Mary Jane McCallum (born May 1, 1952) is a Canadian Senator representing Manitoba, appointed in 2017. She is the 8th Chancellor of Brandon University, a role she assumed in 2021, making her the first Indigenous woman to hold that post. A Cree woman, and a dentist by profession, McCallum has worked to provide dental and medical services to northern and Indigenous communities across Manitoba and Saskatchewan. As a survivor of the Canadian residential school system, she advocates for social justice, Indigenous rights, and decolonization, sharing her personal experiences to foster awareness and understanding.
McCallum was born on May 1, 1952. She is a citizen of the Barren Lands First Nation in Brochet, Manitoba, and identifies as a Cree woman.
At age five, she was sent to the Guy Hill Indian Residential School in The Pas, Manitoba, where she remained for 11 years. She has described this period as traumatic, stating that her identity was reshaped around âÂÂshame, dependence, blind obedience and fear.â Before entering residential school, she described herself as âÂÂsolid,â having grown up on her communityâÂÂs trapline and fish camp, where she received a land-based education that grounded her in connection, spirituality, and purpose. She recalls winning first prize in a religion class for a description of hell, an experience that instilled a lasting fear.
McCallum has spoken about internalizing colonial beliefs promoted by figures such as John A. Macdonald, describing how she came to view Indigenous peoples as âÂÂsavages; less than humanâ and how she worked to unlearn those messages. She has stated that she is âÂÂstill on my reconciliation journey towards that child who first entered residential school,â and that the trauma has affected her children and grandchildren. She has described residential schools as institutions that âÂÂshattered the meaning of our lives and left death, disorder, disconnection and disempowerment.âÂÂ
After leaving residential school, McCallum pursued post-secondary education in dentistry. She received a Dental Nursing Diploma from the Wascana Institute of Applied Arts and Sciences in Regina, Saskatchewan, in 1977, followed by a dental therapy diploma from the School of Dental Therapy in 1979. She completed a Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) degree at the University of Manitoba in 1990.
McCallum earned her Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) in 1990, becoming CanadaâÂÂs first female Indigenous dentist.
McCallum was appointed to the Senate of Canada by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on 4 December 2017. She initially sat with the Independent Senators Group (2018âÂÂ2022), later sat as a non-affiliated senator, and subsequently joined the Conservative caucus. She has served on the Standing Senate Committee on Indigenous Peoples.
McCallum frequently uses her platform in the Senate to highlight Indigenous experiences, share survivor testimony, and address systemic injustices in Canada. Selected interventions include:
McCallum has spoken publicly about experiencing racism on the Senate floor. She challenges residential school denialism, advocates for recognition of oppression and privilege, and calls for dismantling systemic racism, discrimination and violence rooted in the residential school system and its ongoing impacts. She has stated that she carries âÂÂall those voices with me when I go into the Senate Chamberâ and that her aim is to âÂÂbring voice to First Nations concernsâÂÂ.
On 6 May 2021, McCallum was appointed the 8th Chancellor of Brandon University. She became both the first Indigenous woman and the first female Chancellor in the universityâÂÂs history. Her initial term began on 1 July 2021. The Brandon University Senate renewed her chancellorship for a second term on 30 January 2024.
The role of Chancellor includes:
Upon her reappointment, Brandon University President Dr. David Docherty highlighted her âÂÂthoughtful guidance, her care, and her keen insight,â noting that her leadership âÂÂcontinues to inspire students, faculty, staff, and community supportersâÂÂ.
McCallum has described her work as Chancellor as a âÂÂwonderful journeyâ with the UniversityâÂÂs students, faculty, and community.
McCallum is active in public education on the history and ongoing impacts of the Canadian Indian residential school system. She delivers workshops and presentations in which she shares her experience as a residential school survivor to foster understanding and awareness. Her writing on the subject includes the chapter âÂÂBless Me Father for I Have Sinned,â published in First Lady Nation, Volume II: Stories by Aboriginal Women.
Her advocacy focuses on social justice, Indigenous rights, and decolonization. Drawing on her professional work in northern and remote communities, she has emphasized the role of systemic racism and colonial policies in shaping health outcomes for Indigenous peoples. She argues that improving health requires addressing the social determinants of health and decolonizing institutions such as the health-care system. A central principle of her approach is supporting Indigenous communities to define and implement their own solutions.
Through public statements and interventions in the Senate of Canada, McCallum has spoken on issues including racism, discrimination, and the ongoing impacts of colonialism on First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples.
Mary Jane McCallum is married, and has two daughters and a son.