Denise Savoie

On January 23, 2006, Denise Savoie became the first woman elected as Member of Parliament for Victoria. She was re-elected in the October 14, 2008 general election.

During her first term, she served as critic for post-secondary education, skills training and literacy in Jack Layton's NDP caucus, and as co-chair of the party's environment caucus. In her role as post-secondary critic she successfully pushed the government to establish a grant program, making post-secondary education more affordable and reducing student debt.

She sponsored a private-member bill, the Early Learning and Child Care Act, guaranteeing affordable, quality child care across Canada, that was scheduled for Third Reading in the House of Commons this fall. She also initiated legislation to increase rental housing, introduced motions to formalize the moratorium on oil and gas tanker traffic and voted for absolute targets on greenhouse gases, set in law, to tackle climate change.

As MP, she held public forums in Victoria on food security, the environment, issues affecting seniors and the Conservatives' undemocratic Security and Prosperity Partnership negotiations that threaten Canada's water, economy and sovereignty.

As a former Victoria City Councillor and Capital Regional District Director from 1999 to 2005, Denise helped to establish a regional housing trust, brought leadership to the harbour cleanup and heritage preservation, and received two national awards for her work on the environment. As a community activist, Denise was a pioneer in alternative transportation. She spearheaded development of the Galloping Goose Trail and the Selkirk Trestle.

Denise lives in Victoria West and has three children and five grandchildren. An educator by profession, she is bilingual in French and English.

"As a parent and grandparent, I am committed to preserving this fragile planet of ours. As an educator, I know that we can learn to share its bounty in sustainable ways. As a community activist and municipal councillor, I learned how to get things done by bringing diverse people and ideas together. As your MP, I am convinced that we can restore confidence in our parliamentary system if we manage our democracy with wisdom and respect."