Rob Norris MLA Saskatoon Greystone

Biography

Rob Norris was born in Edmonton, Alberta, raised in Red Deer, and completed post-secondary education in both Alberta and Saskatchewan. He moved to Saskatchewan in 1994.

As a teen, Mr. Norris played competitive hockey, worked in the lumber industry and completed basic militia training in Saskatchewan. During college, he worked for a community newspaper and as a teaching assistant within the Native Studies program at the University of Lethbridge. Later, he worked in the civil engineering sector. During graduate school, Mr. Norris was a teaching assistant at University of Saskatchewan and taught courses focusing on Canadian government for SIAST and the U of S Extension Division.

From late 1997 to early 1999, he served as a Legislative Assistant within the Canadian House of Commons; his primary duties related to foreign policy. In February 1999, Rob started with University of Saskatchewan International. Between 2004 and 2007, Mr. Norris served as the Co-ordinator of Global Relations at the U of S and was responsible for helping to shape and sustain strategic partnerships with various public and private stakeholders around the world.

Mr. Norris serves on the executive of the Canadian Institute of International Affairs (Saskatoon Branch), and is the Saskatchewan Director for the Forum for Young Canadians. He recently completed terms as the Chair of the Knowledge Industry Committee on the Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce and a federal judicial committee.

Mr. Norris has an M.A. (Alberta, with courses completed in Saskatchewan) and a B.A. with distinction (Lethbridge) in political science, with graduate research relating to Canadian foreign policy. As a student at the U of S, he participated in Saskatchewan consultations regarding the Calgary Declaration. Mr. Norris has published several pieces in the popular press and select academic journals.

First elected to the Legislature in the 2007 provincial election in the constituency of Saskatoon Greystone, Mr. Norris also served as the Special Advisor on Innovation to the Saskatchewan Party since 2006.

Mr. Norris is married to Dr. Martha Smith-Norris, a history professor at the University of Saskatchewan. Their daughter, Jacqueline, is in grade five.