Kelly Maureen Regan (; born 4 February 1961) 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 who served in the

Nova Scotia House of Assembly The Nova Scotia House of Assembly (; ), or Legislative Assembly, is the deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Nova Scotia, and together with the lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia makes up the Nova Scotia Legislature. The assembly is ...

from 2009 to 2024, most recently as the MLA for Bedford Basin. She was first elected as the Member for Bedford-Birch Cove. She is a member of the

Nova Scotia Liberal Party The Nova Scotia Liberal Party (officially the Liberal Association of Nova Scotia) is a Centrist politics, centrist provincial political party in Nova Scotia, Canada and the provincial section of the Liberal Party of Canada. The party currently hol ...

Early life and education

A native of

Kitchener, Ontario Kitchener is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario, about west of Toronto. It is one of three cities that make up the Regional Municipality of Waterloo and is the regional Administrative centre, seat. Kitchener was known as Berlin until a ...

, Regan graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from 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 ...

in 1984.

Career

Journalism and community involvement

Regan moved to Nova Scotia in 1984 where she began working at CFDR-AM as a reporter covering municipal politics. Her journalism career continued as news director at ATV / ASN for seven years where she won two awards for health documentaries. This was followed by various media and public relations projects. Regan has been active in many community organizations, serving as a library volunteer at Sunnyside Schools, a member of the organizing committee of the annual Bedford volunteer awards, as executive member of Ridgevale Homeowners’ Association, and as an elder of Bedford United Church. She also serves as a judge for the Atlantic Journalism Awards. She is also a founding member of the Nova Scotia chapter of

Equal Voice Founded in 2001 by Rosemary Speirs, Donna Dasko, Libby Burnham and Christina McCall. Equal Voice is a national, bilingual, multi-partisan, non-governmental, non-profit organization that promotes the election of more women to all levels of Can ...

, a multi-partisan group dedicated to increasing the number of women elected in Canada.

Politics

In 2009, Regan successfully ran for the

nomination in the riding of Bedford-Birch Cove. She was elected in the 2009 provincial election, defeating Progressive Conservative cabinet minister

Len Goucher Leonard Goucher (born September 19, 1947) is a Canadian politician, who represented the electoral district of Bedford in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 2006 to 2009. He is a member of the Progressive Conservatives. A town councilor in ...

. The riding was renamed

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...

in 2012 and she was re-elected in this riding in the 2013 provincial election. On October 22, 2013, following the Liberal victory in the

2013 Nova Scotia general election The 2013 Nova Scotia general election was held on October 8, 2013, to elect members to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly. The result of the election was a Nova Scotia Liberal Party, Liberal victory under the leadership of Stephen McNeil, with th ...

Regan was appointed to the

Executive Council of Nova Scotia The Executive Council of Nova Scotia (informally and more commonly, the Cabinet of Nova Scotia) is the cabinet of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Almost always made up of members of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly, the cabinet is s ...

to serve as Minister of Labour and Advanced Education and Minister responsible for the Advisory Council on the Status of Women Act. On July 24, 2015, Regan was given an additional role in cabinet as minister responsible for youth. On June 15, 2017, following the Liberal re-election in the

2017 Nova Scotia general election The 2017 Nova Scotia general election was held on May 30, 2017, to elect members to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly. The Nova Scotia Liberal Party, Liberals under Premier Stephen McNeil won re-election with a reduced majority, falling from 34 ...

Premier Stephen McNeil shuffled his cabinet, moving Regan to Minister of Community Services, while keeping her as Minister responsible for the Advisory Council on the Status of Women Act. Regan was Deputy Premier of Nova Scotia in the Rankin government from February 23, 2021 until August 31, 2021. Regan was re-elected in the 2021 election, however the Rankin Liberals lost government becoming the Official Opposition. In August 2022, Liberal Leader Zach Churchill appointed her Deputy Leader of the Official Opposition, Chair of the Legislature’s Public Accounts, and shadow minister for Skills and Labour. She is a member of the Legislature Internal Affairs Committee. As of September 22, 2024, Regan serves as Deputy Leader of the Official Opposition and critic for Health and Wellness.

Electoral record

, - , Nova Scotia Liberal Party, Liberal , Kelly Regan , align="right", 5,831 , align="right", 52.69 , align="right", , - , Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative Party, Progressive Conservative , Valerie White , align="right", 3,388 , align="right", 30.61 , align="right", , - ,

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 ...

, Mike Poworozynk , align="right", 1,362 , align="right", 12.30 , align="right", , - , - , Nova Scotia Liberal Party, Liberal , Kelly Regan , align="right", 6,081 , align="right", 60.66 , align="right", , - , Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative Party, Progressive Conservative , Joan Christie , align="right", 2,026 , align="right", 20.21 , align="right", , - ,

, Mike Poworozynk , align="right", 1,701 , align="right", 16.97 , align="right", , - , Nova Scotia Liberal Party, Liberal , Kelly Regan , align="right", 4,861 , align="right", 44.48 , align="right", , - ,

, Brian Mosher , align="right", 3,552 , align="right", 32.50 , align="right", , - , Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative Party, Progressive Conservative ,

, align="right", 2,268 , align="right", 20.75 , align="right", , -

Personal life

Regan married her husband Geoff, who was the Member of Parliament for

Halifax West Halifax West () is a federal electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1979. Its population in 2021 was 111,944. Demographics ''According to the 2021 Canadian census, 2023 r ...

, in December 1993, and has three children, Caitlin, Nicole, and Harrison. She resides in

. She is the granddaughter in law of

John Harrison John Harrison ( – 24 March 1776) was an English carpenter and clockmaker who invented the marine chronometer, a long-sought-after device for solving the History of longitude, problem of how to calculate longitude while at sea. Harrison's sol ...

, daughter in law of

Gerald Regan Gerald Augustine Paul Regan (February 13, 1928 – November 26, 2019) was a Canadian politician (as federal MP and later as Nova Scotia MLA), who served as the 19th premier of Nova Scotia from 1970 to 1978. Early life and education Regan wa ...

and sister in law of the longest host of '' CTV News at 5'' (previously Live at 5)

Nancy Regan Nancy Margaret Regan (born March 20, 1966) is a Canadian actress, journalist, news anchor, and television personality, most known for her fifteen-year tenure as host of CTV's Live at 5, a live news and general interest television program reachi ...

and actress Laura Regan, of

FOX Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

's Minority Report.

References

External links

Official website

Members of the Nova Scotia Legislative Assembly

Liberal caucus profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Regan, Kelly Members of the United Church of Canada Nova Scotia Liberal Party MLAs Women MLAs in Nova Scotia People from Bedford, Nova Scotia Politicians from Chatham-Kent University of Waterloo alumni 1961 births Women government ministers of Canada Living people Members of the Executive Council of Nova Scotia

Kelly Kelly may refer to: Art and entertainment * ''Kelly'' (Kelly Price album), 2011 * ''Kelly'' (Andrea Faustini album) * ''Kelly'' (musical), by Mark Charlap, 1965 * "Kelly" (song), by Kelly Rowland, 2018 * ''Kelly'' (film), Canada, 1981 * ...

21st-century Canadian women politicians 21st-century members of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly