Rachael Thomas

Biography

Rachael Thomas is the Conservative Member of Parliament for Lethbridge in Alberta. First elected in 2015, she was the first woman to represent the riding, and she has been re-elected in 2019, 2021 and 2025.

Born in Calgary, Thomas grew up on a small horse farm near Kathyrn, Alberta, the third of five children. She graduated from Briercrest College and Seminary in Saskatchewan, which named her its young alumnus of the year in 2012, and then returned to Alberta to study at the University of Lethbridge, earning degrees in education and social science. As a young person she took part in humanitarian work in Mexican orphanages and in African health clinics and schools.

Before entering politics, Thomas worked as a youth and young adult consultant. She was a co-author of the 2012 research report Hemorrhaging Faith, commissioned by the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, which studied the experiences of Canadians aged 18 to 34.

In Parliament, Thomas has served as Official Opposition critic for Youth and Persons with Disabilities, for the Status of Women, and for Digital Government, and was named Shadow Minister for Canadian Heritage in 2022. From 2019 to 2020 she chaired the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics, and she introduced Bill C-419, the Credit Card Fairness Act, aimed at helping consumers make informed choices about credit cards.

In the 45th Parliament, Thomas serves as vice-chair of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage. She married Victor Thomas in 2021, and she previously served in Parliament under her birth name, Rachael Harder.