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Laurel Collins

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Laurel Collins
MP
Member of Parliament
for Victoria
Incumbent
Assumed office
October 21, 2019
Preceded byMurray Rankin
Victoria City Councillor
In office
October 20, 2018 – November 4, 2019
Personal details
Born (1984-05-07) May 7, 1984 (age 40)
Kispiox, British Columbia, Canada
Political partyNew Democratic Party
SpouseJames McNish[1]
ChildrenAlora McNish Collins
Residence(s)Victoria, British Columbia

Laurel Collins MP (born May 7, 1984) is a Canadian politician who was elected to represent the riding of Victoria in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2019 Canadian federal election.[2] Prior to her election in the House of Commons, she was a city councillor for Victoria City Council. She is the NDP Critic for the Environment and Climate Change and the NDP Deputy Caucus Chair.[3]

Background

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Collins was born in Kispiox in northern British Columbia, one of three children. Her parents, school teachers, separated when she was a baby, and she moved around the province, attending elementary school on Salt Spring Island, Alert Bay, and in Port Hardy. She went to high school in Sussex, New Brunswick and did her undergraduate degree at the University of King’s College and Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.[4] She did a master's degree in Human Security and Peacebuilding at Royal Roads University.[2]

Career

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Collins worked at Victoria Women in Need, running programs for women who have experienced abuse. She co-founded and co-chaired Divest Victoria, a non-profit organization that advocates for cities to take their money out of fossil fuels and put them into environmentally responsible investments. While researching climate migration and displacement, she worked with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Northern Uganda helping to create durable solutions for internally displaced persons in the aftermath of deadly conflict.[5]

From 2014 to 2019, Collins taught courses at the University of Victoria, including courses in Social Inequality, Social Justice Studies, Political Sociology, and the Sociology of Genders.[2] In 2015, she co-published a book, Women, Adult Education, and Leadership in Canada.[6] And, in 2017, she won a Victoria Community Leadership Award in Sustainability and Community Building.[7]

In October 2018, Collins was elected as a city councillor for Victoria City Council with the electoral organization Together Victoria.[8] She would resign from this position a year later, after her election to the House of Commons in late October 2019.[9] The byelection following her departure was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic until December 2020, where it eventually resulted in the election of Stephen Andrew and the defeat of Together Victoria's candidate Stephanie Hardman.[10][11]

Collins was re-elected in the 2021 federal election.

She is the NDP Critic for the Environment and Climate Change and the Deputy Critic for Families, Children, and Social Development.[12]

Electoral record

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2021 Canadian federal election: Victoria
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
New Democratic Laurel Collins 29,301 43.9 +10.7 $97,858.71
Liberal Nikki Macdonald 18,194 27.3 +5.0 $97,566.80
Conservative Hannah Hodson 9,152 13.7 +1.1 $18,401.29
Green Nick Loughton 7,472 11.2 -18.7 $93,634.92
People's John Randal Phipps 2,065 3.1 +1.8 $7,982.12
Communist Janis Zroback 273 0.4 +0.2 $0.00
Animal Protection Jordan Reichert 243 0.4 - $2,364.23
Total valid votes/Expense limit 66,748 – – $126,387.28
Total rejected ballots 468
Turnout 67,216
Eligible voters 99,889
Source: Elections Canada[13]
2019 Canadian federal election: Victoria
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
New Democratic Laurel Collins 23,765 33.2 -9.1 $114,384.10
Green Racelle Kooy 21,383 29.9 -3.0 $78,891.28
Liberal Nikki Macdonald 15,952 22.3 +10.5 $83,095.70
Conservative Richard Caron 9,038 12.6 +0.8 $41,312.21
People's Alyson Culbert 920 1.3 - $5,286.41
Animal Protection Jordan Reichert 221 0.3 0.0 $2,270.91
Communist Robert Duncan 113 0.2 -
Independent David Shebib 111 0.2 -
Veterans Coalition Keith Rosenberg 46 0.1 -
Total valid votes/expense limit 71,549 99.3   $121,316.37
Total rejected ballots 475 0.7
Turnout 72,024 76.1
Eligible voters 94,627
New Democratic hold Swing -6.10
Source: Elections Canada[14][15]

References

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  1. ^ "Victoria MP Laurel Collins expecting first child while preparing for a possible election". Times Colonist. Retrieved 2021-05-04.
  2. ^ a b c "Victoria: City councillor Laurel Collins off to Ottawa as NDP MP". Times Colonist. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
  3. ^ "Critic Roles". cbc.ca. Retrieved 2021-02-24.
  4. ^ "University of King's College". University of King’s College Halifax Nova Scotia. 21 Jul 2021. Retrieved 4 Dec 2022.
  5. ^ "Councillor Laurel Collins". victoria.ca. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
  6. ^ "Women, Adult Education, and Leadership in Canada". Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
  7. ^ "Victoria Community Leadership Awards" (PDF). Retrieved 2019-10-23.
  8. ^ "CivicInfo BC: Election Results - 2018 - Municipality - Victoria (City)". www.civicinfo.bc.ca. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
  9. ^ "Victoria's new MP Laurel Collins will resign from city council". Victoria Times Colonist. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
  10. ^ "Victoria By-Election Delayed Indefinitely By COVID-19". Capital Daily. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
  11. ^ "Victoria city council byelection live results". CHEK. 2020-12-13. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
  12. ^ "NDP announces new critic roles for caucus". Canada's NDP. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
  13. ^ "List of confirmed candidates – September 20, 2021 Federal Election". Elections Canada. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  14. ^ "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  15. ^ "Election Night Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
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