Anne McGrath (born c. 1958) is a Canadian political advisor. McGrath was president of the New Democratic Party from 2006 to 2009, National Director of the NDP from 2019 to 2024[1] and previously from 2014 to 2015, principal secretary to former Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, and as Notley's deputy chief of staff.[2] McGrath is currently serving as the principal secretary to federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh in the House of Commons.
Anne McGrath | |
|---|---|
 McGrath at the NDP's 2011 federal election campaign launch | |
| National Director of the New Democratic Party | |
| In office 2019–2024 | |
| Leader | Jagmeet Singh |
| Preceded by | Melissa Bruno |
| Succeeded by | Lucy Watson |
| In office 2014–2015 | |
| Leader | Tom Mulcair |
| Preceded by | Nathan Rothman |
| Succeeded by | Karl Bélanger |
| Principal Secretary to the Premier of Alberta | |
| In office June 2016 – April 2019 | |
| Premier | Rachel Notley |
| President of the New Democratic Party | |
| In office September 10, 2006 – August 16, 2009 | |
| Leader | Jack Layton |
| Preceded by | Adam Giambrone |
| Succeeded by | Peggy Nash |
| Personal details | |
| Born | c. 1958 Aldershot, England |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Political party | New Democratic Party (since at least 1993) |
| Other political affiliations | Communist Party of Canada (1984) |
Background
editMcGrath was born in Aldershot, England to Irish parents. Her family moved to Montreal when she was a child and later to Ottawa. Her father was a school principal and her mother was a teacher.[3]
She studied English literature at the University of Ottawa and in 1979–80 she was President of the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa.[4][3]
After graduating, she moved to Edmonton to work as a field organizer for the Alberta Federation of Students while studying for an education degree at the University of Alberta and became politically active.[3]
She graduated with a Bachelor of Education from the University of Alberta and began her career as a teacher. She then held a variety of positions with not-for-profit organizations including working as Canadian Programme Officer for Oxfam Canada and Community Development Team Leader and senior education officer for the Canadian Mental Health Association. She has a master's degree in communications studies.[5] She has worked as a managing director at the lobbying firm Ensight,[6] and is an associate at the public relations firm Hill+Knowlton Strategies.[7] She has also served as a board member and social issues chair of the Elizabeth Fry Society, Vice-President of National Action Committee on the Status of Women, and a member of the Steering Committee for the Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action: Beijing and Beyond.[8]
McGrath is a frequent commentator on national media broadcasts and has been identified as one of the 100 most influential people in government and politics in Ottawa. She has been an activist in the labour, student and women's movements [9] and had been employed by CUPE National as Director of Equality and as executive assistant to CUPE's national president Judy Darcy, and by Oxfam Canada.
Politics
editIn the 1984 federal election, while a student, she ran as candidate for the Communist Party of Canada in Edmonton—Strathcona,[10] placing seventh. Of her involvement with the Communist Party she says "I was young, probably naïve, interested in talking about politics. And very influenced by friends and teachers.".[3] At a debate at the Calgary Varsity Centre in April 2019, McGrath apologised for her past involvement with the Communist Party saying she was no longer a Communist stating, "Four decades ago when I was a young student, I was a member [of the Communist Party] and I deeply regret that. It was a mistake and I'm very sorry."[11]
In 1993, McGrath was the Alberta New Democratic Party's candidate in Calgary-Bow.[12] In 1995 she was its candidate in a provincial by-election in Calgary-McCall and came in third place.[13] In 1995, she unsuccessfully challenged Ross Harvey for the leadership of the Alberta New Democratic Party.
McGrath was president of the New Democratic Party from 2006 to 2009; she was elected on September 10, 2006, at the party's convention in Quebec City and her term ended on August 16, 2009 when Peggy Nash was elected president at the party's convention in Halifax. Before that, she had been director of operations for the NDP federal caucus.[citation needed]
As Chief of Staff to Jack Layton (2008–2011), she is credited with professionalizing caucus operations and with helping organize the party's historic breakthrough to Official Opposition status. She stayed on as chief of staff to interim party leader Nycole Turmel and the federal NDP Caucus, during Turmel's interim leadership.[citation needed] McGrath also served as the National Director of the New Democratic Party (NDP) of Canada (2014-2015).[citation needed]
McGrath served as principal secretary to former Alberta Premier Rachel Notley and as Notley's deputy chief of staff.[2]
McGrath was the NDP candidate in Calgary-Varsity in the 2019 Alberta general election.[citation needed]
She was portrayed by Wendy Crewson in the 2013 CBC Television film Jack.[citation needed]
Electoral record
editFederal
edit| 1984 Canadian federal election: Edmonton—Strathcona | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | David Kilgour | 33,712 | 61.43 | +2.05 | ||||
| New Democratic | Doris S. Burghardt | 11,095 | 20.22 | +8.21 | ||||
| Liberal | Sandra Douglas-Tubb | 8,500 | 15.49 | −11.66 | ||||
| Confederation of Regions | Lorne Cass | 749 | 1.36 | |||||
| Green | Russell John Mulvey | 466 | 0.85 | |||||
| Social Credit | Norman Utz | 218 | 0.40 | |||||
| Communist | Anne McGrath | 137 | 0.25 | −0.01 | ||||
| Total valid votes | 54,877 | 100.00 | ||||||
Provincial
edit| 2019 Alberta general election: Calgary-Varsity | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| United Conservative | Jason Copping | 10,853 | 46.16 | +1.90 | ||||
| New Democratic | Anne McGrath | 10,215 | 43.44 | +3.29 | ||||
| Alberta Party | Beth Barberree | 1,687 | 7.17 | +6.05 | ||||
| Liberal | Ryan Campbell | 383 | 1.63 | -10.48 | ||||
| Green | Cheryle Chagnon-Greyeyes | 274 | 1.17 | -1.04 | ||||
| Independence | Chris McAndrew | 101 |
0.43 |
New
| ||||
| Total valid votes | 23,513 | 99.89 | ||||||
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | 264 | 1.11 | ||||||
| Turnout | 23,777 | 73.34 | ||||||
| Eligible electors | 32,422 | |||||||
| United Conservative notional hold | Swing | -0.69 | ||||||
Source(s)
"2019 Provincial General Election Results". Elections Alberta. Retrieved 2019-04-30. | ||||||||
| Alberta provincial by-election, April 20, 1995: Calgary-McCall | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Shiraz Shariff | 2,496 | 43.64 | −1.44 | ||||
| Liberal | Jeet Shergill | 1,980 | 34.61 | 2.63 | ||||
| New Democratic | Anne McGrath | 713 | 12.46 | 2.61 | ||||
| Social Credit | Doug Cooper | 470 | 8.22 | |||||
| Confederation of Regions | Peter Hope | 61 | 1.07 | −0.34 | ||||
| Total | 5,720 | |||||||
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | 17 | |||||||
| Eligible electors / Turnout | 20,514 | 27.97 | ||||||
| Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | −2.04 | ||||||
| Source: "Calgary-McCall by-election official results". Elections Alberta. April 20, 1995. Retrieved February 6, 2012. | ||||||||
| 1993 Alberta general election: Calgary-Bow | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Bonnie Laing | 7,011 | 46.28% | 11.39% | ||||
| Liberal | Rob Van Walleghem | 5,369 | 35.44% | 1.22% | ||||
| New Democratic | Anne McGrath | 1,908 | 12.59% | -18.29% | ||||
| Social Credit | Patrick John Hudson | 376 | 2.48% | – | ||||
| Greens | David Crowe | 287 | 1.89% | – | ||||
| Confederation of Regions | Roberta McDonald | 120 | 0.79% | – | ||||
| Natural Law | Alan Livingston | 78 | 0.51% | – | ||||
| Total | 15,149 | – | – | |||||
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | 60 | – | – | |||||
| Eligible electors / turnout | 23,546 | 64.59% | 12.48% | |||||
| Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | 5.09% | ||||||
Source(s)
Source: "Calgary-Bow Official Results 1993 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. | ||||||||
1995 Alberta NDP leadership challenge
edit(Held on November 11, 1995)[14]
- Ross Harvey 177
- Anne McGrath 118
- Joe Weykowich 30
- Lawrence Dubrofsky 3
References
edit- ^ https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/ndp-top-staff-changes-1.7083904 [bare URL]
- ^ a b "Anne McGrath".
- ^ a b c d Kennedy, Mark (13 February 2015). "Anne McGrath: 'She's the calm in the storm … a person who makes it work' (with video)". Ottawa Citizen.
- ^ "The Ottawa Journal from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on January 15, 1980 · Page 5". Newspapers.com. 15 January 1980.
- ^ "Anne McGrath". Ipolitics.ca.
- ^ Barton, Rosemary (October 10, 2013). "Anne McGrath returns to NDP in pre-election role". CBC. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
- ^ "NDP Strategist Anne McGrath joins Hill+Knowlton Strategies' Ottawa Office". Market Insider. July 30, 2019. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
- ^ Climenhaga, David J. (2015-11-28). "Federal NDP national director Anne McGrath named Rachel Notley's deputy chief of staff". rabble.ca. Retrieved 2024-06-23.
- ^ "Anne McGrath elected NDP President" (Press release). New Democratic Party. September 10, 2006. Archived from the original on September 30, 2008. Retrieved August 26, 2011.
- ^ "Election '84 - Edmonton Strathcona (Candidate profiles)". Edmonton Journal. August 31, 1984. Retrieved August 26, 2011.
- ^ "Anne McGrath Apologizes for Communist Past! PLUS Voter Interviews | Keean Bexte". YouTube. 2019-04-08. Retrieved 2019-04-10.
- ^ "Elections - Canadian Elections Database". Canadianelectionsdatabase.ca.
- ^ "Summary of Results for Past By-elections". September 27, 2007. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007.
- ^ Edmonton Journal, November 13, 1995
