New Democratic Party MP Desjarlais challenged
Liberal incumbent
Elijah Harper for the Churchill riding in the
1997 federal election. Although Harper had gained national fame in 1990 for blocking passage of the
Meech Lake Accord (while he was serving as the
NDP member of the
Legislative Assembly of Manitoba for
Rupertsland), he was not a prominent
Member of Parliament. Desjarlais won by 2,764 votes and joined twenty other New Democrats on the opposition benches. Her opposition to the
Canadian gun registry was likely a contributing factor to her victory, as the registry was unpopular in rural Manitoba. She held several official responsibilities in the
36th Canadian Parliament, including serving as her party's critic for housing and the
Treasury Board of Canada. In the latter capacity, she was a prominent supporter of
pay equity policies to benefit Canadian women. Desjarlais was also chosen as her party's representative on the Commons Transport Committee, and held this position for several years. She defeated Harper again in the
2000 election, and NDP leader
Alexa McDonough appointed her to be the party's Industry Critic in
the following parliament. In 2001, she participated in a military training exercise to educate parliamentarians about the
Canadian Forces. Desjarlais joined the
Canadian Air Force for a week, and participated in a search and rescue exercise in
Northern Ontario. She later supported fellow Manitoba MP
Bill Blaikie's
campaign to become NDP leader in 2002–03. Blaikie finished second against
Jack Layton. Desjarlais was re-elected in the
2004 election over a strong challenge from Liberal candidate and First Nations leader
Ron Evans. After the election, she was named NDP critic for
Transport,
Crown Corporations, and the
Canadian Wheat Board in the
38th Canadian Parliament. In early 2005, former
Assembly of First Nations National Chief
Ovide Mercredi announced that he would challenge Desjarlais for the NDP nomination in Churchill. He later withdrew the challenge.
Policy views Desjarlais was one of the most
socially conservative members of the federal NDP, and when in caucus was its most socially conservative member. She was the only New Democrat to vote against the
Civil Marriage Act (Bill C-38), which legalized
same-sex marriage in Canada, on its third and final reading in 2005. Her position placed her in conflict with both official NDP policy and party leader Jack Layton, who described same-sex marriage as a
human rights issue and ruled that caucus members would
not be permitted a free vote on matters of equality. Desjarlais argued that her position was based on personal religious convictions and was not grounded in
homophobia. She acknowledged as early as 2003 that opposing same-sex marriage was contrary to NDP policy, and accepted that "discipline may take place" as a result. She was stripped of her shadow cabinet posts after the 2005 vote. On other issues, her views were closer to official NDP policy. She was a strong defender of the rights of labour and public health care and supported the principle of aboriginal self-government.
Independent MP On October 17, 2005, Desjarlais lost the Churchill NDP nomination to
Niki Ashton, daughter of Manitoba cabinet minister
Steve Ashton, in a vote of the membership of the Churchill NDP riding association. She resigned from the NDP caucus on the same day and announced she would run as an Independent in the next federal election, which took place on
January 23, 2006 after
Prime Minister Paul Martin's government lost a vote of confidence. She acknowledged that her position on same-sex marriage was a prominent factor in her defeat. Desjarlais was endorsed on January 5, 2006 by
Vote Marriage Canada, a group which opposes same-sex marriage. She finished third, behind Ashton and winning Liberal candidate (and
North of 60 star)
Tina Keeper. ==After defeat==