way race, by about 800 votes. Justice Jones of the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench proved that none of the allegations of Palmer were true and ordered she pay Denis his legal fees. On April 10, 2016, Breanna Palmer recanted her accusations and said she was "saddened for the steps she had taken against her former husband" [Denis].

Earlier in the campaign, Denis denied vandalizing his own campaign signs so that they'd read "Jonathan Penis" as a way of getting attention.

Accolades

In 2009, Denis was appointed Queen's Counsel of Alberta. This is a designation given to lawyers who have exhibited "outstanding contributions to the legal profession or in public life".

Denis was also named as one of Avenue Magazine's "Top 40 under 40" in 2010. which the magazine describes as "an annual selection of the brightest and most active leaders under the age of 40".

In 2011, the Canadian Taxpayers' Federation wrote an article praising Denis for reducing spending in his department by 39% while still achieving targets. The Canadian Taxpayers' Federation has also twice given Denis a "nice" award for having the best expenses in the entire Alberta government, calling his expenses "boring".