Jenny Carter

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Jenny Carter (born December 26, 1931 in Worcester Park, Surrey, England) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. She was a New Democratic Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1990 to 1995, and served as a cabinet minister in the government of Bob Rae.

Carter has a degree in French from the University of London, degrees in English and Canadian Studies from Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario, and a post-graduate certificate from the London Institute of Education. She worked as a teacher before entering political life.

She became the NDP candidate for Peterborough in the 1990 provincial election without any expectations of winning the seat, or entering politics as a career. The NDP won an unexpected majority government in this election, however, and Carter upset Liberal incumbent Peter Adams by only 185 votes.

She was appointed to Rae's first cabinet on October 1, 1990, as the provincial Minister of Energy. After her appointment, she told reporters that her husband (a professor at Trent University and an expert on nuclear power) would have been more qualified for the position. Carter herself was an opponent of nuclear power, and a former member of Kawartha Project Plowshares. Shortly after her appointment, Carter announced a three-year moratorium on Ontario Hydro's plans for nuclear expansion.

Carter's performance in cabinet was criticized by many observers, both inside and outside of the NDP. On one occasion, she suggested that there was no point in providing compensation to unemployed steelworkers in Elliot Lake, as they would all be dead of cancer in the near future. Few were surprised when Carter was dropped from cabinet on July 31, 1991. For the remainder of the Rae administration, she served as parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Citizenship.

The NDP were defeated in the 1995 provincial election, and Carter finished third against Progressive Conservative Gary Stewart in her bid for re-election.

Since leaving politics, Carter has contributed occasional articles to the Peterborough Collective. She remains an opponent of nuclear power, and has served on the Peterborough NDP riding association executive. Carter supported a student protest at Trent in 2001.

Carter's husband Cyril (who once ran for the federal New Democratic Party) died in 1993. Trent University now offers Cyril and Jenny Carter Scholarships in Mathematics and Environmental and Resource Studies.