Sharon Anne Blady is a former provincial politician in the Canadian
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...
of
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 ...
. She was elected to 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 ...
Kirkfield Park
Kirkfield Park is a provincial electoral division in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It was created by redistribution in 1979, and has formally existed since the provincial election of 1981. The riding is located in the westernmost tip of t ...
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:
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. Prior to her election, she was an
instructor
Instructor may refer to:
Education
* Instructor, a teacher of a specialised subject that involves skill:
** Teaching assistant
** Tutor
** Lecturer
** Fellow
** Teaching fellow
*** Teaching associate
*** Graduate student instructor
** Professor
S ...
of
social work
Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...
and
native
Native may refer to:
People
* Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth
* Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory
** Native Americans (disambiguation)
In arts and entert ...
studies at 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. James-Assiniboia
St. James-Assiniboia is a major community area in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. As it encapsulates most of the city ward of St. James, which includes the major St. James Street, the area itself is often simply referred to "St. James."
Located in th ...
in
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 ...
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
in
anthropology
Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...
,
art history
Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...
, and
architecture
Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...
from 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. She received a
Master of Arts
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
in history in art and
native
Native may refer to:
People
* Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth
* Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory
** Native Americans (disambiguation)
In arts and entert ...
studies from the
University of Victoria
The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary instit ...
in 1995 with her thesis entitled ''The Flower Beadwork People: Factors Contributing to the Emergence of Distinctive Métis Cultural Artistic Style at Red River from 1844 to 1869''. In 1996 and 1997, two papers of hers about Métis culture and history were published by the Canadian Circumpolar Institute at the
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...
as part of ''Issues in the North''.
Blady designed and taught introductory courses in
gender
Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures u ...
and
women's studies
Women's studies is an academic field that draws on feminist and interdisciplinary methods to place women's lives and experiences at the center of study, while examining social and cultural constructs of gender; systems of privilege and oppress ...
and visual and Aboriginal art studies at
Brandon University
Brandon University is a university located in the city of Brandon, Manitoba, Canada, with an enrollment of 3375 (2020) full-time and part-time undergraduate and graduate students. The current location was founded on July 13, 1899, as Brandon Co ...
. She later taught at 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.
Political career
Sharon Blady was first elected to 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 ...
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:
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Kirkfield Park
Kirkfield Park is a provincial electoral division in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It was created by redistribution in 1979, and has formally existed since the provincial election of 1981. The riding is located in the westernmost tip of t ...
Gord Mackintosh
Gordon Henry Alexander Mackintosh (born July 7, 1955) is a former Canadian politician who represented the riding of St. Johns in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1993 to 2016. He served as a cabinet minister in the New Democratic Party ...
, on June 24, 2010. On April 4, 2011, she was promoted to the position of legislative assistant to the minister. She has also sat on a number of committees of the Legislative Assembly including the Standing Committees on Agriculture and Food (as the vice-chairperson), Crown Corporations (as the chairperson), Legislative Affairs (as the chairperson), Private Bills, Public Accounts, and Social and Economic Development (as the vice-chairperson) and the Special Committee on Senate Reform.
During her first term in the legislature, Blady introduced two
private member's bill
A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in whi ...
s which passed. In 2009, she introduced Bill 238, The Service Animals Protection Act, which made it an offense to interfere with or allow another animal to interfere with guide dogs or other service animals without the permission of its owner. The bill passed third reading on September 23, 2009, and was granted royal assent on October 8, 2009. Through this bill, Manitoba became the first jurisdiction in Canada to specifically legislate the protection of service animals. The legislation has been praised by the Manitoba Human Rights Commission.
On April 19, 2011, Blady introduced Bill 217, The Residential Tenancies Amendment Act (Expanded Grounds for Early Termination), which added provisions to The Residential Tenancies Act to allow for the early termination of rental agreements if the tenant faces health issues that prevent them from continuing to live in their current rental unit, if they are in the armed forces and are being relocated, or if they are victims of domestic violence and believe that their safety is at risk if they continue living there. The bill was passed by the house with a unanimous vote at third reading and was assented to on June 16, 2011.
Blady is active in liaising with other legislative bodies on an international level as the President of the Manitoba section of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie and as a member of the Energy Committee of the Midwestern Legislators Conference (part of the
Council of State Governments
The Council of State Governments (CSG) is a nonpartisan, non-profit organization in the United States that serves all three branches of state government.
Founded in 1933 by Colorado state Sen. Henry W. Toll, CSG is a region-based forum that ...
).
Blady was reelected in the 2011 provincial election on October 4 with a margin of 21 votes.
Blady was appointed as the Minister of Health of Manitoba following a cabinet reshuffle on 3 November 2014.
Blady lost her seat in the legislature to Progressive Conservative candidate
Scott Fielding
Scott Bradley Fielding is a former Canadian politician. A city councillor in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada from 2006 to 2014, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba in the 2016 provincial election. On September 10, 2019, Scott was r ...