Catherine Sophia Callbeck (born July 25, 1939) is a Canadian politician. She was premier of Prince Edward Island from 1993 to 1996, and the first woman in Canada to lead her party to victory in a provincial election. (There had been two earlier female premiers: Rita Johnston, who became premier by winning the leadership of the governing party but lost the subsequent provincial election, and Nellie Cournoyea, who became premier of the Northwest Territories under a consensus government system.)

Born in Central Bedeque, Prince Edward Island, the daughter of Ralph R. Callbeck and Ruth Campbell^[1], 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.^[2]

Callbeck was a business teacher in New Brunswick and Ontario before returning to the island to enter the family retail business.^[1]

A Liberal, she was first elected to Prince Edward Island's provincial legislature 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. In January 1993 she 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 provincial election on 29 March 1993, 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 being Sovereign, Marion Reid being the Lieutenant Governor, and Patricia Mella being the Leader of the Official Opposition.

Her government proved to be unpopular, however, mainly because of her breaking of a signed legal contract to implement a 7.5% rollback on public sector employees salaries, as well as implementing controversial municipal amalgamation policies, staining her party's image for years to come. Callbeck's administration had been faced with rapidly increasing health care costs at the same time as federal equalization and transfer payments were decreased. Callbeck resigned in October 1996 after only three and a half years as PEI's premier. The Liberal party lost the provincial election in November 1996 as well as the next two general elections, only returning to power in the 2007 election.

In September 1997 she was appointed on the recommendation of Jean Chrétien to the Senate. She can serve in the Senate until 25 July 2014, when she reaches the Senate's mandatory retirement age.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Synopsis of federal political experience from the Library of Parliament
• Liberal Senate Forum

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