Human Rights A Day

Sheila Copps, Canada’s first female deputy prime minister, is born. Sheila Copps was born in Hamilton, Ontario on November 27, 1952. A year after her father completed 14 years as the city’s mayor, Copps ran for provincial office as a Liberal. She lost that election, but won on her next attempt in 1981. By 1984, she’d moved to federal politics just in time to see her Liberal Party take one of its worst beatings at the hand of Progressive Conservative Brian Mulroney. Even so, Copps made her mark as one of the tenacious “rat pack,” taking on difficult issues and Opposition portfolios. In 1990, she made a bid for the leadership of her party. Even though she lost to Jean Chrétien, her strong showing enticed Chrétien to appoint her deputy leader. In 1993, the Liberal Party handed the PC Party its worst defeat in history while Copps ended up close to the top. Besides her cabinet post as environment minister, Copps became the first woman in Canada to hold the post of deputy prime minister. Years later, she ran a seco