Christina Jean Keeper (born March 20, 1962) is a

Cree The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...

actress, film producer and former politician from

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

."Tina Keeper"
''

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; ) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with financial support by the federal Department of Canadian Heritage and Society of Com ...

'', May 14, 2008. First known for her role as RCMP officer Michelle Kenidi in the

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...

series '' North of 60'',"TV's maverick Mountie". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', May 6, 2002. she was elected to 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

2006 Canadian federal election The 2006 Canadian federal election was held on January 23, 2006, to elect members to the House of Commons of Canada of the 39th Canadian Parliament, 39th Parliament of Canada. New details of the sponsorship scandal were released through the Jo ...

, and served as a

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, ...

Member of Parliament representing the electoral district of Churchill. Following her defeat in the

2008 Canadian federal election The 2008 Canadian federal election was held on October 14, 2008, to elect members to the House of Commons of Canada of the 40th Canadian Parliament after the 39th Canadian Parliament, previous parliament had been dissolved by Governor General o ...

she returned to film and television, and continues to work as both an actress and a film producer.

Background

A member of the Norway House Cree Nation in northern

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 ...

, she was born 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 ...

."Activist receives honorary degree". ''

Brantford Expositor The ''Brantford Expositor'' is an English language newspaper based in Brantford, Ontario and owned by Postmedia. It provides the readers with coverage of local news, sports and events to the community as well as coverage of provincial, national ...

'', June 7, 2017. She is the granddaughter of Olympic long distance runner Joe Keeper and the daughter of Joseph I. Keeper, a member of the Order of Canada, and Phyllis Keeper (née Beardy), an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

priest. Keeper studied history and theatre 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 ...

. Originally planning to become a history professor, she instead became an actor after getting involved in an indigenous theatre company in Winnipeg.

Acting

Keeper had a number of supporting roles in film, most notably in the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

docudrama short '' For Angela'', before being cast in ''North of 60'' in 1992. She was a five-time

Gemini Award The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's English-language television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in t ...

nominee for Best Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role for her work on the series, winning the award at the 11th Gemini Awards in 1997. At the

9th Gemini Awards The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television's 9th Gemini Awards were held on March 5, 1995 to honour achievements in Television in Canada, Canadian television. The awards show, which was hosted by Paul Gross and Tina Keeper, took place at the Met ...

in 1995, she also received a Gemini nomination for Performance in a Children's or Youth Program or Series, for her performance in ''For Angela''. Following the end of ''North of 60'' as a regular series, Keeper continued her role as Michelle Kenidi in several ''North of 60'' television films, and appeared in the films ''Heater'', '' Skins'' and ''

On the Corner ''On the Corner'' is a studio album by the American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer Miles Davis. It was recorded in June and July 1972 and released on October 11 of that year by Columbia Records. The album continued Davis' exploration of ...

'', until she decided to seek the Liberal nomination in Churchill in 2005. After her election defeat in 2008, she took on both acting and production roles in the APTN drama series '' Cashing In''. More recently she has acted in the television series '' Mohawk Girls'', '' Heartland'' and '' Acting Good'', and the films '' Through Black Spruce'', '' Falls Around Her'' and '' Stellar''. A partner in the film production firm Kistikan Pictures, she was a producer of ''Through Black Spruce'', as well as the films ''Road of Iniquity'', ''Sky Stories'' and ''REDress Redress Project''. In 2014 she participated in the creation of ''Going Home Star'', a

Royal Winnipeg Ballet The Royal Winnipeg Ballet is Canada's oldest ballet company and the longest continuously operating ballet company in North America. History It was founded in 1939 as the "Winnipeg Ballet Club" by Gweneth Lloyd and Betty Farrally (who also fou ...

production on the theme of indigenous reconciliation.

Political career

Keeper was elected as a Member of Parliament in the

, representing the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

in Churchill. She benefited from a split 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 ...

, which had held the riding for all but one term since 1979. The incumbent, Bev Desjarlais, had resigned from the NDP and run as an independent after losing the NDP nomination to Niki Ashton. The combined vote totals for Ashton and Desjarlais exceeded that of Keeper. She served as the Official Opposition's Critic for Public Health and Canadian Heritage, and as a Special Advisor for Aboriginal Outreach in the 39th Parliament of Canada. Ashton sought a rematch in the

and defeated her. While Keeper has not sought office since, she continues to work as a political activist. She currently serves as chair of the board of trustees for the Helen Betty Osborne Memorial Foundation, as a member of the advisory committees of the Urban Shaman Gallery, Red Cross Manitoba and Canadians for a New Partnership, and an honorary witness for the

Truth and Reconciliation Commission A truth commission, also known as a truth and reconciliation commission or truth and justice commission, is an official body tasked with discovering and revealing past wrongdoing by a government (or, depending on the circumstances, non-state ac ...

Electoral record

, - bgcolor="white" , align="left" colspan=2, Liberal gain from

New Democrat New Democrats may refer to: * New Democratic Party, a social democratic party in Canada * New Democrats (United States), the ideological centrist faction of the Democratic Party ** New Democrat Coalition, the related caucus in the United States H ...

, align="right", Swing , align="right", +8.7 , align="right", , - bgcolor="white" , align="left" colspan=2,

gain from Liberal , align="right", Swing , align="right", + , align="right",

Awards

In addition to her Gemini Award nominations and win, she is the recipient of a National Aboriginal Achievement Award, three American Indian Film Festival awards for acting and producing, and a 2014

Canadian Civil Liberties Association The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA; ) is a nonprofit organization in Canada devoted to the defence of civil liberties and constitutional rights.Dominique ClementCase Study: Canadian Civil Liberties Association Page accessed Feb 13, 20 ...

award for Public Engagement. She was named

ACTRA The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) is a Canadian trade union representing performers in English-language media. It has over 30,000 members working in film, television, radio, and all other recorded media. Th ...

's Woman of the Year in 2017. In June 2017, Keeper received both an honorary doctor of letters from

Wilfrid Laurier University Wilfrid Laurier University (commonly referred to as WLU or simply Laurier) is a Public university, public university in Ontario, Canada, with campuses in Waterloo, Ontario, Waterloo, Brantford, Ontario, Brantford and Milton, Ontario, Milton. The ...

, and a Governor General's Meritorious Service Medal for the ballet ''Going Home Star''. She was named to the Order of Manitoba in 2002. In December 2019, the

Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television is a Canadian non-profit organization created in 1979 to recognize the achievements of the over 4,000 Canadian cinema of Canada, film industry and television in Canada, television industry professionals ...

announced Keeper as the recipient of its

Earle Grey Award The Earle Grey Award is the lifetime achievement award for television acting of the Canadian Screen Awards, and its predecessor the Gemini Awards. It can be presented to an individual or collaborative team (such as SCTV or Royal Canadian Air Fa ...

at the

8th Canadian Screen Awards The 8th Canadian Screen Awards were presented by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television from 25–28 May 2020 to honour achievements in Canadian film, television, and digital media production in 2019. The presentations were held as a seri ...

. In June 2024, Keeper was inducted as a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

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, ...

Mary Simon Mary Jeannie May Simon (born August 21, 1947) is a Canadian civil servant, diplomat, and former broadcaster who has been serving as the 30th governor general of Canada since July 26, 2021. She is Inuit, Inuk on her mother's side, making her th ...

. The order recognizes her work as an actress and producer, most known for her role in CBC's North of 60, as well as for being one of the first

members of Parliament.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Keeper, Tina 1962 births 20th-century Canadian actresses 21st-century Canadian actresses 20th-century First Nations people 21st-century First Nations people 21st-century members of the House of Commons of Canada 21st-century Canadian women politicians 20th-century First Nations women 21st-century indigenous leaders of the Americas 21st-century First Nations women Actresses from Winnipeg Canadian film actresses Canadian television actresses Cree actresses First Nations women in politics Best Actress in a Drama Series Canadian Screen Award winners Liberal Party of Canada MPs Living people Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Manitoba Members of the Order of Manitoba Members of the Order of Canada Politicians from Winnipeg Women members of the House of Commons of Canada People from Thompson, Manitoba Women in Manitoba politics Canadian actor-politicians Indigenous Members of the House of Commons of Canada Indspire Awards Film producers from Saskatchewan Canadian women film producers