Yao was born in Grand Falls, New Brunswick and moved to Fort McMurray, Alberta in 1977 at the age of six. His father, Joseph Yao, was originally from Cebu in the Philippines and eventually worked as a doctor in Fort McMurray. His mother, Keiko, was a nurse within the community. Yao graduated from Fort McMurray Composite High School in 1989 and enrolled in the EMT program at Portage College in Lac La Biche, Alberta. Ultimately he went on to become a paramedic at NAIT in Edmonton, Alberta. His first full-time job after graduating from NAIT was with the Alberta Central Air Ambulance in Lac La Biche. In 1997, Yao returned to Fort McMurray as a paramedic firefighter. He helped fight the House River Fire in 2002 and was the pump operator on the crew that saved the Abasand Apartment complex. In 2007, Yao was promoted to Assistant Deputy Chief of Operations - EMS for the region of Wood Buffalo.
Provincial Politics
Yao has always been an advocate for his community. However, it wasn't until late 2014 that Yao considered running for office. The Wildrose party was in disarray after leader Danielle Smith and eight other MLAs crossed the floor to the ruling Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta. A leadership election was organized and Yao's long time friend Brian Jean was elected as the official leader of the Wildrose Party. Yao decided to run alongside his good friend as a member of the Wildrose party and together represent the electoral districts of Fort McMurray- Wood Buffalo and Fort McMurray- Conklin. The 2015 Alberta election was held on May 5, 2015. Yao was elected to represent the electoral district of Fort McMurray- Wood Buffalo, defeating Progressive Conservative candidate Mike Allen. The party retained its standing as Official Opposition in the legislature, growing its caucus from 17 in 2012, and 5 at dissolution, to 21. For the first time in Alberta history, the New Democratic Party formed government, with Rachel Notley becoming Premier. This marked the end of 43 years of government by the Progressive Conservatives. On May 18, 2017, the Wildrose and the Progressive Conservatives announced that their two parties had come to a merger agreement and on July 22, 2017 the merger was passed with 95% support from both the PCs and the Wildrose. The merger agreement formed the United Conservative Party, a leadership election occurred on October 28, 2017, in which Jason Kenney was chosen as the leader of the UCP. Yao is now the UCP's official critic on Health and Emergency Response Preparedness. He takes his job seriously, continuously meeting with public and private health institutions, community members and groups, local businesses and the municipal government. The first words he ever spoke in the Alberta Legislature were about his concerns on senior support in the Wood Buffalo Region. Premier Rachel Notley officially named him one of the heroes of the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire, for his selfless and tireless work helping evacuees. Yao continues to be a strong advocate for the community he grew up in. He used his maiden speech in the Second Session of the 29th Legislature to talk about the beauty of Northern Alberta, choking up at one point when he described the aurora borealis.
