Elizabeth Shaughnessy Cohen ( Murray; February 11, 1948 – December 9, 1998) was 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 riding of Windsor—St. Clair for the Liberal Party of Canada from 1993 until her death in 1998."MP dies after collapsing in House: Shaughnessy Cohen". '' National Post'', December 10, 1998.

Background

She was born in

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...

, and grew up in Thamesville."New Kids on the Block: Shaughnessy Cohen: Feisty, competitive, dedicated". ''

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'', November 20, 1993. She studied English literature and sociology at the

University of Windsor , mottoeng = Goodness, Discipline and Knowledge , established = , academic_affiliations = CARL, COU, Universities Canada , former_names = Assumption College (1857-1956)Assumption University of Windsor (1956-1963) , type = Public universi ...

, and taught at St. Clair College before returning to law school. She married Jerry Cohen, a psychology professor, in 1971. She had originally intended to keep her own surname, but opted to take her husband's name when she realized it would make her both

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

and

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

. She was called to the

Bar of Ontario The Law Society of Ontario (LSO; french: Barreau de l'Ontario) is the law society responsible for the self-regulation of lawyers and paralegals in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. Founded in 1797 as the Law ...

in 1979,"Liberal MP's charm won friends in all parties". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', December 10, 1998. and worked as a lawyer until her election to Parliament.

Political career

Cohen stood as the Liberal candidate in Windsor—St. Clair in the 1988 election, but lost to New Democratic Party incumbent Howard McCurdy. However, in the 1993 election, Cohen defeated McCurdy for the seat. Following the election, she was briefly the subject of controversy when she and her husband were sued for $200,000 in unpaid debt, but Cohen blamed the situation on the costs of conducting a political campaign and the controversy soon subsided after she agreed to a debt consolidation plan. Her first political action after being sworn in as a Member of Parliament was a letter requesting that the federal government building in Windsor be named after former MP Paul Martin, Sr., a request which the government accepted. After the first sitting of the new parliament in January 1994, Cohen was the first newly elected MP to be subjected to a critical profile in ''

Frank Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Curr ...

'', although both Cohen and the ''

'' criticized the profile's accuracy. In February 1994, Cohen was appointed to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Human Resources and Development. In June, she was one of several Liberal MPs, alongside

Jean Augustine Jean Augustine (born September 9, 1937) is a Grenada-born Canadian politician. She was the first Black Canadian woman to serve as a federal Minister of the Crown and Member of Parliament. From 1993 to 2006, Jean Augustine was a Liberal membe ...

, Barry Campbell, Bill Graham and

Hedy Fry Hedy Madeleine Fry, (born August 6, 1941) is a Trinidadian-Canadian politician and physician who is currently the longest-serving female Member of Parliament, winning nine consecutive elections in the constituency of Vancouver Centre includin ...

, who privately intervened with

Ontario Liberal Party The Ontario Liberal Party (OLP; french: Parti libéral de l'Ontario, PLO) is a political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. The party has been led by interim leader John Fraser since August 2022. The party espouses the principles of li ...

leader

Lyn McLeod Lyn McLeod (born ) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. She served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1987 to 2003. McLeod was a cabinet minister in the Liberal government of David Peterson from 1987 to 1990, and served as leader ...

to encourage her not to withdraw the party's support of the

Equality Rights Statute Amendment Act The ''Equality Rights Statute Amendment Act'', (formally ''An Act to Amend Ontario Statutes to Provide for the Equal Treatment of Persons in Spousal Relationships''), commonly known as Bill 167, was a proposed law in the Canadian province of Ont ...

(Bill 167). In August, she was appointed co-chair with

Herb Gray Herbert Eser Gray (May 25, 1931 – April 21, 2014) was a Canadian lawyer who became a prominent federal politician. He was a Liberal member of parliament for the Windsor area over the course of four decades, from 1962 to 2002, making Gray o ...

of a parliamentary subcommittee to investigate allegations against the

Canadian Security Intelligence Service The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS, ; french: Service canadien du renseignement de sécurité, ''SCRS'') is Canada's primary national intelligence agency. It is responsible for collecting, analysing, reporting and disseminating int ...

, including the role of

Grant Bristow Grant Bristow (born February 1958 in Winnipeg, Manitoba) was an undercover spy, or mole, for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), who co-founded and successfully infiltrated the Heritage Front white supremacist group for six years. S ...

as an informant. On the final day of the 1995 Ontario provincial election campaign, Cohen was one of several MPs, alongside Jane Stewart, Paddy Torsney,

Benoît Serré Benoît Serré (April 7, 1951 – May 11, 2019) was a Canadian politician. He represented the riding of Timiskaming—French River from 1993 to 1997, and Timiskaming—Cochrane from 1997 to 2004, in the House of Commons of Canada. He was a memb ...

and Stan Dromisky, who made speeches in the federal House of Commons campaigning on behalf of McLeod's Ontario Liberal Party and against the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party of

Mike Harris Michael Deane Harris (born January 23, 1945) is a Canadian retired politician who served as the 22nd premier of Ontario from 1995 to 2002 and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (PC Party) from 1990 to 2002. During his time ...

. In September 1995, she was one of only a few MPs to vote in favour of Réal Ménard's private member's motion calling on the government to recognize

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

. In January 1996, she travelled to the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

as an election monitor for the Palestinian Authority election. In March, she was appointed to and named as chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice. In this capacity, she conducted a review of the federal

Young Offenders Act The ''Young Offenders Act'' (YOA; french: Loi sur les jeunes contrevenants) (the ''Act'') was an act of the Parliament of Canada, granted Royal Assent in 1982 and proclaimed in force on April 2, 1984, that regulated the criminal prosecution of C ...

, which led to reforms announced by Justice Minister Anne McLellan in 1998. She was re-elected in the 1997 election by a narrower margin, due to a significant resurgence in support for the New Democratic Party."Cohen wins tight race". ''

'', June 3, 1997. Her NDP challenger was

Joe Comartin Joseph John Comartin (born December 26, 1947) is a Canadian lawyer and politician. Comartin joined the New Democratic Party in 1969 and represented the party in the House of Commons of Canada from 2000 to 2015. He is currently consul general of C ...

. In her second term, she identified one of her key goals as advocating for a crossnational environmental project to clean up pollution in the

Detroit River The Detroit River flows west and south for from Lake St. Clair to Lake Erie as a strait in the Great Lakes system. The river divides the metropolitan areas of Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario, Windsor, Ontario—an area collectively refe ...

. On December 9, 1998, she collapsed in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

, just seconds after she had stood to address the House. She had suffered a

cerebral hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...

and was pronounced dead soon afterward. She was the fifth MP in Canadian history to die on Parliament Hill, and the first ever to suffer a fatal health incident in the House of Commons chamber rather than in her office or on the wider Parliament Hill grounds."Tears for colleague in Commons: Liberal MP Shaughnessy Cohen is remembered as a good friend and a tenacious opponent". ''

Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...

'', December 11, 1998. In the House the following day, MPs from all parties spoke in tribute to Cohen. Reform Party MP Randy White praised her personality as "a seemingly impossible combination of vigorous partisanship and open-minded friendship," while New Democratic Party leader

Alexa McDonough Alexa Ann McDonough ( Shaw; August 11, 1944 – January 15, 2022) was a Canadian politician who became the first woman to lead a major, recognized political party in Nova Scotia, when she was elected the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party's (NSN ...

paid tribute to Cohen's passionate belief in "the pursuit of justice for the rights of those who were not being fully respected." Historian Charlotte Gray, a personal friend of Cohen's, revealed that Cohen had once filled the glass on

Paul Martin Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006. The son o ...

's House of Commons desk with gin just before a budget speech, while Liberal Party strategist Jerry Yanover described her as "an up-front, in-your-face, old-fashioned Liberal, the kind that had principles and didn't compromise them." Following the speeches, MPs unanimously agreed to immediately adjourn the House for the Christmas holiday, several days earlier than planned. Following her death, her widower Jerry ran for the Liberal nomination in the resulting by-election, but lost to city councillor

Rick Limoges Richard "Rick" Limoges (born January 1, 1956) is a retired Canadian politician, who represented the electoral district of Windsor—St. Clair in the House of Commons of Canada from 1999 to 2000. Limoges was elected as a councillor for Ward 5 ...

. Limoges won the by-election, narrowly defeating Comartin, although Comartin defeated Limoges in the 2000 election. She is buried on Pelee Island, Canada’s most southern inhabited land. Her gravesite can be found in the municipal cemetery there.

Legacy

In 2000, the

Writers' Trust of Canada The Writers' Trust of Canada (french: La Société d'encouragement aux écrivains du Canada) is a registered charity which provides financial support to Canadian writers. Founded by Margaret Atwood, Pierre Berton, Graeme Gibson, Margaret Laure ...

instituted a literary award, the

Shaughnessy Cohen Award for Political Writing The Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing is a Canadian literary award, presented by the Writers' Trust of Canada to the best nonfiction book on Canadian political and social issues. It has been presented annually in Ottawa at the Writers� ...

, in her memory. Journalist

Susan Delacourt Susan Delacourt is a Canadian political journalist. Biography Delacourt spent her childhood and adolescence in Milton, Ontario. She first developed her skills as a journalist while at the University of Western Ontario, where she was an editor o ...

published a biography of Cohen, ''Shaughnessy: The Passionate Politics of Shaughnessy Cohen'', the same year."A woman's place is in the House". ''

'', June 17, 2000.

Electoral record

, - , New Democratic Party , Howard McCurdy , align="right", 18,915 ,

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 ...

, Shaughnessy Cohen , align="right", 16,192 , Progressive Conservative , Bruck Easton , align="right", 8,453 , - ,

, Shaughnessy Cohen , align="right", 22,958 , New Democratic Party , Howard McCurdy , align="right", 8,871 , Progressive Conservative , Tom Porter , align="right", 4,553 ,

Reform Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill#The Yorkshire Associati ...

, Greg Novini , align="right", 4,153 ,

Natural Law Natural law ( la, ius naturale, ''lex naturalis'') is a system of law based on a close observation of human nature, and based on values intrinsic to human nature that can be deduced and applied independently of positive law (the express enacte ...

, Stephanie Moniatowicz , align="right", 194 , Marxist-Leninist , Dale Woodyard , align="right", 61 ,

Abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

, Ayesha F. Bharmal , align="right", 52 , - ,

, Shaughnessy Cohen , align="right", 16,496 , New Democratic Party ,

, align="right", 14,237 ,

, Harold Downs , align="right", 5,899 , Progressive Conservative , Bruck Easton , align="right", 4,253 , Marxist-Leninist , Dale Woodyard , align="right", 115

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, Shaughnessy 1948 births 1998 deaths Women members of the House of Commons of Canada Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Politicians from London, Ontario Politicians from Windsor, Ontario 20th-century Canadian women politicians Canadian people of Irish descent University of Windsor alumni