Rob Anders considering his own conservative think-tank
Conservative MP mulling career change when his tenure in Parliament ends next year
Calgary MP Rob Anders is considering creating his own conservative think-tank when his tenure in Parliament ends next year.
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The controversial politician lost the Tory nomination in his riding of Calgary Signal Hill in April. His subsequent attempt to secure the bid for the Bow River riding also proved unsuccessful.
While speaking to reporters on Thursday, Anders said he hasn’t completely ruled out running in the next election but indicated that he may be aiming towards a new career.
“My heart is drawn towards a conservative institute that would do training, that would do issues advocacy, that would do rating of politicians in terms of how conservative they are and maybe meeting of various conservative organizations on a weekly basis to co-ordinate things,” said Anders.
Calgary is also home to another conservative think-tank. The Manning Centre for Building Democracy was founded in 2005 by Reform Party founder Preston Manning.
Strong conservative views
Anders is known for his strong social conservative views and has gained attention for his sometimes inflammatory statements, including his opposition to granting honorary citizenship to Nelson Mandela. Instead, Anders branded the South African leader a communist and a terrorist.
Anders blamed a past car accident for falling asleep inside the House of Commons and apologized to veterans after they criticized him for falling asleep during a veterans affairs committee meeting.
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Anders has served as a member of parliament since 1997. He was re-elected in Calgary West in 2000, 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2011.
Based on his current pay, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation estimates Anders will start receiving a pension of $95,546 beginning at age 55.