Debra Elaine Higgins 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 A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. She was a member of the

Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan The Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan () is the legislative chamber of the Saskatchewan Legislature in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. Bills passed by the assembly are given royal assent by the lieutenant governor of Saskatchewan, in the ...

for the constituency of

Moose Jaw Wakamow Moose Jaw Wakamow is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan, Canada. One of two provincial constituencies for the city of Moose Jaw, the riding contains the area of the city south of Caribou Street, northea ...

from 1999 to 2011 and served as the mayor of

Moose Jaw Moose Jaw is the List of cities in Saskatchewan, fourth largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. Lying on the Moose Jaw River in the south-central part of the province, it is situated on the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Regina, Saskatchewan, Re ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

from 2012 to 2016.

Political career

Higgins got her start in politics when she became involved with the

United Food and Commercial Workers The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) is a trade union, labor union representing approximately 1.3 million workers in the United States and Canada in industries including retail; meatpacking, food processing and manufa ...

union in 1982 while working at a Safeway grocery store. She later served as the President of the UFCW Manitoba Provincial Council from 1993 to 1999, during which period she also served as a table officer for the Moose Jaw & District Labour Council.

NDP MLA

Higgins was first elected to the provincial legislature as a member 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 ...

in the 1999 election, and she was re-elected in the

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

and

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

elections. She served in the cabinet of Premier

Lorne Calvert Lorne Albert Calvert (born December 24, 1952) is a Canadian politician who served as the 13th premier of Saskatchewan, from 2001 to 2007. Calvert served as leader of the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party and Member of the Legislative Assembly ...

, first as the Minister of Labour and later as the Minister of Learning. After the defeat of the NDP government in the 2007 election, Higgins has served as the NDP critic for municipal affairs, liquor and gaming, and women's issues. In 2008 Calvert retired, triggering the 2009 NDP leadership race. On January 30, 2009, Higgins announced her bid to succeed Calvert at the party's June 2009 leadership convention. Higgins ran on the theme of party renewal and poverty reduction. She was joined in the race by former Saskatchewan NDP President

Yens Pedersen Yens Pedersen is a Canadian politician and lawyer, who served in the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan from 2018 to 2020 representing the constituency of Regina Northeast. He is a former candidate in the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party lead ...

, former Deputy Premier

Dwain Lingenfelter Dwain Lingenfelter (born February 27, 1949) is a former Canadian politician from Shaunavon, Saskatchewan. He was a Saskatchewan New Democratic Party, New Democratic Party Member of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan from 1978 to 1986, 19 ...

, and Saskatoon doctor

Ryan Meili Ryan Meili (born April 11, 1975) is a Canadian physician and former politician from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He previously served as the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Saskatoon Meewasin from 2017 to 2022 and as leader of the Saska ...

. Higgins secured 14% of votes on the first ballot and was eliminated; although both Higgins and Pedersen, who withdrew after the first ballot, endorsed Meili ahead of the second ballot, Lingenfelter was elected leader. After the race, Lingenfelter named Higgins Deputy Leader. Higgins ran in the 2011 election, but she lost her seat to rookie

Saskatchewan Party The Saskatchewan Party (SP or Sask Party) is a conservative political party in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The party was founded in 1997 by a coalition of former provincial Progressive Conservative ...

candidate

Greg Lawrence Greg Lawrence (born January 29, 1966) is a Canadian politician elected to represent the electoral district of Moose Jaw Wakamow in the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan in the 2011 election. He served as a member of the Saskatchewan Party ...

in an election that saw the NDP reduced to an historic low of 9 seats in the legislature. Lingenfelter also lost his seat in the election and resigned as leader, triggering another leadership race. Higgins decided not to run again for the leadership, advocating instead for younger members to step into contention for the role. Higgins chaired the leadership election, which resulted in

Cam Broten Cameron Paul Broten (born April 29, 1978) is a Canadian politician. He represented the constituency of Saskatoon Massey Place in the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan from 2007 to 2016 and served as the leader of the Saskatchewan New Democrat ...

being elected.

Mayor of Moose Jaw

In September 2012, Higgins announced she would be entering municipal politics and running to become the next mayor of Moose Jaw. On October 23, 2012, Higgins was elected mayor, defeating

Fraser Tolmie Fraser Tolmie is a Canadian politician who was elected to represent the riding of Moose Jaw—Lake Centre—Lanigan in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2021 Canadian federal election. Prior to his election to Parliament, Tolmie served as ...

in a tight race and becoming the first female mayor in Moose Jaw's history. Higgins ran for reelection in 2016. She was again running against Tolmie, along with three other candidates in a crowded field. The ballot also included a referendum on funding for replacing local water and sewer mains, which led to a high turnout. Higgins was unseated by Tolmie, who secured 53.5% of the vote.

Electoral record

References

External links