Betty E. Unger is a Canadian politician and a Progressive Conservative

Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta

The Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta is a provincial centre-right party in the Canadian province of Alberta...

 Senator in waiting from Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. Unger owned and operated a successful Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

 nursing services company for many years.

In 2000 Unger ran for the Canadian House of Commons

Canadian House of Commons

The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...

 as a candidate for the Canadian Alliance

Canadian Alliance

The Canadian Alliance , formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance , was a Canadian conservative political party that existed from 2000 to 2003. The party was the successor to the Reform Party of Canada and inherited its position as the Official Opposition in the House of Commons and held...

 in Edmonton West

Edmonton West

Edmonton West was a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1917 to 1988 and from 1997 to 2004.-Demographics:-History and geography:...

, losing a close contest to Liberal

Liberal Party of Canada

The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...

 Cabinet Minister Anne McLellan

Anne McLellan

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. The race was so close that the Canadian Alliance declared victory on election night and Unger was shown celebrating with her volunteers until officials determined that the Liberals had indeed garnered a plurality of the votes.

She is currently a "Senator in waiting" in Alberta, having finished a close second in the 2004 Alberta senate election

Alberta Senate nominee election, 2004

The 3rd Alberta Senate nominee election was held on November 22, 2004 in conjunction with the Alberta general election, 2004. Alberta is the only Canadian province to elect nominees for the Senate of Canada.-Background:...

. She is the first Albertan woman to be elected a Senator in waiting.