Rachael Thomas
- Born
- 1986 — Calgary, Alberta
- Family
- Married to Victor Thomas
- Education
- Briercrest College and Seminary; Bachelor of Education and Bachelor of Social Science, University of Lethbridge
- Career
- Youth and young adult consultant
- Political Experience
- Elected to represent Lethbridge in the House of Commons in 2015, reelected in 2019 and 2021. Shadow Minister for Canadian Heritage since October 2022. Previously, Official Opposition critic for Youth and Persons with Disabilities, the Status of Women, and Digital Government.
- Notable
- Formerly known as Rachael Harder. Published a paper on emerging trends for young Canadians titled 'Hemorrhaging faith: Why and when Canadian young adults are leaving, staying and returning to church'.
Based on publicly available information — may contain inaccuracies
Business & Financial Interests
Before entering politics, Rachael Thomas worked as a Youth and Young Adult Coordinator. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and a Master of Arts degree in political science from the University of Lethbridge.
Key Relationships & Connections
As a member of the Conservative Party's shadow cabinet, Rachael Thomas works closely with party leader Pierre Poilievre. She has served in several critic roles, including Shadow Minister for Canadian Heritage and later for Public Services and Procurement.
Public Controversies
In 2021, Thomas was publicly corrected by the Lethbridge police chief after she made statements in the House of Commons linking a local supervised consumption site to an increase in crime rates. The police chief stated that her statistics were inaccurate and that crime had actually decreased in the area around the site. Thomas later defended her comments, stating she was representing the concerns of her constituents. She also faced criticism for social media posts in which she reportedly compared federal COVID-19 vaccine mandates to "tyranny" and promoted a petition against them.
Where Rachael falls on key policy spectrums
Your Money
People & Society
How We're Governed
Land & Community
Rachael Thomas won with 40,866 votes (61.1%)
Total votes cast: 66,937
How does Rachael Thomas's voting record line up with your values?
Mr. Speaker, let us focus on the facts. The Liberals are spending so much that they have actually doubled Trudeau's deficit. That is quite the accomplishment, because Trudeau's deficit, of course, was massive in nature, historic, in fact, so the fact that the government has doubled it is quite something. The reason this matters so much is not that they spent so much money, but that they did it
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals promised a “new government”, but we do in fact see more of the same. We see more costly spending, more taxes and, ultimately, more prices to pay for Canadians. Whether it is the grocery store or the gas at the pumps or their mortgages that they're trying to pay month to month, Canadians are struggling to make ends meet because of the costly policies of the government.
I'm sorry. I'll pose my question again. This current Liberal government puts the vast majority of its advertising dollars into big American tech giants. Overwhelmingly, it does not choose Canadian companies. What is your position on this? Do you agree with the decision by the government?
It'll be Mr. Diotte.
Thank you so much. Ms. Bouchard, in one of the comments you made in your opening remarks, you said foreign giants are monopolizing ad revenue. Further to this, another witness added that about 75% of Canadian ad dollars are going to foreign giants. Certainly, we see this as an issue, and it is concerning. Prime Minister My concern goes further, though. It doesn't seem to be just advertisers
Right. I think most of us are having a hard time explaining it. Interestingly enough, you're talking about ad revenue being monopolized by these foreign giants. The current government also spends the vast majority of its advertising budget with these same foreign giants, instead of coming to Canadian companies. I'm curious. Are you in support of this decision by the government?
Okay. It's well known that trust in the CBC's media provisions is down with the general public and viewership is down. Do you think any of this had to do with the reason?
Okay. One thing the CBC loves to talk about is supposed news deserts. You listed a number of cities that the CBC has put a presence into over the last couple of years. You listed places like Lloydminster, Calgary and Moncton. We've heard from numerous witnesses at this committee that there is local coverage in these places and that they feel quite targeted by the CBC, quite under attack by your
Thank you very much. My question is for Mr. Griffiths. In your opening statement, you talked about the importance of establishing trust. You made a comment with regard to money being given by the government in order to prop up existing journalists and entities. You talked about the fact that with the way it is done with the “payroll tax subsidy”, as you called it, it's rather difficult for new
You said there were consequences for democracy. Quickly, what are those consequences?
Just to be clear, these are not my statements. These are statements made by these local news initiatives that are doing good work on behalf of their communities.
Ms. Bouchard, with all due respect, they don't see that. That's not how these local news companies perceive the CBC. That's not how the CBC is entering into these local communities.
Prime Minister Does it concern you that thechose to go with an American platform, YouTube, instead of coming to Canada's public broadcaster, the CBC?