Christine Susan Stewart, (January 3, 1941 – April 25, 2015) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) 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 ...

politician. She served three terms as a

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. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

Member of Parliament for the riding of

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

in Ontario. During her career she held the cabinet positions of Secretary of State for Latin America and Africa, and Minister of the Environment.

Early life and education

Stewart earned a degree in

nursing Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ...

(BScN) from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

Career

Stewart practised nursing for a short time before becoming involved in international development work first as a volunteer with her husband in

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

in 1971-72. She co-founded a non-government organization, Horizons of Friendship, of which she was co-executive director until 1988. She raised her family of three children, served as a school board trustee and on several community church, social and arts bodies in

Cobourg, Ontario Cobourg ( ) is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in Southern Ontario east of Toronto and east of Oshawa. It is the largest town in and seat of Northumberland County. Its nearest neighbour is Port Hope, to the west. It i ...

. She was first elected to the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

as an Opposition member by a margin of 27 votes in

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

, following Conservative

George Hees George Harris Hees (June 17, 1910 – June 11, 1996) was a Canadian politician and businessman. Background Born in Toronto, Hees earned a playboy image during his youth (nicknamed Gorgeous George), but then became a stalwart member of the Prog ...

. During that term she was assigned the job of development assistance critic. Stewart was elected twice more in

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

and

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

with substantive majorities and served in the cabinet of prime minister

Jean Chrétien Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003. Born and raised in Shawinigan Falls, Quebec, Chrétien is a law graduate from Uni ...

first as Secretary of State (Latin America and Africa) from 1993 to 1997, and then as

Minister of the Environment An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of the environment) is a Cabinet (government), cabinet position charged with protecting the natural environment and promoting wildlife conservation. The areas associated ...

from 1997 to 1999. She announced her resignation from politics for personal reasons before the election of 2000. As Secretary of State, Latin America and Africa, she made official visits to most countries on those continents. For many of these countries, including some who had been receiving Canadian development assistance for years, it was the first visit by a

minister. As Minister of the Environment, Stewart headed the Canadian delegation to the Kyoto climate change negotiations and signed the

Kyoto Accord The Kyoto Protocol was an international treaty which extended the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the scientific consensus that (part ...

on behalf of Canada. She pushed for action on the Kyoto Accord, improvements in the ''

Canadian Environmental Protection Act The ''Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999'' (''CEPA, 1999''; french: Loi canadienne sur la protection de l'environnement (1999)) is an act of the 36th Parliament of Canada, whose goal is to contribute to sustainable development through p ...

'', the ''

Species at Risk Act The ''Species at Risk Act'' (SARA) (the ''Act'') is a piece of Canadian federal legislation which became law in Canada on December 12, 2002. It is designed to meet one of Canada's key commitments under the International Convention on Biological D ...

'', and the ''

Canadian Environmental Assessment Act The ''Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012'' (CEAA 2012) (the ''Act'') and its regulations established the legislative basis for the federal practice of environmental assessment in most regions of Canada from 2012 to 2019. It was repealed w ...

''. However, she also fueled the fires of

climate change deniers Climate change denial, or global warming denial, is denial, dismissal, or doubt that contradicts the scientific consensus on climate change, including the extent to which it is caused by humans, its effects on nature and human society, or th ...

when, in 1998 she told editors and reporters of the

Calgary Herald The ''Calgary Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Publication began in 1883 as ''The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate, and General Advertiser''. It is owned by the Postmedia Network. History ''The ...

, "No matter if the science of global warming is all phony…climate change rovidesthe greatest opportunity to bring about justice and equality in the world." After leaving Canadian politics, Stewart acted as special envoy to

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

for the Commonwealth Secretary General until 2006 and continued her interest in addressing social issues in her community and work on good governance internationally. She died on April 25, 2015."Former MP for Northumberland Christine Stewart dies"
Apr 26, 2015, by Karen Longwell ''Northumberland News''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Christine 1941 births 2015 deaths Women government ministers of Canada Women members of the House of Commons of Canada Liberal Party of Canada MPs 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 Hamilton, Ontario University of Toronto alumni Women in Ontario politics 21st-century Canadian women politicians 20th-century Canadian women politicians