{{short description|Canadian politician|bot=PearBOT 5}} {{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}} {{Infobox officeholder | image = | honorific_prefix = [[The Honourable]] | name = Joan Beatty | honorific_suffix = [[Executive Council of Saskatchewan|ECS]] | caption = | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1940}} | birth_place = [[Deschambault Lake, Saskatchewan]], Canada | office = Member of the [[Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan]] for [[Cumberland (Saskatchewan provincial electoral district)|Cumberland]] | term_start = November 5, 2003 | term_end = January 10, 2008 | predecessor = [[Keith Goulet]] | successor = [[Doyle Vermette]] | party = [[Liberal Party of Canada]] | other_party = [[Saskatchewan New Democratic Party]] | occupation = }}
'''Joan Beatty''' (born 1940) is a Canadian [[politician]]. She was the [[Saskatchewan New Democratic Party]] (NDP) member of the [[Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan]] for the constituency of [[Cumberland (Saskatchewan provincial electoral district)|Cumberland]]. On January 3, 2008 she was appointed the [[Liberal Party of Canada]]'s candidate for the [[House of Commons of Canada]] in [[Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River]] for the [[2008 Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River by-election|March 17, 2008 by-election]].<ref name=cpjan3>[http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5i6LTn4LxZExIZB_xoWhoo4dFDuFQ "Former Sask. NDP cabinet minister will run as Liberal in federal byelection"], ''Canadian Press'', January 3, 2008 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080107141953/http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5i6LTn4LxZExIZB_xoWhoo4dFDuFQ |date=January 7, 2008 }}</ref>
However, she lost the federal by-election to [[Conservative Party of Canada|Conservative]] candidate [[Rob Clarke (politician)|Rob Clarke]]. She was born in 1940, at [[Deschambault Lake, Saskatchewan]].<ref>{{cite web | title=Dancing Backwards – Thank You | url=https://www.dancingbackwards.ca/en/biographies-of-canadian-women-politicians/item/joan-beatty | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230610153026/https://www.dancingbackwards.ca/en/biographies-of-canadian-women-politicians/item/joan-beatty | archive-date=10 June 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Barkwell |first=Lawrence |title=Joan Beatty, M.L.A. |url=https://www.metismuseum.ca/media/document.php/14698.Joan%20Beatty.pdf |access-date=6 March 2026 |website=The Virtual Museum of Métis History and Culture}}</ref>
==Provincial career== A former [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]] journalist,<ref name=orchard /> Beatty became the first Aboriginal woman elected to the Saskatchewan legislature when she was elected on November 5, 2003. She was appointed to cabinet a month later as Minister of Culture Youth and Recreation and [[Provincial Secretary]]. Beatty was re-elected in the [[2007 Saskatchewan general election|2007 general election]] that defeated the NDP government and sat as Opposition Critic for Women's Issues and Northern Affairs.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://ndpcaucus.sk.ca/bio/mbr.php3/Beatty.html |title=NDP Caucus - Joan Beatty, MLA<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=2007-12-24 |archive-date=2012-02-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207130947/http://ndpcaucus.sk.ca/bio/mbr.php3/Beatty.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==Federal politics== In 2007 she was approached by both the [[New Democratic Party of Canada|federal NDP]] and the [[Liberal Party of Canada|federal Liberal party]] to run in the [[2008 Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River by-election|Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River by-election]]. Beatty told the press that she would decide by January 2008 whether she will run federally and for which party.<ref>Canadian Press, "[https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/historic/2007/12/19/sask-new-democrat-joan-beatty-approached-to-make-leap-to-federal-politics Sask New Democrat Joan Beatty approached to make leap to federal politics], ''Prince George Citizen'', December 19, 2007</ref> On January 3, 2008 Beatty was selected as the Liberal candidate for the riding. She accepted the Liberals' offer and was appointed the party's candidate by leader [[Stéphane Dion]] on January 3.<ref>Canadian Press, "[http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5i6LTn4LxZExIZB_xoWhoo4dFDuFQ Former Sask. NDP cabinet minister will run as Liberal in federal byelection], January 3, 2008 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080107141953/http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5i6LTn4LxZExIZB_xoWhoo4dFDuFQ |date=January 7, 2008 }}</ref>
Beatty defended her decision to switch from the provincial NDP to the federal Liberals saying that the Liberals have a better chance of taking power and "the one thing that I have found out [is] that you have to be in government to have say when it comes to policy or budget decisions or raising issues at that level."<ref name=orchard /> She said she was initially approached by the federal Liberals in the summer of 2007 but decided to run provincially in hopes that the [[Lorne Calvert]]-led Saskatchewan NDP government would be returned to office.<ref name=orchard />
Beatty's appointment as the Liberal candidate angered supporters of anti-[[free trade]] activist [[David Orchard]] who had earlier announced his candidacy for the Liberal nomination. [[Métis people (Canada)|Metis]] leader [[Jim Durocher]] wrote a letter to Dion complaining about his decision to appoint a candidate rather than allow for party members to vote in a nomination meeting. He argued that "the people of this riding resent, and I personally resent mightily, the attitude of certain southerners that they know what's best for our riding." Durocher, a former Liberal candidate and Orchard supporter, also told Dion "If you impose Joan Beatty, the Liberals will lose this riding."<ref name=orchard>"Rift opens in Liberal party over appointment of NDP MLA to run in Saskatchewan", ''Canadian Press'', January 4, 2008</ref>
National Liberal campaign co-chair [[David Smith (Canadian Senator)|David Smith]] defended Beatty's appointment by saying that Dion had made getting more women into politics a priority, saying that the party is "prepared to bite the bullet to demonstrate that our commitment to increasing our number of women candidates - particularly well-qualified ones - is very real."<ref name=orchard />
Beatty ultimately lost the ensuing byelection by a substantial margin. Nonetheless, she sought the Liberal nomination again for the forthcoming [[40th Canadian federal election]], this time in an open vote of the Liberal riding association with Orchard also a candidate.<ref>Yaffe, Barbara, [http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/editorial/story.html?id=2271ee09-bc7d-42fb-90a6-9106b441ea5d "David Orchard is back to make life hard for Dion & Co,"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151215002142/http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/editorial/story.html?id=2271ee09-bc7d-42fb-90a6-9106b441ea5d |date=2015-12-15 }} Vancouver Sun, August 14, 2008.</ref> Orchard won the nomination.<ref>[http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=82068fe2-cb6d-4451-a5fc-3f4435146c0d "David Orchard wins Saskatchewan Liberal nomination,"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151215002141/http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=82068fe2-cb6d-4451-a5fc-3f4435146c0d |date=2015-12-15 }} Canwest News Service, August 15, 2008.</ref>
==Electoral record==
{{2008 Canadian federal by-elections/Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River}}
{{Election box begin | title=[[2007 Saskatchewan general election]]: Cumberland}} |- {{Canadian party colour|SK|NDP|row}} |[[New Democratic Party of Saskatchewan|NDP]] |'''Joan Beatty''' |align="right"|3,124 |align="right"|65.96% |align="right"|-3.04% {{CANelec |SK |Saskatchewan |Winston McKay |1,088 |22.97% |+1.24%}} {{CANelec|SK|Green|Harold Johnson|293|6.21%|+6.21%}} {{CANelec|SK|Liberal|Heath Muggli|230|4.86%|-3.29%}} |- bgcolor="white" !align="left" colspan=3|Total !align="right"|4,736 !align="right"|100.00% !align="right"| {{election box end}}
{{Election box begin | title=[[2003 Saskatchewan general election]]: Cumberland}} |- {{Canadian party colour|SK|NDP|row}} |[[New Democratic Party of Saskatchewan|NDP]] |'''Joan Beatty''' |align="right"|3,268 |align="right"|69.00% |align="right"| {{CANelec |SK |Saskatchewan |Winston McKay |1,029 |21.73% |–}} {{CANelec|SK|Liberal|Allan Adam|386|8.15%|}} {{Canadian party colour|SK|PC|row}} |[[Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan|Progressive Conservative]] |Ari Avivi |align="right"|53 |align="right"|1.12% |align="right"| |- bgcolor="white" !align="left" colspan=3|Total !align="right"|4,736 !align="right"|100.00% !align="right"| {{election box end}}
==References== <references />
{{Calvert Ministry|state=collapsed}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beatty, Joan}} [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:1940 births]] [[Category:Saskatchewan New Democratic Party MLAs]] [[Category:Women MLAs in Saskatchewan]] [[Category:First Nations women in politics]] [[Category:Saskatchewan candidates for Member of Parliament]] [[Category:21st-century Canadian women politicians]] [[Category:Liberal Party of Canada candidates for the Canadian House of Commons]] [[Category:21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan]]