Alvin Singh is a Vancouver

Vancouver

Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...

-based community organizer and former student activist. He is the current Executive Director for the Coalition of Progressive Electors (COPE)

Coalition of Progressive Electors

The Coalition of Progressive Electors is a municipal political party in the Canadian city of Vancouver, British Columbia.-Origins:...

, a municipal political party based in the Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 city of Vancouver, British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

. He was formerly the External Co-Chairperson for COPE and according to a Georgia Straight

The Georgia Straight

The Georgia Straight is a free Canadian weekly news and entertainment newspaper published in Vancouver, British Columbia, by the Vancouver Free Press Publishing Corp...

 report, was "the youngest cochairperson ever elected by COPE. He is also the first person of South Asian descent to head a major Vancouver civic party." He also works as a freelance communications and graphic design consultant.

A long time education advocate in Vancouver, he served as one of COPE's five candidates for Trustee of the Vancouver Board of Education

School District 39 Vancouver

Vancouver School Board is a school district based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. A board of nine trustees manage this district that serves the city of Vancouver and the University Endowment Lands....

 in the 2008 Vancouver municipal election

Vancouver municipal election, 2008

The 2008 Vancouver municipal election was held on November 15, 2008, filling seats on the Vancouver School Board, the Parks Board, the Vancouver City Council, and the position of Mayor of Vancouver. It was held at the same time as municipal elections throughout the province...

. He was narrowly defeated after capturing 43,754 votes, just 2,295 votes shy of the ninth and final spot. Singh contested the election at the same time as he attended full time classes at the University of British Columbia

University of British Columbia

The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...

 where he was pursuing his interdisciplinary studies degree that focused on International Development

International development

International development or global development is a concept that lacks a universally accepted definition, but it is most used in a holistic and multi-disciplinary context of human development — the development of greater quality of life for humans...

, Public Policy

Public policy

Public policy as government action is generally the principled guide to action taken by the administrative or executive branches of the state with regard to a class of issues in a manner consistent with law and institutional customs. In general, the foundation is the pertinent national and...

, and Urban Studies.

One of Singh's main focuses in Vancouver politics has been strengthening public policy formulation with a specific focus on housing policy. His past work in policy development includes time with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation is a Crown corporation, owned by the Government of Canada, founded after World War II to provide housing for returning soldiers...

 as well as the Canadian Government's

Government of Canada

The Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...

 department of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada

Human Resources and Skills Development Canada

The Department of Human Resources and Skills Development , operating under the FIP applied title Human Resources and Skills Development Canada , is the department of the Government of Canada responsible for developing, managing and delivering a variety of social programs and services...

(at the time referred to as "Human Resources Social Development Canada.")

External links

• Alvin Singh's bio on the Coalition of Progressive Electors official website