- Christopher Axworthy
Christopher S. Axworthy (born
March 10 ,1947 ,Plymouth, England Roberts, David. Why Chris Axworthy feels at home. The Globe and Mail. October 30, 1999. p. A22] ) is a Canadian politician.After teaching law at the
University of New Brunswick andDalhousie Law School , Chris Axworthy came to Saskatoon in 1984 as the founding Executive Director of the Centre for the Study of Co-operatives and as a Professor of Law at theUniversity of Saskatchewan . ] In 2003 he returned to theUniversity of Saskatchewan as a Professor of Law, where he taught until the spring of 2008.College of Law: Faculty and Staff Directory. Chris Axworthy.] In the spring of 2008, he was appointed as Dean ofRobson Hall (Faculty of Law - University of Manitoba) for a five year term beginning on July 1, 2008. [ [http://www.umanitoba.ca/law/newsite/index.php University of Manitoba: Faculty of Law ] ]Political career
He was elected as a
Saskatchewan Member of Parliament for theNew Democratic Party in 1988 and was re-elected in 1993 and 1997.He resigned from the House of Commons on
June 1 ,1999 to join thecabinet of then SaskatchewanPremier Roy Romanow . He was elected as a in a by-election as theSaskatchewan NDP MLA for the constituency of Saskatoon-Fairview with 64% of the vote. [NDP retains two ridings. The Globe and Mail. June 29, 1999. p. A5.] He was also reelected three months later in a general election that same year. He served as Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs. ] After Romanow stepped down, Axworthy ran againstLorne Calvert for the provincial NDP leadership convention and finished second. [Adams, Paul. Race tests Saskatchewan NDP. The Globe and Mail. January 26, 2001. p. A4] [Girard, Daniel. Calvert's first job to renegotiate coalition. The Toronto Star. January 29, 2001. p. A06.]Although he was an NDP member for his political career, he announced his bid for the Liberal nomination in the riding of
Saskatoon—Wanuskewin onMarch 5 ,2004 . He received 32.58% of the vote, but lost to incumbent Conservative MP,Maurice Vellacott .2006 Federal election
Axworthy ran against Vellacott again (as a Liberal) in the 2006 federal election but lost in a contest that was marked by controversy. During a live televised debate late in the campaign, a caller falsely suggested that Vellacott had been forced to leave a church after being accused of sexual assault. The call was subsequently traced to Axworthy's campaign headquarters. Axworthy described the allegations as "deplorable", and apologized to Vellacott for the situation. He denied that anyone in his office was put up to making the call, and suggested that a "mischief-maker" may have entered the office. [Coolican, Lori. Conservatives want Axworthy dumped. Saskatoon Star Phoenix. January 21, 2006. [http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/news/story.html?id=84af4101-8091-43c1-8d91-c3ac153532fa] ]
Vellacott's campaign later produced an affidavit from Saskatchewan politician
Tom Hengen , in which he named Axworthy campaign worker George Laliberte as the caller. [Hengen, Tom. Sworn Affadavit. January 20, 2006. [http://www.conservative.ca/media/20060120-HengenAffidavit.pdf] ] Axworthy later spoke to Laliberte, and reported that he vehemently denied making the call.References
External links
* [http://webinfo.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/ProfileMP.aspx?Key=5943 Canadian parliamentary profile]
*
* [http://www.usask.ca/law/about_us/bio.php?id=1 University of Saskatchewan profile]Political record
Federal
Provincial
Preceded by: Bob Mitchell ,Saskatchewan NDP Member of the Legislative Assembly fromSaskatoon-Fairview
(1999-2003)Succeeded by: Andy Iwanchuk ,Saskatchewan NDP
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