Anne McLellan | |
|---|---|
 McLellan in 2011 | |
| 9th Deputy Prime Minister of Canada | |
| In office December 12, 2003 – February 6, 2006 | |
| Prime Minister | Paul Martin |
| Preceded by | John Manley |
| Succeeded by | Chrystia Freeland (2019)[a] |
| Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness | |
| In office April 4, 2005 – February 6, 2006 | |
| Prime Minister | Paul Martin |
| Preceded by | Herself (asSolicitor General) |
| Succeeded by | Stockwell Day |
| Solicitor General of Canada | |
| In office December 12, 2003 – April 3, 2005 | |
| Prime Minister | Jean Chrétien Paul Martin |
| Preceded by | Wayne Easter |
| Succeeded by | Herself (asMinister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness) |
| Minister of Health | |
| In office January 15, 2002 – December 12, 2003 | |
| Prime Minister | Jean Chrétien |
| Preceded by | Allan Rock |
| Succeeded by | Pierre Pettigrew |
| Minister of Justice Attorney General of Canada | |
| In office June 11, 1997 – January 14, 2002 | |
| Prime Minister | Jean Chrétien |
| Preceded by | Allan Rock |
| Succeeded by | Martin Cauchon |
| Minister of Natural Resources | |
| In office November 4, 1993 – June 10, 1997 | |
| Prime Minister | Jean Chretien |
| Preceded by | Bobbie Sparrow |
| Succeeded by | Ralph Goodale |
| Member of Parliament forEdmonton Centre (Edmonton West; 1997–2004) (Edmonton Northwest; 1993–1997) | |
| In office October 25, 1993 – January 23, 2006 | |
| Preceded by | Murray Dorin |
| Succeeded by | Laurie Hawn |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1950-08-31)August 31, 1950 (age 74) Hants County, Nova Scotia, Canada |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Residence(s) | Edmonton,Alberta, Canada |
| Alma mater | Dalhousie University (BA,LLB) King's College London (LLM) |
| Profession | Lawyer, law professor, politician |
A. Anne McLellanPC OC AOE (born August 31, 1950)[1] is a Canadianpolitician andacademic who served as the ninthdeputy prime minister of Canada from 2003 to 2006. She was a cabinet minister in theLiberal governments ofJean Chrétien andPaul Martin, and represented Edmonton in theHouse of Commons of Canada. She also held the positions ofsolicitor general,minister of health, and Attorney General andminister of justice of Canada.
McLellan earned bachelor's degrees in Arts and Law fromHalifax'sDalhousie University. She then earned a Master of Laws fromKing's College London in theUnited Kingdom in 1975.[1]
She became a professor of law, first at theUniversity of New Brunswick and then, beginning in 1980, at theUniversity of Alberta Faculty of Law where she served at various times as associate dean anddean. She has also served on the board of directors of theCanadian Civil Liberties Association.[2]
Her first foray into politics was as theLiberal candidate for the riding ofEdmonton Northwest in the1993 general election, when she won her seat by 12 votes over the first runner-up candidate. She quickly became a rising star in the Liberal Party, being one of four Liberals elected inAlberta, and was named tocabinet asMinister of Natural Resources. McLellan has the prenominal "the Honourable" and the postnominal "PC" for life by virtue of being made a member of theQueen's Privy Council for Canada on November 4, 1993.[3]
Ahead of the1997 election, Edmonton Northwest was abolished in changes to the boundaries of the federal ridings. She was re-elected by narrow margins in the re-established riding ofEdmonton West in 1997 and2000, despite the Liberals' general unpopularity in Alberta.[4] Her narrow victory in 1993 earned her the nickname "Landslide Annie" in Canadian political circles.[5]
McLellan served as Attorney General andMinister of Justice from 1997 until 2002,[6] with responsibility for implementing new anti-terror and security laws following theSeptember 11 attacks in theUnited States, and the implementation of theCanadian gun registry. She served asMinister of Health from 2002 to 2003.[7]
Though she supportedPaul Martin for the Liberal leadership,Jean Chrétien retained her in his cabinet, in part because Chrétien wanted an Albertan in his cabinet for the sake of regional representation.[2]
On being sworn in asPrime Minister on December 12, 2003, Paul Martin named her hisdeputy prime minister. McLellan was also named minister for the newly createdDepartment of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness.[8] As Deputy Prime Minister, she was also chair of the Cabinet Operations Committee.[9] McLellan's appointment was one of a number of women given senior positions in the Paul Martin government.[10]
During the2004 federal election, she was re-elected by 721 votes, or just over 1% of the vote, defeatingLaurie Hawn of theConservative Party of Canada in the re-formed riding ofEdmonton Centre, where she ran after her Edmonton West constituency was abolished.
In the2006 federal election, the Conservatives won government and Hawn defeated McLellan by 45.01% to 38.36%.
McLellan is one of the few Canadian parliamentarians to have spent her entire career as a cabinet member.[citation needed] This is due to the fact that McLellan was elected to parliament as a Liberal from Alberta, a historically weak province for the party. Serving as the only Liberal MP from the province, her inclusion as a cabinet member, and later elevation as Deputy Prime Minister, was tantamount to ensuring regional representation.[11]
On May 12, 2006, McLellan was appointed Distinguished Scholar in Residence to theUniversity of Alberta at the Canadian university's Institute for United States Policy Studies. On June 27, 2006, she also became counsel to the Edmonton-based law firmBennett Jones LLP. She also became a director on the boards ofNexen Inc.,Agrium Inc. andCameco Corporation.[12]McClellan is currently Chair of the Board of Directors of Pearson College UWC in Victoria, B.C. Pearson is one of 18 global United World Colleges in the world.
On July 1, 2009, McLellan was appointed an officer of theOrder of Canada for her service as a politician and law professor, and for her contributions as a community volunteer. On May 9, 2013, she was appointed to theAlberta Order of Excellence for her achievements in politics, law and advanced education.[13]
In 2015, she was appointedChancellor ofDalhousie University.[14][15]
In 2016, McLellan was controversially appointed as the chair of the Task Force on Marijuana Legalization and Regulation, created to provide recommendations on the design of a new system to legalize, strictly regulate and restrict recreational use of marijuana, despite her position withinBennett Jones.[16][17] The process included an opportunity for the public to provide their own input. On December 13, 2016, the panel's report was released to the news media; its recommendations were not binding on the legislators.[18]
On November 28, 2017,Pearson College UWC named her the chair of its board of directors.[19]
On March 18, 2019, in the context of theSNC-Lavalin affair Prime MinisterJustin Trudeau, announced that McLellan would serve as a special advisor on whether a single minister should continue to hold the positions ofMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada. She was also asked to analyze the operating policies and practices across the Cabinet, and the role of public servants and political staff in their interactions with the minister of justice and attorney general of Canada. She was asked to provide independent recommendations (sic) to the Prime Minister by June 30, 2019.[20]
On October 29, 2019, following the2019 Canadian federal election, in which theLiberal Party did not win any seats in Alberta andSaskatchewan, thePrime Minister's Office announced that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had hired McLellan as an adviser. The Office said McLellan would assist the prime minister as he formed a government against the backdrop of a growing sentiment ofwestern alienation.[21][22]
On July 23, 2020 it was announced byNova Scotia justice ministerMark Furey and federal minister of public safety and emergency preparednessBill Blair that McLellan would serve on a 3-person Independent Review Panel concerning theRCMP response tothe mass shooting that occurred in Nova Scotia on April 18/19, 2020.[23] Families of the 22 victims killed during the shooting reacted to the announcement with disappointment, as they had been calling for a full public inquiry.[24][25]
In the2025 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election, she endorsedMark Carney.[26]
recreational marijuana should not be sold in the same location as alcohol or tobacco
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)| 27th Ministry – Cabinet ofPaul Martin | ||
| Cabinet posts (3) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Predecessor | Office | Successor |
| legislation enacted | Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness 2005–2006 | Stockwell Day |
| Wayne Easter | Solicitor General of Canada 2003–2005 styled as Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness | position abolished / legislation enacted |
| John Manley | Deputy Prime Minister of Canada 2003–2006 | Chrystia Freeland |
| 26th Ministry – Cabinet ofJean Chrétien | ||
| Cabinet posts (5) | ||
| Predecessor | Office | Successor |
| Allan Rock | Minister of Health 2002–2003 | Pierre Pettigrew |
| Allan Rock | Minister of Justice 1997–2002 | Martin Cauchon |
| legislation enacted | Minister of Natural Resources 1995–1997 | Ralph Goodale |
| Bobbie Sparrow | Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources 1993–1995 styled as Minister of Natural Resources | legislation enacted |
| Bobbie Sparrow | Minister of Forestry 1993–1995 styled as Minister of Natural Resources | legislation enacted |
| Special Cabinet Responsibilities | ||
| Predecessor | Title | Successor |
| Jim Edwards | Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians 1993–1997 | Ralph Goodale |
| Parliament of Canada | ||
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forEdmonton Northwest 1993–1997 | District abolished |
| Member of Parliament forEdmonton West 1997–2004 | ||
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forEdmonton Centre 2004–2006 | Succeeded by |
| Academic offices | ||
| Preceded by | Chancellor ofDalhousie University 2015 – present | Incumbent |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
