Claudia Chender (born 1977)The Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia: a biographical directory from 1984 to the Present: Chender, Claudia, page 41
Nova Scotia Legislature is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) 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 ...

politician, and leader of the

Nova Scotia New Democratic Party The Nova Scotia New Democratic Party is a social democracy, social-democratic, Progressive politics, progressive provincial party in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the provincial entity of the federal New Democratic Party (NDP). It was founded as the ...

since June 25, 2022. She was first elected to the

Nova Scotia House of Assembly The Nova Scotia House of Assembly (french: Assemblée législative de la Nouvelle-Écosse; gd, Taigh Seanaidh Alba Nuadh), or Legislative Assembly, is the deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Nova Scotia Each General Assembly of the ...

in the

2017 general election This national electoral calendar for 2017 lists the national/federal elections held in 2017 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 November ...

, and re-elected in the 2021 general election. She represents the electoral district of Dartmouth South."Nova Scotia election: NDP Claudia Chender elected in Dartmouth South riding"

Global News Global News is the news and current affairs division of the Canadian Global Television Network. The network is owned by Corus Entertainment, which oversees all of the network's national news programming as well as local news on its 21 owned-a ...

, May 30, 2017.

Leader of the NSNDP

After the 2021 election, party leader Gary Burrill appointed Chender as the House Leader. She returned to her role as the spokesperson for Justice and Status of Women as well as the critic for Economic Development and Natural Resources and Renewables. Burrill announced – on November 9, 2021 – that he would resign as leader once a successor was chosen at a future convention. On February 14, 2022, Chender declared her candidacy to replace Burrill as leader of the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party (NSNDP). On May 21, 2022 registration closed for the leadership race, with Chender being the sole candidate. She was confirmed as leader after a general membership vote on June 25, 2022. She is the third female leader of the NSNDP, with the previous female leaders being

Alexa McDonough Alexa Ann McDonough ( Shaw; August 11, 1944 – January 15, 2022) was a Canadian politician who became the first woman to lead a major, recognized political party in Nova Scotia, when she was elected the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party's (NSN ...

and Helen MacDonald; fourth leader, if interim leader Maureen MacDonald is included.

Early life and education

Chender is a lawyer by training and has worked in the not for profit and private sectors. She was raised in the

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

and Jewish traditions. She graduated from

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 ...

in 1999 with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

and then from the

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary insti ...

in 2004 with a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of ...

. She lives in Dartmouth South with her husband and three children.

Electoral record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chender, Claudia Canadian women lawyers Dalhousie University alumni Lawyers in Nova Scotia Living people Nova Scotia New Democratic Party MLAs People from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia University of Victoria Faculty of Law alumni Women MLAs in Nova Scotia 21st-century Canadian politicians 21st-century Canadian women politicians 1977 births Leaders of the Nova Scotia CCF/NDP Female Canadian political party leaders