Carney, Pat

Patricia Carney was born in Shanghai, China on 26 May, 1935. Carney spent the majority of her childhood in the Kootenay region of British Columbia before earning a B.A. in Economics and Political Science at the University of British Columbia in 1960. An Economist by trade, in the 1960s Carney worked as an economic journalist writing weekly columns for the Vancouver Province and the Vancouver Sun. In the 1970s Carney formed a consulting company called Gemini North which provided consulting services on various issues concerning predominantly northern Canadian affairs. During the 1970s Carney returned to UBC to earn an M.A. in Regional Planning. In the late 1970s Carney was approached by the Progressive Conservative Party to run as an MP for the riding of Vancouver Centre. She was first elected for Vancouver Centre in 1980 and was re-elected in 1984. In her first term Carney served as the Official Oppositions Energy Critic. In September 1984, when the Progressive Conservatives formed the government under Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, Carney was sworn to the Queens Privy Council when she was appointed Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources in Mulroneys Cabinet. In her capacity as Minister of Energy Carney dismantled the Liberals National Energy Policy [NEP] replacing it with new Agreements. In Canadas Atlantic region, Carney constructed the Atlantic Accord, while in western Canada the Conservative energy policy took the form of the Western Accord in which Carney instigated the Agreement on Natural Gas Markets and Prices. In June 1986, Carney was appointed Minister of International Trade and Minister Responsible for the Free Trade Agreement [FTA]. During FTA negotiations with the United States Carney worked closely with Simon Reisman, Canadas chief negotiator, as well as Joe Clark, Michael Wilson, and other members of the Mulroney Cabinet. In April 1988 Carney was appointed President of the Treasury Board, serving a short term in this position before a brief retirement from politics a result of a severe arthritic condition. She returned to federal politics when Prime Minister Mulroney appointed her to the Senate on 30 August 1990. She currently sits on the following Senate committees: Aboriginal Peoples, Fisheries, and Foreign Affairs. Carney was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of British Columbia on 29 May, 1990. She currently serves as an Adjunct Professor in the School of Community and Regional Planning at UBC.