Bernadette Clement (born May 17, 1965) is 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, who was appointed to the Canadian Senate by Liberal prime minister Justin Trudeau on June 22, 2021. She was previously mayor of Cornwall, Ontario, having been elected in the 2018 Ontario municipal elections, after serving three terms as a municipal councillor. A Black Canadian,"Bernadette Clément, mairesse de Cornwall"
Ici Radio-Canada Toronto, February 24, 2019. she is the first woman and first person of colour to serve as mayor of the city, and the first Black Canadian woman to serve as a mayor in Ontario. Senator Clement joined the Independent Senators Group's Facilitation Team as Chamber Coordinator in December 2022. She was elected as Deputy Facilitator six months later. Born and raised in

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 ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, as the daughter of a Trinidadian father and a Franco-Manitoban mother, Clement attended 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 ...

, earning degrees in both civil law and

common law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prece ...

and was called to the Ontario bar in 1991. She moved to Cornwall to begin working at what is now the Roy McMurtry Legal Clinic, ultimately becoming its executive director, and continued to work there up to the time of her appointment to the Senate."Cornwall's new mayor says if her election is 'a message to little girls, and little girls of colour ... that would be pretty nice'"
'' Ottawa Citizen'', October 25, 2018. She was first elected to Cornwall City Council in 2006 as a city councillor. She conducted her mayoral campaign on the themes of developing a more collaborative team-oriented approach to managing the city, as well as seeking a way to advance the city's proposed but long-delayed waterfront redevelopment project. Clement also ran as a

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (LPC; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. and generally sits at the Centrism, ...

candidate for the electoral district of Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry in the 2011 Canadian federal election and the

2015 Canadian federal election The 2015 Canadian federal election was held on October 19, 2015, to elect the 338 members of the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons of the 42nd Canadian Parliament, 42nd Parliament of Canada. In accordance with the Fixed election date ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clement, Bernadette Living people Mayors of Cornwall, Ontario Black Canadian politicians Black Canadian women Women mayors of places in Ontario Liberal Party of Canada candidates in the 2011 Canadian federal election Politicians from Montreal Canadian people of Trinidad and Tobago descent Franco-Ontarian people University of Ottawa alumni Lawyers in Ontario Black Canadian lawyers 1965 births Canadian senators from Ontario Independent Canadian senators Women members of the Senate of Canada 21st-century Canadian women politicians 21st-century mayors of places in Ontario 21st-century members of the Senate of Canada Ontario candidates for Member of Parliament Candidates in the 2015 Canadian federal election