Diane Rose Stratas (28 December 1932 – 4 May 2023) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

politician and businesswoman. She was a Progressive Conservative member of the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

from 1979 to 1980.

Background

Stratas was a businesswoman and community service volunteer by career. She was the middle daughter of immigrants from a village named Kastri om

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

who lived in

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

. She was married to retired veterinarian, William J. Stratas, who died in 2013. In December 2009, her second son,

David Stratas David W. Stratas (born 1960) is a Canadians, Canadian jurist. He has served on the Federal Court of Appeal (Canada), Federal Court of Appeal since 2009 and the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada since 2012. Biography David W. Stratas was bo ...

, was appointed a judge of the

Federal Court of Appeal The Federal Court of Appeal () is a Canadian appellate court that hears cases concerning federal matters. History Section 101 of the Constitution Act, 1867 empowers the Parliament of Canada to establish "additional Courts for the better Admi ...

, based in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Politics

Stratas represented the newly formed Ontario constituency of Scarborough Centre, which she won by a comfortable margin in the 1979 federal election. In September 1979, she was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Secretary of State, David MacDonald. After serving one term, the

31st Canadian Parliament The 31st Canadian Parliament was a briefly lived parliament in session from October 9 until December 14, 1979. The membership was set by the 1979 federal election on May 22, 1979, and it was dissolved after the minority government of Joe Clark ...

, she was defeated in the 1980 federal election by

Norm Kelly Norman Kelly (born August 11, 1941) is a retired Canadian politician. He represented Ward 22 Scarborough—Agincourt, Ward 40 Scarborough—Agincourt from 2000 to 2018 and served as Deputy Mayor of Toronto, deputy mayor of Toronto from 2013 to ...

of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

. Following this defeat, she was elected national secretary of the

Progressive Conservative Party of Canada The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (PC; ) was a Centrism, centre to centre-right List of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada that existed from 1942 to 2003. From Canadian Confederation in 1867 unti ...

. She did not run for federal office in the 1984 federal election but instead supported the candidacy of Pauline Browes.

After politics

In 1987, she was appointed to the national Refugee Status Advisory Committee but resigned within three months. She felt uncomfortable accepting a "political

patronage Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...

appointment" and that federal policy was presenting additional difficulties for refugees. Stratas died on 4 May 2023, at the age of 90.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stratas, Diane Rose 1932 births 2023 deaths Women members of the House of Commons of Canada Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Politicians from Saskatoon Progressive Conservative Party of Canada MPs Women in Ontario politics Canadian people of Greek descent 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada 20th-century Canadian women politicians