20 Facts About Judy Erola

Judy Erola later became an account executive for CHNO, and married Voito Erola, the owner of a marina on Lake Panache, in 1955.

Judy Erola ran in the 1979 election as the Liberal candidate in Nickel Belt, losing to incumbent New Democrat John Rodriguez.

Judy Erola's campaign in that year was marked in part by a stumble when her election brochure called for "nationalization of farmland usage policies"; challenged in a radio interview to clarify her position given that the Liberal Party was generally opposed to nationalization, she clarified that the word was a typographical error whose intended meaning was rationalization.

Judy Erola faced some controversy during and after the election campaign, both for characterizing Rodriguez as a Marxist in her election literature and for a telephone message targeted to housewives, which appeared to suggest that electing a woman to the House of Commons was more important than having representation for labour issues, a position which starkly divided the city in the still-lingering aftermath of the devastating 1978 Inco strike.

Judy Erola served in the Cabinet of Canada for the entirety of her term as a federal Member of Parliament, despite an early perception that her caucus colleague Doug Frith was more likely to be chosen as the Sudbury area's representative in cabinet.

Shortly after being named to cabinet, Judy Erola resigned her position as director and treasurer of the marina company, in compliance with federal conflict of interest regulations for cabinet ministers.

In June 1980, Judy Erola faced criticism for using a government flight to transport colleagues from Ottawa to Sudbury to attend a testimonial dinner for former Liberal MP James Jerome.

Judy Erola strongly supported the development of a mining equipment manufacturing industry in Canada as a bulwark against machinery shortages, and made special efforts to reassure mining companies that they would not be the target of a policy similar to the controversial National Energy Program.

Judy Erola instituted a task force within the ministry to examine potential solutions to the economic difficulties faced by mining communities when the local mining industry reduced staff or closed down.

In September 1981, Judy Erola was given the position of Minister responsible for the Status of Women alongside her existing duties as Minister of Mines.

Judy Erola was the first woman to be named to that position, which had previously been held by Lloyd Axworthy.

Judy Erola supported efforts to improve maternity leave pay for women, attempts to toughen federal laws against domestic violence, reforms to the Indian Act which would improve the rights of indigenous women marrying non-indigenous men, reforms to the organizational structure of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women, and stricter policies against the use of gender stereotypes in government communications.

In October 1982, Judy Erola became the first woman ever appointed to the cabinet's priorities and planning committee, which debates and decides on the direction of government policy.

Judy Erola immediately pledged to place a greater emphasis on consumer issues than her predecessor Andre Ouellet, who had sometimes been criticized for giving those issues short shrift.

Judy Erola proposed, but later abandoned, legislation to limit corporate mergers in newspaper publishing.

However, in the 1984 election, which saw the governing Liberals reduced to just 40 seats, Judy Erola was defeated by Rodriguez.

In 1987, Judy Erola became president of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers' Association of Canada, a position she held until her retirement in 1998.

Judy Erola was succeeded in that role by Murray Elston, a former Member of Provincial Parliament in Ontario.

Judy Erola was an ex officio delegate to the 2006 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election.

Judy Erola has served on the board of Equal Voice, an organization which seeks to assist Canadian women in running for political office.