Marilyn Trenholme Counsell (born October 22, 1933) 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 ...

lecturer, doctor and politician. Counsell was a

Canadian Senator The Senate of Canada () is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they compose the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the British House of Lords, with its member ...

and Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick from 1997 to 2003.

Early life and career

She was born in

Baie Verte, New Brunswick Baie Verte is a community in Westmorland County in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. Of French origin: "...from the salt water grasses which in the summer make the bay look like an immense meadow" (Ganong). Variations: Franquelin, 168 ...

, the daughter of Harry Frederick and Mildred (née Baxter) Trenholme. She married Kenneth Walter Counsell in 1972; they had two children, Giles Baxter Counsell and Lorna Joy Counsell. Kenneth Counsell died in 1981. She has a BSc from

Mount Allison University Mount Allison University (also Mount A or MtA) is a Canadian primarily undergraduate liberal arts university located in Sackville, New Brunswick, founded in 1839. Mount Allison was the first university in the British Empire to award a baccal ...

, MA in nutrition from

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

and an MD from the University of Toronto. She worked first as a nutritionist for the Governments of New Brunswick and Ontario, and following her MD as a family physician at the

Toronto General Hospital The Toronto General Hospital (TGH) is a major teaching hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and the flagship campus of University Health Network (UHN). It is located in the Discovery District of Downtown Toronto along University Avenue (Toronto), ...

, and in Sackville and Port Elgin, New Brunswick. She was elected member of 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'' ...

for Tantramar in the 1987

General Election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

, reelected in 1991 and 1995. During this time, from 1994 to 1997, she also served in the

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

as Minister of State for the Family and Minister of State for Family and Community Services.

Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick

She served as the 28th

Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick The lieutenant governor of New Brunswick (, in French: ''Lieutenant-gouverneur'' (if male) or ''Lieutenante-gouverneure'' (if female) ''du Nouveau-Brunswick'') is the representative in New Brunswick of the monarch, who operates distinctly within ...

from 1997-2003. During her tenure, she reopened Old Government House, as "The People's House", and focused on early childhood literacy.

Senator

She was appointed to the Senate in 2003 by

Governor General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

Adrienne Clarkson Adrienne Louise Clarkson ( zh, c=伍冰枝; ; born February 10, 1939) is a Canadian journalist and stateswoman who served as the 26th governor general of Canada from 1999 to 2005. Clarkson arrived in Canada with her family in 1941, as a refuge ...

, on the advice 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 ...

, and sat as a member of the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

caucus. As a Senator, she was an advocate for literacy, health and early childhood development. She reached the mandatory retirement age on October 22, 2008. In 2008, she began lecturing on Political Leadership in Canada at Mount Allison University. She was named to the Order of New Brunswick (ONB) that year (2008).

Honours and awards

In 1994 on behalf of the Province of New Brunswick she received a UN Year of the Family award. As the Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick, she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of St. John (DStJ). In June 2012, she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada (OC). She received honorary degrees from l'universite de Moncton, Mount Allison and University of New Brunswick and was also honoured with the Sir Charles Tupper Award for Political Action (CMA) and the Champion of Public Education Award (TLP).

Arms

References

External links

Biography for the Senate of Canada
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Trenholme Counsell, Marilyn 1933 births Living people Canadian general practitioners New Brunswick Liberal Association MLAs Members of the Executive Council of New Brunswick Liberal Party of Canada senators Canadian senators from New Brunswick Lieutenant governors of New Brunswick Mount Allison University alumni University of Toronto alumni Members of the Order of New Brunswick Women MLAs in New Brunswick Women members of the Senate of Canada Officers of the Order of Canada Canadian women viceroys 21st-century members of the Senate of Canada 21st-century Canadian women politicians Women government ministers of Canada 20th-century members of the Senate of Canada 20th-century Canadian women politicians 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick