Elizabeth Jane Weir (born February 20, 1948) is a Canadian lawyer and politician in

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

. She was elected leader of the

New Democratic Party of New Brunswick New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 19 ...

in June 1988 and became an opposition voice to the

Liberal government Liberal government may refer to: Australia In Australian politics, a Liberal government may refer to the following governments administered by the Liberal Party of Australia: * Menzies Government (1949–66), several Australian ministries under S ...

, which held all 58 seats in the

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick The Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick () is the deliberative assembly of the New Brunswick Legislature, in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. The assembly's seat is located in Fredericton. It was established in Saint John ''de jure'' ...

. Born in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, Northern Ireland, Weir was educated at the

University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a Public university, public research university located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is on of land adjacent to uptown Waterloo and Waterloo Park. The university also op ...

and the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO; branded as Western University) is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thame ...

. She has taught at

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

and the

University of New Brunswick The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a public university with two primary campuses in Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick. It is the oldest English language, English-language university in Canada, and among the oldest public universiti ...

. Weir was first elected to the legislature in

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

in the riding of Saint John South where she defeated Liberal John Mooney by only 78 votes. In 1995, the riding became Saint John Harbour and she was re-elected in

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

and

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 ...

. During that time, she was the sole New Democrat in the legislature. In 2000, Weir released documents accessed under the ''Right to Information Act'' surrounding a $1 billion upgrade project for the

Irving Oil Refinery The Irving Oil Refinery is a Canadian oil refinery located in Saint John, New Brunswick. It is currently the largest oil refinery in Canada, capable of processing more than of crude oil per day. Over 80 per cent of the production is exported to t ...

being put in motion without being completely assessed for its environmental impact, suggesting that the government "ignored the public interest and pandered to big business." At the 2003 federal NDP convention at which

Jack Layton John Gilbert Layton (July 18, 1950 – August 22, 2011) was a Canadian politician and academic who served as the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) from 2003 to 2011 and leader of the Official Opposition in 2011. He previously sat on T ...

would be elected party leader, Weir sought the presidency of the federal party against re-offering incumbent Adam Giambrone. Midway through the convention, Giambrone and Weir decided to seek a co-presidency. Many delegates balked, especially at the assumption that they could push through a sudden constitutional change in a party often dearly concerned with internal process. The joint ticket was withdrawn, and Weir placed second after Giambrone and ahead of a candidate from the

NDP Socialist Caucus The NDP Socialist Caucus is an unofficial left-wing faction within Canada's New Democratic Party. Its manifesto maintains that the New Democratic Party has moved too far to the right, and is in danger of becoming indistinguishable from the Libera ...

. On October 8, 2004, Weir announced that she would be stepping down from the leadership of the New Brunswick NDP but would stay on until a successor was chosen. She also pledged to run for re-election to the legislature in the next general election; however, she eventually reversed this pledge. Allison Brewer was chosen as her successor at a September 2005 leadership convention and Weir resigned her seat from the legislature on October 13, 2005 to accept the appointment to be the first president and CEO of the new New Brunswick

crown corporation Crown corporation () is the term used in Canada for organizations that are structured like private companies, but are directly and wholly owned by the government. Crown corporations have a long-standing presence in the country, and have a sign ...

the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Agency. Weir was made a Member of the

Order of New Brunswick The Order of New Brunswick is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The order was instituted through the ''Order of New Brunswick Act'', which was granted royal assent on 20 December 2000. The order is intended ...

in 2021.

References

*
Women MLAs, New Brunswick Legislative Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weir, Elizabeth Lawyers in New Brunswick Women MLAs in New Brunswick Living people 1948 births Female Canadian political party leaders Leaders of the New Brunswick CCF/NDP New Brunswick New Democratic Party MLAs Politicians from Belfast Academic staff of the University of New Brunswick University of Waterloo alumni University of Western Ontario alumni Academic staff of York University Canadian women lawyers Members of the Order of New Brunswick 20th-century Canadian women politicians 21st-century Canadian women politicians 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick

See also

References