Pamela T. Barrett (November 26, 1953 – January 21, 2008) was a Canadian politician who sat 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 singl ...

as 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 ...

Early political career

Barrett started working for the

Alberta New Democratic Party The Alberta New Democratic Party (french: Nouveau Parti démocratique de l'Alberta), commonly shortened to Alberta's NDP, is a social-democratic political party in Alberta, Canada. It is the provincial Alberta affiliate of the federal New Democr ...

as a researcher in the legislature office of

Grant Notley Walter Grant Notley (January 19, 1939 – October 19, 1984) was a Canadian politician. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1971 to 1984 and also served as leader of the Alberta New Democratic Party, Alberta NDP from ...

. She also worked for the Alberta Federation of Labour. Barrett ran in the

1986 Alberta general election The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

and was elected in the riding of Edmonton-Highlands. She defeated incumbent David Thomas King, the Minister of Technology, Research, and Telecommunications, in what many regarded as a substantial upset. She, Marie Laing and a few others were identified in local newspapers as "giant-slayers" for un-seating Conservative cabinet minister/MLAs. She was named to a prominent position in the NDP Official Opposition, which for the first time in that party's history was 16 MLAs strong. She served as the New Democrats' Deputy House Leader from 1986 to 1993, backing up caucus leader Ray Martin. She retired from the legislature in 1993 owing to poor health resulting from job stress.

Leader of Alberta New Democrats

Barrett came back to politics when she contested and won the Alberta NDP leadership in 1996 following the resignation of

Ross Harvey Ross Harvey (born 25 April 1952) is a Canadian politician who was a member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 to 1993. He sat as an NDP MP from 1988 to 1993, representing Edmonton-East. Biography Harvey's background is in informati ...

. In the

1997 Alberta general election The 1997 Alberta general election was held on March 11, 1997, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. Ralph Klein's Conservatives were re-elected, with increased number of seats in the Legislature. Liberal Official Opposition los ...

she ran and won in the re-drawn district of Edmonton-Highlands. Under Barrett in the 1997 election, the New Democrats won two seats after having been shut out in the 1993 election. Her aggressive leadership style inspired observers to nickname her "Mighty Mouse."

Near death experience

Barrett resigned the NDP leadership and her seat in 2000 after having what she claimed to be a

near-death experience A near-death experience (NDE) is a profound personal experience associated with death or impending death which researchers claim share similar characteristics. When positive, such experiences may encompass a variety of sensations including detac ...

in a

dentist A dentist, also known as a dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry (the diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the mouth, oral cavity and other aspects of the craniofaci ...

's chair. After her retirement from politics she went on a "spiritual search". Her near death-experience was a subject of both serious and satiric attention in the Canadian media. She was parodied on the

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...

show ''

The Royal Canadian Air Farce The Royal Canadian Air Farce was a comedy troupe that was active from 1973 to 2019. It is best known for their various Canadian Broadcasting Corporation series, first on CBC Radio and later on CBC Television. Although their weekly radio series ...

'' and featured on the front cover of the May 2000 issue of lifestyle magazine '' Elm Street''.

Death

Barrett died on January 21, 2008, aged 54, at the Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton, from

oesophageal cancer Esophageal cancer is cancer arising from the esophagus—the food pipe that runs between the throat and the stomach. Symptoms often include difficulty in swallowing and weight loss. Other symptoms may include pain when swallowing, a hoarse voice ...

, after battling the disease for at least two years.

References

External links

FFWD Weekly September 3, 1998
*

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20121103212749/http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/cityplus/story.html?id=a4a17c3f-e5fc-46cb-b843-23683126bc1f&k=97674 Obituarybr>ObituaryObituaryObituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barrett, Pam 1953 births 2008 deaths Alberta CCF/NDP leaders Alberta New Democratic Party MLAs Women MLAs in Alberta Politicians from Brandon, Manitoba Politicians from Edmonton Deaths from esophageal cancer Female Canadian political party leaders Deaths from cancer in Alberta Place of birth missing 20th-century Canadian women politicians