Doug Elniski is a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 politician and current Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta

Legislative Assembly of Alberta

The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is one of two components of the Legislature of Alberta, the other being the Queen, represented by the Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta. The Alberta legislature meets in the Alberta Legislature Building in the provincial capital, Edmonton...

 representing the constituency of Edmonton-Calder

Edmonton-Calder

Edmonton-Calder is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Canada. It is currently represented by Progressive Conservative MLA Doug Elniski.-Boundary history:- Members of the Legislative Assembly :...

 as a Progressive Conservative

Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta

The Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta is a provincial centre-right party in the Canadian province of Alberta...

.

Early life

Prior to being elected, Elniski worked in a variety of fields, including safety management, resource management, construction, adult education, and business consulting. He is the CEO and owner of a residential and land development/rehabilitation company. Elniski is a former volunteer firefighter.

Political career

Elniski's win in Edmonton-Calder

Edmonton-Calder

Edmonton-Calder is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Canada. It is currently represented by Progressive Conservative MLA Doug Elniski.-Boundary history:- Members of the Legislative Assembly :...

 represented a gain for the Progressive Conservatives. He won the constituency from first-term NDP MLA David Eggen

David Eggen

David Eggen is a Canadian politician. He is a former Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for the riding of Edmonton-Calder.- Educator :...

, in a very tight race edging Eggen out by 178 votes. Elniski is the fourth MLA to represent Edmonton-Calder, a working class riding, in the last four election cycles.

Political Controversy

In June 2009, Elniski's political career hit a bump in the road when imprudent comments he had posted on the internet site Twitter made national headlines. Opposition parties referred to his online posts regarding women as sexist and offensive. Elniski was lucky not to draw the ire of Premier Ed Stelmach who was already trying to quell controversy over ignorant comments made by other party MLAs.

Personal life

Elniski is married to Barbara Grodaes and has three daughters: Jasmine, Becky, and Diana.

Despite being 6'7" and the tallest member of the Alberta Legislature, Elniski used to drive a Daimler AG Smart GmbH, or smart car. He has recently traded it in for a full-sized truck.

2008 general election

2008 Election Results
Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	%	Progressive Conservative Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta The Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta is a provincial centre-right party in the Canadian province of Alberta...	Doug Elniski	4,534	40.87%	NDP Alberta New Democratic Party The Alberta New Democratic Party or Alberta NDP is a social-democratic political party in Alberta, Canada, which was originally founded as the Alberta section of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation...	David Eggen David Eggen David Eggen is a Canadian politician. He is a former Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for the riding of Edmonton-Calder.- Educator :...	4,356	39.06%	Liberal Alberta Liberal Party The Alberta Liberal Party is a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada. Originally founded in 1905, when the province was created, it was the dominant political party until 1921 when it was defeated. It has never been in government since that time...	Jim Kane	1,839	16.50%	Green	Michael Brown	398	3.58%