Lisa Anne Lachance is a Canadian politician, who was elected to 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 ...

in the

2021 Nova Scotia general election The 2021 Nova Scotia general election was held on August 17, 2021, to elect members to the 64th General Assembly of Nova Scotia. In a major Upset (competition), upset, Tim Houston led the Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia, Pr ...

. She represents the riding of

Halifax Citadel-Sable Island Halifax Citadel-Sable Island is a provincial electoral district in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, that elects one member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly. Its current Member of the Legislative Assembly is Lisa Lachance of the Nova Scotia New ...

as a member of the

Nova Scotia New Democratic Party The Nova Scotia New Democratic Party (Nova Scotia NDP) is a social democratic political party in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the provincial section for the province of the federal New Democratic Party. It was founded as the Co-operative Commonwe ...

. As of September 22, 2024, Lachance serves as the Third Party spokesperson for Environment and Climate Climate, 2SLGBTQ+ Affairs, L’nu Affairs, Mental Health and Addictions, Agriculture, Acadian Affairs, Advanced Education, Finance and Treasury Board, Economic Development, and Skills & Immigration.

Early life

Lachance was born in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, and spent time in

Belleville, Ontario Belleville is a city in Ontario, Canada, situated on the eastern end of Lake Ontario, located at the mouth of the Moira River and on the Bay of Quinte. Its population as of the 2021 Canadian census was 55,071 (Census Metropolitan Area population 1 ...

and Australia, before completing high school in

Canning, Nova Scotia Canning is a village in northeastern Kings County, Nova Scotia located at the crossroads of Route 221 and Route 358. History The area was originally settled by Acadians who were expelled in 1755 during the Acadian Expulsion. After the Acadi ...

. Lachance 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, Nova Scotia, Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus ...

in 1996 with a Bachelor of Arts in International Development Studies and in 2000 with a

Master of Public Administration A Master of Public Administration (MPA) is a specialized professional graduate degree in public administration that prepares students for leadership roles, similar or equivalent to a Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the ...

Personal life

Lachance and her partner Heather Gass were one of the first same-sex couples to be legally married in Canada following ''

Halpern v Canada (AG) ''Halpern v Canada (AG)'', 003O.J. No. 2268 is a June 10, 2003 decision of the Court of Appeal for Ontario in which the Court found that the common law definition of marriage, which defined marriage as between one man and one woman, violated s ...

''. Lachance is

genderqueer Non-binary or genderqueer gender identities are those that are outside the male/female gender binary. Non-binary identities often fall under the transgender umbrella since non-binary people typically identify with a gender that is differ ...

and uses she/they pronouns. She is the first gender non-conforming MLA in Nova Scotia, and the third overall in the nation, joining

Uzoma Asagwara Uzoma Asagwara () is a Canadian politician who has served as the 11th Deputy Premier and Minister of Health of Manitoba since October 18, 2023. A member of the Manitoba New Democratic Party, they have represented the Union Station electoral d ...

and

Estefan Cortes-Vargas Estefan Cortes-Vargas (born Estefania Cortes-Vargas, 1991) is a Colombian-born Canadian politician and non-profit administrator who was elected in the 2015 Alberta general election to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, representing the electo ...

Electoral history

References

Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Canadian lesbian politicians Politicians from Halifax, Nova Scotia Politicians from Montreal Nova Scotia New Democratic Party MLAs Women MLAs in Nova Scotia Canadian LGBTQ people in provincial and territorial legislatures Canadian non-binary politicians 21st-century Canadian women politicians 21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people Non-binary lesbians 21st-century members of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly {{NovaScotia-MLA-stub