Honorable Audrey McLaughlin

Audrey McLaughlin was the Federal Member of Parliament for the Yukon from 1987 to 1997.  She served as Leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada from 1989-1995, the first woman elected to lead a federal party in Canada. She retired from electoral politics in 1997.

Before entering politics, she had a number of careers as farmer, social worker, professor, small business operator and community worker. She has a Master Degree in Social Work from the University of Toronto and an honorary doctorate from the same university awarded in 1995. In 1999, she was awarded an Honorary Senior Fellowship from Renison College, University of Waterloo; in 2003 she received an honorary doctorate from the University of Northern British Columbia and in 2010 an honorary degree from the University of Guelph. In 2020, she received an honorary degree from Yukon University. In 2004, she received the Order of Canada. In addition to the publication of numerous articles, her book, A Woman’s Place, My Life and Politics, was published in 1992.

In Whitehorse, Yukon, she operated a consulting business, specializing in community development, research, education, and training and indigenous issues. During this period, specialties included the development of cross-cultural curriculum, land claims and self-government research.

From 1996-1999, she was President of Socialist International Women and, as President, worked on all continents with women from member parties. She was also a Vice President of Socialist International and a member of the Global Progress Commission from 1989-1999.

She served as Circumpolar Envoy from 1997-2000 for the Government of Yukon, which involved working with the Arctic Council, Northern Forum and bilaterally with Russia, Alaska and Scandinavian countries.

International involvement included teaching in Ghana, West Africa, from 1964-1967 and volunteering with a women’s organization in Barbados developing micro economic projects in Barbados, West Indies, in 1986.

From 2002-2003, Ms. McLaughlin worked as program director in Morocco and in 2003-2004 as Director of Programs in Bahrain for the National Democratic Institute. In addition, Ms. McLaughlin has worked as a trainer and election observer for NDI, the Commonwealth Organization, and OSCE in the following countries: Ghana, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Burkino Faso, Tanzania, Niger, Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Zimbabwe, Kosovo, Bosnia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Jordon, Palestine, Qatar, Russia, Bosnia and Kazakhstan. In 2015, she was a member of a training team for civil servants and Ministers in Malawi.

She is a past board member of the Association of Former Parliamentarians, current Chair of Grandmothers to Grandmothers Yukon, Stephen Lewis Foundation, member of the past members of the HRH Prince of Wales Charities Canada Advisory Council, Current member of the Canadian Commission on the Pandemic and Education, Q21 University of Toronto.

Audrey is a grandmother and great-grandmother and lives in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada.