Margaret Mitchell (Canadian politician)

For other people named Margaret Mitchell, see Margaret Mitchell (disambiguation).

Margaret Anne Mitchell
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Vancouver East
In office 1979–1993
Preceded by	Art Lee
Succeeded by	Anna Terrana
Personal details
Born	July 17, 1925 (1925-07-17) (age 86) Brockville, Ontario
Political party	New Democratic Party
Alma mater	McMaster University
Portfolio	Deputy Whip of the N.D.P. (1989-1990)

Margaret Anne Mitchell, OBC (née Learoyd) (born July 17, 1925) is a social activist and was the New Democratic Party (NDP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Vancouver East from 1979 until 1993. A social worker by profession, she was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 1979 federal election. In 1980, she voted against a pay raise for MPs, and subsequently donated her additional pay to charity establishing the Margaret Mitchell Fund for Women.

In Parliament, Mitchell was one of the first politicians to raise the issue of violence against women. She is best remembered for one incident in which male MPs laughed when she demanded that the government take action to stop domestic violence. Recalling the incident two decades later, she said, "I was shocked and furious about that... that was my one claim to fame, and people still come up to me and talk to me about that."^[1]

Mitchell graduated from McMaster University with a sociology degree in 1947. From 1952 to 1955, she worked as a social worker for the International Red Cross in Japan, Korea, Australia and Austria. She moved to Vancouver in the 1960s where she worked for the Neighborhood Services Association until 1974.

In Parliament, she was variously the NDP's Critic for Immigration, Housing, Status of Women, Health and Welfare and for Multiculturalism and Citizenship. In the 1980s, she attended the United Nations "Decade of Women Conference" in Nairobi.^[2] In 1984, she was the first MP to raise the issue of the Chinese Head Tax in the House of Commons.^[3]

In 2000, Mitchell was recognized as a Member of the Order of British Columbia.^[4] Mitchell is a known descendent^{[citation needed]} of former Canadian Prime Minister John Thompson who died in office in 1894 while visiting Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle.

References

1. ^ Former MP put money where her heart was article on Mitchell, December 21, 2005.
2. ^ http://www.mcmaster.ca/ua/alumni/gallery/programs_recognition_mitchell_m_a_l.html
3. ^ http://www.sen.parl.gc.ca/vpoy/english/Special_Interests/speeches/Speech%20-%20Natl_Congress_CC_130903.htm
4. ^ "Order of British Columbia citation". http://www.protocol.gov.bc.ca/protocol/prgs/obc/2000/2000_MMitchell.htm. 

External links

• Margaret Mitchell - Parliament of Canada biography

Persondata
Name	Mitchell, Margaret
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	July 17, 1925
Place of birth	Brockville, Ontario
Date of death
Place of death