Donna Champagne

Who is Donna Champagne?

Donna Champagne is a former politician in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. She was a member of city council from 1985 to 1988, and campaigned for the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a candidate of the New Democratic Party.

Champagne was a librarian before running for office, and was a member of the Canadian Union of Public Employees. She was recruited to join the New Democratic Party by Dave Cooke in 1984. Champagne was elected to the Windsor City Council in the 1985 municipal election, winning one of two seats in Ward One. Shortly after her election, she moved a motion that municipal representatives in Windsor be referred to as "councillors" rather than the gender-specific "aldermen". This was accepted unanimously. Champagne served on the Metro Windsor-Essex County Health Unit and the Essex-Windsor Waste Management Committee, and promoted affordable housing and pay equity. She also represented the municipal government on the board of the Windsor Symphony Orchestra.

She campaigned for the Ontario legislature in the 1987 provincial election, winning the NDP nomination in Windsor—Walkerville over George Dadamo by twelve votes. Her campaign manager was Joe Comartin, who later became an NDP Member of Parliament. She was narrowly defeated by Liberal candidate Mike Ray in the general election.