Ione Jean Christensen, , ''née'' Cameron (born October 10, 1933) is a former

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 ...

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

. The daughter of former

North-West Mounted Police The North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) was a Canadian paramilitary police force, established in 1873, to maintain order in the new Canadian North-West Territories (NWT) following the 1870 transfer of Rupert's Land and North-Western Territory to ...

constable Gordon Irwin Cameron, and Dawson City born Martha Ballentine Cameron, her family moved to Whitehorse in 1949. Christensen graduated from high school in 1953. She received an associate in arts degree in business administration from the College of San Mateo in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. In 1968, she married Art Christensen, a geologist. In 1971, she was appointed the first woman justice of the peace and judge of the juvenile court in Yukon. In 1975, she was elected the first woman mayor of Whitehorse;"Two women elected mayors in Yukon vote". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', December 13, 1975. on the same day, Yolanda Burkhard was elected as the first woman mayor of Dawson City. In 1979, she served as the commissioner of Yukon, being the first woman to be appointed as commissioner. In 1980, she ran unsuccessfully as a Liberal candidate, in the federal election for the riding of Yukon. She lost by 101 votes to Erik Nielsen. In 1994, she was appointed a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

. Her father was also a member. In 1999, Christensen was appointed at the recommendation of

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Jean Chrétien Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a retired Canadian politician, statesman, and lawyer who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003. He served as Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, leader of t ...

to the

Senate 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 ...

. On December 31, 2006, Christensen resigned from the Senate to assist her ailing husband. In 2019, she was made a member of the Order of Yukon's inaugural class. The first 10 recipients were named ahead of the ceremony on December 2, 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christensen, Ione 1933 births Living people Canadian senators from Yukon Canadian people of Norwegian descent Commissioners of Yukon Liberal Party of Canada senators Members of the Order of Canada Members of the Order of Yukon Mayors of Whitehorse Women members of the Senate of Canada Candidates in the 1980 Canadian federal election People from Dawson Creek Women mayors of places in Yukon 20th-century Canadian women politicians 21st-century members of the Senate of Canada 21st-century Canadian women politicians Canadian justices of the peace Liberal Party of Canada candidates for the Canadian House of Commons 20th-century mayors of places in Yukon 20th-century members of the Senate of Canada