Anne McGrath (born ) is a Canadian political advisor. McGrath was president of the

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...

from 2006 to 2009, National Director of the NDP from 2019 to 2024 and previously from 2014 to 2015, principal secretary to former

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

Rachel Notley Rachel Anne Notley (born April 17, 1964) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who was the 17th premier of Alberta from 2015 to 2019 and leader of the Alberta New Democratic Party (NDP) from 2014 to 2024. Notley was the member of the Le ...

, and as Notley's deputy chief of staff. McGrath is currently serving as the principal secretary to federal NDP leader

Jagmeet Singh Jagmeet Singh Jimmy Dhaliwal (born January 2, 1979) is a Canadian former politician who served as the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) from 2017 to 2025 and as the Member of Parliament (Canada), member of Parliament (MP) for Burnaby Sou ...

in the House of Commons.

Background

McGrath was born in

Aldershot Aldershot ( ) is a town in the Rushmoor district, Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme north-east corner of the county, south-west of London. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Farnborough/Aldershot built-up are ...

, England to Irish parents. Her family moved to

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

when she was a child and later to

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 ...

. Her father was a school principal and her mother was a teacher. She studied English literature at the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...

and in 1979–80 she was President of the

Student Federation of the University of Ottawa The Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO) (; FÉUO) was the students' union representing undergraduate students of the University of Ottawa from 1969 to 2018. It was a not-for-profit organization incorporated under the Corpor ...

. After graduating, she moved to Edmonton to work as a field organizer for the Alberta Federation of Students while studying for an education degree at the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

and became politically active. She graduated with a Bachelor of Education from the University of Alberta and began her career as a teacher. She then held a variety of positions with not-for-profit organizations including working as Canadian Programme Officer for

Oxfam Canada Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent non-governmental organizations (NGOs), focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International. It began as the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief ...

and Community Development Team Leader and senior education officer for the

Canadian Mental Health Association The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) is a Canadian non-profit mental health organization that focuses on resources, programs and advocacy. It was founded on April 22, 1918, by Clarence M. Hincks and Clifford W. Beers. Originally named ...

. She has a master's degree in communications studies. She has worked as a managing director at the lobbying firm Ensight, and is an associate at the public relations firm

Hill+Knowlton Strategies A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit, and is usually applied to peaks which are above elevation compared to the relative landmass, though not as prominent as mountains. Hills fall unde ...

. She has also served as a board member and social issues chair of the

Elizabeth Fry Society The Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies (CAEFS) is an association of groups operating under the Elizabeth Fry Society banner, similar in many respects to the John Howard Society. The Elizabeth Fry Society groups work on issues affecting ...

, Vice-President of

National Action Committee on the Status of Women The National Action Committee on the Status of Women was a Canadian feminist activist organization that existed from 1971 to 2007. History It was founded in 1971 as a pressure group to lobby for the implementation of the 167 recommendations m ...

, and a member of the Steering Committee for the Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action: Beijing and Beyond. McGrath is a frequent commentator on national media broadcasts and has been identified as one of the 100 most influential people in government and politics in Ottawa. She has been an activist in the labour, student and women's movements and had been employed by

CUPE The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE; ) is a Canadian trade union serving the public sector – although it has in recent years organized workplaces in the non-profit and para-public sector as well. CUPE is the largest union in Canada, ...

National as Director of Equality and as executive assistant to CUPE's national president

Judy Darcy Judy Darcy (born 1950) is a Canadian health care advocate, trade unionist, and former politician. Darcy was the first Minister of Mental Health and Addictions of British Columbia. She was the fourth National President of the Canadian Union of P ...

, and by Oxfam Canada.

Politics

In the 1984 federal election, while a student, she ran as candidate for the

Communist Party of Canada The Communist Party of Canada is a federal political party in Canada. Founded in 1921 under conditions of illegality, it is the second oldest active political party in Canada, after the Liberal Party of Canada. Although it does not currentl ...

in Edmonton—Strathcona, placing seventh. Of her involvement with the Communist Party she says "I was young, probably naïve, interested in talking about politics. And very influenced by friends and teachers." At a debate at the Calgary Varsity Centre in April 2019, McGrath apologised for her past involvement with the Communist Party saying she was no longer a Communist stating, "Four decades ago when I was a young student, I was a member f the Communist Partyand I deeply regret that. It was a mistake and I'm very sorry." In 1993, McGrath was the

Alberta New Democratic Party The Alberta New Democratic Party (Alberta NDP; ), is social democratic political party in Alberta, Canada. The party sits on the centre-left to left-wing of the political spectrum and is a provincial Alberta affiliate of the federal New Democra ...

's candidate in Calgary-Bow. In 1995 she was its candidate in a provincial

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

Calgary-McCall Calgary-Bhullar-McCall is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Canada. It was created in 1971, and was named after Frederick McCall and the McCall Industrial Park. As of the 2010 redistricting, the industria ...

and came in third place. In 1995, she unsuccessfully challenged

Ross Harvey Ross Harvey (born 25 April 1952) is a Canadian politician who was a member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 to 1993. He sat as an NDP MP from 1988 to 1993, representing Edmonton-East. Biography Harvey's background is in informatio ...

for the leadership of the

. McGrath was president of the

from 2006 to 2009; she was elected on September 10, 2006, at the party's convention in

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

and her term ended on August 16, 2009 when

Peggy Nash Peggy A. Nash (born 28 June 1951) is a Canadian labour official and politician from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She was the New Democratic Party (NDP) Member of Parliament (MP) for the Parkdale—High Park electoral district (riding) in Toront ...

was elected president at the party's convention in Halifax. Before that, she had been director of operations for the NDP federal caucus. As Chief of Staff to Jack Layton (2008–2011), she is credited with professionalizing caucus operations and with helping organize the party's historic breakthrough to Official Opposition status. She stayed on as chief of staff to interim party leader

Nycole Turmel Nycole Turmel (born September 1, 1942) is a Canadian politician who served as the member of Parliament (MP) for Hull—Aylmer from 2011 to 2015. A member of the New Democratic Party (NDP), Turmel served as the party's interim leader from 201 ...

and the federal NDP Caucus, during Turmel's interim leadership. McGrath also served as the National Director of the

(NDP) of Canada (2014-2015). McGrath served as principal secretary to former

and as Notley's deputy chief of staff. McGrath was the NDP candidate in

Calgary-Varsity Calgary-Varsity is a provincial electoral district in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The district was created in 1993 and returns a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. It comprises the communities of Varsity, Dalhousie, Brentwo ...

in the

2019 Alberta general election The 2019 Alberta general election was held on April 16, 2019, to elect 87 members to the 30th Alberta Legislature. In its first general election contest, the Jason Kenney-led United Conservative Party (UCP) won 54.88% of the popular vote and 63 ...

. She was portrayed by

Wendy Crewson Wendy Jane Crewson (born May 9, 1956) is a Canadian actress and producer. She began her career appearing on Canadian television, before her breakthrough role in 1991 dramatic film ''The Doctor''. Crewson has appeared in many Hollywood films, inc ...

in the 2013

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...

film ''

Jack Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, incl ...

''.

Electoral record

Federal

Provincial

1995 Alberta NDP leadership challenge

(Held on November 11, 1995)Edmonton Journal, November 13, 1995 *

177 *Anne McGrath 118 *

Joe Weykowich Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage, based on the novel ''Joe'' (1991) by Larry Brown * Joe (2023 film), an Indian film * ''Joe'' (TV ser ...

30 *

Lawrence Dubrofsky Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McGrath, Anne Canadian political consultants Living people Alberta New Democratic Party candidates in Alberta provincial elections Women in Alberta politics Presidents of the New Democratic Party of Canada Political chiefs of staff 1958 births English emigrants to Canada University of Ottawa alumni Communist Party of Canada (Ontario) politicians People from Aldershot Canadian people of Irish descent Members of the Communist Party of Canada Canadian socialist feminists Oxfam people Canadian Union of Public Employees people University of Alberta alumni Canadian women trade unionists