Marion Bryden

Marion Bryden
MPP for Beaches—Woodbine
In office September 18, 1975 – July 30, 1990
Preceded by	Thomas Wardle
Succeeded by	Frances Lankin
Personal details
Born	April 2, 1918 (1918-04-02) (age 93) Winnipeg, Manitoba
Political party	New Democratic Party
Spouse(s)	Kenneth Bryden
Residence	Toronto, Ontario
Occupation	Researcher, statistician
Religion	Presbyterian

Marion Helen Bryden (born April 2, 1918) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. She was a New Democratic Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1975 to 1990.

Background

Bryden was educated at the University of Manitoba, the University of Toronto and the Ontario College of Education. She has been a member of the Canadian Council of Social Development, the Elizabeth Fry Society, and the Federation of Ontario Naturalists. Bryden was also active as a union organizer, and as a researcher and statistician for the Canadian Tax Federation. During the 1960s, she served as president of the Ontario Woodsworth Memorial Foundation. Her husband, Kenneth Bryden, was a member of the Ontario Legislature from 1959 to 1967.

Politics

Marion Bryden was first elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1975 provincial election, defeating incumbent Progressive Conservative Thomas Wardle by almost 3,000 votes in the riding of Beaches—Woodbine. She defeated Wardle again by a narrower margin in the 1977 election. In the 1981 provincial election, Bryden defeated Progressive Conservative Paul Christie by only 324 votes amid provincial setbacks for the NDP. She supported Ian Deans for party leader in 1978 which was won by Michael Cassidy.^[1] She supported Bob Rae for the party leadership in 1982.

In 1980, Bryden proposed an environmental bill of rights which would have granted rights to people to challenge polluting companies without first having to prove damages. The bill was blocked by a group of 29 Conservative members. At the time, house rules allowed 20 members to block votes on a private member's bill.^[2]

Bryden defeated Christie again by a much greater margin in the 1985 provincial election, and won without difficulty for the redistributed riding of in the 1987 election. She retired prior to the 1990 election, at age seventy-two. The Beaches—Woodbine riding, now renamed as Beaches—East York, has remained in NDP hands since that time with Bryden being succeeded by Frances Lankin and Michael Prue.

From 1985 to 1990, Bryden served as her party's critic for Colleges and Universities, the Solicitor-General, Correctional Services, Seniors' Issues, Revenue and Transport. She was known as an effective constituency representative.

Books

Bryden has written and co-authored several books and publications in the field of Canadian taxation. These include The costs of tax compliance: a report on a survey conducted by the Canadian Tax Foundation (1961), Occupancy of tax fields in Canada (1965), and Statement to the Royal Commission on Taxation (1964) with A.D. Russell and Gwyneth McGregor.^[3]

References

1. ^ Bryden supports Deans to lead NDP. Globe and Mail. 3 February 1978. pg. P5
2. ^ Pollution bill rejected. The Globe and Mail. 10 October, 1980. pg. P5.
3. ^ Google Books, List of book authored and co-authored by M.H. Bryden. Last accessed August 11, 2011.

External links

• Legislative Assembly of Ontario biography

Persondata
Name	Bryden, Marion
Alternative names
Short description	Ontario MPP
Date of birth	April 2, 1918
Place of birth	Winnipeg, Manitoba
Date of death
Place of death