During her career she held the cabinet positions of Secretary of State for Latin America and Africa, and Minister of the Environment.
[3] Stewart practised nursing for a short time before becoming involved in international development work first as a volunteer with her husband in Honduras in 1971-72.
She raised her family of three children, served as a school board trustee and on several community church, social and arts bodies in Cobourg, Ontario.
She was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada as an Opposition member by a margin of 27 votes in 1988,[4] following Conservative George Hees.
"[11] After leaving Canadian politics, Stewart acted as special envoy to Cameroon for the Commonwealth Secretary General until 2006 and continued her interest in addressing social issues in her community and work on good governance internationally.