The Honourable  Carolyn Ann Bennett
Member of Canadian Parliament for St. Paul's
Incumbent
Assumed office  1997 General Election
Preceded by	Barry Campbell
Born	December 20, 1950 (1950-12-20) (age 58) Toronto, Ontario
Political party	Liberal Party of Canada
Spouse(s)	Peter O'Brian
Residence	Toronto, Ontario
Alma mater	Havergal College, University of Toronto
Profession	Physician
Cabinet	Minister of State (Public Health) (2003-2006)

Carolyn Ann Bennett, PC, MP (born December 20, 1950) is the Member of Parliament for the riding of St. Paul's, a constituency located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She is a member of the Liberal Party of Canada, and was formerly a candidate for its leadership.

[edit] Background

Bennett grew up in Toronto and attended Havergal College, a private girl's school in North Toronto. She obtained a degree in medicine from the University of Toronto in 1974 and received her certification in family medicine in 1976. Bennett worked as a family physician at Wellesley Hospital and Women's College Hospital in Toronto from 1977 to 1997 and was a founding partner in Bedford Medical Associates. She was also president of the medical staff association of Women's College Hospital and assistant professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto. Bennett served on the boards of Havergal College, Women's College Hospital, the Ontario Medical Association, and the Medico-Legal Society of Toronto.

In 1986, Bennett received the Royal Life Saving Society Service Cross, a Commonwealth award recognizing her more than twenty years of distinguished service. In 1990, she was named as one of Simpson's "Women Who Make a Difference". She was the recipient of the coveted EVE Award for contributing to the advancement of women in politics in 2002, and in 2003 received the first ever CAMIMH Mental Health Champion Award. Bennett is also author of Kill or Cure? How Canadians Can Remake their Health Care System, published in October 2000. Carolyn Bennett is pro-choice and supported the launch of the Canadian Public Policy and Outreach Program of the US-based National Abortion Federation which is critical of Canada's current abortion care system. In 2004, she was awarded an Honorary Fellowship from the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada for her contributions to medicine, especially women's health.^[1]

She is married to Canadian film producer Peter O'Brian. They have two sons.

[edit] Entry into politics

Bennett first ran for public office in the 1995 Ontario provincial election as a candidate of the Ontario Liberal Party.^[2] Running in the riding of St. Andrew—St. Patrick, she lost to Progressive Conservative candidate Isabel Bassett by about 3,500 votes. The following year, she supported Gerard Kennedy in his unsuccessful bid for the leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party.

Bennett was far more successful in the 1997 federal election, defeating her closest opponent in St. Paul's by almost 15,000 votes. She was re-elected by increased margins in the elections of 2000 and 2004.

Bennett was a supporter of Paul Martin's bid to succeed Jean Chrétien as Liberal Party leader, and was not appointed to cabinet under Chrétien. As chair of the Liberal Party's women's caucus in 2002, she criticized Chrétien for not appointing enough women to cabinet.

[edit] Appointment to cabinet

On December 12, 2003, after Martin became Prime Minister, he appointed Bennett as his Minister of State for Public Health. The Minister of State (Public Health) assists the Minister of Health. Martin's first appointee to the latter position was Pierre Pettigrew; following the 2004 election, he was replaced by Ujjal Dosanjh.

Bennett was chair of the Canada-Israel Friendship Group from 1999 to 2003 and is a member of Liberal Parliamentarians for Israel.

[edit] In opposition

Carolyn Bennett giving a speech in Calgary during the 2008 general election

In the 2006 election, Bennett two main challengers were both touted as star candidates, Peter Kent of the Conservatives and Paul Summerville of the New Democratic Party.^[3][4] Bennett was re-elected, but lost her cabinet position as the Liberals were defeated. She became only the third opposition MP in the history of St. Paul's. The riding had once been considered a bellwether, but the Liberals have dominated it since their landslide in 1993.^[5] In opposition, she was appointed the Liberal Party's critic of Social Development.^[6]

She announced on April 24, 2006 that she would pursue the leadership of the party.^[7] On September 15, 2006, she withdrew from the leadership race and threw her support behind former Ontario Premier Bob Rae.^[8]

In 2007, she attended fellow member of parliament Ujjal Dosanjh when he suffered a mild heart attack outside the Canadian House of Commons, until Dosanjh could be taken to the hospital.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Carolyn Bennett

• Carolyn Bennett Web Site
• How'd They Vote?: Carolyn Bennett's voting history and quotes
• Carolyn Bennett supports the National Abortion Federation Canadian Public Policy and Outreach Program
• Parliament of Canada biography