12 Quick Facts About Leela Aheer, Alberta MLA for Chestermere-Strathmore
We have known Leela Sharon Aheer for a couple of decades but the last eight years with the Wildrose/UCP and 2019 Alberta election brought out some facts we’ll bet most people just don’t know about her:
If you think Leela is a hard worker, you’d be wrong because ‘hard working’ is a massive understatement. She only sleeps a few hours per day and works constantly. She personally knocked on over 7000 doors in the riding of Chestermere-Strathmore and more than DOUBLED her vote count in just one term from 7676 votes in 2015 to 15,502 votes in 2019 . .
She is the only Wildrose / UCP candidate ever to beat a sitting Party Leader, namely the Freedom Conservative party’s Derek Fildebrant. .
Mrs. Aheer proved she can work across party lines by having a private members bill unanimously passed in Alberta’s NDP Legislature. When talking about this particular bill which relates to modernizing adoption laws, she says “…it is one of the political achievements I am most proud of”. .
MLA Aheer has held more “shadow cabinet” positions than any other Wildrose/UCP member. She jumped into her political career with a major assignment as the Shadow Minister for Energy and didn’t stop there. She excelled as Shadow Minister for Education, Status of Women and Children’s Services. In 2017 she became the UCP’s first Deputy Leader under Jason Kenny and held that position through disolution – quite an illustrious accomplishment. .
Her diverse family exposed Aheer to many different faiths. She was raised by an Anglican mother and a Hindu father who worked in ‘the patch’ as a chemical engineer. He brought his girl with him on many working field trips providing her with deep insights into the oil and gas industry. .
Aheer is self described as ‘obsessed’ with languages and while she speaks English primarily, she has taught both French and Spanish, as well as being highly conversesant in Punjabi. .
As a notable advocate for children with special needs, she has worked with many parents and organizations over the years to help navigate education systems effectively and aimed to bring equality for all kids in their educational environments. .
In a highly male-dominated field, she beat out the male incumbant and 3 three other men and incumbant in her first election in 2015. She was one of only two female MLA’s in the Wildrose party elected to the Alberta legislature. .
Mrs Aheer is a Rotarian, a Lion and member of the Royal Canadian Legion. As a patriotic Canadian, born and raised in Alberta, she supports her community of Chestermere Strathmore and the Province of Alberta in general as a ‘serial volonteer’. From the CRCA Fall Fair, Meow Foundation, Alberta Cancer Society, United Way, Alberts Arts Days, Chestermere Firemans Galga and on and on and on… Leela helps by putting in the hours of volunterr work it takes to pull off events for the public. .
Mrs. Aheer is the CEO of SLAM Industries (SLAM = Sehran, Leela, Akesh, Malkeet). She was the sole bread-winner for her family for 6 years, was a partner in the Chestermere Heath Center building and was Treasurer of a small international real estate investment company. She willingly gave up the day to day control of these ventures to join the political world, so yes, she is free from conflicts of interest! .
She has attended at least 3 United Nations Conferences, participated in an interprovincial-exchange program in Quebec. Global travel is a passion for Leela and her family. She sees these outings as way to feed her need for lifelong learning. .
When asked for comment about her work ethic and Mrs Aheer responded “It is an internal motivation to always to try and do better and to inspire”
We have worked with politicians of all stripes since the mid-1980’s but can say that Mrs Aheer is one of the most direct, genuine and approachable people in that space.
With her wide variety of skills and experience she will make an excellent Deputy Premier in the Jason Kenny lead UCP Alberta Provincial Government.
Her energetic personality is accurately presented in this short promo video from the UCP:
