Nikki Pedersen (The More Things Changed)

Nikki Pedersen
10th Deputy Prime Minister of Canada 14th Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office December 5, 2019 - March 5, 2021
Preceded by	Anne McLellan (as Deputy Prime Minister, served 2003-2006) Chrystia Freeland (as Minister of Foreign Affairs)
Succeeded by	none (as Deputy Prime Minister) Dan Albas (as Minister of Foreign Affairs)
Leader of the Opposition
In office May 27, 2017 - December 5, 2019
Preceded by	Rona Ambrose
Succeeded by	Justin Trudeau
Leader of the Conservative Party
Assumed office May 27, 2017
Preceded by	Rona Ambrose
Succeeded by	TBD
Official Opposition Critic for International Trade
In office November 20, 2015 - December 5, 2019
Preceded by	Don Davies
Succeeded by	Mary Ng
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Banff-Airdrie
Assumed office May 2, 2011
Preceded by	Myron Thompson
Biography
Born:	Nimrata Randhawa January 20, 1972(1972-01-20) (age 53) Calgary, Alberta
Nationality	Canadian
Political party	Conservative
Other political affiliations	Progressive-Conservative
Spouse	Lawrence Pedersen
Alma mater	University of Calgary
Occupation	Politician

Nimrata "Nikki" Pedersen is a Canadian Conservative politician, who served as Deputy Prime Minister of Canada and Minister of Foreign Affairs under Prime Minister Felito Cruz from 2019-2021. She concurrently served as Leader of the Conservative Party. Pedersen previously served as Leader of the Opposition and Official Opposition Critic for International Trade, and had previously served in several Cabinet posts in the government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

On May 27th, 2017, Pedersen became the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada on the 13th and final ballot of the leadership election, with 53.65% of the vote. In that role, she was a fierce critic of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's policies, particularly his leadership on trade and energy.

Pedersen led the Conservative Party in the 43rd Canadian general election; although the party lost over half their seats and lost official Opposition status, Pedersen was invited by Prime Minister-elect Cruz to serve as in the first coalition government in Canadian history.

Pedersen's tenure in her dual roles included overseeing Canada's successful bid temporary membership on the United Nations Security Council and the establishment of the CANZUK trading bloc. Following the resignation of Governor General Julie Payette in January 2021 and Cruz's initial nomination of retired General Lewis Mackenzie to replace her, Pedersen withdrew her support of the government and the coalition collapsed. Pedersen led her party in the 2021 snap election, which saw the Conservatives share of seats shrink from 35 to 21. Pedersen announced her pending resignation as Leader on June 28th, 2021.

Early Life and Education

Pedersen was born Nimrata Randhawa in Banff, Alberta, on January 20, 1972, to an Indian Sikh family. She was "always called Nikki, which means 'little one,' by her family." Her parents, father Ajit Singh Randhawa and mother Raj Kaur Randhawa, are immigrants from Amritsar District, Punjab, India; Ajit had been a professor at Punjab Agricultural University and Raj had received her law degree from the University of Delhi. Pedersen's parents immigrated to Canada after her father received a scholarship offer from the University of British Columbia, eventually accepting an opportunity to teach at Mount Royal University in Alberta.

Local Politics

Pedersen was first elected as a Member of the Alberta Legislative Assembly in 2005, defeating fellow Progressive-Conservative Janis Tarchuk. During her tenure, she was elected chair of the freshman caucus and majority whip in the MLA the same year, becoming the only freshman legislator named to a whip spot at the time.

Member of Parliament

Pedersen was elected Member of the Canadian Parliament for Banff-Airdrie in 2011, defeating Wildrose candidate Myron Thompson. She has served the same constituency since. She was named Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development in the Stephen Harper government the year of her election, making her one of the youngest members of his cabinet.

Cabinet Minister

Among her portfolios in the government of Stephen Harper, Pedersen has been:

• Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development
• Minister of Families, Children, and Social Development
• Minister for International Cooperation

As Minister for International Cooperation, Pedersen traveled to India on a diplomatic mission, stating that:

"India, of course, is the country of my parents' birth. I hadn't been there since I was two years old, so the trip was a special one for me - there are few things more impactful than seeing firsthand, for the first time, your own history. But what was even more amazing to me was the connections I found between Canada and that far-off land."

Opposition Critic for International Trade

Following the election of Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau as Prime Minister in 2015, Pedersen was nominated by the Conservative leadership as the Opposition Critic for International Trade, a role which she served alongside being Vice-Chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on International Trade.

As Critic for International Trade, Pedersen pushed the Trudeau government to take a harder stance on trade with China as a means of reigning in the threat posed by North Korea, as well as a more protectionist stance toward the United States. In a debate in September 2016, Pedersen stated, sarcastically:

"The government made big promises, including a good relationship with the United States. Meanwhile, the Minister of International Trade has said that Canada will turn to the courts. What a great idea! Let us take our American partners to court rather than coming to an agreement with them."

Following the inauguration of Hillary Clinton as President of the United States, Pedersen continued to express her skepticism of American intentions on trade, asking the Government to pursue concessions from the United States during the Clinton administration's re-negotiation process of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Conservative Party Leader

Main Article: Conservative Party of Canada Leadership Election, 2017 (The More Things Changed)

Election

The 2017 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election was held on May 27th, 2017, to choose a successor to Harper, who led the Conservative Party as its leader from its inception in 2004.

Out of 293,178 party members eligible to vote, 172,640 members cast a ballot. Pedersen was elected on the 13th and final ballot of the leadership election with 53.65% of the vote, narrowly beating Alberta Premier Felito Cruz.

Following his defeat, Cruz announced the merger of the Progressive-Conservative Party in Alberta and the Wildrose Party into a new, nationwide political party - One Canada, as well as a "Canadian conversation tour" across the country, to shore up support for the nascent party. By June 2018, 20 Conservative members of the House of Commons switched their affiliation to the new party.

Expulsion of Lynn Beyak

Early into Pedersen's tenure as Leader, Conservative Senator Lynn Beyak had posted over 100 letters in support residential schools to her Senate website; the residential schools were a program established in Canada in the late 1800's to assimilate Indigenous children - often forcibly taken from their families - into Euro-Canadian culture and to erase their First Nations heritage. Over six thousand children died in these schools from malnourishment, disease, and neglect, leading many, including Pedersen and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, to describe them as an act of genocide. When she refused to apologize or remove the letters from her site, Pedersen removed Beyak from the Conservative caucus.

Arctic Status Agreement

Main Article: Arctic Status Agreement (The More Things Changed)

The Arctic Status Agreement (ASA) is a multilateral international agreement to regulate international relations with respect to the Arctic region, including research, transportation, resource extraction, environmental protections, and territorial boundaries.

In 2019, while Pedersen and the Conservative Party leadership cautiously approved the agreement, Pedersen stated that she would like to see a more "robust" compact in the finalized agreement; other rank-and-file members of the party have protested against the agreement, arguing that it gives away too much Canadian sovereignty to Russia, the United States, and international actors.

Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (2017-2019)

Portfolio	Critic	Deputy
Caucus Officers
Leader of the Opposition CPC Leader	Hon. Nikki Pedersen	Hon. Andrew Scheer
Opposition Senate Leader	Hon. Larry Smith	Hon. Yonah Martin
Opposition Senate Whip	Hon. Don Plett	Hon. David Wells
Opposition House Leader	Hon. Andrew Scheer	Chris Warkentin
Opposition Whip	Mark Strahl	John Brassard
Caucus Chair	David Sweet (H) David Wells (S)	None
Senior Parliamentary Critics
Agriculture	Luc Berthold	John Barlow
Canadian Heritage	Hon. Peter Van Loan	None
Democratic Institutions	Blake Richards	None
Employment, Labour & Workforce	Hon. Steven Blaney	Ted Falk
Environment & Climate Change	Hon. Ed Fast	Robert Sopuck
Families, Children & Social Development	Karen Vecchio	Dave Van Kesteren
Finance	Hon. Pierre Poilievre	Tom Kmiec
Fisheries & Oceans	Todd Doherty	Mel Arnold
Foreign Affairs	Hon. Erin O'Toole	Garnett Genuis
Health	Marilyn Gladu	Stephanie Kusie
Immigration, Refugees & Citizenship	Hon. Michelle Rempel	Bob Saroya
Indigenous Relations & Northern Affairs	Cathy McLeod	Kevin Waugh
Indigenous Services	Cathy McLeod	None
Infrastructure & Communities	Hon. Michael Chong	Joel Godin
Innovation & Economic Development	Hon. Maxime Bernier	Arnold Viersen
Intergovernmental Affairs	Alain Rayes	None
International Development	Ziad Aboultaif	Hon. Mike Lake
International Trade	Hon. Nikki Pedersen	Dean Allison
Justice	Hon. Rob Nicholson	Michael Cooper
National Defence	James Bezan	Gord Brown
National Revenue	Pat Kelly	None
Natural Resources	Shannon Stubbs	Jamie Schmale
Public Safety	Pierre Paul-Hus	Glen Motz
Public Services	Hon. Tony Clement	Kerry Diotte
Science	Matt Jeneroux	None
Small Business & Tourism	Dan Albas (SB) Blake Richards(T)	None
Sport & Disabilities	Alex Nuttall	Robert Kitchen
Status of Women	Rachael Harder	None
Transport	Kelly Block	Ben Lobb
Treasury Board	Gerard Deltell	Bob Zimmer
Veterans Affairs	Phil McColeman	Cathay Wagantall
Youth	Alex Nuttall	Robert Kitchen
Other Parliamentary Critics
Canada-US Relations	Colin Carrie	None
Economic Development (Quebec)	Sylvie Boucher	None
Economic Development (N. Ontario)	Jamie Schmale	None
Economic Development (S. Ontario)	Colin Carrie	None
Economic Development (The North)	Cathy McLeod	None
Ethics	Hon. Peter Kent	Jacques Gourde
Human Rights & Religious Freedom	David Anderson	None
Interprovincial Trade	John Nater	None
Francophonie & Official Languages	Alupa Clarke	None
Rural Affairs	Sylvie Boucher	None
Seniors	Hon. Alice Wong	Mark Warawa
Shared Economy	John Nater	None
Urban Affairs	Hon. Michael Chong	None
Western Economic Diversification	Tom Lukiwski	None
Wildlife Conservation	Robert Sopuck	None

Federal Election

Pedersen led the Conservative Party in the 43rd Canadian general election. The party received 10.5% of the vote and won 35 seats, down from the 77 seats they previously held and losing official Opposition status. Nevertheless, following the results, Pedersen was invited by Prime Minister-elect Cruz to serve as Deputy Prime Minister in a coalition government.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister

On October 28th, 2019, Pedersen was designated by Prime Minister-elect Felito Cruz as the next Deputy Prime Minister of Canada, and to serve concurrently as Minister of Foreign Affairs.

CANZUK

See Also: CANZUK (The More Things Changed)

Personal Life

When not in Ottawa, Pedersen resides in Banff, Alberta, with her husband RCAF Captain Lawrence Pedersen. They were married in 1996 in two private ceremonies - one Sikh and one Christian - and have two children.