Beverly Faye Desjarlais (née Nowoselsky; August 19, 1955 – March 15, 2018) was a Canadian politician. She represented Churchill in the House of Commons of Canada from 1997 to 2006, initially as a New Democrat and later as an Independent after losing her party nomination in late 2005. She had lost the confidence of the NDP after she had voted against the Civil Marriage Act, legalizing same-sex marriage in Canada. She later worked as a departmental aide to Conservative Veterans Affairs Minister Greg Thompson. Her ex-husband, Bob Desjarlais, was a prominent labour leader in northern Manitoba, who campaigned for Mayor of Thompson in 2006. Early life and career Desjarlais was born in Regina, Saskatchewan. She graduated from Bert Fox Composite High School in 1973, and held several positions at the General Hospital in Thompson, Manitoba over the next twenty-four years. At the time of her election, she was a ward clerk. Desjarlais has also been a union steward with the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, and is a member of Canadian Parents for French. Her political career began in 1992, when she was elected as a trustee for the Mystery Lake School Division. She became Chair of the Board in 1994, and served until her election to Parliament in 1997. Member of Parliament New Democratic Party MP Desjarlais challenged Liberal incumbent Elijah Harper for the Churchill riding in the 1997 federal election. Although Harper had gained national fame in 1990 for blocking passage of the Meech Lake Accord, he was not a prominent Member of Parliament. Desjarlais won by 2,764 votes, and joined twenty other New Democrats on the opposition benches. Her opposition to the Canadian gun registry was likely a contributing factor to her victory, as the registry was unpopular in rural Manitoba. She held several official responsibilities in the 36th Canadian parliament, including serving as her party's critic for housing and the Treasury Board. In the latter capacity, she was a prominent supporter of pay equity policies to benefit Canadian women. Desjarlais was also chosen as her party's representative on the Commons Transport Committee, and held this position for several years. She defeated Harper again in the 2000 election, and was appointed NDP Industry Critic in the following parliament. In 2001, she participated in a military training exercise to educate parliamentarians about the Canadian Forces. Desjarlais joined the Canadian Air Force for a week, and took part