David Shepherd | |
Honorific-Suffix: | MLA |
Smallimage: | David Shepherd in 2019 (48644273601) (cropped).jpg |
Caption: | Shepherd in 2019 |
Birth Place: | Edmonton, Alberta |
Residence: | Edmonton, Alberta |
Office: | Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for Edmonton-City Centre Edmonton-Centre 2015–2019 |
Predecessor: | Laurie Blakeman |
Term Start: | May 5, 2015 |
Party: | Alberta New Democratic Party |
Occupation: | Communications professional |
Education: | Royal Roads University, MacEwan University |
David Murray Shepherd (born 1973) is a Canadian politician who was elected in the 2015 Alberta general election to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta to represent the electoral district of Edmonton-Centre,[1] and re-elected in the 2019 Alberta general election to represent its successor district, Edmonton-City Centre.[2]
Shepherd has a Bachelors of Arts in Professional Communications from Royal Roads University where he received the Chancellor's award in 2014. He also has a diploma in music performance and live sound recording from MacEwan University. Shepherd worked in a variety of jobs such as taxpayer service agent, salesperson, musician and studio engineer.
Before being elected, Shepherd worked in the Communications field as a trainer/facilitator for the Canada Revenue agency, and advisor and writer for the North Edge Business Association, Communications Officer for the City of Edmonton and a writer for Alberta Health.
During his time as a musician, David played piano and keyboards for the Mike McDonald Band, the James Murdoch Band, Tanyss Nixi and others. He also performed his own music and, in 2010, released a solo album, Gotta Leave Where You're From.
Shepherd is an avid cyclist and volunteered for the Edmonton Bike Coalition as a spokesperson and organizer.
In 2017, David worked with then Minister of Culture and Tourism, Ricardo Miranda, to secure a proclamation making Alberta the fourth province in Canada to recognize February as Black History Month. He also worked with the then-Speaker of the Legislature, Bob Wanner, to host the first celebration of Black History Month at the Alberta Legislature. It is now an annual event.
After his reelection in 2019, David was named the Critic for Health for the Alberta NDP Caucus. He remained in that role until January 2024. In September 2024, he was appointed as the Alberta NDP Caucus' Shadow Minister for Public Safety and Emergency Services and Deputy House Leader.