Penny Collenette

Penny Collenette OOnt (born May 20, 1950, in Oakville, Ontario) is a Canadian lawyer, professor and political figure of the Liberal Party of Canada.

The wife of former Liberal Member of Parliament and cabinet minister David Collenette,[1] she sought, and won, the 2008 Liberal nomination over community activist and businessman Scott Bradley for the riding of Ottawa Centre, which was held by Paul Dewar of the New Democratic Party.[2] She came in second to Dewar in the election.[3]

She was vice-chair of the human rights committee for Liberal International in 1987, and director of volunteers for Jean Chrétien’s leadership race in 1984 and campaign director in the successful 1990 bid, as well as national director and director of legal services for the Liberal Party of Canada in the 1993 election.[4] She was subsequently named Director of Appointments for the Prime Minister's office, making hundreds of appointments over four years on the job.[5]

In 2013, Collenette was admitted to the Order of Ontario for her work in ethics and human rights.[6]

  1. ^ "Penny Collenette to seek nomination in Ottawa Centre". Retrieved 2007-08-26.[dead link‍]
  2. ^ "Penny Collenette: Your Ottawa Centre Federal Liberal Candidate". Archived from the original on October 6, 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-26.
  3. ^ "FORTIETH GENERAL ELECTION 2008 — Poll-by-poll results - ONTARIO - Ottawa Centre". Retrieved 2014-05-30.
  4. ^ "Penny Collenette appointed Executive-in-Residence at the University of Ottawa" (Press release). Archived from the original on 2014-05-30. Retrieved 2007-08-26.
  5. ^ [1] [dead link‍]
  6. ^ The Canadian Press (2014-01-23). "David Cronenberg, Paul Henderson among those named to Order of Ontario".