Greg McLean

Greg McLean is a Canadian politician who was first elected to represent the riding of Calgary Centre in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2019 Canadian federal election. He defeated then-cabinet minister, Kent Hehr, by 20,000 votes.

During the 2021 Canadian federal election, McLean was re-elected for a second term with 51% of the vote.

Personal life

Before his election, McLean was a financial professional for 20 years, working with oil & gas and technology start-ups amongst other industries. He was a Chartered Investment Manager, registered as a Portfolio Manager with the Alberta Securities Commission.

Early in his career, he spent six years advising federal Cabinet Ministers Harvie Andre and Jean Corbeil, providing insight into government and regulatory decision-making.

McLean and his wife Ruth Pogue have four sons.

Bill C-214 An Act to amend the Income Tax Act (qualifying environmental trust), which sought to add oil or gas wells to the list of sites that environmental trusts may hold for the purposes of the Qualifying Environmental Trust income tax rate, was discharged without a vote.

Political appointments & committees

43rd Parliament On September 9, 2020, then Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole named McLean the Shadow Minister for Natural Resources and for the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor). McLean served in this role until August 15, 2021. After the 2021 election, McLean resumed his position as Shadow Minister for Natural Resources and for the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency in February 22, 2022 until October 11, 2022.

44th Parliament After the 2021 election, McLean served briefly during the 1st session of the 44th Parliament as the Vice-Chair of the Standing Committee on Finance (December 2021 to February 2022) before returning to the post of Shadow Minister for Natural Resources and the Natural Resources Standing Committee in late February 2022.

Natural resources McLean has called the Trudeau government's emissions and carbon taxation policies "ineffective" and economically damaging, and has asserted that Canada will not meet the Paris Agreement's greenhouse gas reduction goals. The bill allowed federal regulators to assess the environmental and social impacts of various resource and infrastructure projects. Many Alberta politicians opposed the legislation, with some, such as former Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, stating it was essentially a “no more pipelines act.” The bill was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of Canada in 2023, with a 5-2 majority.

McLean opposed the federal government’s goal for a net-zero electricity grid by 2035, calling the goal “unreasonable.” He claimed that the goals, in addition to the energy emissions cap, were incompatible with Alberta’s economy.

Finance McLean has opposed the Trudeau government's federal deficit increases and debt accumulation. McLean described the 2024 Fall Economic Statement, which reported a deficit of $61.9 billion for the 2023-2024 fiscal year, as a "fiasco" and claimed that the Trudeau government ignored its own “fiscal guardrails”.

In his speeches in the House of Commons he has highlighted the fact that current interest payments on the government’s debt now exceed the yearly health care transfer payments. He has claimed that this debt will now fall to future generations to pay off. He has suggested that future governments will be left with empty coffers and will have no emergency funds to deal with future crises.

McLean has suggested the proposed capital gains tax increase would discourage private investment into desperately needed capital growth. He asserted that it would also strain Canadians’ savings accounts and retirement investments.

Electoral record