Joy Ann Smith

Joy Smith
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Joy Ann Smith (born February 20, 1947) is a Manitoba politician. She served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba between 1999 and 2003, and was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in 2004.

Smith was born in Deloraine, Manitoba. She holds a Master's Degree in Education from the University of Manitoba (majoring in Math and Science), and a music degree from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. She worked as a teacher for twenty-one years before entering political life, and in 1986 received the Hedley Award for Excellence in Research. During the 1990s, she served as a liaison for private and home-schooling groups.

Smith is also an entrepreneur. She published a book entitled Lies My Kid's Teacher Told Me in 1996, and a follow-up entitled, Tools of the Trade a few years later. She was also the owner of Gem Records for a time. In 1996, she was nominated for Manitoba's Woman Entrepreneur of the Year award.

Smith was elected to the Manitoba legislature in the 1999 provincial election, as a Progressive Conservative candidate in the south-central Winnipeg constituency of Fort Garry. She defeated New Democrat Lawrie Cherniack by thirty votes, in one of the closest constituency races of the campaign. The New Democratic Party won the election, and Smith served as the Progressive Conservative critic for education and justice.

Fort Garry was a top NDP target in the 2003 election, and Smith lost the constituency to New Democrat Kerri Irvin-Ross by eighty-seven votes. Neither the NDP nor its social-democratic predecessors had ever won the seat before. In the 2004 federal election, Smith campaigned as a Conservative candidate in the north-end Winnipeg riding of Kildonanâ€"St. Paul. She had previously been nominated as a candidate of the Canadian Alliance, before that party merged with the Progressive Conservatives in 2003-04.

Smith narrowly defeated Liberal candidate Terry Duguid, 13,582 votes to 13,304.
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Despite being one of only a few Conservative female MPs from Western Canada, Smith was not appointed as a critic by Conservative leader Stephen Harper.
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In 2004, Smith was selected to be part of the Canadian delegation assigned to observe a court-ordered repeat of the second round of voting the Ukrainian presidential election.

Smith is a social conservative, and has been described as being on the right-wing of her party. She has been a vocal opponent of gay rights legislation throughout her political career. In 2002, as justice critic for the Manitoba Progressive Conservatives, she spoke against a bill which provided adoption rights to same-sex couples in that province. Smith argued that her party did not oppose same-sex adoption rights as such, but that the proposed legislation was flawed.[1]

Later, in a parliamentary debate on same-sex marriage in June 2005, Smith argued that Canada's Bill C-38 would "cause marriage to just go away with the stroke of a pen".[2]. During the same debate, she broke down and cried that her daughter would never be able to get married and know that marriage is between a man and a woman.

Conservative Education critic Joy Smith met with Brandon education officials Tuesday.Smith was told about concerns the educators have such as amalgamation and the lack of funding.Smith says she was impressed.Smith says she's been told by parents that teachers need more support in the classroom and that the budget money is not enough.Smith says education minister Drew Caldwell has no long term ... ( full article ).
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Smith was sworn yesterday as Consumer and Corporate Affairs minister.He's also responsible for the Liquor Control Commission.Smith says he was informed of the appointment three days ago.He says the next few weeks wil be an education.Brandon East MLA Drew Caldwell remains in the educations portfolio and has added responsibilities ... ( full article ).

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