Carolyn Bennett | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Associate Minister of Health | |
| In office October 26, 2021 – July 26, 2023 | |
| Prime Minister | Justin Trudeau |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Ya'ara Saks |
| Minister of Crown–Indigenous Relations | |
| In office November 4, 2015 – October 26, 2021 | |
| Prime Minister | Justin Trudeau |
| Preceded by | Bernard Valcourt |
| Succeeded by | Marc Miller |
| Minister of State for Public Health | |
| In office December 12, 2003 – February 5, 2006 | |
| Prime Minister | Paul Martin |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished |
| Member of Parliament for Toronto—St. Paul's St. Paul's (1997–2015) | |
| Assumed office June 2, 1997 | |
| Preceded by | Barry Campbell |
| Succeeded by | Vacant |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Carolyn Ann Bennett December 20, 1950 Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Spouse | Peter O'Brian |
| Residence(s) | Forest Hill,[1] Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Education | Havergal College |
| Alma mater | University of Toronto (MD) |
| Profession | Physician |
Carolyn Ann Bennett PC (born December 20, 1950) is a Canadian physician and politician. A member of the Liberal Party, she represented Toronto—St. Paul's in the House of Commons from 1997 to 2023, and was a cabinet minister in the governments of Paul Martin and Justin Trudeau. She was the minister of state for public health from 2003 to 2006, the minister of Crown–Indigenous relations from 2015 to 2021 and the minister of mental health and addictions from 2021 to 2023. Prior to entering politics, Bennett worked as a family physician for 20 years.
Early life, education and career
Carolyn Ann Bennett was born in Toronto on December 20, 1950. She attended Havergal College.[2][3] She graduated with a degree in medicine from the University of Toronto in 1974[4] and received her certification in family medicine in 1976. 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.[5]
Professional career
Bennett was a family physician for 20 years before entering politics.[6]
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 has a clinical adjunct appointment as an assistant professor in the department of family and community medicine at the University of Toronto.[4] Bennett served on the boards of Havergal College, Women's College Hospital, the Ontario Medical Association, and the Medico-Legal Society of Toronto.
Bennett co-authored Kill or Cure? How Canadians Can Remake their Health Care System with Rick Archbold, published in October 2000.[7]
Political career
Bennett ran for public office in the 1995 Ontario provincial election as a candidate of the Ontario Liberal Party.[8] Running in the riding of St. Andrew—St. Patrick, she lost to Progressive Conservative candidate Isabel Bassett by about 3,500 votes.[9]
Bennett was more successful in the 1997 federal election, defeating her closest opponent in St. Paul's Peter Atkins by almost 15,000 votes.[10] She was re-elected by increased margins in the elections of 2000 and 2004.[11][12]
On December 12, 2003, after Paul Martin became Prime Minister, he appointed Bennett as his Minister of State for Public Health.[13] In her two years as Minister, she set up the Public Health Agency of Canada, appointed the first chief public health officer for Canada, and established the Public Health Network.[14]
She was chair of the Canada-Israel Friendship Group from 1999 to 2003 and is a member of Liberal Parliamentarians for Israel.
In the 2006 election, Bennett defeated two main challengers who were both touted as star candidates, Peter Kent of the Conservatives and Paul Summerville of the New Democratic Party.[15][16] Bennett was re-elected, but lost her cabinet position as the Liberals were defeated.[17] She became only the third opposition MP in the history of St. Paul's. The riding had once been a noted bellwether, but swung heavily to the Liberals along with most other central Toronto ridings.
She announced on April 24, 2006 that she would pursue the leadership of the party.[18] On September 15, 2006, she withdrew from the leadership race and threw her support behind former Ontario Premier Bob Rae.[19]
In the 39th Parliament, Bennett was the Official Opposition critic for social development, social economy, seniors, persons with disabilities, and public health.[2]
She was re-elected in 2008.[20] In the 40th Parliament, Bennett was the Official Opposition critic for health.[2]
She was re-elected in 2011.[21] In the 41st Parliament, Bennett was the Liberal critic for Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Aboriginal Affairs, Northern Development, and the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency.[2]
On November 4, 2015, Bennett was appointed the Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs, which was later renamed the position of Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations.[22] She was re-elected in 2019.
On June 24, 2021, Bennett was forced to apologize to Jody Wilson-Raybould for her response to a tweet by Wilson-Raybould concerning Justin Trudeau and his government's response to the discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves at Marieval Indian Residential School in Saskatchewan. Referencing her tweet, Bennett texted Wilson-Raybould the single-word message "Pension?". Wilson-Raybould called it "racist and misogynistic", posting a screenshot of the message on Twitter.[23]
On October 26, 2021, Bennett was sworn in as Canada's first ever Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, with Marc Miller taking her place as Minister for Crown-Indigenous Relations. [24]
On July 24, 2023, Bennett announced she would not be running in the next general election, and in the Cabinet shuffle two days later, she was demoted from her position as Minister of Mental health and Addictions.[25][26]
Personal life
She is married to Canadian film producer Peter O'Brian. They have two sons, Jack and Ben.[27]
Awards
- Royal Life Saving Society Service Cross (1986)
- EVE Award for Contributing to the Advancement of Women in Politics (2002)
- CAMIMH Mental Health Champion Award (2003) [28]
- Federation of Medical Women of Canada May Cohen Award[29] (2006)
- W. Victor Johnston Award for Lifetime Contribution to Family Medicine in Canada and Internationally (2009)
- National Award of Excellence for Outstanding Leadership and Dedication to Injury Prevention and Safety
Electoral record
Toronto—St. Paul's, 2015–2023
| 2021 Canadian federal election: Toronto—St. Paul's | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Carolyn Bennett | 22,844 | 48.86 | -5.64 | $104,663 | |||
| Conservative | Stephanie Osadchuk | 12,126 | 25.83 | +4.23 | $35,239 | |||
| New Democratic | Sidney Coles[30] | 7,749 | 16.51 | +0.71 | $42,571 | |||
| Green | Phil De Luna | 2,890 | 6.16 | -0.64 | $33,556 | |||
| People's | Peter Remedios | 1,340 | 2.85 | +1.35 | $1,930 | |||
| Total valid votes | 46,949 | |||||||
| Total rejected ballots | ||||||||
| Turnout | 46,949 | 56.77 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 82,707 | |||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[31] | ||||||||
| 2019 Canadian federal election: Toronto—St. Paul's | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Carolyn Bennett | 32,494 | 54.3 | -0.96 | $88,263.67 | |||
| Conservative | Jae Truesdell | 12,933 | 21.6 | -5.39 | $95,161.27 | |||
| New Democratic | Alok Mukherjee | 9,442 | 15.8 | +1.08 | $48,947.09 | |||
| Green | Sarah Climenhaga | 4,042 | 6.8 | +3.77 | $447.10 | |||
| People's | John Kellen | 923 | 1.5 | - | $0.00 | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 59,834 | 100.00 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 384 | |||||||
| Turnout | 60,218 | 71.6 | -2.3 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 84,110 | |||||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | +2.22 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[32][33] | ||||||||
| 2015 Canadian federal election: Toronto—St. Paul's | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Carolyn Bennett | 31,481 | 55.26 | +15.34 | – | |||
| Conservative | Marnie MacDougall | 15,376 | 26.99 | -5.43 | – | |||
| New Democratic | Noah Richler | 8,386 | 14.72 | -7.91 | – | |||
| Green | Kevin Farmer | 1,729 | 3.03 | -1.45 | – | |||
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | 56,972 | 100.0 | $208,833.75 | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 252 | – | – | |||||
| Turnout | 57,224 | – | – | |||||
| Eligible voters | 77,433 | |||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[34][35][36] | ||||||||
St. Paul's, 1997-2015
| 2011 Canadian federal election: St. Paul's | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Carolyn Bennett | 22,409 | 40.6 | -9.9 | ||||
| Conservative | Maureen Harquail | 17,864 | 32.4 | +5.8 | ||||
| New Democratic | William Molls | 12,124 | 22.0 | +8.7 | ||||
| Green | Jim McGarva | 2,495 | 4.5 | -4.6 | ||||
| Libertarian | John Kittredge | 303 | 0.5 | -0.1 | ||||
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | 55,195 | 100.0 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 276 | 0.5 | – | |||||
| Turnout | 55,471 | 68.2 | – | |||||
| Eligible voters | 81,288 | – | – | |||||
| 2008 Canadian federal election: St. Paul's | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Carolyn Bennett | 26,326 | 50.5 | +0.2 | $69,331 | |||
| Conservative | Heather Jewell | 13,800 | 26.6 | +0.8 | $53,617 | |||
| New Democratic | Anita Agrawal | 6,880 | 13.3 | -5.9 | $13,606 | |||
| Green | Justin Erdman | 4,713 | 9.1 | +4.3 | $3,526 | |||
| Libertarian | John Kittredge | 313 | 0.6 | – | $182 | |||
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | 52,032 | 100.0 | $86,488 | |||||
| 2006 Canadian federal election: St. Paul's | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Liberal | Carolyn Bennett | 29,295 | 50.3 | -8.1 | ||||
| Conservative | Peter Kent | 15,021 | 25.8 | +5.4 | ||||
| New Democratic | Paul Summerville | 11,189 | 19.2 | +3.5 | ||||
| Green | Kevin Farmer | 2,785 | 4.8 | -0.7 | ||||
| Total valid votes | 58,290 | 100.0 | ||||||
| 2004 Canadian federal election: St. Paul's | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Liberal | Carolyn Bennett | 32,171 | 58.4 | +4.1 | ||||
| Conservative | Barry Cline | 11,226 | 20.4 | -13.1* | ||||
| New Democratic | Norman Tobias | 8,667 | 15.7 | +6.3 | ||||
| Green | Peter Elgie | 3,031 | 5.5 | +3.9 | ||||
| Total valid votes | 55,095 | 100.0 | ||||||
*Comparison to total of Progressive Conservative and Canadian Alliance vote in 2000.
| 2000 Canadian federal election: St. Paul's | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Liberal | Carolyn Bennett | 25,110 | 54.3 | 0.0 | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Barry Cline | 10,035 | 21.7 | -2.0 | ||||
| Alliance | Theo Caldwell | 5,415 | 11.7 | +4.4 | ||||
| New Democratic | Guy Hunter | 4,372 | 9.7 | -2.7 | ||||
| Green | Don Roebuck | 759 | 1.6 | +0.4 | ||||
| Marijuana | Andrew Potter | 221 | 0.5 | |||||
| Canadian Action | Mark Till | 125 | 0.3 | -0.1 | ||||
| Marxist–Leninist | Barbara Seed | 88 | 0.2 | -0.1 | ||||
| Natural Law | Ron Parker | 83 | 0.2 | -0.3 | ||||
| Total valid votes | 46,208 | 100.0 | ||||||
Note: Canadian Alliance vote is compared to the Reform vote in 1997 election.
| 1997 Canadian federal election: St. Paul's | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Liberal | Carolyn Bennett | 26,389 | 54.3 | -0.1 | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Peter Atkins | 11,520 | 23.7 | -0.7 | ||||
| New Democratic | Michael Halewood | 6,028 | 12.4 | +7.3 | ||||
| Reform | Francis Floszmann | 3,564 | 7.3 | -3.8 | ||||
| Green | Don Roebuck | 597 | 1.2 | +0.3 | ||||
| Natural Law | Neil Dickie | 221 | 0.5 | -0.2 | ||||
| Canadian Action | Daniel Widdicombe | 182 | 0.4 | |||||
| Marxist–Leninist | Fernand Deschamps | 135 | 0.3 | +0.1 | ||||
| Total valid votes | 48,636 | 100.0 | ||||||
References
- ↑ "Search For Contributions". Elections Canada. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
- 1 2 3 4 "BENNETT, The Hon. Dr. Carolyn, P.C., M.D." Library of Parliament. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
- ↑ "NOTABLE OLD GIRLS". Havergal College. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
- 1 2 "Meet the new cabinet ministers from the University of Toronto". University of Toronto. 4 November 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
- ↑ "Media Advisory: The Honourable Dr. Carolyn Bennett Receives Honorary Fellowship from the SOGC". Canadian Corporate News. June 25, 2004.
- ↑ "Women Physicians Change the World – Political Activism – Dr. Jill Stein". fmwc.ca. 10 April 2018. Archived from the original on 2019-04-26. Retrieved 2019-02-07.
- ↑ Bennett, Carolyn (Carolyn A.) (2000). Kill or cure? : how Canadians can remake their health care system. Archbold, Rick, 1950-. Toronto: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-00-200057-1. OCLC 44405893.
- ↑ "Carolyn Bennett takes your questions on the Liberal leadership race". The Globe and Mail. September 13, 2006.
- ↑ "Summary of Valid Ballots by Candidate". Elections Ontario. June 8, 1995. Archived from the original on June 7, 2014.
- ↑ "Final Results Riding by Riding". Calgary Herald. June 4, 1997. p. A5.
- ↑ "Election Results". Star — Phoenix. Saskatoon, SK. November 28, 2000. p. A8.
- ↑ "Election results...riding by riding". The Globe and Mail. June 29, 2004. p. A14.
- ↑ Bennett, C. (2004). "Building a national public health system". Canadian Medical Association Journal. 170 (9): 1425–1426. doi:10.1503/cmaj.1040580. PMC 395818. PMID 15111478.
- ↑ "Biography - Carolyn Bennett - Your member of parliament for Toronto-St. Paul's". cbennett.liberal.ca. Retrieved 2019-02-07.
- ↑ Bill Doskoch (September 7, 2008). "Toronto's political landscape unlikely to shift". CTV.
- ↑ "NDP won't raise taxes, pledges Jack Layton". CTV. December 5, 2005.
- ↑ Justin Skinner (September 4, 2008). "Federal election call expected soon". Inside Toronto. Retrieved 2015-05-24.
- ↑ "Liberal leadership field grows with Bennett's entry". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. April 24, 2006. Retrieved 2015-05-24.
- ↑ Susan Delacourt (September 16, 2006). "Bennett quits contest, backs Rae". Toronto Star.
- ↑ "Greater Toronto Area Results". The Toronto Star. October 15, 2008. p. U2.
- ↑ "Riding results from across Canada". Edmonton Journal. May 3, 2011. p. A6.
- ↑ "Full list of Justin Trudeau's cabinet 31-member cabinet includes 15 women, attempt at regional balance". CBC News. 2015-11-04.
- ↑ Patel, Raisa (24 June 2021). "Crown-Indigenous Minister Carolyn Bennett apologizes for message that MP Jody Wilson-Raybould calls 'racist' and misogynistic". Toronto Star. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
- ↑ https://www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2021/10/26/prime-minister-welcomes-new-cabinet
- ↑ "Liberal minister Carolyn Bennett announces she will not stand for re-election". CTVNews. 2023-07-24. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
- ↑ https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/other/adam-zivo-carolyn-bennett-s-exit-is-good-news-in-the-fight-against-opioid-diversion/ar-AA1euzix?cvid=42807782c3034a6394e940c2921b6d04&ocid=winp2fptaskbar&ei=8
- ↑ "The Honourable Carolyn Bennett". 3 November 2015. Archived from the original on 26 October 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
- ↑ "CPA Bulletin: December 2003 - NEWS - CAMIMH Honours Canadians for Raising Awareness About Mental Illness". 2016-08-07. Archived from the original on 2016-08-07. Retrieved 2019-02-07.
- ↑ "May Cohen Award". Federation of Medical Women of Canada.
- ↑ "Toronto NDP candidate resigns after discovery of controversial social media posts". CP24. September 15, 2021.
- ↑ "List of confirmed candidates – September 20, 2021 Federal Election". Elections Canada. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
- ↑ Result of voting, certificate of returning officer. 23 October 2019.
- ↑ "Election Night Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
- ↑ Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Toronto—St. Paul's, September 30 2015
- ↑ Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates Archived August 15, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ "Election Night Results - Electoral Districts".