Pearl Calahasen (born December 5, 1952) 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 represented the electoral district of

Lesser Slave Lake Lesser Slave Lake (french: Petit lac des Esclaves)—known traditionally as "Beaver Lake" (ᐊᒥᐢᐠ ᓵᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ amisk sâkâhikan in the Plains Cree language, and T’saat’ine migeh in Dene Zhatıé) or "Beaver people were over the ...

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 sin ...

from 1989 to 2015. A member of the Progressive Conservative party and former cabinet minister (holding the positions of Minister without Portfolio in charge of Children's Services, Associate Minister of Aboriginal Affairs, and

Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

). Calahasen was the first Métis woman elected to public office in

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, and, after the 2012 Alberta election, she was Alberta's longest currently-serving MLA.

Early life

Calahasen was born in 1952 and raised in

Grouard Grouard, also known as Grouard Mission, is a hamlet in northern Alberta within Big Lakes County. It was previously an incorporated municipality between 1909 and 1944. Grouard is located north of Highway 2, approximately northeast of Grande ...

. She attended the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a Public university, public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexande ...

, from which she received a

Bachelor of Education A Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) is an undergraduate professional degree which prepares students for work as a teacher in schools. In some countries such as Tanzania and Kenya, additional tasks like field work and research are required in order fo ...

, and the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

, from which she received a master's degree.

Political career

Electoral record

Calahasen first sought election in the 1989 Alberta election, when she ran as the Progressive Conservative candidates in the riding of

. She won a plurality of votes, capturing 47.6% and defeating her nearest rival,

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 ...

Denise Wahlstrom, by nearly one thousand votes. This was the closest election of her political career to date; in subsequent elections, she won shares of the votes ranging from 55.5% (in the 1993 election) to 74.2% (in the 2001 election). At the time of her election in 1989, Calahasen was the first Métis woman elected to public office in Alberta.

Cabinet roles

Calahasen served as a backbencher in

Ralph Klein Ralph Philip Klein (November 1, 1942 – March 29, 2013) was a Canadian politician and journalist who served as the 12th premier of Alberta and leader of the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta from 1992 until his retirement in 20 ...

's government until 1996, when Klein appointed her Minister without Portfolio responsible for Children's Services. She served in this capacity until 1999, when she was shuffled to the position of Associate Minister of Aboriginal Affairs. In 2001 she was promoted to full minister, of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development. Calahasen initially supported

Lyle Oberg Lyle Knute Oberg (born January 6, 1960) is an Albertan politician and former member of the Legislative Assembly. He is also a physician and business executive. Life and career Oberg was born near Forestburg, Alberta in 1960. A physician by pro ...

in the 2006 P.C. leadership election, but switched her endorsement to

Ed Stelmach Edward Michael Stelmach (; born May 11, 1951) is a Canadian politician and served as the 13th premier of Alberta, from 2006 to 2011. The grandson of Ukrainian immigrants, Stelmach was born and raised on a farm near Lamont and fluently speaks ...

after Oberg dropped off the ballot; despite this support, she was not included in Stelmach's cabinet once he became premier in 2006.

Legislative initiatives

Calahasen has sponsored a number of bills over her career in the legislature.

As a backbencher

Despite not being a member of cabinet, in 1990, Calahasen sponsored the ''Metis Settlements Act'', a government bill which incorporated Métis settlements as a new class of municipality. It passed with the support of the opposition, although

New Democrat New Democrats, also known as centrist Democrats, Clinton Democrats, or moderate Democrats, are a centrist ideological faction within the Democratic Party in the United States. As the Third Way faction of the party, they are seen as cultural ...

Bob Hawkesworth expressed concern that the settlements were not given sufficient autonomy from government. The same year, she sponsored the ''Nechi Community College Act'', a

private bill Proposed bills are often categorized into public bills and private bills. A public bill is a proposed law which would apply to everyone within its jurisdiction. This is unlike a private bill which is a proposal for a law affecting only a single ...

that would have established the Nechi Community College but did not reach

second reading A reading of a bill is a stage of debate on the bill held by a general body of a legislature. In the Westminster system, developed in the United Kingdom, there are generally three readings of a bill as it passes through the stages of becoming ...

. In 1995, Calahasen sponsored the ''Colin Chor Wee Chew Legal Articles Act'', another private bill which didn't progress to second reading. She also sponsored the ''Public Health Amendment Act'', designed to allow

nurse practitioners A nurse practitioner (NP) is an advanced practice registered nurse and a type of mid-level practitioner. NPs are trained to assess patient needs, order and interpret diagnostic and laboratory tests, diagnose disease, formulate and prescribe ...

to fulfill some of the functions of doctors in communities in which doctors were in short supply. The bill passed with the support of the opposition Liberals, but some members, including Terry Kirkland, Colleen Soetaert,

Percy Wickman Percy Dwight Wickman (June 10, 1941 – July 3, 2004) was a Canadian politician and well-known activist for people with disabilities. He was born in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Wickman served as an alderman on Edmonton City Council from 1977 to 198 ...

Gary Dickson Robert Gary Dickson is a lawyer and former member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta and the first Saskatchewan Information and Privacy Commissioner. Dickson was initially elected as a member of the Alberta Liberal Party in a 1992 by-elect ...

, Lance White, and Howard Sapers, argued that the bill left out too many details and left the details in the realm of legislation, inappropriately empowering bureaucrats at the expense of the legislature.

As a minister

As Associate Minister of Aboriginal Affairs, Calahasen sponsored the ''First Nations Sacred Ceremonial Objects Repatriation Act'', a 2000 government bill that allowed for the

repatriation Repatriation is the process of returning a thing or a person to its country of origin or citizenship. The term may refer to non-human entities, such as converting a foreign currency into the currency of one's own country, as well as to the pro ...

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

artifacts. It passed with full opposition support.

Election results

1989 general election

1993 general election

1997 general election

2001 general election

2004 general election

2008 general election

2012 general election

2015 general election

References

External links

Legislative Assembly of Alberta biography of Pearl Calahasen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Calahasen, Pearl Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta MLAs Women MLAs in Alberta Living people University of Alberta alumni Academic staff of the University of Alberta University of Oregon alumni People from Big Lakes County Métis politicians Canadian educators Canadian women educators Canadian Métis people Women government ministers of Canada 1952 births Members of the Executive Council of Alberta First Nations women in politics Indspire Awards 20th-century Canadian legislators 20th-century Canadian women politicians 21st-century Canadian legislators 21st-century Canadian women politicians First Nations academics