CHARLOTTETOWN – Political ground-breaker and Island icon, Catherine Callbeck, was honoured by past colleagues, students, friends and family as she was installed as the ninth chancellor of the University of Prince Edward Island on Saturday.
Callbeck, a former Island MLA, member of parliament and premier, has had a long and active involvement in business, politics and charitable and public service groups at all levels and has received honours for these contributions.
She received her early education in Central Bedeque and Summerside and went on to earn commerce and education degrees from Mount Allison University and Dalhousie University respectively. After a period of teaching, Callbeck returned to P.E.I. where she became involved with her family’s business — Callbeck's Limited and Callbeck's Furniture.
She was the second woman ever elected to the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island and, from 1974 to 1978, served as the first female Minister of Health and Social Services, Minister Responsible for the Disabled, and Minister Responsible for Non-Status Indians. In 1978 she left politics and returned to her family’s business.
In 1988, she re-entered politics, this time on the federal level. She was the first woman elected as the Member of Parliament for Malpeque, making her the second woman ever to be elected to the House of Commons from P.E.I. She returned to provincial politics in 1993 when she was elected Leader of the Liberal Party of P.E.I., and soon after, became the first woman in Canada to be elected as premier of a province. In 1997, she was called to the Senate of Canada where she served until her retirement in July 2014.
Callbeck was named a member of the Order of Canada in 2015 and Order of P.E.I. in 2017 and holds honorary Doctor of Laws degrees from both Mount Allison University (1996) and the University of Prince Edward Island (2015).
The Central Bedeque native was unanimously elected to the volunteer position earlier this year by the university’s board of governors.
As Chancellor, Callbeck will preside over the university’s convocation ceremonies each spring, conferring degrees, diplomas and certificates.
Callbeck replaces UPEI’s eighth chancellor Dr. Don McDougall. She is the second woman to hold the post; Doris H. Anderson was UPEI’s first female University Chancellor from 1992 – 1996.
