honourable the Sharon Carstairs , C.P., B.A., M.A. (born the April 26th 1942) is a Political personality and Canadian sénatrice .

Origins

Carstairs was born with Halifax (Nova Scotia) and makes its studies with the Université Dalhousie, with the Collège Smith, the Université Georgetown and the Université of Calgary. She moves in the Western Canadian and is liberal candidate demolished in Calgary-Elbow at the time of the provincial election albertaine of 1975. She is president of the Liberal party of Alberta of 1975 with 1977 (the first woman to occupy this function) and belonged to the national executive of the Liberal party of Canada during this same period.

Political career

Carstairs becomes chief of the Liberal party of Manitoba in 1984, one period or the party did not hold any seat with the legislature. It is demolished in 1984 at the time of a by-election in Fort Garry, but is elected in River Heights in the provincial election of 1986, demolishing the preserving deputy outgoing Warren Steen. For the two next years, it is the only liberal one with the legislative Parliament.

Carstairs leads the Liberal party to a dramatic rebirth at the time of the provincial election of 1988. The Nouveau Democratic party had lost an important part of its electoral base and the Libéraux of Carstairs manage to attract each other the votes of many voters of center-left. The party gains 20 of the 57 seats in their best performance since 1953, and Carstairs becomes chief of the Official opposition, the first woman to occupy this position in a Canadian legislature.

The election of 1988 resulted in the formation from a Minority government progressist-conservative under Gary Filmon and the reduction from the Nouveau Democratic party from Manitoba from the statute from party controlling with that from left third. Initially, it seemed that Carstairs on a solid occasion to lead the liberals to the victory according to the next election. However, the election of 1990 granted to the tories a majority Gouvernement, and a NPD reappearing under Gary Doer regained the statute of Official opposition. The liberals are reduced to only seven seats, and Carstairs is shown by several in the party to have wasted their best chance since years to form a government.

Carstairs remains with the head of the party, and in 1992 makes countryside for the " Non" at the time of the referendum on the Agreement of Charlottetown, with the financial assistance of the former chief of the Liberal party of Manitoba, Israel Asper. Its efforts are opposed by others in the Liberal party, and it frequently disputes with Lloyd Axworthy on the constitutional questions. Carstairs resigns of the post of head of the party in 1993, and the party continues its decline since its departure.

Always in 1993, Carstairs publishes an autobiography entitled Not One Of The Boys . The September 15th 1994, the Prime Minister Jean Chrétien names Carstairs with the Sénat of Canada. Carstairs had supported the candidature of Christian for the nomination of the party in 1990.

It occupies the station of Leader of the government to the Senate of January 2001 at December 2003, and is also useful as Ministre in charge of special responsibilities with regard to the palliative care during this period.

See too

• List of the Canadian senators

External bond

• Biographical note of the Senate of Canada