A. Anne McLellan (born August 31, 1950) is a Canadian

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...

and

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

who served as the ninth deputy prime minister of Canada from 2003 to 2006. She was a cabinet minister in the Liberal governments of

Jean Chrétien Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003. Born and raised in Shawinigan, Shawinigan Falls, Quebec, Chrétien is a law gradua ...

and

Paul Martin Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), 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. The son ...

, and represented Edmonton in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Commo ...

. She also held the positions of solicitor general,

minister of health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

, and minister of justice of Canada.

Early life

McLellan earned bachelor's degrees in Arts and Law from Halifax's

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus in Saint John, New Brunswick. Dalhousie offer ...

. She then earned a Master of Laws from

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

in 1975. She became a professor of law, first at the

University of New Brunswick The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a public university with two primary campuses in Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick. It is the oldest English-language university in Canada, and among the oldest public universities in North Amer ...

and then, beginning in 1980, at the University of Alberta Faculty of Law where she served at various times as associate dean and

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

. She has also served on the board of directors of the

Canadian Civil Liberties Association The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA; french: Association Canadienne des Libertés Civiles) is a nonprofit organization in Canada devoted to the defence of civil liberties and constitutional rights.Dominique ClementCase Study: Canadian ...

Political career

Her first foray into politics was as the Liberal candidate for the riding of Edmonton Northwest in the 1993 general election, when she won her seat by 12 votes. She quickly became a rising star in the Liberal Party, being one of four Liberals elected in

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest T ...

, and was named to

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

Minister of Natural Resources The minister of natural resources () is the minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for Natural Resources Canada (NRCan). In addition to NRCan, the minister oversees the federal government's natural resources portfolio ...

. McLellan has the prenominal "the Honourable" and the postnominal "PC" for life by virtue of being made a member of the

Queen's Privy Council for Canada The 's Privy Council for Canada (french: Conseil privé du Roi pour le Canada),) during the reign of a queen. sometimes called Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council (PC), is the full group of personal consultants to the ...

on November 4, 1993. She was re-elected by narrow margins in the new riding of

Edmonton West Edmonton West (french: Edmonton-Ouest) is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1917 to 1988, from 1997 to 2004 and again since 2015. Demographics History and geography T ...

in the

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

and 2000 elections, despite the Liberals' general unpopularity in Alberta.Tony L. Hill.
Canadian Politics, Riding by Riding: An In-depth Analysis of Canada's 301 Federal Electoral Districts
'. Prospect Park Press; 2002. . p. 382–. Her frequent narrow escapes gave her the nickname "Landslide Annie" in Canadian political circles. McLellan served as

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

from 1997 to 2002, with responsibility for implementing new anti-terror and security laws following the

September 11, 2001, attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, and the implementation of the

Canadian gun registry , logo = , logo_width = , logo_caption = , preceding1 = , parent_agency = Canadian Firearms Program , formed = 1993 , jurisdiction = Registration of prohibited and restricted firearms , headquarte ...

. She served as

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

from 2002 to 2003. Though she supported

for the Liberal leadership, she was kept in

's cabinet, in part because Chrétien wanted an Albertan in his cabinet for the sake of regional representation.

Deputy prime minister

On being sworn-in as

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

on December 12, 2003,

named her his

deputy prime minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

. McLellan was also named minister for the newly created Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness. As Deputy Prime Minister, she was also chair of the Cabinet Operations Committee. McLellan's appointment was one of a number of women given senior positions in the Paul Martin government. During the 2004 federal election, she was re-elected by 721 votes, or just over 1% of the vote, defeating

Laurie Hawn Laurie Daniel Hawn PC CD (born May 11, 1947, in Winnipeg, Manitoba) is a retired Lieutenant Colonel of the Royal Canadian Air Force, businessman, and former federal politician from Edmonton, Alberta. He was the Member of Parliament for Edmo ...

of the

Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada (french: Parti conservateur du Canada), colloquially known as the Tories, is a federal political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main right-leaning parties, the Progressive Co ...

in the riding of

Edmonton Centre Edmonton Centre (french: Edmonton-Centre) is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and since 2004. Geography The riding is anchored in the heart of Down ...

. In the 2006 federal election, McLellan was defeated by Hawn 45.01% to 38.36%. McLellan is one of the few Canadian parliamentarians to have spent her entire career as a cabinet member. This is due to the fact that McLellan was elected to parliament as a Liberal from Alberta, a historically weak province for the party. Serving as the only Liberal MP from the province, her inclusion as a cabinet member, and later elevation as Deputy Prime Minister, was tantamount to ensuring regional representation.

After politics

On May 12, 2006, McLellan was appointed Distinguished Scholar in Residence to the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a Public university, public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexande ...

at the Canadian university's Institute for United States Policy Studies. On June 27, 2006, she also became counsel to the Edmonton-based law firm

Bennett Jones Bennett Jones LLP is a law firm based in Canada. Firm Bennett Jones is a Canadian business law firm with 400 lawyers and business advisors. The firm has five offices in Canada ( Calgary, Toronto, Edmonton, Ottawa and Vancouver), and on ...

LLP. She also became a director on the boards of Nexen Inc., Agrium Inc. and Cameco Corporation. McClellan is currently Chair of the Board of Directors of Pearson College UWC in Victoria, B.C. Pearson is one of 18 global United World Colleges in the world. On July 1, 2009, McLellan was appointed an officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

for her service as a politician and law professor, and for her contributions as a community volunteer. On May 9, 2013, she was appointed to the

Alberta Order of Excellence The Alberta Order of Excellence (french: Ordre d'excellence de l'Alberta) is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Alberta. Instituted in 1979 when Lieutenant Governor Frank C. Lynch-Staunton granted royal assent to the Alberta O ...

for her achievements in politics, law and advanced education. In 2015, she was appointed

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

. In 2016, McLellan was controversially appointed as the chair of the Task Force on Marijuana Legalization and Regulation, created to provide recommendations on the design of a new system to legalize, strictly regulate and restrict recreational use of marijuana, despite her position within

. The process included an opportunity for the public to provide their own input. On December 13, 2016, the panel's report was released to the news media; its recommendations were not binding on the legislators. On November 28, 2017, Pearson College UWC named her the chair of its board of directors. On March 18, 2019, in the context of the

SNC-Lavalin affair The SNC-Lavalin affair () was a political scandal involving attempted political interference with the justice system by the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, and the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). The Parliament of Canada's Ethics ...

Prime Minister

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since ...

, announced that McLellan would serve as a special advisor on whether a single minister should continue to hold the positions of

Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada The minister of justice and attorney general of Canada () is a dual-role portfolio in the Canadian Cabinet. The officeholder in the role of Minister of Justice () serves as the minister of the Crown responsible for the Department of Justice an ...

. She was also asked to analyze the operating policies and practices across the Cabinet, and the role of public servants and political staff in their interactions with the minister of justice and attorney general of Canada. She was asked to provide independent recommendations (sic) to the Prime Minister by June 30, 2019. On October 29, 2019, following the

2019 Canadian federal election The 2019 Canadian federal election was held on October 21, 2019. Members of the House of Commons were elected to the 43rd Canadian Parliament. In keeping with the maximum four-year term under a 2007 amendment to the ''Canada Elections Act'', ...

, in which 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. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

did not win any seats in Alberta and

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

, the Prime Minister's Office announced that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had hired McLellan as an adviser. The Office said McLellan would assist the prime minister as he formed a government against the backdrop of a growing sentiment of

western alienation In Canadian politics, Western alienation is the notion that the Western provinces – British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba – have been alienated, and in some cases excluded, from mainstream Canadian political affairs in f ...

. On July 23, 2020 it was announced by Nova Scotia justice minister Mark Furey and federal minister of public safety and emergency preparedness Bill Blair that McLellan would serve on a 3-person Independent Review Panel concerning the RCMP response to the mass shooting that occurred in Nova Scotia on April 18/19, 2020. Families of the 22 victims killed during the shooting reacted to the announcement with disappointment, as they had been calling for a full public inquiry.

Notes

References

External links

Canadian Encyclopedia entry for Anne McLellan

Official Site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:McLellan, Anne 1950 births Living people Lawyers in Alberta Alumni of King's College London Canadian legal scholars Canadian Ministers of Health Women government ministers of Canada Canadian women lawyers Women members of the House of Commons of Canada Canadian people of Ulster-Scottish descent Schulich School of Law alumni Dalhousie University alumni Deputy Prime Ministers of Canada Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the 26th Canadian Ministry Members of the 27th Canadian Ministry Members of the Alberta Order of Excellence Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Alberta Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Mining ministers of Canada Officers of the Order of Canada People from Hants County, Nova Scotia Politicians from Edmonton Solicitors General of Canada University of Alberta faculty University of New Brunswick faculty Women in Alberta politics 21st-century Canadian women politicians 20th-century Canadian women politicians Women legal scholars Female justice ministers