A new report from the House of Commons highlights how much each MP incurred in expenses during the first quarter of 2023. (Photo: Febriyanta | Dreamstime.com)

By David Opinko

How ‘expensive’ are Alberta’s MPs? A Pattison Media analysis

Dec 4, 2023 | 10:24 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Do you know how much of your tax dollars go towards your Member of Parliament (MP)?

Pattison Media took a look at recently-released numbers from the House of Commons that outline the Summary of Expenditures for all of Canada’s 338 MPs for the first quarter, April 1 to June 30, 2023.

Expenses are broken down into four sections:

• Salaries – Includes the salaries of each members’ employees.
• Travel – Includes travel expenses charged to the Members’ Office Budget and expenses that qualify under a Travel Points System, which is awarded each year.
• Hospitality – Includes meals, beverages and refreshments, as well as other expenses related to hospitality. This is extended to guests at events who “are necessary for the fulfillment of parliamentary functions.”
• Contracts – Includes all other expenses incurred by MPs, such as for service contracts, advertising, gifts, constituency office leases, office operations and training.

The House of Commons website also notes that the expenses included in the report reflect the characteristics of each constituency, as the size of the population, geographical size, and location can influence their expenses.

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Alberta is represented in parliament by 34 MPs, who, together, cover every section of the province from urban, rural and remote communities.

High-Level Findings

We found that Alberta’s MPs spent a combined total of $3,492,705.18 during the first quarter of 2023, or an average of $102,726.62 per member. That is higher than the national average of $93,111.04 per member.

Among the five “most expensive” MPs in Alberta, Foothills’ John Barlow was the only one to not reside in Calgary or Edmonton.

As 30 of Alberta’s 34 MPs are members of the Conservative Party of Canada, we cannot conclusively say which party has the highest or lowest expenses on average. The Liberals and NDP each have two seats in the province.

Holding a position of cabinet minister or shadow minister does not significantly impact how much an elected representative will claim in terms of total expenses, as people in these roles placed at various points throughout the provincial ranking.

Five MPs submitted zero dollars in hospitality expenses, leading us to conclude that some numbers may be underreported.

Most Expensive Overall

The “most expensive” MP from the province was Ron Liepert, the Conservative member from Calgary Signal Hill. He reported $137,410.86 in expenses during the three-month period.

While Liepert claimed the third-lowest salary in Alberta at $45,314.84, he filed the largest amount of contracts at $61,709.

Liepert also claimed $29,969.46 (eighth overall) and $417.14 for hospitality expenses (16th).

Southern Alberta Rankings

Among the four federal ridings south of Calgary, John Barlow from Foothills had the largest total expenses at $127,971.68. He also ranked third-highest overall out of 34 MPs.

Barlow topped the lists for salaries ($75,491.83) and travel ($35,770.48), and had the third-highest hospitality expenses ($1,856.38). On the other hand, Barlow had the second-lowest contract filing ($14,852.99). Pattison Media has reached out to Barlow’s office for comments but has not received a response.

Lethbridge MP Rachael Thomas was Alberta’s sixth “most expensive” MP with a total of $118,690.38. She claimed $62,741.47 in salaries (ninth overall), $34,132.88 for travel (fifth), $21,341.15 in contracts (14th), and $1,052.83 for hospitality (seventh).

Medicine Hat-Cardston-Warner’s Glen Motz came in at ninth place with $111,877.72 in total expenses. The biggest chunk of that came from salaries at $62,193.05 (eighth overall), followed by travel at $29,136.02 (11th), contracts at $19.932.92 (17th), and hospitality at $615.73 (12th).

Bow River’s Martin Shields was the most affordable MP in the region, or 19th in Alberta, with $102,628.39 in total expenses. Shields reported $45,882.69 in salaries (31st overall), $32,479 in travel (sixth), $23,767.17 in contracts (10th), and $499.44 in hospitality (14th).

Comments from Lethbridge MP

Rachael Thomas provided a response to Pattison Media, outlining some of the expenses she and her office incurred during the first quarter of 2023.

Inquisitive as always, she first questioned how she should could have the ninth-highest salary among Alberta’s MP when Members of Parliament all receive the same salary. We later clarified to her that this figure from the House of Commons website includes the salaries of her staff, so each riding could still have a different amount.

The rest of her statement reads as follows:

“With regard to travel, I am committed to doing my job with excellence, which means people come first. This means I attend parliamentary sessions in Ottawa in person so I can serve as a strong and effective voice for the good people of Lethbridge. This requires me to travel to Ottawa 28 weeks of the year, and I return to Lethbridge on weekends so I can be fully accessible to those who elected me by attending as many events as possible and taking meetings.

With regard to my hospitality expenses, I am committed to being as accessible as possible. As part of that effort, I host a spring town hall and a fall townhall both fully open to the public, a Canada Day event open to the public, a pancake breakfast open to the public, a Community Builder’s Awards celebration dedicated to celebrating unsung heroes who go above and beyond to serve our community, a Christmas Open House open to the public, I visit all of the seniors homes in the riding and bring the residents Christmas cookies to spread a little Christmas cheer, and I host a monthly meeting with my non-partisan youth advisory board where I am committed to hearing from young people about the issues that matter most to them. If you believe this is too much spending then which commitment would you like me to ax? Please be sure to make your appeal in the news story.

The contracts are for staff salaries. To serve the people of Lethbridge, I need great staff and great staff should be paid what they’re worth.

Warmest regards,

Rachael Thomas”

Pattison Media has compiled data from the Summary of Expenditures report into the following charts:

Total expenses for all Alberta MPs from April 1-June 30, 2023. (Image: Pattison Media / House of Commons)

Total salaries for all Alberta MPs and their staff members from April 1-June 30, 2023. (Image: Pattison Media / House of Commons)

Travel expenses for all Alberta MPs from April 1-June 30, 2023. (Image: Pattison Media / House of Commons)

Total hospitality expenses for all Alberta MPs for April 1-June 30, 2023. (Image: Pattison Media / House of Commons)

Total contract expenses for all Alberta MPs for April 1-June 30, 2023. (Image: Pattison Media / House of Commons)

READ MORE: Lethbridge News Now

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