OTTAWA—Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer completed just one of four required courses to become an insurance broker, according to the Insurance Brokers Association of Saskatchewan.

Scheer has faced questions over suggestions that he sold insurance before being elected as the 25-year-old MP for Regina-Qu’Appelle. Scheer has repeatedly held up his time at a Regina insurance company, as well as his previous job as a waiter, as evidence of his understanding of small businesses and the private sector.

But in a statement released Monday, Insurance Brokers Association of Saskatchewan (IBAS) CEO Derek Lothian confirmed Scheer was on the path to becoming a licensed insurance broker, and had completed just one of four courses to obtain that certification.

“IBAS can confirm … that Mr. Scheer did complete an accredited course with the IBAS that would form part of the eligibility requirements for licensing,” Lothian said in a statement.

The IBAS declined further comment, saying a formal complaint had been launched to the General Insurance Council of Saskatchewan.

That complaint was filed by Toronto Liberal MP Marco Mendicino, who said Scheer “appears to have publicly and repeatedly misrepresented himself to Canadians by falsely claiming he was once an insurance broker in Saskatchewan.”

Mendicino urged the insurance council to investigate immediately and “take appropriate action,” and noted that misrepresenting oneself as a licensed insurance broker is an offence under the Saskatchewan Insurance Act.

Speaking in Whitby Monday, Scheer claimed he had completed an accreditation program, but left the insurance company before getting his licence.

“When I was 24, working in an insurance office, I received my accreditation under the Canadian Accredited Insurance Broker program for general insurance, and I left before obtaining the full licence,” Scheer told reporters.

“I have had many different types of jobs before I was elected.”

Scheer, 40, was first elected as an MP when he was 25 years old.

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