Nancy Evelyn Guptill (April 28, 1941August 24, 2020) was a Canadian politician from

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has seve ...

(PEI). She served in its Legislative Assembly from 1987 to 2000. A member of the provincial Liberal Party, she represented the electoral districts of

5th Prince 5th Prince was an electoral district in the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, which elected two members to the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island The Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island (french: Assemblée législati ...

from 1987 to 1996 and

St. Eleanors-Summerside Summerside-St. Eleanors was a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island, Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

from 1996 to 2000. She was noted for being part of PEI's Famous Five when she was elected

speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

in 1993.

Early life

Guptill was born in

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

, on April 28, 1941. She was the daughter of Lloyd and Evelyn Garrison. Guptill was educated at the Halifax Vocational School and the Victoria General Hospital. She married L.R. Gregg Guptill in 1964. Together, they had three daughters. The family eventually relocated to Summerside on

in 1975.

Career

Guptill started her career in politics as a member of the

town council A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities. Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. Republic of Ireland Town Councils in the Republic of Ireland were the second ti ...

for

Summerside, Prince Edward Island Summerside is a Canadian city in Prince County, Prince Edward Island. It is the second largest city in the province and the primary service centre for the western part of the island. History Summerside was officially incorporated as a town on ...

for two terms. She later revealed that she had never intended to enter politics. She decided to run only after being advised that she had no chance of being elected, since she was not from PEI and a woman. She went on to be elected as

Member of the Legislative Assembly A member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to a legislative assembly. Most often, the term refers to a subnational assembly such as that of a state, province, or territory of a country. S ...

(MLA) in 1987. She was appointed to the

provincial cabinet Provincial may refer to: Government & Administration * Provincial capitals, an administrative sub-national capital of a country * Provincial city (disambiguation) * Provincial minister (disambiguation) * Provincial Secretary, a position in Can ...

two years later, serving as Minister of Tourism and Parks from 1989 to 1991 and as Minister of Labour and Minister responsible for the Status of Women from 1991 to 1993. Throughout her tenure as MLB, Guptill was noted for her resolve to create jobs for her constituents in Summerside. Guptill was subsequently elected Speaker of the Legislative Assembly on April 15, 1993, and served in that office until 1996. She became part of the province's Famous Five, together with

Marion Reid Marion Loretta Reid, (born January 4, 1929) is a former Canadian politician, the first female Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island, and the 24th as well as first female, Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island. Bor ...

(

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

Catherine Callbeck Catherine Sophia Callbeck (born July 25, 1939) is a Canadian retired politician and the current and ninth Chancellor of the University of Prince Edward Island. She was the 28th premier of Prince Edward Island from 1993 to 1996, the third fema ...

(

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

), Pat Mella (

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

), and

Libbe Hubley Elizabeth M. "Libbe" Hubley (born September 8, 1942) is a Canadian politician who sat in the Senate of Canada representing Prince Edward Island from 2001 until her retirement in 2017. In 1989 she was elected to Prince Edward Island's legislati ...

(Deputy Speaker). It marked the first time that all five legislative positions in a Canadian province were held by women. Premier Callbeck remembered Guptill for her sense of fairness as speaker. She worked in that capacity with local police and the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...

to improve the security of Province House, after a pipe bomb exploded in the legislature on April 20, 1995. Throughout her tenure in the legislature, Guptill found the work-home-life balance to be testing. Her husband's support, coupled with the fact that their daughters were at an older age, made the situation less difficult. Consequently, she advocated for shorter working hours to give female MLAs the opportunity to raise a family at the same time.

Later years

Guptill retired as an MLA before the provincial election in 2000. She was later named chair of the provincial Workers Compensation Board in 2008. Guptill died on August 24, 2020, in Summerside. She was 79, with her daughter noting that she suffered a "diminishing quality of life" in the years leading up to her death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guptill, Nancy 1941 births 2020 deaths Members of the Executive Council of Prince Edward Island Politicians from Halifax, Nova Scotia Politicians from Summerside, Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island Liberal Party MLAs Prince Edward Island municipal councillors Speakers of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island Women government ministers of Canada Women legislative speakers Women MLAs in Prince Edward Island Women municipal councillors in Canada 20th-century Canadian politicians 20th-century Canadian women politicians