The Honourable
Josephine Pon
ECA
盤世寶
Alberta Minister of Seniors and Housing
In office
April 30, 2019 – June 9, 2023
Preceded byLori Sigurdson
Succeeded byJason Nixon
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for Calgary-Beddington
In office
April 16, 2019 – May 29, 2023
Preceded byNew district
Succeeded byAmanda Chapman
Personal details
BornBritish Hong Kong[1]
Political partyUnited Conservative Party
Residence(s)Calgary, Alberta
Alma materUniversity of Liverpool
OccupationBusiness Management

Josephine Pon ECA is a Canadian politician who was elected in the 2019 Alberta general election to represent the electoral district of Calgary-Beddington in the 30th Alberta Legislature. She is a member of the United Conservative Party.[2] She was a member of the Standing Committee on the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund and the Special Standing Committee on Members' Services. She previously was Alberta's Minister of Seniors and Housing from 2019 to 2022.

Background

Pon was born in Hong Kong. She immigrated to Alberta, Canada in 1981, living her following years in Edmonton then eventually in Calgary with a career in banking before pursuing her political career.[3] According to election promotion material from the 2019 Alberta provincial election, Pon worked in banking for over 20 years, in roles such as Account Manager in Personal/Commercial banking and Regional Manager, Business Development responsible for Multicultural Banking in the Prairie Region with Scotiabank working with more than 230 branches as well as 3,000 staff in and around the Prairie Region.[4] Between 2013 and 2016 she was the chair of the board of directors for Immigrant Services Calgary (ISC) helping over 27,000 immigrants over 50 programs each year.[5] She also worked at Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), a crown corporation in mortgage insurance, as an International Trade Consultant as well as in the Assisted Housing department in the Prairie Region. Shortly before the election, she was Vice President of the Taste of Asia Group, which comprises five restaurants in Canada and well over 150 employees, claiming to assist in providing insight to the reality of the economic situation involving business and restaurant owners.[6]

Political career

On April 16, 2019, Pon was elected as the United Conservative Party MLA for Calgary-Beddington. She defeated Communications & Marketing Consultant, Alberta NDP candidate Amanda Chapman by 3807 votes, winning 53.1% of all votes cast.

Shortly after the election, Premier Jason Kenney appointed her as Alberta's Minister of Seniors and Housing, vowing to ensure that Albertans and seniors have access to affordable housing and have the resources they need.[4] Since her appointment, she has worked on reforming conventional methods of application and management of provincial benefits such as mailing, faxing or dropping-off to a more senior friendly digital option.[7] She has also made efforts to advance housing projects in Alberta, saying "Investing in affordable housing is vital to helping more low-income Albertans get on the path to financial stability."[8]

Pon announced her affordable housing plan on Nov. 21, 2019, as a way to reduce red tape for Albertan applicants.[9] On November 1, 2021, Pon announced the tabling of Bill 78: The Alberta Housing Amendment Act, which will allow the government to enter into "joint ventures" with for profit private companies in an effort to attract more investment to expand and improve affordable housing.[10]

As part of a partnership with the federal Government of Canada, Pon announced a $444 million investment to fund rent support for nearly 35,500 households in Alberta.[11]

The United Conservative Party of Alberta announced Josephine Pon would be their candidate for Calgary-Beddington in the 2023 Alberta general election. She lost her seat in the general election to the same Alberta NDP candidate, Amanda Chapman again.[12]

Electoral record

2023 Alberta general election: Calgary-Beddington
Party Candidate Votes%±%
New DemocraticAmanda Chapman10,26949.66+13.95
United ConservativeJosephine Pon9,72647.04-6.07
Alberta PartyWayne Jackson4732.29-5.93
LiberalZarnab Shahid Zafar2101.02-0.67
Total 20,67899.32–
Rejected and declined 1420.68
Turnout 20,82058.28
Eligible voters 35,724
New Democratic gain from United Conservative Swing +10.01
Source(s)
Source: Elections Alberta[13]
2019 Alberta general election: Calgary-Beddington
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
United ConservativeJosephine Pon11,62553.11-3.74$31,776
New DemocraticAmanda Chapman7,81835.71-0.93$15,589
Alberta PartyCarol-Lynn Darch1,7998.22–$2,014
LiberalChandan Tadavalkar3701.69-2.91$1,651
Alberta IndependenceTom Grbich1610.74–$500
IndependentAlexander Dea1170.53–$1,101
Total 21,89099.53–
Rejected, spoiled and declined 1030.47–
Turnout 21,99363.12
Eligible voters 34,845
United Conservative notional hold Swing -1.41
Source(s)
Source: Elections Alberta[14][15][16]
Note: Expenses is the sum of "Election Expenses", "Other Expenses" and "Transfers Issued". The Elections Act limits "Election Expenses" to $50,000.

References

  1. ↑ https://crtc.gc.ca/fra/BCASTING/ann_rep/Rogers_2018_CD_Report.pdf
  2. ↑ "Alberta election: Calgary-Beddington results - Calgary | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  3. ↑ "Meet Josephine Pon". Josephine Pon. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  4. 1 2 "Josephine Pon biography". www.alberta.ca. Retrieved 2019-10-27.
  5. ↑ "Meet Josephine Pon". Josephine Pon. https://josephinepon.nationbuilder.com/bio Retrieved 2019-10-27
  6. ↑ "2018 Diversity Report" (PDF). Rogers. January 31, 2019. https://crtc.gc.ca/fra/BCASTING/ann_rep/Rogers_2018_CD_Report.pdf
  7. ↑ [1] Wyton, Moira (2019-10-02). "UCP announces digitization of seniors' benefits". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved 2019-10-27.https://edmontonjournal.com/news/politics/ucp-announces-digitization-of-seniors-benefits
  8. ↑ "Calgary to receive $24.6 million from federal government for affordable housing projects". calgaryherald. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  9. ↑ Marshall, Matt (2019-11-21). "Affordable housing plan rolled out by provincial government". Edmonton. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  10. ↑ "Alberta government taking steps toward private partnerships and sale of affordable housing projects". edmontonjournal. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  11. ↑ "$444M investment will help 35,500 low-income households in Alberta afford rent". CBC News. 2021-07-06.
  12. ↑ "United Conservative Party of Alberta". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  13. ↑ "02 - Calgary-Beddington". officialresults.elections.ab.ca. Elections Alberta. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  14. ↑ "02 - Calgary-Beddington, 2019 Alberta general election". officialresults.elections.ab.ca. Elections Alberta. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  15. ↑ 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. 7–10. ISBN 978-1-988620-12-1. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  16. ↑ Alberta. Chief Electoral Officer (2019). 2019 General Election. A Report of the Chief Electoral Officer. Volume III Election Finances (PDF) (Report). Vol. 3. Edmonton, Alta.: Elections Alberta. pp. 68–82. ISBN 978-1-988620-13-8. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 15, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
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