Lois Moorcroft

Lois Moorcroft is a Canadian politician, who represented the electoral districts of Mount Lorne from 1992 to 2000, and Copperbelt South since 2011, in the Yukon Legislative Assembly. She is a member of the Yukon New Democratic Party.

She was born in Oshawa, Ontario, and grew up in Whitby, Ontario. She studied history at Trent University in Peterborough where she completed a bachelor's decree before moving to the Yukon.

Prior to becoming a politician, Moorcroft served as a librarian at Yukon College's Whitehorse campus. She also served on the Yukon Employment Standards Board, the Yukon Electoral District Boundaries Commission and has held positions on the boards of the Yukon College Employees Union and the Yukon Federation of Labour. In the 1992 Yukon election, Moorcroft was successful in her attempt to enter politics in the seat of Mount Lorne. A strong feminist activist, her campaign platform was built on pay equality for women and fighting against violations of the Canadian Human Rights Act.^[1][2][3]

After a term in government, Moorcroft sought reelection in the 1996 Yukon election, gaining 33.2% of the votes, compared with Liberal Party candidate Ken Taylor, with 20.5%.^[4] During her second term, Moorcroft managed to obtain the positions of Minister for Justice, Education and the Women's Directorate.^[1]

In the 2000 Yukon provincial election, Moorcroft again contested the seat of Mount Lorne but lost it to Liberal Party candidate Cynthia Tucker, 36% to 27%. Tucker served for one term in Mount Lorne until she was replaced in 2002 by Steve Cardiff.^[4] She continues to advocate for women and First Nations rights.^[1]

In April 2006 Moorcroft was appointed to the Yukon Human Rights Commission.^[3]

In June 2011 she announced that she was running as the NDP candidate in the Copperbelt South riding in the 2011 election. She won on election night by a margin of just three votes over Yukon Party candidate Valerie Boxall; her victory was confirmed in a recount.^[5]

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