Sheldon Clare
Sheldon Clare is a Canadian politician who has served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia representing the electoral district of Prince George-North Cariboo since 2024. He is a member of the Conservative Party of British Columbia.
Early life and career
Clare was born and raised in Prince George, British Columbia. He currently resides there as a father to two daughters, Elise and Danielle. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations from the University of British Columbia and his passion for military history led to achieve cum laude honors in his Master of Arts degree from Norwich University, a military college in Vermont.Since 1993, Clare has been a part of the College of New Caledonia as a history instructor and as a contract negotiator for 12 years. During his time in the CNC he was the Chair of the provincial Bargaining Co-ordination Committee for six terms. He also served on the CNC Board of Governors.
As a reserve army officer, Clare dedicated over seven years to teaching cadets, and his advocacy led to the establishment of a reserve infantry unit in Prince George, British Columbia. His military leadership also extends to community organizations as he has served two terms as president of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 43 in Prince George and still holds the position of Legion Chair. He served as the national president of Canada's National Firearms Association from 2010-2021, where he advocated for responsible firearms ownership and represented NFA at the World Forum on Shooting Activities' executive meeting. He is also a past multi-term president and current director at large of the Prince George Rod and Gun Club.
Outside of his professional careers, Clare has a passion for music and has been a piper who has played with his local band since his teenage years. He also loves the outdoors and has interests in hunting, shooting, and downhill and cross-country skiing. His dedication to sports also goes beyond participation as he is a certified Biathlon Canada Technical Delegate and a trained coach, serving on the board of Biathlon BC. Other activities he enjoys includes caving, ice climbing, and mountaineering. These commitments to outdoor pursuits is demonstrated by his three-term chairmanship for the Alpine Club of Canada's Prince George Section. He was also a key organizer or the rejuvenated Northern Hardware Canoe Race from 2015-2019, preserving local traditions.
Political career
On October 27, 2023, Clare was nominated as the Conservative Party of BC's candidate for Prince George-North Cariboo in the 2024 BC provincial election. He went on to win a seat in the Legislative Assembly of BC with 56.8% of the votes unseating BC United incumbent Coralee Oakes, who ran as an independent following the collapse of her former party.Clare was named deputy whip of the Conservative Party of BC caucus on November 20. Clare noted the building of the North-South Interconnector, and reducing delays in the permitting process in relation to resource extraction and fire supply while respecting environmental and local concerns as his major priorities for his riding of Prince George-North Cariboo. More generally, Clare has expressed his 2025 key priorities to include transportation and repairing several roads, healthcare worker recruitment, palliative care fees and emergency room availability, economy and jobs, and agriculture.
Clare announced he would run to replace John Rustad as 2026 [Conservative Party of British Columbia leadership election|leader of the Conservative Party of BC] on January 8 2026. He said he was running to stop former BC Liberals from taking control of the party and to make sure the Conservative Party of BC "isn't changed into something less than that."