Jane Stewart (politician)

Last updated

Jane Stewart
PC
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Brant
In office
October 25, 1993 June 28, 2004
Children2 sons
Cabinet
  • Minister of National Revenue (1996–1997)
  • Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (1997–1999)
  • Minister of Human Resources Development (1999–2003)

Jane Stewart, PC (born April 25, 1955) is a former Canadian politician who was the Minister of Human Resources Development from 1999 to 2003. She joined International Labour Organization in May 2004 and was the Special Representative and Director of the International Labour Organization's office to the United Nations until January 2016.

Contents

Life and career

Born in Brantford, Ontario, Stewart was first elected to Parliament in the 1993 election. She was a friend of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, and was soon appointed to the important position of Minister of National Revenue and subsequently Minister of Indian Affairs. In 1999, she was moved to the Department of Human Resources Development (HRDC), the government department that had the largest budget.

Stewart was the minister when the opposition alleged a so-called "billion-dollar boondoggle", where ineffective accounting practices at HRDC allegedly left millions of dollars unaccounted for. While the problems at HRDC mostly date from the time of her predecessor, Pierre Pettigrew, Stewart took the brunt of the attack but was also the Minister widely viewed to have cleaned up the mess left behind by her predecessor. She did not resign, and Chrétien stood by her throughout the ordeal.

She remained minister in charge of HRDC until Paul Martin became Prime Minister on December 12, 2003. She was moved to the backbenches because of her position as a loyalist to the ousted Chrétien. She retired from politics on February 13, 2004, to become an executive director of the International Labour Organization. In July 2005, she left her job with the ILO to return to Canada and marry businessman Henry Stolp. She later returned to ILO as its executive director, residing in New York City.

With the announcement that Martin was stepping down as leader of the Liberal Party, a group called "Liberals for Jane" had hoped to see Stewart seek the party leadership. This was ruled out when Stewart accepted the position of Chief of Staff to acting Leader of the Opposition, Bill Graham. Only weeks later, Stewart stepped down from the post due to family obligations. She was replaced by former cabinet minister Andy Mitchell.

From 2006 to May 2007 Stewart was chief negotiator for the province of Ontario in the Caledonia land dispute. [1]

Stewart comes from a family of politicians. Her father Robert Nixon was leader of the Ontario Liberal Party, while her grandfather was Ontario premier Harry Nixon.

Electoral record

2000 Canadian federal election : Brant
PartyCandidateVotes%±%Expenditures
Liberal Jane Stewart 24,06856.42$46,551
Alliance Chris Cattle10,95525.68$43,139
Progressive Conservative Stephen Kun3,5808.39$6,405
New Democratic Dee Chisholm3,1267.33$9,266
Green Graeme Dunn4841.13$156
Canadian Action Mike Clancy4471.05$8,881
Total valid votes/expense limit42,660100.00
Total rejected ballots262
Turnout42,922 56.28
Electors on the lists76,270
Sources: Official Results, Elections Canada and Financial Returns, Elections Canada.
1997 Canadian federal election : Brant
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal Jane Stewart 24,12553.0+1.5
Reform Dan Houssar10,43622.9-1.8
Progressive Conservative Stephen W. Kun5,78112.7+0.5
New Democratic Pat Franklin5,20111.4+4.5
Total valid votes 45,543100.0
1993 Canadian federal election : Brant
PartyCandidateVotes%±%Expenditures
Liberal Jane Stewart 24,68651.46$39,023
Reform Ken Edmison11,86324.73$36,354
Progressive Conservative Mabel E. Dougherty5,83112.16$25,624
New Democratic Michael C. Smith3,3176.92$37,911
National Herman Kruis1,2272.56$8,148
Green Jamie Legacey4821.00$0
Libertarian Helmut Kurmis2580.54$0
Natural Law Eleanor Toshiko Hyodo1920.40$2,853
Social Credit Doug Stelpstra1120.23$158
Total valid votes47,968 100.00
Total rejected ballots500
Turnout48,468 65.27
Electors on the lists74,260
Source: Thirty-fifth General Election, 1993: Official Voting Results, Published by the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada. Financial figures taken from official contributions and expenses provided by Elections Canada.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Martin</span> Prime Minister of Canada from 2003 to 2006

Paul Edgar Philippe Martin, also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Manley</span> Canadian politician

John Paul Manley is a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the eighth deputy prime minister of Canada from 2002 to 2003. He served as Liberal Member of Parliament for Ottawa South from 1988 to 2004. From January 2010 to October 2018 he was president and CEO of the Business Council of Canada. He is currently the chairman of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) and serves on the advisory board of the Leaders' Debates Commission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheila Copps</span> Canadian politician

Sheila Maureen Copps is a former Canadian politician who also served as the sixth deputy prime minister of Canada from November 4, 1993, to April 30, 1996, and June 19, 1996, to June 11, 1997. Her father, Victor Copps, was once mayor of Hamilton, Ontario.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1993 Canadian federal election</span> Selection of the 35th Parliament

The 1993 Canadian federal election was held on October 25, 1993, to elect members to the House of Commons of the 35th Parliament of Canada. Considered to be a major political realignment, it was one of the most eventful elections in Canada's history. Two new regionalist parties emerged, finishing second and third in seat count. Most notably, the election marked the worst defeat for a governing party at the federal level and among the worst ever suffered by a governing party in the Western democratic world. In a landslide, the Liberal Party, led by Jean Chrétien, won a majority government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pierre Pettigrew</span> Canadian politician and businessman

Pierre Stewart Pettigrew is a Canadian politician and businessman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Peterson</span> Premier of Ontario, Canada from 1985 to 1990

David Robert Peterson is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the 20th premier of Ontario from 1985 to 1990. He was the first Liberal officeholder in 42 years, ending the so-called Tory dynasty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Nixon</span> Canadian politician

Harry Corwin Nixon was a Canadian politician and briefly the 13th premier of Ontario in 1943. He is both the longest-serving member in the history of the Ontario legislature and the shortest-serving premier of Ontario.

The United Farmers of Ontario (UFO) was an agrarian and populist provincial political party in Ontario, Canada. It was the Ontario provincial branch of the United Farmers movement of the early part of the 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Boudria</span> Canadian politician

Don Boudria is a former Canadian politician and current senior associate at Sandstone Group, an Ottawa-based executive advisory firm. He served in the House of Commons of Canada from 1984 to 2006 as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada, and was a cabinet minister in the government of Jean Chrétien.

Elinor Caplan is a businesswoman and former politician in Ontario, Canada. She served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1985 to 1997, and was a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of Canada from 1997 to 2004. A Liberal, she served as a cabinet minister in the provincial government of David Peterson and the federal government of Jean Chrétien.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Nixon (politician)</span> Canadian politician

Robert Fletcher Nixon is a retired Canadian politician in the province of Ontario, Canada. The son of former Premier of Ontario Harry Nixon, he was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in a 1962 by-election following his father's death. The younger Nixon was elected leader of the Ontario Liberal Party in 1967 and led them through three provincial elections, the first two where the Liberals retained their standing as the second-largest party and official opposition in the legislature.

Lucienne Robillard is a Canadian politician and a member of the Liberal Party of Canada. She sat in the House of Commons of Canada as the member of Parliament for the riding of Westmount—Ville-Marie in Montreal, Quebec.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Volpe</span> Canadian politician

Giuseppe "Joe" Volpe is a Canadian politician. He represented the Ontario riding of Eglinton-Lawrence as a member of the Liberal Party in the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 until 2011, when he lost his seat to Conservative candidate Joe Oliver. Volpe held two senior positions in Prime Minister Paul Martin's Cabinet from 2003 to 2006, and served as transportation critic when his party became the Official Opposition. In 2006, he ran unsuccessfully for the Liberal Party leadership.

Andrew Mitchell, is a Canadian politician. He served in the House of Commons of Canada from 1993 to 2006, representing Parry Sound-Muskoka as a member of the Liberal Party. He was a minister in the government of Jean Chrétien and a cabinet minister in the government of Paul Martin.

Diane Marleau, was a Canadian politician. She represented the riding of Sudbury in the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 to 2008, and was a cabinet minister in the government of Jean Chrétien. Marleau was a member of the Liberal Party of Canada.

Christine Susan Stewart, was a Canadian politician. She served three terms as a Liberal Party Member of Parliament for the riding of Northumberland in Ontario. During her career she held the cabinet positions of Secretary of State for Latin America and Africa, and Minister of the Environment.

Judi Longfield, is a former Canadian politician. She was a member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1997 to 2006, representing the riding of Whitby—Oshawa as a member of the Liberal Party. She has also campaigned for the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

The 1990 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election was held on 23 June 1990 at the Olympic Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta. The party chose former Deputy Prime Minister Jean Chrétien as its new leader, replacing the outgoing leader, former Prime Minister John Turner.

This article covers the history of the Liberal Party of Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camille Thériault</span> Premier of New Brunswick from 1998 to 1999

Camille Henri Thériault is a Canadian politician from New Brunswick. He served as the 29th premier of New Brunswick from 1998 to 1999.

References

  1. "Ontario replacing negotiator in Caledonia talks". Canadian Press. 7 May 2006. Retrieved 2007-05-07.[ permanent dead link ]
26th Ministry – Cabinet of Jean Chrétien
Cabinet posts (3)
PredecessorOfficeSuccessor
Pierre Pettigrew Minister of Human Resources Development
19992003
Liza Frulla
Ron Irwin Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
19971999
Bob Nault
David Anderson Minister of National Revenue
19961997
Herb Dhaliwal