Susan Whelan

Susan Elizabeth Whelan, PC (/ˈhwiːlən/; born May 5, 1963, in Windsor, Ontario) is a former Canadian Member of Parliament with the Liberal Party of Canada. Whelan, a lawyer, first won a seat in the House of Commons of Canada in the 1993 election representing Essex—Windsor. In 1997 and 2000 she was elected to represent Essex. In 2002, Whelan was appointed by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien as Minister for International Cooperation as a cabinet minister.^[1]

Whelan was defeated by Conservative Jeff Watson at the 2004 election, and unsuccessfully tried to win back her old seat in 2006 and the 2008.^[2]

Susan Whelan is the daughter of former Liberal Federal Minister of Agriculture, the Honourable Eugene Whelan.^[1] Susan and her father hold the distinction of being the first father-daughter cabinet appointees.^[3]

Whelan shares her father's passionate interest in Canadian agriculture, having made Agriculture and Rural Development one of the key elements of policy during her tenure as Minister.^[4]

She has also instructed part-time at the University of Windsor, appropriately situated in the political science department.^[5]

She previously represented the Ambassador Bridge Company on the Green Corridor Project.^[6]

In June 2009, Whelan was named chief executive officer for the Ontario division of the Canadian Cancer Society. In August the same year, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.^[7] She resigned from the Canadian Cancer Society in order to focus on her recovery.

Whelan authors a blog entitled Susan's Fight Back, to share her experience, strength, and hope with others.^[8]

Whelan waspreviously the Executive Director of rare Charitable Research Reserve in Cambridge, Ontario^[9] and maintains a law practice in Windsor, Ontario.

Electoral record

v t e 2004 Canadian federal election: Essex
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jeff Watson	18,755	36.6%	-4.9%
	Liberal	Susan Whelan	17,926	35.0%	-9.4%
	New Democratic	David Tremblay	12,519	24.4%	+10.5%
	Green	Paul Forman	1,981	3.9%
	Marxist–Leninist	Robert Cruise	105	0.2%	-0.1%
Total valid votes			51,286	100.0%

Note: Conservative vote is compared to the total of the Canadian Alliance vote and Progressive Conservative vote in 2000 election.

v t e 2000 Canadian federal election: Essex
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Susan Whelan	20,524	44.3%	-1.7%
	Alliance	Scott Cowan	16,019	34.6%	+16.7%
	New Democratic	Marion Overholt	6,431	13.9%	-15.7%
	Progressive Conservative	Merrill Baker	3,175	6.9%	+0.4%
	Marxist–Leninist	Robert Cruise	152	0.3%
Total valid votes			46,301	100.0%

Note: Canadian Alliance vote is compared to the Reform vote in 1997 election.

v t e 1997 Canadian federal election: Essex
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Susan Whelan	22,052	46.1%	-9.1%
	New Democratic	Gerry Bastien	14,180	29.6%	+1.9%
	Reform	John Larsen	8,545	17.9%	+4.7%
	Progressive Conservative	Dave Wylupek	3,086	6.4%	+3.2%
Total valid votes			47,863	100.0%

v t e 1993 Canadian federal election: Essex—Windsor
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Susan Whelan	25,200	55.1%	+13.8%
	New Democratic	Steven W. Langdon	12,650	27.7%	-16.4%
	Reform	John Larsen	6,029	13.2%
	Progressive Conservative	Brian Payne	1,481	3.2%	-11.1%
	National	George Opacic	194	0.4%
	Marxist–Leninist	Paul Hawkins	83	0.2%
	Commonwealth of Canada	Vlado Zugaj	67	0.1%
Total valid votes			45,704	100.0%