Karen Louise Busby

Karen Louise Busby died peacefully on July 23, 2026, surrounded by family and friends, after living graciously with Parkinson’s disease for 15 years. She approached her final chapter with the same thoughtfulness, courage, independence, and clarity that characterized her life. She left this world as she had lived—on her own terms.

Karen was born in Edmonton on September 17, 1958 to Dave and Norma (Ingimundson), the eldest daughter in a large and loving family. Her mother was an extraordinary woman who raised seven children while working as a nurse for the federal government after she and Dave separated.

On September 3, 2011, Karen married the love of her life, Jan Lederman. Their marriage was marked by a rare chemistry of intellectual synergy, artistic sensibility, and elegant rebellion. With a blend of grace and grit, together they carved out a life of authenticity, turning daily life into a rich dialogue of spirited debate, social advocacy, and mutual inspiration.

Karen is lovingly remembered by her wife, Jan Lederman; stepsons Matt Lederman (Heidi Bonnetta) and Patrick Lederman; brothers Jim (Angie), Rob (Elenore), and Bruce; sisters Susan, Dawn (Steve Venner), and Tracey; nieces and nephews Kris Busby (Heather Reeves), Matt Busby, Julie Busby, Rachel Jordan (Wendolyn Jordan), Becky Saowapon (Matt Saowapon), Joey Broda (Katie MacDonald), Jessie Jakumeit, Scott Busby Drayson, Sul Lindsay, and Rosie Lindsay; great-nephews Henry and Eric Jordan, Daniel Saowapon, and Carey Broda (named after Karen); her chosen family, Doug Melnyk and Larry Glawson, Helen Fallding and Joanne Cowen, John Kearsey and Michael Alty, and Donald Pearen and James Anning; and her extended family and dear friends.

After studying in Manitoba, France, and New York, and working at a major Winnipeg law firm and the Federal Court of Appeal, Karen joined the Faculty of Law at the University of Manitoba at age 29.

Karen loved teaching and received numerous awards recognizing her excellence in the classroom. She saw teaching not simply as the transmission of knowledge but as an opportunity to foster critical thinking, intellectual courage, and social responsibility. Karen often said that her students are her legacy.

Karen was perhaps best known for challenging Canadians with her prescient research and advocacy on issues others considered too controversial to touch.

Her work with the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF), Egale Canada, and others helped strengthen protections for sexual assault complainants, limit queer book and magazine seizures at the Canadian border, secure marriage equality, and end discriminatory treatment of same-sex couples.

She also challenged conventional thinking about surrogacy, developed legal strategies on First Nations drinking water, co-edited The Idea of a Human Rights Museum and co-wrote Achieving Fairness: A Guide to Campus Sexual Violence Complaints.

Karen respected the role of the media in advancing social justice and encouraged other academics to speak out on issues within their expertise. She was often years ahead of public opinion, challenging institutions and policy makers long before others were prepared to do so. Karen weathered predictable backlash for her advocacy, but many of the positions she championed eventually became widely accepted. Karen’s contributions were recognized with honours from the Senate of Canada, the Law Society of Manitoba, the Canadian Bar Association, the Manitoba Bar Association, the YMCA-YWCA, and Canada’s Queer Hall of Fame.

Karen co-founded with Helen Fallding the University of Manitoba’s Centre for Human Rights Research. The CHRR laid the groundwork for the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation and the Master of Human Rights program at the University of Manitoba. She also created and for 28 years updated the principal civil litigation resource used by Manitoba judges and lawyers, colloquially called “Busby’s Rules”.

Karen combined a brilliant legal mind with warmth, wit (occasionally ribald), and generosity. She delighted in spirited conversation, welcomed friends and strangers alike to her table, and had an extraordinary gift for making people feel seen, challenged and encouraged. Those fortunate enough to know her remember not only what she accomplished, but how she made us feel.

Karen possessed a lifelong passion for the visual arts. As a teenager she worked at Young Designers, where she met emerging artists who helped shape that lifelong interest. She came to believe that art, like law, had the power to help people see the world differently. Karen served on the boards of various visual arts organizations, including a decade on the board of the Winnipeg Art Gallery–Qaumajuq. Karen and Jan were avid art collectors who took great pleasure in welcoming friends into their home to share their collection.

Karen delighted in concocting elaborate desserts for the dinner parties she and Jan frequently hosted. She also enjoyed making quilts, creating Halloween costumes, tending gardens, singing in choir, playing Mah Jongg, and reading voraciously.

Even in death, she left us with a smile: The urn for her cremains is a ceramic cookie jar saved from her childhood for exactly this purpose.

Our family is grateful to Dr. Chantal Braun, Dr. Douglas Hobson and the Movement Disorder Clinic staff, as well as the MAID and Palliative Care teams for their excellent care.