Ringma and Chatters for their remarks, but also voted to suspend Brown for speaking out against the party. Brown was disappointed and three days later announced she was quitting the party to sit as an independent. She was especially critical of Preston Manning and how he managed the party. Brown remained an independent for the rest of the parliament, but began to cooperate closely with the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. In the 1997 election, she ran as a Progressive Conservative, moving to contest the adjacent riding of Calgary Southwest, then represented by Reform leader Preston Manning. Despite drawing much attention in the sometimes bitter campaign against her former party leader, Brown lost by a significant margin, and retired permanently from politics. In 2005, she completed a Ph.D. in education and women's studies. She became a lifelong learning consultant and retired in 2013. References 1947 births Living people Canadian people of Croatian descent Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Alberta People from Nanaimo Reform Party of Canada MPs Women members of the House of Commons of Canada Women in Alberta politics