Anne McLellan

Anne McLellan studied at King's College London, Dalhousie University and The Dickson Poon School of Law. The recorded working language is English. Places of work recorded in the authority are Ottawa. Employment is recorded with University of Alberta and University of New Brunswick. Positions recorded include Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and Minister of Health. Distinctions recorded are Officer of the Order of Canada.

• Honorific Prefix — The Honourable • Name — Anne McLellan • Order — 9th • Office — Deputy Prime Minister of Canada • Term Start — December 12, 2003 • Term End — February 6, 2006 • Prime Minister — Paul Martin • Predecessor — John Manley • Successor — Chrystia Freeland (2019) • Office1 — Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness • Prime Minister1 — Paul Martin • Term Start1 — April 4, 2005 • Term End1 — February 6, 2006 • Predecessor1 — Herself (as Solicitor General) • Successor1 — Stockwell Day • Office2 — Solicitor General of Canada • Prime Minister2 — Jean Chrétien Paul Martin • Term Start2 — December 12, 2003 • Term End2 — April 3, 2005 • Predecessor2 — Wayne Easter • Successor2 — Herself (as Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness) • Office3 — Minister of Health • Prime Minister3 — Jean Chrétien • Term Start3 — January 15, 2002 • Term End3 — December 12, 2003 • Predecessor3 — Allan Rock • Successor3 — Pierre Pettigrew • Office4 — Minister of Justice Attorney General of Canada • Prime Minister4 — Jean Chrétien • Term Start4 — June 11, 1997 • Term End4 — January 14, 2002 • Predecessor4 — Allan Rock • Successor4 — Martin Cauchon • Office5 — Minister of Natural Resources • Prime Minister5 — Jean Chretien • Term Start5 — November 4, 1993 • Term End5 — June 10, 1997 • Predecessor5 — Bobbie Sparrow • Successor5 — Ralph Goodale • Riding6 — Edmonton Centre (Edmonton West; 1997–2004) (Edmonton Northwest; 1993–1997) • Parliament6 — Canadian • Term Start6 — October 25, 1993 • Term End6 — January 23, 2006 • Predecessor6 — Murray Dorin • Successor6 — Laurie Hawn • Born — 31 August 1950 • Birthplace — Hants County, Nova Scotia, Canada • Party — Liberal • Occupation — Lawyer, law professor, politician • Alma Mater — Dalhousie University (BA, LLB) King's College London (LLM)

McLellan earned bachelor's degrees in Arts and Law from Halifax's Dalhousie University. She then earned a Master of Laws from King's College London in the United Kingdom in 1975. She became a professor of law, first at the University of New Brunswick and then, beginning in 1980, at the University of Alberta Faculty of Law where she served at various times as associate dean and dean. She has also been on the board of directors of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.

Her first foray into politics was as the Liberal candidate for the riding of Edmonton Northwest in the 1993 general election, when she won her seat by 12 votes over the first runner-up candidate. She quickly became a rising star in the Liberal Party, being one of four Liberals elected in Alberta, and was named to cabinet as Minister of Natural Resources. McLellan has the prenominal "the Honourable" and the postnominal "PC" for life by virtue of being made a member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada on November 4, 1993. Ahead of the 1997 election, Edmonton Northwest was abolished in changes to the boundaries of the federal ridings. She was re-elected by narrow margins in the re-established riding of Edmonton West in 1997 and 2000, despite the Liberals' general unpopularity in Alberta. Her narrow victory in 1993 earned her the nickname "Landslide Annie" in Canadian political circles. McLellan served as Attorney General and Minister of Justice from 1997 until 2002, with responsibility for implementing new anti-terror and security laws following the September 11 attacks in the United States, and the implementation of the Canadian gun registry. She served as Minister of Health from 2002 to 2003. Though she supported Paul Martin for the Liberal leadership, Jean Chrétien retained her in his cabinet, in part because Chrétien wanted an Albertan in his cabinet for the sake of regional representation.

On being sworn in as Prime Minister on December 12, 2003, Paul Martin named her his deputy prime minister. McLellan was also named minister for the newly created Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness. As Deputy Prime Minister, she was also chair of the Cabinet Operations Committee. McLellan's appointment was one of a number of women given senior positions in the Paul Martin government. During the 2004 federal election, she was re-elected by 721 votes, or just over 1% of the vote, defeating Laurie Hawn of the Conservative Party of Canada in the re-formed riding of Edmonton Centre, where she ran after her Edmonton West constituency was abolished. In the 2006 federal election, the Conservatives won government and Hawn defeated McLellan by 45.01% to 38.36%. McLellan is one of the few Canadian parliamentarians to have spent her entire career as a cabinet member. This is due to the fact that McLellan was elected to parliament as a Liberal from Alberta, a historically weak province for the party. Serving as the only Liberal MP from the province, her inclusion as a cabinet member, and later elevation as Deputy Prime Minister, was tantamount to ensuring regional representation.

On May 12, 2006, McLellan was appointed Distinguished Scholar in Residence to the University of Alberta at the Canadian university's Institute for United States Policy Studies. On June 27, 2006, she also became counsel to the Edmonton-based law firm Bennett Jones LLP. She also became a director on the boards of Nexen Inc., Agrium Inc. and Cameco Corporation. On July 1, 2009, McLellan was appointed an officer of the Order of Canada for her service as a politician and law professor, and for her contributions as a community volunteer. On May 9, 2013, she was appointed to the Alberta Order of Excellence for her achievements in politics, law and advanced education. In 2015, she was appointed Chancellor of Dalhousie University. On November 28, 2017, Pearson College UWC named her the chair of its board of directors. On October 29, 2019, following the 2019 Canadian federal election, in which the Liberal Party did not win any seats in Alberta and Saskatchewan, the Prime Minister's Office announced that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had hired McLellan as an adviser. The Office said McLellan would assist the prime minister as he formed a government against the backdrop of a growing sentiment of western alienation. In the 2025 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election, she endorsed Mark Carney.