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Minister
First elected as a Member of Parliament for Edmonton - Spruce Grove in 2004, Minister Ambrose was re-elected in 2006, 2008 and 2011. Ms. Ambrose was appointed Minister of Health on July 15, 2013.
Ms. Ambrose has held several positions in Prime Minister Stephen Harper's cabinet: she was appointed Minister of the Environment in February 2006, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Minister of Western Economic Diversification in January 2007, Minister of Labour in October 2008 and Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada in January 2010. In April 2010, she was appointed to the additional position of Minister for Status of Women.
When she was appointed Minister of the Environment in 2006, she was the youngest woman to be appointed to Cabinet in Canadian history. As Environment Minister, Ms. Ambrose introduced the Clean Air Act and was a leader in calling for a new international agreement, which would include all major emitters, a position now adopted by the international community in the Copenhagen Accord.
As Minister of Labour, she helped resolve strikes at VIA Rail, Ottawa's public transit system and the Canadian National Railway.
In her role as Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada, Ms. Ambrose made improving the transparency, accountability and fairness of the procurement process one of her top priorities. When the Government of Canada made the historic decision to build the Royal Canadian Navy and Canadian Coast Guard fleets in Canada, it was under her leadership that the Government of Canada developed and implemented the successful National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy. This strategy ensured that the process used to award $33 billion in contracts was fair, independent and merit-based.
As Minister for the Status of Women, she worked tirelessly to address the problem of violence against women and girls. She has shown leadership by raising awareness of honour crimes in Canada and promoting equal rights for Aboriginal women.
She led Canada's call for an "International Day of the Girl" at the United Nations to help raise awareness of the discrimination faced by girls, as well as their tremendous potential. The House of Commons unanimously supported a motion put forward by Ms. Ambrose to have Canada lead this international campaign. The resolution designating the International Day of the Girl was adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 19, 2011. Canada celebrated the first International Day of the Girl on October 11, 2012.
Her community service has included involvement with organizations working to end violence against women; including the Status of Women Action Group, the Victoria Sexual Assault and Sexual Abuse Crisis Centre, and the Edmonton Women's Shelter.
Ms. Ambrose holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Victoria and a Master's Degree in Political Science from the University of Alberta.
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