1. Deborah Cleland Grey was born on July 1,1952 and is a retired Canadian politician who served as the leader of the Official Opposition in 2000, from March to September.
24 Facts About Deborah Grey
1. 2.
Deborah Grey currently serves on the advisory board of the Leaders' Debates Commission.
3.
Deborah Grey then worked as a teacher in a number of rural Alberta communities until 1989.
4.
Deborah Grey's first run for office was in the 1988 election, when she ran as the Reform candidate in Beaver River, a mostly rural riding in northeastern Alberta.
5.
Deborah Grey finished a distant fourth behind Progressive Conservative John Dahmer.
6.
Deborah Grey won a by-election in March 1989, almost tripling her vote total from the 1988 election to become Reform's first MP.
7.
Deborah Grey's first legislative assistant was a young Stephen Harper.
8.
Deborah Grey moved to Edmonton North at the request of several local conservatives dissatisfied with being represented by a Liberal, John Loney.
9.
Deborah Grey continued to represent this riding for the remainder of her career.
10.
Deborah Grey served as Reform's deputy leader and caucus chairwoman until March 2000, when the Reform Party was folded into the Canadian Alliance.
11.
When Manning stepped down as Leader of the Opposition to contest the Alliance leadership race, Deborah Grey was appointed interim leader of the Alliance, and hence Leader of the Opposition.
12.
Deborah Grey was the first female Leader of the Opposition in Canadian history.
13.
Deborah Grey held the post until new Alliance leader Stockwell Day was elected to the House of Commons in September 2000.
14.
Deborah Grey appointed Grey as deputy leader and caucus chairwoman .
15.
Deborah Grey resigned those posts on April 24,2001, in protest against Day's leadership.
16.
When Day offered an amnesty to the dissidents, Deborah Grey was one of seven who turned it down and formed the Democratic Representative Caucus, led by Strahl with Deborah Grey as deputy leader.
17.
In September 2001, the DRC formed a coalition caucus with the Progressive Conservatives, and Deborah Grey served as chairwoman of the PC-DRC caucus.
18.
Deborah Grey later said that she lost confidence in Day after seeing him attack his staffers after a public gaffe.
19.
Deborah Grey was co-chair, with former PC leader Peter MacKay, of the new party's first leadership convention in March 2004.
20.
Deborah Grey was not shy about tossing verbal barbs at the governing Liberals.
21.
Deborah Grey is well known for refusing to join the lucrative MP Pension Plan and ridiculing other "MP porkers" for feeding at the public trough.
22.
Deborah Grey's riding of Edmonton North was abolished for the 2004 federal election, and Deborah Grey retired from politics rather than attempting nomination in another.
23.
Deborah Grey was Western chairwoman of the Conservative campaign in the 2006 election, in which Harper became Prime Minister of Canada.
24.
Deborah Grey has been married to Lewis Larson since August 7,1993; they have no children together.