Shirley McClellan (born 22 January 1942) is a Canadian politician who was a long serving member of 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 ...
for 20 years. She served as Deputy Premier.
Early life
McClellan was born in
Hanna, Alberta, Canada, on January 22, 1942.
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
McClellan was first elected to the
Alberta Legislature
The Legislature of Alberta is the unicameral legislature of the province of Alberta, Canada. The legislature is made of two elements: the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta,. and the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. The legislature has existed sinc ...
in a
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
held on November 23, 1987.
In 1989, she was re-elected to a second term, and appointed Associate Minister of Agriculture. On February 24, 1992, she was appointed Minister Responsible for Rural Development (gaining the style “the Honourable” for the duration of her membership in the
Executive Council of Alberta
The Executive Council of Alberta (the Cabinet) is a body of ministers of the Crown in right of Alberta, who along with the lieutenant governor, exercises the powers of the Government of Alberta. Ministers are selected by the premier and typical ...
). On December 15, 1992, McClellan was appointed Minister of Health for the province.
Shirley McClellan was re-elected to a third term on June 15, 1993. On June 30, 1993, she was re-appointed Minister of Health as well as Minister Responsible for the Wild Rose Foundation. On December 15, 1993, she was appointed Minister Responsible for the Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission. On October 21, 1994, she was appointed Minister Responsible for the Seniors Advisory Council for Alberta. On May 31, 1996, McClellan was appointed Minister of Community Development.
On March 11, 1997, McClellan was re-elected to a fourth term and re-appointed Minister of Community Development on March 26, 1997. On May 26, 1999, McClellan was appointed Minister of International and Intergovernmental Relations. She was also appointed as a member of Agenda and Priorities and the Standing Policy Committee on Finance and Intergovernmental Relations.
On March 12, 2001, McClellan was elected for a fifth term and on March 19, 2001, was appointed Deputy Premier and Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development. She was also the Vice-Chair of the Agenda and Priorities Committee and a member of the Standing Policy Committee on Agriculture and Municipal Affairs.
On November 22, 2004, McClellan was elected to her sixth, and final, term as Member of the Legislative Assembly representing the constituency of
Drumheller-Stettler. In addition to Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance, she served the Assembly as Chair of the Treasury Board and Vice-Chair of Agenda and Priorities Committee.
McClellan was actively involved in bringing further education to rural areas, serving as a member of the board of directors for the Alberta Association of Continuing Education (AACE) and the Canadian Association for Continuing Education (CACE). She was co-ordinator of the Big Country Further Education Council for 12 years, a representative of the Ministers Advisory Committee on Further Education for five years, and sat on the Ministers Advisory Committee on College Affairs for two years.
She resigned her seat in the legislature on January 15, 2007, the same day that former premier
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 ...
resigned his.
On February 5, 2011, McClellan was selected to be the 12th Chancellor of the
University of Lethbridge
, mottoeng = ''Let there be light''
, type = Public
, established =
, academic_affiliations = Universities Canada
, endowment = $73 million (2019)
, chancellor = Charles Weasel ...
by the Senate of that institution. Her term commenced March 15, 2011.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:McClellan, Shirley
1942 births
Living people
Canadian people of Ulster-Scottish descent
Canadian university and college chancellors
Women government ministers of Canada
Deputy premiers of Alberta
Farmers from Alberta
Finance ministers of Alberta
Health ministers of Alberta
Members of the Executive Council of Alberta
People from Hanna, Alberta
Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta MLAs
Canadian women farmers
Female finance ministers
Women MLAs in Alberta
21st-century Canadian politicians
21st-century Canadian women politicians