Susan Elizabeth Whelan, (; born May 5, 1963, in

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places *Detroit–Windsor, Michigan-Ontario, USA-Canada, North America; a cross-border metropolitan region Australia New South Wales *Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area Queen ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

) 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 ...

Member of Parliament with the

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (LPC; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. and generally sits at the Centrism, ...

. Whelan, a lawyer, first won a seat in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

in the 1993 election representing

Essex—Windsor Essex (formerly known as Essex—Windsor) is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1882 and since 1968. Geography The riding includes the Municipalities of LaSalle, Amhers ...

. In 1997 and 2000 she was elected to represent

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

. In 2002, Whelan was appointed by

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 ...

as Minister for International Cooperation as 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 ...

. Whelan was defeated by

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Jeff Watson at the

2004 election The following elections occurred in the year 2004. Africa * 2004 Algerian presidential election * 2004 Botswana general election * 2004 Cameroonian presidential election * 2004 Comorian legislative election * 2004 Equatorial Guinean legislativ ...

, and unsuccessfully tried to win back her old seat in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

and the

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

. Susan Whelan is the daughter of former Liberal Federal

Minister of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

, the Honourable

Eugene Whelan Eugene Francis "Gene" Whelan (11 July 1924 – 19 February 2013) was a Canadians, Canadian politician, sitting in the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons from 1962 to 1984, and in the Senate of Canada, Senate from 1996 to 1999. He w ...

. Susan and her father hold the distinction of being the first father-daughter cabinet appointees. Whelan shares her father's passionate interest in Canadian agriculture, having made Agriculture and Rural Development one of the key elements of policy during her tenure as Minister. She has also instructed part-time at the University of Windsor, appropriately situated in the political science department. She previously represented the Ambassador Bridge Company on the Green Corridor Project. In June 2009, Whelan was named

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

for the Ontario division of the

Canadian Cancer Society The Canadian Cancer Society () is Canada's largest national cancer charity and the largest national charitable funder of cancer research in Canada. History The Saskatchewan Medical Association formed Canada's first cancer committee in 1929, whi ...

. In August the same year, she was diagnosed with

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

. She resigned from the

in order to focus on her recovery. Whelan authors a blog entitled ''Susan's Fight Back'', to share her experience, strength, and hope with others. Whelan waspreviously the Executive Director of rare Charitable Research Reserve in

Cambridge, Ontario Cambridge is a city in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, located at the confluence of the Grand River (Ontario), Grand and Speed River, Speed rivers, in the central part of the Ontario Peninsula. The city had a population ...

and maintains a law practice in

Windsor, Ontario Windsor ( ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is situated on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from the U.S city of Detroit, Detroit, Michigan. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Esse ...

Electoral record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whelan, Susan 1963 births Women government ministers of Canada Women members of the House of Commons of Canada Liberal Party of Canada MPs Living people Members of the 26th Canadian Ministry Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Politicians from Windsor, Ontario Women in Ontario politics 21st-century Canadian women politicians 20th-century Canadian women politicians 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada 21st-century members of the House of Commons of Canada