Deborah Coyne | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | February 24, 1955 (1955-02-24) (age 70) |
| Alma mater | Queen's University Osgoode Hall Law School University of Oxford |
| Occupation(s) | Lawyer, professor, author |
| Political party | Green (2015) Liberal (before 2015) |
| Spouse | Michael Valpy (divorced) |
| Partner | Pierre Trudeau |
| Children | 2 |
| Website | deborahcoyne.ca |
Deborah Margaret Ryland Coyne (born February 24, 1955) is a Canadianconstitutional lawyer, professor, and author. She is the cousin of journalistAndrew Coyne and actressSusan Coyne, and the niece of formerBank of Canada governorJames Elliott Coyne.
Coyne grew up inOttawa.[1] She graduated fromQueen's University with a degree in economics and history in 1976.[1] She received aBachelor of Laws degree fromOsgoode Hall Law School ofYork University in 1979 and aMaster of Philosophy fromUniversity of Oxford in international relations in 1982.
She was an employee in thePrime Minister's Office ofJohn Turner, before spending two years teaching constitutional law at theUniversity of Toronto Law School; she has also worked for the Business Council on National Issues, the Ontario Health Service Appeal and Review Board, and the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada.
For years, Coyne dated former Prime MinisterPierre Trudeau.[2] Their child, Sarah Elisabeth Coyne, is Trudeau's only daughter, and attended theWharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.[3] Her second child, Matthew Coyne, is the son of Canadian journalistMichael Valpy. Valpy and Coyne have since divorced.
Deborah Coyne now lives inToronto.[4]
Deborah Coyne took a role in opposing theMeech Lake Accord,[5] a comprehensive package of constitutional amendments designed to gain the province ofQuebec's formal acceptance of theConstitution Act, 1982. Coyne was among many prominent Liberals who disagreed with the Accord, includingPierre Elliott Trudeau,Donald Johnston andJean Chrétien, although the issue split the federal Liberal caucus. She was a founding member of the Canadian Coalition on the Constitution, a grass-roots group that opposed the agreement. From 1989 to 1991, Coyne served as constitutional advisor toNewfoundland PremierClyde Wells. Among the premiers, Wells was the staunchest opponent of theMeech Lake Constitutional Accord. Following the death of the Accord, partly at the hands of theNewfoundland House of Assembly, she opposed theCharlottetown Accord, a subsequent attempt to amend theCanadian constitution. The Charlottetown agreement was submitted to anational referendum in 1992 and was ultimately rejected by a majority of Canadian voters. Coyne led one of the "No" committees in the campaign and spoke widely against the deal.
Until the2006 federal election was called, she was a member of theImmigration and Refugee Board of Canada.[6] In that election, she ran in theelectoral district ofToronto—Danforth as aLiberal Party candidate againstNew Democratic Party leaderJack Layton. Coyne finished second to Layton with 17,256 votes, or 34.2%.
Coyne was nominated in March 2007[7] as the Liberal Party of Canada candidate in Toronto Danforth but withdrew later in the year.[8] In 2008, she sought the federal Liberal nomination in the riding ofDon Valley West but withdrew in favour ofRob Oliphant.[9]
On June 27, 2012, Coyne announced that she would be a candidate for leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, during the Party's2013 leadership contest,[10] which was won ultimately byJustin Trudeau, the eldest son of her former partner Pierre Trudeau. Coyne placed fifth out of six candidates. Her campaign was managed by blogger Jeff Jedras.[11]
Following the leadership campaign, Coyne made an unsuccessful bid for the Liberal Party of Canada's nomination inOttawa West—Nepean in 2014.[12][13]
On February 26, 2015,Green Party of Canada LeaderElizabeth May announced that Coyne had been appointed as a senior policy advisor, noting "Deborah's thoughtful approach to One Canada for all Canadians complements the vision of the Green Party of Canada."[14] Coyne was theGreen Party of Canada candidate in theOttawa riding ofCarleton for the2015 federal election, where she finished fourth with just over 3% of the vote.[15]
Since the 2015 federal election, Coyne has stepped away from partisan politics and no longer holds a membership in any political party.[citation needed]
| 2015 Canadian federal election:Carleton | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Pierre Poilievre | 27,762 | 46.86 | −14.81 | $166,805.35 | |||
| Liberal | Chris Rodgers | 25,913 | 43.74 | +22.88 | $101,336.54 | |||
| New Democratic | KC Larocque | 3,632 | 6.13 | −7.22 | $17,692.44 | |||
| Green | Deborah Coyne | 1,932 | 3.26 | −0.86 | $15,632.31 | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 59,239 | 100.00 | $206,141.87 | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 196 | 0.33 | – | |||||
| Turnout | 59,435 | 80.95 | – | |||||
| Eligible voters | 73,418 | |||||||
| Conservativenotional hold | Swing | −18.84 | ||||||
| 2006 Canadian federal election:Toronto—Danforth | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| New Democratic | Jack Layton | 24,412 | 48.42 | +2.08 | $ 74,966.33 | |||
| Liberal | Deborah Coyne | 17,256 | 34.23 | -7.11 | 74,304.11 | |||
| Conservative | Kren Clausen | 4,992 | 9.90 | +3.69 | 32,138.91 | |||
| Green | Al Hart | 3,583 | 7.11 | +1.73 | 6,770.73 | |||
| Marxist–Leninist | Marcell Rodden | 172 | 0.34 | +0.16 | – | |||
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | 50,415 | 100.00 | – | $ 76,419.79 | ||||
| Total rejected ballots | 242 | 0.48 | -0.08 | |||||
| Turnout | 50,657 | 67.67 | +3.57 | |||||
| New Democratichold | Swing | +4.6 | ||||||
Source(s) "Official Voting Results – Thirty-ninth General Election". (Table 12). RetrievedOctober 29, 2014. "Financial Reports: Candidate's Electoral Campaign Return".Elections Canada. RetrievedOctober 29, 2014. | ||||||||
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