Jane Stewart

Who is Jane Stewart?

Jane Stewart, PC is a former Canadian politician who was the Minister of Human Resources Development from 1999 to 2003. She currently is the Special Representative and Director of the International Labour Organization's office to the United Nations

Born in Brantford, Ontario, Stewart was first elected to Parliament in the 1993 election. She was a close friend of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, and was soon appointed to the important position of Minister of Indian Affairs. In 1999, she was moved to the Department of Human Resources Development, the government department that has the largest budget. Stewart was widely viewed to have leadership ambitions, and was closely supported by Chrétien.

These ambitions were put to an end by the so-called "billion-dollar boondoggle" where ineffective accounting practices at HRDC allegedly left millions of dollars unaccounted for. While the problems at HRDC mostly date from the time of her predecessor, Pierre Pettigrew, Stewart took the brunt of the attack but was also the Minister widely viewed to have cleaned up the mess left behind by her predecessor. She did not resign and according to some, Chrétien stood by her throughout the ordeal.