Claudette Tardif (born July 27, 1947) is a Canadian retired

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

from Alberta. She was appointed to the senate by Governor General Adrienne Clarkson, on the advice of Prime Minister Paul Martin, on March 24, 2005, representing the

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' ...

. Prior to entering the Senate she was a professor and dean at the University of Alberta's French-language faculty,

Faculté Saint-Jean The Campus Saint-Jean (CSJ) is a French-language faculty of the University of Alberta located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada at 84 Avenue and rue Marie-Anne Gaboury (91 Street). History It was previously known as the Faculté Saint-Jean, but un ...

. At the time of her appointment, Tardif was vice-president of the University of Alberta. Tardif is also a longstanding advocate of minority language rights, particularly for Alberta's

francophone French became an international language in the Middle Ages, when the power of the Kingdom of France made it the second international language, alongside Latin. This status continued to grow into the 18th century, by which time French was the l ...

minority. On January 18, 2007, she was named Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate. On January 29, 2014, Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau announced all Liberal Senators, including Tardif, were removed from the Liberal caucus, and would continue sitting as Independents. The Senators refer to themselves as the Senate Liberal Caucus even though they are no longer members of the parliamentary Liberal caucus. Tardif retired from the Senate on February 2, 2018, five years prior to the mandatory retirement age of 75, in order to spend more time with her family.

References

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Liberal Party of Canada biography

External links

Claudette Tardif
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tardif, Claudette 1947 births Living people Liberal Party of Canada senators Canadian senators from Alberta Franco-Albertan people Women members of the Senate of Canada Women in Alberta politics 21st-century Canadian politicians 21st-century Canadian women politicians