Deborah Coyne has, throughout her varied career, worked to build a better Canada. Lawyer, university professor, constitutional activist, public servant, writer and mother of two children, her skills and hard work have often placed her at the centre of the great public debates of our times. Deborah is currently an independent public policy consultant.
After completing a law degree at York University’s Osgoode Hall, Deborah earned a Masters of Philosophy in International Relations from Oxford University. Upon her return to Toronto, Deborah practised law before embarking on an active public policy career.
Wanting to make a difference, Deborah served in the Prime Minister’s Office, the Business Council on National Issues, the Ontario Secretariat for Disabled Persons, and the 1986 Ontario Insurance Taskforce. From 1986 to 1988, she taught at the University of Toronto Law School. Beginning in 1987, Deborah became a leading figure in the constitutional debates that unfolded involving the Meech Lake Accord and the referendum on the Charlottetown Accord. As well as mobilizing civil society engagement, she was a co-founder of the Canada for All Canadians Committee and the Canadian Coalition on the Constitution.
Deborah subsequently worked at the Ontario Human Rights Commission, the Walter and Duncan Gordon Charitable Foundation, Informetrica Ltd. and the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board. She is the author of numerous articles and four books on a wide range of topics affecting Canada and Canadians. She has been a member of the Advisory Council and the Steering Committee of the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of Policy Options, and the chair of the 2006 Liberal Party Task Force on Public Safety and Justice.
Deborah Coyne was the federal Liberal candidate in the riding of Toronto-Danforth in the 2006 general election.
Selected Books and Scholarly Publications
To Match a Dream: a Practical Guide to Canada’s Constitution, co-author (McClelland and Stewart, 1998)
Seven Fateful Challenges for Canada (Robert Davies Publishing, 1993)
Roll of the Dice: Working with Clyde Wells during the Meech Lake Negotiations (James Lorimer Co., 1992)
“Beyond the Meech Lake Accord” in Centre for Constitutional Studies, Language and the State (Montreal: Les Editions Yvon Blais Inc., 1991)
“Our Leaders Must be Poets”, Policy Options (June 1991)
“Corporate Concentration and Policy” in James Curtis et al. (eds.), Social Inequality in Canada (Prentice Hall Canada Inc., 1988)
“Coping with Casino Capitalism”, Policy Options (December 1987)
“Agenda for a Social Economy”, Policy Options (July 1986)