He is the son of Mary Gerarda Therese (née Enright), a nurse, and James D. Scheer,[4][5] a librarian, proofreader with the Ottawa Citizen, and Catholic deacon.

[14] In 1998, Scheer began his studies in criminology,[15] political science, and history at the University of Ottawa;[16] he would ultimately graduate in 2008, receiving his Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree four years after he was first elected to Parliament.

[20] In Regina, Scheer worked as an insurance clerk, a waiter, and an assistant in the constituency office of Canadian Alliance MP Larry Spencer.

[30] On November 21, 2008, during the 40th Canadian Parliament, he was named deputy speaker of the House of Commons and chairman of Committees of the Whole, succeeding NDP MP Bill Blaikie.

Liberal MP Irwin Cotler questioned his impartiality due to a decision over a robocall incident with Campaign Research (it was reported that Scheer was a client of the firm).

Scheer garnered laughs at the annual Press Gallery dinner by joking:[46] "I certainly don't owe my leadership victory to anybody...", stopping in mid-sentence to take a swig of 2% milk from the carton.

[53] Scheer considered former prime minister John Diefenbaker and British member of the European Parliament (MEP) Daniel Hannan as political influences.

[56] During the Conservative leadership race, Scheer stated that he would balance the federal budget within two years of forming government, but his platform on specific reforms to accomplish this was not revealed at that time.

Dimitri Soudas, a former Harper aide, pointed out that it violated election rules and it benefited Scheer's campaign but the ballots had been destroyed so the result stood.

[61] It was later revealed in a Dairy Farmers of Canada briefing document after the 2018 Conservative Convention in Halifax that "The powers of the leader are far reaching in preventing policy from being in the party platform.

DFC [Dairy Farmers of Canada] has been told by the Leader’s office that he will exercise this power, and that this policy will not be in the Conservative election platform regardless of the outcome at convention".

[62] The day after the election it was revealed that Hamish Marshall, Scheer's campaign manager, was listed as an IT specialist and one of the directors of the far right news outlet The Rebel Media.

[73] On January 4, 2018, Scheer expelled Senator Lynn Beyak from the Conservative caucus, after she refused to remove one of her letters that suggested Indigenous people want to get things for "no effort".

[95] In that role, he sponsored private member Bill C-269 to amend the Fisheries Act to prohibit the deposit of raw sewage in water frequented by fish.

[107] Scheer proposed a policy to mandate the inclusion of national flag decals on gas pumps to highlight "Canadian-sourced, ethically produced oil".

Pundits argued that his June 2017 vote was used as a way to avoid accusations comparing him to U.S. President Donald Trump, who pulled the United States out of the accord, a few days earlier.

[128] Scheer pledged that a Conservative government would extend the period of background checks to an individual's entire life instead of the current system of five years.

[130] Scheer has proposed to introduce legislation that classifies firearms, instead of giving the authority to cabinet or the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).

[133] In December 2017, when U.S. President Donald Trump announced his decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, Scheer did not take a public position.

[138] In 2018 Scheer demanded that the gender-based analysis requirement imposed on Canadian pipeline projects by the Liberal government be instead applied to oil imported from Saudi Arabia.

[140] Scheer supported sending peacekeepers to the Russian-Ukrainian border believing that "the defence of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity should be a priority for Canada's government on the international stage.

"[141] Scheer wants to prioritize helping those he considers the most vulnerable refugees, namely religious minorities like Christians in the Middle East who face death for conversion away from Islam.

He contends that the refugees who are currently struggling to find housing, jobs and language training do so because of the Liberal Party "using a devastating tragedy for political purposes".

[147] In August 2018 Scheer defended a woman with links to anti-immigration activist groups such as the Front Patriotique du Quebec and the Storm Alliance after Justin Trudeau denounced her questions.

[155] Scheer reiterated his stance on abortion during a 2017 CBC News interview, stating that he still considers himself pro-life, but would not reopen the issue if he were prime minister.

[158] Scheer voted against Bill C-14, which allows practitioners to assist in the suicide of mentally competent adults with "enduring and intolerable suffering" in cases where death is "reasonably foreseeable".

[110][166] When asked by cabinet member Kirsty Duncan if a school like St. Paul University blocking a film on abortion would fit in his criteria, Scheer said no.

When asked about his vote, he expressed disappointment on the bill's passing in 2016 and stated that he would sing the "old version" until the law received royal assent, which was the day after his comments.

[174] Scheer describes himself as a feminist and advocates for a gender-diverse senior team stating, "I think the core of that is to recognize the fundamental equality between men and women.

Scheer stated that, "The Prime Minister of Canada is a public office holder and … he and his cabinet have held a number of receptions that are directly linked with stakeholders and the portfolios that they may have views on the file".