1. Sheila Copps is a second-generation member of a political family that has dominated Hamilton-area politics on the municipal, provincial and federal levels.
45 Facts About Sheila Copps
1. 2.
Sheila Copps's mother, Geraldine Florence Copps, was a Hamilton city councillor.
3.
Sheila Copps is married to Austin Thorne, and has one daughter, Danelle.
4.
Sheila Copps was the first sitting Member of Parliament in Canadian history to give birth while a member.
5.
Sheila Copps earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in French and English from King's University College at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, and pursued further studies at McMaster University in Hamilton and the University of Rouen in France.
6.
Sheila Copps worked as a newspaper journalist with the Hamilton Spectator and the Ottawa Citizen.
7.
Sheila Copps entered provincial politics in the 1977 provincial election, running for the Ontario Liberal Party in Hamilton Centre.
8.
Sheila Copps lost, finishing 14 votes behind incumbent New Democrat Mike Davison.
9.
Copps appeared on the ballot for this election as "Sheila Copps Miller", using the surname of her then-husband.
10.
Sheila Copps defeated Davison by 2,804 votes, and joined thirty-three other Liberals in forming the Official Opposition to Premier William Davis's Progressive Conservative government.
11.
Sheila Copps ran for the leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party in 1982 following Smith's resignation, and despite her lack of experience finished second against David Peterson.
12.
Sheila Copps turned to national politics in the 1984 federal election, campaigning for the federal Liberals in the riding of Hamilton East.
13.
Sheila Copps was personally elected, defeating New Democratic Party candidate David Christopherson by 2,661 votes, but had relatively few allies in the House of Commons for the next four years.
14.
Sheila Copps proved to be an influential member of the small Liberal opposition.
15.
Sheila Copps became a prominent member of the "Rat Pack," a group of young Liberal MPs who made it their business to bring misery to the Mulroney government.
16.
Sheila Copps released her autobiography, Nobody's Baby, only two years into her federal career, and was by all accounts a rising star in Canadian politics.
17.
In 1987, Sheila Copps became the first sitting MP in Canadian history to give birth, when her daughter Danelle was born.
18.
Later, Sheila Copps commented that she became part of her "entourage," making friends across the country.
19.
In 1988, Sheila Copps was re-elected without difficulty in the federal election.
20.
Sheila Copps was a candidate in the 1990 Liberal leadership race to succeed John Turner.
21.
Sheila Copps finished third, behind Jean Chretien and Paul Martin.
22.
In 1992, Sheila Copps supported Murray Elston's unsuccessful bid to succeed David Peterson as leader of the Ontario Liberal Party.
23.
Around this time, Sheila Copps participated in the 1994 class of the World Economic Forum's Global Leaders of Tomorrow program alongside former Quebec Premier Jean Charest and World Bank natural gas leader Afsaneh Mashayekhi Beschloss.
24.
Sheila Copps made little upward progress in cabinet after this demotion, and by many accounts came to have relatively little influence over the direction of government policy.
25.
Sheila Copps argued that there were improprieties in the nomination process and in the conduct of the vote, and called on various authorities to investigate.
26.
Sheila Copps initially appealed the vote results to the Liberal Party of Canada.
27.
Sheila Copps's appeal was late as it was filed beyond the 72-hour deadline after the commencement of the nomination meeting, but the Appeals Commission of the Liberal Party waived the deadline.
28.
In July 2005, Hamilton police announced a formal end to the investigation after finding no evidence to substantiate Sheila Copps's allegations including tampering of her telephones on the day of the nomination.
29.
On May 14,2004, Sheila Copps stood in the House of Commons of Canada and announced she would not run for re-election as an independent.
30.
Sheila Copps later suggested in comments to reporters that she might return to politics once Paul Martin was no longer prime minister.
31.
Sheila Copps guest-starred on the evening soap opera Train 48.
32.
Sheila Copps alleged that Martin had put a pledge in his 1995 budget to rescind the "outdated" Canada Health Act and further claimed that her intervention had the offending line removed from the document.
33.
Sheila Copps's allegations were denied by Martin and David Dodge, Diane Marleau, and others.
34.
Sheila Copps hosted a weekly syndicated radio talk show, Weekends with Sheila Copps, focusing on lifestyle issues such as health and financial planning.
35.
Sheila Copps succeeded Dini Petty as host of the series.
36.
In March 2006, the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society of Montreal, a prominent sovereigntist group, demanded $100,000 from Sheila Copps, claiming that she had defamed them in a television interview on January 6,2006.
37.
Sovereigntists claim that Options Canada illegally spent $3.5 million to promote federalism in Quebec, while Sheila Copps claimed that the St-Jean Baptiste Society spent $4.8 million from the Quebec Government to promote sovereignty, which the group denies.
38.
In 2006, subsequent to Paul Martin's resignation as prime minister, Sheila Copps decided not to seek the Liberal leadership.
39.
Sheila Copps ran to be president of the Liberal Party of Canada in 2012 but lost to Mike Crawley by 26 votes.
40.
Sheila Copps was appointed an officer of the Order of Canada on December 30,2012.
41.
Sheila Copps said she felt compelled to come forward with the allegations after tweeting support for former Q host Jian Ghomeshi.
42.
On September 9,2022, Sheila Copps endorsed former Ontario New Democratic Party leader Andrea Horwath for mayor of Hamilton.
43.
At the height of the SNC-Lavalin affair during the Premiership of Justin Trudeau, Sheila Copps became known for being outspoken on the affair.
44.
Sheila Copps argued Wilson-Raybould and Philpott's resignations amounted to a betrayal of Justin Trudeau's leadership and their presence continued to foment internal political divisions within the Liberal caucus.
45.
Sheila Copps later denied her implication that Wilson-Raybould was working for Indigenous communities more than the general public.