Jennifer Howard is a Canadian politician and political staffer. She is currently chief of staff to

Jagmeet Singh Jagmeet Singh Jimmy Dhaliwal ( ; born January 2, 1979) is a Canadian politician who has served as the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) since 2017. Singh has sat as the member of Parliament (MP) for Burnaby South since 2019.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 ...

. She was previously a member of the

Legislative Assembly of Manitoba The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba (french: Assemblée législative du Manitoba) is the deliberative assembly of the Manitoba Legislature in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly at provincial gener ...

, first elected in the 2007 provincial election in the electoral district of Fort Rouge. Howard is a member of the

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 ...

. Howard was born and raised in Brandon, where she graduated from Brandon University; she was the federal

candidate in

Brandon—Souris Brandon—Souris is a federal electoral district in Manitoba, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1953. Demographics :''According to the Canada 2011 Census'' Ethnic groups: 83.4% White, 9.8% Aboriginal, ...

in the 1997 election, coming fourth; Progressive Conservative candidate

Rick Borotsik Rick Borotsik (born September 8, 1950) is a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served as Mayor of Brandon from 1989 to 1997, was a member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1997 to 2004, and was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Manito ...

won. She moved to Winnipeg in 1998. Prior to her election to the Legislative Assembly, Howard was employed as policy advisor to

Premier of Manitoba The premier of Manitoba (french: premier ministre du Manitoba) is the first minister (i.e., head of government or chief executive) for the Canadian province of Manitoba—as well as the ''de facto'' President of the province's Executive Council ...

Gary Doer Gary Albert Doer (born 31 March 1948) is a former Canadian politician and diplomat from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He served as Canada's ambassador to the United States from 19 October 2009, to 3 March 2016. Doer previously served as the 20th p ...

on health care issues and as executive director of the Women's Health Clinic. She has also served on the boards of the College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (Manitoba), the Rainbow Resource Centre and the University of Winnipeg's Board of Regents. She was named a Woman of Distinction in 1999 by the Brandon YWCA. She has also received a Community Builder Award from the Lambda Business and Professional Club of Winnipeg, an organization of gay and lesbian businesses and professionals. Howard was elected as MLA for Fort Rouge in 2007. She served as vice-chair of the Public Accounts Committee. In November 2009, she was appointed the Minister of Labour and Immigration, Minister responsible for Persons with Disabilities and the Status of Women, and Minister charged with the administration of The Workers Compensation Act. Howard resigned her cabinet position on November 3, 2014, along with

Theresa Oswald Theresa Oswald is a politician in Manitoba, Canada. She was a New Democratic Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 2003 to 2016 and a cabinet minister from 2004 until she stepped down in 2014 to unsuccessfully challenge P ...

Erin Selby Erin Selby is a politician and former TV personality in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Selby earned a bachelor's degree in communications studies from Concordia University. She previously co-hosted ''Breakfast Television'' on Citytv Winnipeg alo ...

, Stan Struthers, and

Andrew Swan Andrew James Swan (born August 9, 1968) is a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 2004 to 2019. He was first elected in a 2004 by-election, replacing MaryAnn Mihychuk, who resigned to run for ...

due to concerns about Premier

Greg Selinger Gregory Francis Selinger (born February 16, 1951) is a Canadian former politician who served as the 21st premier of Manitoba from 2009 until 2016, leading an NDP government. From 1999 to 2009 he was the Minister of Finance in the government of ...

's leadership. She remained an NDP MLA after her resignation from cabinet but did not seek re-election in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

Electoral record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Jennifer New Democratic Party of Manitoba MLAs Women MLAs in Manitoba Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Members of the Executive Council of Manitoba Brandon University alumni Finance ministers of Manitoba Politicians from Brandon, Manitoba Politicians from Winnipeg Lesbian politicians Canadian LGBT people in provincial and territorial legislatures Women government ministers of Canada 21st-century Canadian politicians 21st-century Canadian women politicians Female finance ministers