The Politics of Principle

A comprehensive biography of former premier and current senator, Catherine Callbeck, was released in November. Written by Island historian and political scientist, Wayne MacKinnon, the book, entitled, The Politics of Principle, details Callbeck’s career from her first public involvement as a volunteer in her local community, through her groundbreaking election as Canada’s first elected female premier and subsequent service in the Senate of Canada.

While Callbeck’s public persona over the past 35 years is well-known, this detailed biography examines her early life and discusses the family and community influences which instilled the values which she carried throughout her political career.

via @Buzzon.com

Catherine Callbeck Bio

Born July 25, 1939) is a Canadian politician and a current member of the Senate of Canada.

She was the 28th Premier of Prince Edward Island from 1993 to 1996, the second female provincial premier in Canadian history, and the first to win a general election (the first female premier, Rita Johnston of British Columbia, became premier after winning the party leadership but lost the subsequent election).

Born in Central Bedeque, Prince Edward Island, the daughter of Ralph R. Callbeck and Ruth Campbell,^[1] she received a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Mount Allison University in 1960 and a Bachelor of Education degree from Dalhousie University in 1962. She took post-graduate courses in business administration from Syracuse University.^[2]

Callbeck was a business teacher in New Brunswick and Ontario before returning to the island to enter the family retail business.^[1]