Constance Elaine "Connie" Osterman (born June 23, 1936) is a former politician from
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
, Canada. She served in the
Legislative Assembly of Alberta
The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is the deliberative assembly of the province of Alberta, Canada. It sits in the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton. The Legislative Assembly currently has 87 members, elected first past the post from sin ...
from 1979 to 1992 as a member of the Progressive Conservative caucus in government. She served as a cabinet minister in the governments of Premier
Peter Lougheed
Edgar Peter Lougheed ( ; July 26, 1928 – September 13, 2012) was a Canadian lawyer and Progressive Conservative politician who served as the tenth premier of Alberta from 1971 to 1985, presiding over a period of reform and economic growth.
Bo ...
and
Don Getty
Donald Ross Getty (August 30, 1933 – February 26, 2016) was a Canadian politician who served as the 11th premier of Alberta between 1985 and 1992. A member of the Progressive Conservatives, he served as Energy Minister and Federal and Intergo ...
from 1982 to 1989.
Political career
Osterman first ran for a seat to the
Legislative Assembly of Alberta
The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is the deliberative assembly of the province of Alberta, Canada. It sits in the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton. The Legislative Assembly currently has 87 members, elected first past the post from sin ...
in the
1979 general election, as the
Progressive Conservative candidate in the electoral district of
Three Hills
Three Hills is a town in southern Alberta, Canada. It takes its name from the three somewhat-larger-than-normal hills to its north.
History
Three Hills post office dates from 1904. Three Hills was incorporated as a village in 1912, the year ...
; she defeated three other candidates by a large margin.
In the
1982 Alberta general election
The 1982 Alberta general election was held on November 2, 1982, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.
Less than four years had passed since the Progressive Conservatives won their landslide victory in 1979. Premier Peter Lou ...
Osterman won nearly quadruple the votes of her two opponents to hold her seat.
She was then appointed Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs by Premier
Peter Lougheed
Edgar Peter Lougheed ( ; July 26, 1928 – September 13, 2012) was a Canadian lawyer and Progressive Conservative politician who served as the tenth premier of Alberta from 1971 to 1985, presiding over a period of reform and economic growth.
Bo ...
.
Osterman was only the fifth woman in Alberta political history to be appointed to the provincial cabinet.
When
Don Getty
Donald Ross Getty (August 30, 1933 – February 26, 2016) was a Canadian politician who served as the 11th premier of Alberta between 1985 and 1992. A member of the Progressive Conservatives, he served as Energy Minister and Federal and Intergo ...
became Premier in 1985, he appointed Osterman Minister of Social Services and Community Health. In the
1986 general election Osterman won a straight fight against NDP candidate Vernal Poole with a huge majority.
After the election Getty changed Osterman's portfolio to the Ministry of Social Services. In the
1989 general election she defeated three other candidates to keep her seat.
Osterman was removed from cabinet by Premier Getty one week after a judicial inquiry into the
Principal Group
The Principal Group was a group of interrelated Canadian financial companies that collapsed in 1987, resulting in losses to an estimated 67,000 people. Losses were in recovered in part through provincial governments paying compensation, based on ...
scandal was completed in July 1989.
As Minister Osterman rejected recommendations from an Assistant Deputy Minister Darwish regarding the insolvent state of Principal Group subsidiaries. Darwish later testified that he interpreted a phone call from Osterman as a threat to his career when he insisted on a meeting to discuss the issue, and Darwish retired six months later. Eventually on June 30, 1987, Treasurer
Dick Johnston cancelled the operating licenses of the subsidiaries which resulted in Principal Group declaring bankruptcy six weeks later. The inquiry headed by William Code found Osterman "neglectful and misguided" when she failed to act on the warnings of Darwish.
Osterman resigned her seat in the legislature on May 5, 1992.
Late life
Osterman has served on the board of directors for the ''Head Injured Relearning Society'' in
Calgary.
References
External links
Legislative Assembly of Alberta Members Listing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Osterman, Connie
1936 births
Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta MLAs
Women MLAs in Alberta
Living people
Members of the Executive Council of Alberta
Women government ministers of Canada