Catherine Callbeck

She was the MP for Malpeque during the 34th Canadian Parliament.

During her time in the House of Commons, Callbeck sat on numerous legislative committees, the Standing Committee on Energy, Mines and Resources and the Standing Committee on Consumer and Corporate Affairs and Government Operations.

Catherine Sophia Callbeck (born July 25, 1939) is a retired Canadian politician and the current and ninth Chancellor of the University of Prince Edward Island.

She received a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Mount Allison University in 1960 and a Bachelor of Education degree from Dalhousie University in 1962.

She took post-graduate courses in business administration from Syracuse University.

Callbeck was a business teacher in New Brunswick and Ontario before returning to the island to enter the family retail business.

A Liberal, Callbeck was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island in 1974.

She was appointed to Cabinet as Minister of Health and Social Services and Minister Responsible for Disabled Persons.

She decided not to seek re-election in 1978 in order to work in the family business.

Callbeck returned to politics in 1988 when she was elected to the federal House of Commons as an MP for the Liberal Party of Canada.

She held various Critic responsibilities in the national Liberal caucus of Liberal Party Leader John Turner (1988-1989) and Jean Chretien (1990-1993).

Callbeck was Critic for Finance (Financial Institutions), Critic for Consumer and Corporate Affairs (Co-operatives), Assistant Critic for Treasury Board (Privatization and Regulatory Affairs), and Critic for Energy, Mines and Resources.

She was the 28th premier of Prince Edward Island from 1993 to 1996, the third female premier in Canadian history, and the first to win a general election (the first female premier, Rita Johnston of British Columbia, became premier after winning the party leadership but lost the subsequent election; the second, Nellie Cournoyea of the Northwest Territories, was elected premier by MLAs following a non-partisan consensus government election).

In January 1993, Callbeck returned to provincial politics to successfully run for the leadership of the Prince Edward Island Liberal Party and was appointed Premier on 25 January.

Under her leadership the Liberals won the 1993 provincial election, making her the first female leader of a political party in Canada to lead her party to victory in a general election.

Callbeck was premier at the same time as the other three most important public offices in the province were also held by women: Elizabeth II was Sovereign in Prince Edward Island, Marion Reid was the Lieutenant Governor, and Patricia Mella was the Leader of the Official Opposition.

In addition, the two most elected senior roles within the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island were held by women during Callbeck's time in office: Nancy Guptill was Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island and Elizabeth Hubley as Deputy Speaker.

Callbeck's time in office was marked by significant progress.

Spurred by new investments in food processing, manufacturing, aerospace and information technology, the rate of economic growth between 1993 and 1996 was the second highest in Canada.

The number of people working in the province reached a record high.

The unemployment rate dropped by a whopping seven per cent, the largest reduction of any province in Canada.

Coming into office, the Callbeck government pledged to bring the high budget deficit under control.

Under her predecessor, the deficit had risen to an all-time high of $89 million.

Through a combination of rising revenues due to the stronger economy, and what a national accounting firm called one of the most aggressive deficit-cutting strategies in the country, the Callbeck government brought in a surplus budget in 1995–96.

it was the first budget surplus in a decade.

Reaching a surplus budget, however, did not come without a political cost.

Public service salary rollbacks were widely opposed by public service unions - but no jobs were cut.

There were other accomplishments.

A new agreement on electricity with New Brunswick resulted in lower electrical costs.

A new waste management project put Prince Edward Island as a leader in Canada in reducing the amount of waste going into landfills.

In keeping with Callbeck's commitment to strengthen social programs, new investments were made in health and education.

There were significant reforms.

Municipal amalgamation reduced duplication and overlap in the province's larger municipalities.

The number of government departments, agencies and crown corporations was reduced.

A new electoral system replaced the previous 16 dual-member ridings with 27 single-member ridings.

It was the first significant electoral reform in more than a century.

Callbeck's time in office saw the beginning of construction of the Confederation Bridge linking Prince Edward Island to New Brunswick.

When Callbeck came into office, the project was stalled because of an impasse between federal and provincial officials.

She was subsequently a member of the Senate of Canada from 1997 until her retirement in 2014.

Callbeck was born in Central Bedeque, Prince Edward Island, the daughter of Ralph R. Callbeck and Ruth Campbell.