Parliamentarian
Anders was first elected as the Reform Party MP for Calgary West in 1997, at age 25. The seat had been vacated when the former MP for the riding, Stephen Harper, resigned unexpectedly in 1996. Despite his relative youthfulness, Anders was already a veteran political organizer, and was able to win a hotly-contested nomination in one of the safest Reform ridings in Canada. Along with fellow newly-elected MP's Jason Kenney and Rahim Jaffer and advisor Ezra Levant, Anders was part of an up and coming group of young Reformers which pundits dubbed the "Snack Pack" due to their relative youth.
Anders was a supporter of Stephen Harper's successful 2002 bid for the leadership of the Canadian Alliance, providing significant assistance with the campaign's phone-banking.
In 2003, Anders voted for a Bloc Québécois proposition which stated that the Québécois form a nation and could withdraw from any federal initiative. He was the only non-Québécois to vote for this proposition.
Anders was formerly a member of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs. He was removed from that position, partly based on his tendency to fall asleep during meetings. He has been reassigned to the House-Senate Standing Joint Committee on Scrutiny of Regulations. He is also a former member of the Reform Party (1997–2000) and the Canadian Alliance (2000–2003). He is a former Official Opposition Critic for National Defense and former Co-Chair of the Standing Joint Committee on Scrutiny of Regulations.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has indicated his support of Anders, stating that "Rob is a true reformer and a true conservative. He has been a faithful supporter of mine and I am grateful for his work."
In 2011 Rob Anders began to lobby for the government to stop funding the CBC.
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