Key Influencer - Rob Anderson - Danielle Smith Campaign Chair

Leadership races are often a time where old political names come out of the woodwork as they often get involved with the contest. Whether it providing commentary, sharing an endorsement, or going so far as to get involved on a campaign, it is not uncommon for the old to become new again. In the current UCP leadership race, Rob Anderson is one of those names – and he is the campaign chair for Danielle Smith.

Former MLA Rob Anderson served two terms in the Legislative Assembly between 2008 and 2015 for both the Progressive Conservatives and the Wildrose. During his final term in office, he was part of the Wildrose MLA slate that crossed the floor to join the Progressive Conservatives in 2014. Over the past year, he has been leading the “Free Alberta Strategy” which developed the concept of Smith’s first promised piece of legislation – the Alberta Sovereignty Act. 

During his service with the Wildrose (when Smith was the party’s leader), he was named deputy leader of the opposition in addition to house leader and finance critic. He had also served on multiple legislative committees, including the Standing Committee on Public Accounts.

Prior to his service as a politician, he practices as a corporate litigation lawyer with Borden Ladner Gervais LLP. Currently, he is a partner at the Airdrie-based firm of Warnock Kraft Anderson (of which he’s taken a leave of absence to work on the campaign).