Fred Clipsham

Fred Clipsham is serving his sixth term as a City Councilor in Regina, Saskatchewan, representing the residents of Ward 3, which includes several inner-city communities. He was born in Regina and has lived there most of his life. Trained as an economist, Fred has worked as a writer on Saskatchewan business and important social issues.
A long-time supporter of the New Democratic Party, Fred successfully sought the party's nomination in the federal riding of Regina-Qu'Appelle in March 2011.
Biography
Early life
Fred Clipsham was born in Regina, Saskatchewan on December 20, 1949, the fourth child in the family of William Baldwin (Baldy) and Muriel Clipsham. Baldy had moved the family (sister Jane and brothers Bill and Dave) to Regina in 1948 to become Assistant General Manager at the Saskatchewan Power Corporation, responsible for implementing rural electrification. Muriel soon became involved in social and heritage issues, most notably the founding of the Indian and Metis Friendship Centre in 1951 and the renovation of the Diefenbaker Homestead.
Work History
Fred attended Davin Public School and Central Collegiate, graduating in 1967. He attended the University of Manitoba and the University of Saskatchewan, where he obtained his B.A. Hons in Economics in 1972. He worked in the Ottawa office of the federal Department of Regional Economic Expansion in 1973-74, and then in the planning division of the Saskatchewan Department of Industry and Commerce from 1974-79. There he created the community profile program and developed the framework for the government’s preferential purchasing policy. He served as the department’s representative on the Environmental Impact Assessment Secretariat.
He began his freelance writing career in 1979, focusing on environmental and economic affairs. From 1984 to 1990 he co-owned and edited Saskatchewan Business Bulletin, a twice-monthly newsletter on Saskatchewan business affairs. From 1986-89, he was constituency assistant to MLA Ned Shillington. In 1990-91, Fred managed a large rural district during the 1991 Census. In 1992, he created the first generation of a hypertext-driven database that became the Rural Help Line. Since 1994 he has authored videos on important social issues including rural community economic development, occupational health and safety, aboriginal youth gangs, and teen prostitution.
Volunteer record
Fred has a long record of volunteer experience, including over twenty years on the Cathedral Area Community Association board, three years as communications chair of the Cathedral Arts Festival, six years as secretary of Youth Unlimited. Currently, he is in his twelfth year as Treasurer of Circle Project, an important social agency providing services to inner-city families. For the past three years he has chaired WUQWATR, a group implementing the source water protection plan for the Wascana and Upper Qu’Appelle watersheds. Fred is on the board of the Saskatchewan Waste Electronic Equipment Program (SWEEP) and is an active member of several provincial environmental, social, and historical groups.
Political history
Regina City Council
Fred first sought election to Regina City Council in 1991, where he placed twelfth in an at-large race to select ten Councillors. In 1994, when Regina returned to the ward electoral system, he won the race in Ward 3, an inner-city ward including the downtown and the . Fred has served on Regina City Council representing Ward 3 (which today includes the Heritage Community) ever since. Over the years he has chaired the Planning Commission, the Regina Appeal Board and the Municipal Heritage Advisory Committee, served on the Public Works and Finance and Administration committees, and as Council’s observer on the Heritage and Environmental advisory
committees.
Clipsham is Regina City Council’s representative on a number of boards, including the Saskatchewan Assessment Management Agency (SAMA) since 1997 and the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA) since 2003. At SUMA he has been chair of the environment committee since 2003 and on the executive since 2006. Fred is Council’s representative on the Sherwood RM Planning Commission.
History in the NDP
Fred has worked for his local NDP candidate in every provincial and federal election since 1975. He was a member of the Saskatchewan NDP’s Council, representing Regina Centre, from 1984-88, and later served as the constituency’s president from 1988-94. In 1986, Fred co-founded the Environment Caucus, a group of Saskatchewan New Democrats advocating for progressive environmental policies. He was campaign manager for Donna Shire, NDP candidate for Wascana in the 1993 federal election. In 2002-03 Fred chaired Jack Layton’s Saskatchewan campaign in the federal NDP leadership race. In 2011, Fred successfully sought the nomination for Canada’s New Democrats in the riding of .
News Articles
* Fred Clipsham to seek federal NDP nomination in Regina-Qu'Appelle, Regina Leader Post, March 4, 2011
* Clipsham wins NDP nomination, CBC News, March 10, 2011

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