Judith Erola, née Jacobson, PC (born 16 January 1934) is a former Canadian politician who represented the riding of Nickel Belt in the House of Commons of Canada from 1980 to 1984.
At CKSO-TV, she made history as the first woman employed by a Canadian television station as a weather reporter, and also presented segments on fashion.
[2] Her campaign in that year was marked in part by a stumble when her election brochure called for "nationalization of farmland usage policies";[4] challenged in a radio interview to clarify her position given that the Liberal Party was generally opposed to nationalization, she clarified that the word was a typographical error whose intended meaning was rationalization.
[11] In June 1980, Erola faced criticism for using a government flight to transport colleagues from Ottawa to Sudbury to attend a testimonial dinner for former Liberal MP James Jerome.
[16] In 1982, she worked with Frith and Nickel Belt MPP Floyd Laughren to prevent significant layoffs by Inco Limited in the Sudbury area.
[24] In October 1982, Erola also became the first woman ever appointed to the cabinet's priorities and planning committee, which debates and decides on the direction of government policy.
[citation needed] She has served on the board of Equal Voice, an organization which seeks to assist Canadian women in running for political office.