Joanne Lynn Bernard (born October 4, 1963) is 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, who was elected to the

Nova Scotia House of Assembly The Nova Scotia House of Assembly (french: Assemblée législative de la Nouvelle-Écosse; gd, Taigh Seanaidh Alba Nuadh), or Legislative Assembly, is the deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Nova Scotia of the province of Nova Scotia ...

in the 2013 provincial election. As a member of the

Nova Scotia Liberal Party The Nova Scotia Liberal Party is a centrist provincial political party in Nova Scotia, Canada and the provincial section of the Liberal Party of Canada. The party currently forms the Official Opposition in Nova Scotia, under the leadership of Zach ...

, she represented the electoral district of Dartmouth North until her defeat in the 2017 election.

Early life and education

Bernard grew up in Halifax and graduated from

Mount Saint Vincent University Mount Saint Vincent University, often referred to as the Mount, is a public, primarily undergraduate, university located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and was established in 1873. Mount Saint Vincent offers undergraduate programs in Arts, S ...

in 1996 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. She then earned a Master's degree in political science from

Acadia University Acadia University is a public, predominantly undergraduate university located in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada, with some graduate programs at the master's level and one at the doctoral level. The enabling legislation consists of the Acadia ...

. She also received a Certificate of Leadership from Saint Mary's University.

Political career

On October 22, 2013 Bernard was appointed to the

Executive Council of Nova Scotia The Executive Council of Nova Scotia (informally and more commonly, the Cabinet of Nova Scotia) is the cabinet of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Almost always made up of members of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly, the Cabinet is sim ...

, where she served as Minister of Community Services as well as Minister responsible for the Disabled Persons Commission Act and Minister Responsible for the Status of Women

Personal life

Bernard is an out

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

, she was the first openly LGBT person elected to the provincial legislature in Nova Scotia.

Electoral record

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

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New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * t ...

, Steve Estey , align="right", 2,020 , align="right", 30.14 , align="right", , - , Progressive Conservative , Séan G. Brownlow , align="right", 1,729 , align="right", 25.08 , align="right",

References

Living people Nova Scotia Liberal Party MLAs People from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia Women MLAs in Nova Scotia Members of the Executive Council of Nova Scotia Lesbian politicians Canadian LGBT people in provincial and territorial legislatures 21st-century Canadian politicians 21st-century Canadian women politicians Women government ministers of Canada Mount Saint Vincent University alumni Acadia University alumni 1963 births {{NovaScotia-MLA-stub