Isobel Finnerty Explained

Isobel Finnerty
Term Start:September 2, 1999
Term End:July 15, 2005
Birth Name:Isobel Church
Birth Date:15 July 1930
Birth Place:Timmins, Ontario
Death Place:Iroquois Falls, Ontario
Profession:Medical secretary, political activist
Party:Liberal
Office:Senator from Ontario
Spouse:Les Finnerty

Isobel Finnerty (née Church; July 15, 1930 – October 3, 2016) was a Canadian Senator. She was appointed to the Senate in 1999 by Jean Chrétien, and was a member of the Liberal Party. Finnerty retired from the Senate on July 15, 2005 upon reaching the chamber's mandatory retirement age of 75.

Before being appointed to the Senate, Finnerty was a medical secretary and community organizer. At the age of 19, she was appointed to the Timmins Parks and Recreation Commission, where she served as the only woman for over 20 years. While a resident of Timmins, she managed numerous municipal, provincial and federal campaigns. She served as executive director of the Liberal Party of Canada's Ontario wing in the late 1970s. In the early 1980s, she served as executive assistant to John Munro, Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs, and later managed his national leadership campaign in 1984. She also managed Greg Sorbara's 1992 campaign for the leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party, and played a leading role in Jean Chrétien's 1990 campaign for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada. She subsequently served as the Ontario campaign director for the Liberal Party in its victorious 1993 general election campaign.

In the Senate, Finnerty served on the following committees:

Finnerty died, aged 86, on October 3, 2016, at the Anson General Hospital in Iroquois Falls, Ontario.[1]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Late Honourable Isobel Finnerty - 2016-10-03.