Michael Robert Davies Connolly is a Canadian politician who is an elected member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta representing the electoral district of Calgary-Hawkwood. Upon election he became the second youngest elected MLA at the age of 21 and one of the first three openly LGBT people elected to the Alberta legislature, alongside caucus colleagues Ricardo Miranda and Estefania Cortes-Vargas. He currently serves as deputy chair of the Standing Committee on Private Bills and as a member of the Standing Committee on Alberta's Economic Future. He has previously served as a member of the Standing Committee on Legislative Offices and the Select Special Ethics and Accountability Committee. Connolly has announced he will not seek reelection in 2019.
Early career
Connolly graduated from Dr. E.P. Scarlett High School in 2012 and began studying history and political science in French immersion at the University of Ottawa that same year. Connolly gained valuable experience while completing an internship with an office of a Member of Parliament. During this time he helped to organize a forum for young women leaders from all over Canada. He has also worked in the retail and hospitality industries. Connolly is active in the federal and provincial NDP. He was nominated in 2014 as the NDP's candidate for the 2015 federal election in the riding of Calgary Midnapore, but withdrew upon his election to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.
Legislative Assembly
Since being elected, Connolly has been known to be a fiercely outspoken MLA sparring with his counterparts on numerous issues, specifically when it came to Gay-Straight Alliances in the province’s schools, LGBTQ rights, and Francophone rights. Connolly has co-sponsored Bill 2: Supporting Economic and Trade Futures Act, Bill 7: The Alberta Human Rights Amendment Act, Bill 12: Preserving Canada’s Economic Prosperity Act, Bill 29: Vital Statistics and Life Events Modernization Act, and Bill 32: An Act to Strengthen and Protect Democracy in Alberta. Connolly was at the forefront of the debate on Bill 24, An Act to support Gay-Straight Alliances'', which he also co-sponsored. During the debate, Connolly drew on his own past to drum up support for the bill and lambasted Jason Kenney and the United Conservative Party when they declared they were going to vote against the Bill. During debate, Connolly stated, "When we have politicians spewing their hateful, bigoted ideology about LGBTQ+ kids, it only makes matters worse for our youth. The words of Jason Kenney and the members of that side of the house matter to our youth. And the fact they are opposing this based on social conservatism and the hatred for the LGBTQ community is disgusting. The members opposite should be ashamed of themselves." When Mike Ellis, the UCP MLA for Calgary-West, proposed an amendment that would have effectively neutered the Bill, Connolly proclaimed that it was "deeply disappointing that the members opposite continue to peddle dangerous conspiracy theories instead of accepting the simple fact that this is about protecting kids," and told the UCP that if they couldn’t support the LGBTQ+ community in the legislature they were not welcome at Pride. In 2016, Connolly was awarded with the Harvey Milk Equality Award at the Harvey Milk Diversity Breakfast in San Diego for his work with the LGBTQ community. In 2018, Connolly was awarded the Georges A. Arès Award for Political Leadership by the Association Canadien-Francais de l’Alberta for his work towards creating and implementing the first French Policy by the government of Alberta.
