Nancy Allan (born July 25, 1952, in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

) is a politician in

, Canada. She was a

cabinet minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ' prime minister', ' p ...

in the

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 ...

governments of premiers

Gary Doer Gary Albert Doer (born 31 March 1948) is a former Canadians, Canadian politician and diplomat from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He served as Canada's List of Canadian ambassadors to the United States, ambassador to the United States from 19 Octo ...

and

Greg Selinger Gregory Francis Selinger (born February 16, 1951) is a former Canadian politician who served as the 21st premier of Manitoba from 2009 until 2016, leading an NDP government. From 1999 to 2009 he was the Minister of Finance in the government o ...

. Allan was raised in

MacGregor, Manitoba MacGregor is a community in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It held town status prior to January 1, 2015, when it amalgamated with the Rural Municipality of North Norfolk to form the Municipality of North Norfolk. MacGregor is located approx ...

, and was educated at MacGregor Collegiate. From 1990 to 1994, she was director of development for the Canadian Diabetes Association. She worked for the Manitoba Motion Picture Industries Association from 1994 to 1995, and then as a consultant for small business and non-profit organizations from 1995 to 1999. She has also taught two continuing education courses at the

University of Winnipeg The University of Winnipeg (UWinnipeg, UW, or U of W) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It offers undergraduate programs in art, business, economics, education, science and applied health as well as graduate progra ...

. Allan began her political career as a school trustee, serving on the Norwood School Division from 1995 to 1998 and the St. Boniface School Division from 1998 to 1999. She was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Manitoba The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba () is the deliberative assembly of the Manitoba Legislature in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly at List of Manitoba genera ...

in the 1999 provincial election, defeating incumbent Progressive Conservative MLA

Shirley Render Shirley Render (born April 1, 1943) is a politician in Manitoba, Canada. She was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1990 to 1999, and was briefly a cabinet minister in the government of Gary Filmon. Early life Born Shirle ...

in the south-central Winnipeg riding of

St. Vital St. Vital () is a ward and neighbourhood of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Located in the south-central part of the city, it is bounded on the north by Carrière Avenue; on the south by the northern limit of the Rural Municipality of Ritchot; on ...

by 5,218 votes to 3,699. In 2003 she supported

Bill Blaikie William Alexander "Bill" Blaikie (June 19, 1951 – September 24, 2022) was a Canadian politician. He served as a member of Parliament (MP) from 1979 to 2008, representing Elmwood—Transcona and its antecedent ridings in the House of Commons ...

's bid to become leader of the federal

. In the 2003 election Allan was re-elected with over 63% of the popular vote. On November 4, 2003, she entered cabinet as Minister of Labour of Immigration, with responsibility for

Multiculturalism Multiculturalism is the coexistence of multiple cultures. The word is used in sociology, in political philosophy, and colloquially. In sociology and everyday usage, it is usually a synonym for ''Pluralism (political theory), ethnic'' or cultura ...

Status of Women Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...

and administration of the Workers Compensation Act. Allan was re-elected in the 2007 provincial election. After Greg Selinger succeeded

premier of Manitoba The premier of Manitoba () is the first minister (i.e., head of government or chief executive) for the Canadian province of Manitoba—as well as the ''de facto'' President of the province's Executive Council. In formal terms, the premier rec ...

, he appointed Allan as the

Minister of Education An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...

on November 3, 2009. During her term as education minister, Allan introduced

anti-bullying legislation Anti-bullying legislation is legislation enacted to help reduce and eliminate bullying. This legislation may be national or sub-national and is commonly aimed at ending bullying in schools or workplaces. According to one study, state-level anti-bu ...

: Bill 18, the public schools amendment act (safe and inclusive schools). Religious organizations criticized the legislation, claiming it infringed on freedom of religion by requiring faith-based schools to support the creation of

gay–straight alliance A gay–straight alliance, gender–sexuality alliance (GSA) or queer–straight alliance (QSA) is a student-led or community-based organization, found in middle schools, high schools, colleges, and universities. These are primarily in the Uni ...

s if initiated by students. The federal

Minister of Public Safety The minister of public safety and emergency preparedness () is the minister of the Crown responsible for Public Safety Canada and a member of the Cabinet of Canada. The portfolio succeeded the role of Solicitor General of Canada in 2005. Gary ...

at the time,

Vic Toews Victor Toews (; born September 10, 1952) is a Canadian politician and jurist. Toews is a justice of the Court of King's Bench of Manitoba. He represented Provencher in the House of Commons of Canada from 2000 until his resignation on July 9, ...

, said that he believed the bill violated the

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms The ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' (), often simply referred to as the ''Charter'' in Canada, is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada, forming the first part of the '' Constitution Act, 1982''. The ''Char ...

. The bill passed into law in September 2013. On October 18, 2013, Nancy Allan was removed from the post of education minister by Premier Greg Selinger.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allan, Nancy 1952 births Living people Manitoba school board members Members of the Executive Council of Manitoba New Democratic Party of Manitoba MLAs Politicians from Winnipeg Women MLAs in Manitoba Women government ministers of Canada 20th-century Canadian women politicians 21st-century Canadian women politicians 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba