The Honourable Ethel Blondin Andrew, P.C., O.C.

The Honourable Ethel Blondin Andrew, P.C., O.C. is a Shútao’tine (Mountain Dene) from Tulit’a, Northwest Territories (NWT). She is a senior leader and much valued colleague to the Indigenous Leadership Initiative. 

Early in her formidable career, Ms. Blondin Andrew taught in three NWT communities, in Tuktoyaktuk, Deline, and Fort Providence, eventually specializing in Indigenous language curriculum development in Yellowknife. 

In 1984-1986, Ms. Blondin Andrew worked with the Public Service Commission of Canada as a national manager for Indigenous Development Programs. In 1986-1988, Ms. Blondin Andrew was Assistant Deputy Minister of Culture with the Government of the Northwest Territories. 

In 1988, Ms. Blondin Andrew was the first Indigenous woman elected to Parliament, serving for 17 years as an MP, 13 of them in cabinet. The first Indigenous woman to be a member of the Privy Council and Cabinet, she served as Secretary of State, Training and Youth from 1993-1997, as Secretary of State, Children and Youth from 1997-2003, and as Minister of State, Northern Development from 2003-2004. Notably, she gave her first House of Commons speech in the Dene language and supplied her own interpreter. 

In 2001, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Brock University and in 2019, Ms. Blondin Andrew received the Maclean’s “Lifetime Achievement Award” (for former Members of Parliament). In 2022, she became an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Ms. Blondin Andrew chaired the Sahtu Secretariat Incorporated, a land claims organization, for nine years. Throughout her career, she has raised awareness and advocated for Indigenous Peoples, children, and persons with disabilities and the inclusion of Indigenous communities in the development of national, regional and local labour market programs.

Ms. Blondin Andrew is married to Leon Andrew and has four children and four grandchildren.