Janis Johnson is the longest-serving Conservative member of Senate, and was the first woman to serve as the national director of the former Progressive Conservative Party of Canada.
21 Facts About Janis Johnson
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Janis Johnson was born in Winnipeg on 27 April 1946, to Doris Marjorie Blondal and George Johnson.
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Janis Johnson attended Kelvin High School and the University of Winnipeg Collegiate, where she graduated in 1965.
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Janis Johnson went on to receive a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science with honours standing in 1968 from the University of Manitoba.
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Janis Johnson was a leader of the university's students' union.
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Janis Johnson went on to become policy advisor to the party president.
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From 1971 to 1979, Janis Johnson worked closely with Frank Moores, helping to organize his campaign for Premier of Newfoundland, which led to the defeat of Joey Smallwood in 1971.
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Janis Johnson worked as a freelance consultant in public affairs as well as being a lecturer in the University of Manitoba's Faculty of Continuing Education.
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That year, she joined the Canadian National Railways board of directors, where she served until 1990; Janis Johnson notably convinced CN to establish a head office daycare, a first in Canada's corporate sector.
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In 1990, Janis Johnson was appointed to represent the province of Manitoba in the Senate by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.
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Janis Johnson was a senior member of the Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade, the Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources, and Senate Chair of the Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group.
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In 2014, Janis Johnson became the Honorary Chair of Nature Canada's Women for Nature Initiative.
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In 2015, Janis Johnson was named among 30 senators in an audit of Senate expenses.
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Janis Johnson criticized the report, but later repaid the $22,706 it said she owed in questionable travel expenses, maintaining that they were legitimate and the report was incorrect.
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Janis Johnson retired from the Senate on September 27,2016, exactly 26 years after she was appointed.
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Janis Johnson was the longest-serving Conservative member of the Senate and Manitoba's longest-serving senator.
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Janis Johnson was a founding member of the Manitoba Special Olympics board and sat on the Canadian Special Olympics board for 10 years.
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Janis Johnson has served on the advisory board of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, as well as the board of directors of the University of Winnipeg, Prairie Theatre Exchange, and the Winnipeg Art Gallery.
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Janis Johnson contributed to the founding of the Mature Women's Health Clinic and assisted in the development of Qaumajuq at the Winnipeg Art Gallery.
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Janis Johnson was the second wife of Frank Moores, whom Janis Johnson worked closely with and helped to organize his campaign for Premier of Newfoundland in 1971.
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In 2022, Janis Johnson was appointed to the Order of Canada, and in July 2023, was inducted into the Order of Manitoba.