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Bev Desjarlais (August 19, 1955 in Regina, Saskatchewan) is a member of the Canada House of Commons, representing the northern Manitoba riding of Churchill for the social-democratic New Democratic Party of Canada.
Desjarlais graduated from Bert Fox Composite High School in 1973, and did not attend University. Between 1974 and 1997, she was an employee of the General Hospital in Thompson, a community in northern Manitoba. She was for a time a Union Steward with the United Food & Commercial Workers Union, and was a board member of the Thompson Food Co-op and Thompson Children's World Daycare. She was also a member of Canadian Parents for French.
Desjarlais's political career began in 1992, when she was elected as a school trustee for the Mystery Lake School Division. She became the board's Chair in 1994, and served until 1997.
In the Canadian federal election of 1997, Desjarlais ran as an New Democrat in Churchill against incumbent MP Elijah Harper, who represented the Liberal Party. Although Harper had gained national fame in 1990 by stopping passage of the Meech Lake Accord, he was not widely regarded as a strong Member of Parliament. Desjarlais defeated him, 9616 votes to 6852, and joined twenty other New Democrats on the opposition benches.
Desjarlais again defeated Harper in the 2000 general election, this time by a margin of 10477 votes to 7514. In 2003, she supported fellow Manitoba MP Bill Blaikie's bid to become NDP leader.
In the 2004 election, Desjarlais defeated Liberal candidate Ron Evans (who, like Harper, is a prominent aboriginal politician in the region), 8612 votes 7604.
Desjarlais is one of the more socially conservative figures in the federal NDP ranks. She opposes same-sex marriage, and abstained from voting on a measure to maintain the historical definition of marriage in 2003. In December 2004, she told interviewers that she plans to vote against the Liberal government's planned legislation to legalize same-sex marriage. This position places her at odds with party leader Jack Layton, who has described same-sex marriage as a human rights issue.
On other issues, especially those involving the rights of labour, Desjarlais's views are more closely aligned with most others in the NDP.
She is currently the NDP critic for Transport, International Development, Crown Corporations and the Canadian Wheat Board, as well as being the longest serving member of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Transport.
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