Linda Asper (born 1 December 1943) is a politician in

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

, Canada. She joined the Liberal Party and then later returned to the New Democratic Party during the 1990s. She was a member of the

Manitoba legislature The Legislature of Manitoba is the legislature of the province of Manitoba, Canada. Today, the legislature is made of two elements: the King of Canada in Right of Manitoba, represented by the Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba, and the unicameral ...

from 1999 to 2003. Asper holds a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

in Education, and had an extensive career as an educator before entering political life. She was a

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

school trustee for the

Seine River ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributaries ...

division, and served as President of the Manitoba Teachers' Society and Vice-President of the

Canadian Teachers' Federation The Canadian Teachers' Federation (CTF/FCE) is a bilingual not-for-profit organization and a national alliance of provincial and territorial teacher organizations representing more than 277,000 members throughout Canada. The CTF/FCE is affiliated ...

for a period of time. Asper was also a member of the Faculty Council of the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.St. Boniface College ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...

. In addition to her career in education, she was a member of the Manitoba Action Committee on the Status of Women. In the 1990 provincial election, Asper ran as a Liberal in the south

riding of Niakwa. She was defeated by Progressive Conservative candidate

Jack Reimer Jack F. Reimer is a Progressive Conservative politician in Manitoba, Canada. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba (MLA) from 1990 to 2007, and served in the government of Gary Filmon. The son of Jacob Frank Reimer, a Russian ...

by 4950 votes to 4301. By 1999, Asper had crossed over to the New Democratic Party. In that year's provincial election, she was elected as a New Democratic for the Winnipeg riding of

Riel Riel may refer to: Places * Riel, Netherlands, a town in the Netherlands *Riel (electoral district), a provincial electoral district in Manitoba, Canada, named after Louis Riel * Riel, Winnipeg, a community committee comprising three city wards Pe ...

, defeating Progressive Conservative incumbent David Newman 4833 votes to 4559. In April 2003, Asper announced that she was leaving politics to take a position with

Education International Education International (EI) is a global union federation (GUF) of teachers' trade unions consisting of 401 member organizations in 172 countries and territories that represents over 30 million education personnel from pre-school through universi ...

an advocacy group based in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. She now promotes the rights of both children and educators on an international level, and has been a vocal opponent of

child labour Child labour refers to the exploitation of children through any form of work that deprives children of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and is mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful. Such e ...

practices. Linda Asper was the sister-in-law of the late

Israel Asper Israel Harold "Izzy" Asper (August 11, 1932– October 7, 2003) was a Canadian tax lawyer and media magnate. He was the founder and owner of the now-defunct TV and media company CanWest Global Communications Corp and father to its former CEO ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Asper, Linda New Democratic Party of Manitoba MLAs Politicians from Winnipeg Women MLAs in Manitoba Living people 21st-century Canadian politicians 21st-century Canadian women politicians 1943 births