Background
She was born in London, Ontario, and worked as a lawyer before entering politics.
She was born in London, Ontario, and worked as a lawyer before entering politics.
She stood as the Liberal candidate in Windsor—Saint Clair in the 1988 election, but lost to New Democratic Party incumbent Howard McCurdy. However, in the 1993 election, Cohen defeated McCurdy for the seat. She was then re-elected in 1997.
On December 9, 1998, she collapsed in the House of Commons just seconds after standing to address the House.
She had suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, and was pronounced dead soon afterward. In the byelection that followed in early 1999, Liberal candidate Rick Limoges narrowly defeated Joe Comartin of the NDP.
Journalist Susan Delacourt published a biography of Cohen, Shaughnessy: The Passionate Politics of Shaughnessy Cohen, the same year.
