Elaine McCoy
Independent Progressive Conservative Senator (Alberta); lawyer.
Contributor Biography
Senator McCoy, QC, was born March 7, 1946 in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada. She is a Canadian senator from Alberta.
She is an alumna of the University of Alberta, and holds an LL.B (1969) and Bachelor of Arts in English (1968). Prior to entering provincial politics, she pursued a career in law as senior legal counsel for the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board and as counsel for TransAlta Utilities Corporation.
From 1986-1993, she was the Alberta Progressive Conservative MLA for Calgary West in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.
In 1986, she was named to Cabinet as Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs and Minister responsible for Women’s Issues by Premier Don Getty. In 1989, McCoy was appointed as Alberta’s Minister of Labour and Minister responsible for Human Rights, in which portfolio she was responsible for Alberta’s personnel administration office.
Previous to her appointment to the Senate, she served as President of the Macleod Institute, an affiliate organization to the University of Calgary that specializes in program evaluation and environmental management.
McCoy was appointed to the Senate on the recommendation of Prime Minister Paul Martin on March 24, 2005. She sits in the Upper House representing Alberta as a Progressive Conservative, one of only two sitting Senators with that designation. She also sits on the Senate Committee for Rules, Procedures, and the Rights of Parliament, and actively participates on the Energy, Environment, and Natural Resources Committee.
