Mable Elmore
Encyclopedia
Mable Elmore is a Canadian
politician, who was elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
in the 2009 provincial election
. A member of the BC New Democratic Party, she was elected to represent the riding of Vancouver-Kensington. In the 39th Parliament
, with her party forming the official opposition, Elmore acted as the deputy critic for multiculturalism, child care, and early learning. She served on the Select Standing Committee on Children and Youth.
Prior to becoming the first MLA of Filipino descent, Elmore worked in Vancouver driving buses for the Coast Mountain Bus Company
. She was active within Vancouver's Filipino Canadian
community and within her union. Coming out of the University of British Columbia she volunteered and then worked at the BC Philippine Women Centre. Since her high school years, she had helped organize campaigns regarding social justice issues and the peace movement.
in 1965 and met her father, an Irish Canadian
manager at a pulp and paper mill, while in Prince Rupert, British Columbia
. A couple years later Mable was born in Langley
. The family moved to Nova Scotia
and they lived in Turkey
for brief time, but they spent most of Elmore's youth living in Manitoba
. It was at her high school in Winnipeg
, learning about South African apartheid, that she became politically aware and active. Following high school, she attended the University of British Columbia
studying physical education and volunteered at the BC Philippine Women Centre, which turned into a full time job. Several years later, Elmore started working as a bus driver for the Coast Mountain Bus Company
. She was a vocal advocate for social justice
issues and worker rights
. She was active with the Vancouver and District Labour Council, the BC Federation of Labour
, and in her union, the CAW Local 111
. She helped organize peace
and anti-war marches in Vancouver.
approaching, and incumbent New Democratic MLA David Chudnovsky
retiring, Elmore put her name forward as a candidate for the NDP nomination in the Vancouver-Kensington riding. Due an internal BC NDP rule requiring that the subsequent NDP candidate be female in ridings where there is a retiring male NDP MLA, only women could be nominate. Elmore's only challenger was former BC Teachers' Federation
president Jinny Sims
who Elmore defeated in the March 2009 nomination election. Within hours of her nomination, copies of a 2004 interview with Elmore published in an online magazine, called Seven Oaks, were distributed in which, in reference to her anti-war activism within a union environment, Elmore identified "vocal Zionists in our worksites" as a challenge. This was viewed as a disparaging remark and party leader Carole James
asked Elmore to make a public apologize. The general election was held in May when Elmore was running against realtor and former radio host Syrus Lee for the BC Liberal Party
and engineer Doug Warkentin for the BC Green Party
. Elmore had the support of many in the Filipino Canadian
community who helped campaign for her. Elmore's campaign manager helped thwart an attempt to circumvent election laws by the Kash Heed
campaign, a BC Liberal candidate in a neighbouring riding, after she was informed of Heed's intent to mail, in the Vancouver-Kensington riding, anti-NDP pamphlets, which did not include the proper disclosure and documentation. Regardless, Elmore went on to win the general election with 53% of the vote, though her party lost to the BC Liberals who formed a majority government with the NDP as the official opposition. Elmore was the first Filipino Canadian
to be elected as a Member of the BC Legislative Assembly, and only the second (after Jenn McGinn
) openly lesbian woman.
As the 39th Parliament
began, Elmore was assigned the role of deputy critic on the Ministry of Children and Family Development, with fellow NDP MLA Maurine Karagianis
as the full-time critic. In this role, Elmore identified financial misstatements by Solicitor-General Kash Heed
which forced Heed and the Premier to reverse a planned $440,000 cut to domestic violence
programs. She was appointed to the Select Standing Committee on Children and Youth in all four sessions of the Parliament and the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services in the third and fourth session.
Elmore had remained loyal to party leader Carole James
and confronted fellow MLA Nicholas Simons
about his criticism of James. During the subsequent NDP leadership election
, Elmore was criticized for submitting bulk membership applications contrary to party rules. The bulk membership submissions were seen as favouring the Adrian Dix
campaign, and Elmore did endorse Dix late in the leadership election campaign period and Dix did eventually win the leadership contest. Elmore added critic for multiculturalism issues to her portfolio and advocated for anti-bullying policies in schools.
|New Democrat
|Mable Elmore
|align="right"|9,930
|align="right"|52.55%
|align="right"|
|align="right"|$85,850
| style="width: 130px" |BC Liberal
|Syrus Lee
|align="right"|7,678
|align="right"|40.63%
|align="right"|
|align="right"|$39,514
|Green
|Doug Warkentin
|align="right"|1,288
|align="right"|6.82%
|align="right"|
|align="right"|$780
|- bgcolor="white"
! style="text-align:right;" colspan="3"|Total Valid Votes
!align="right"|18,896
!align="right"|100%
|- style="background:white;"
! style="text-align:right;" colspan="3"|Total Rejected Ballots
!align="right"|210
!align="right"|1.1%
|- style="background:white;"
! style="text-align:right;" colspan="3"|Turnout
!align="right"|19,106
!align="right"|51.98%
|}
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...
politician, who was elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is one of two components of the Parliament of British Columbia, the provincial parliament ....
in the 2009 provincial election
British Columbia general election, 2009
The 39th British Columbia general election was held on May 12, 2009 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The BC Liberal Party formed the government of the province prior to this general election under the leadership of Premier Gordon Campbell...
. A member of the BC New Democratic Party, she was elected to represent the riding of Vancouver-Kensington. In the 39th Parliament
39th Parliament of British Columbia
The 39th Parliament of British Columbia is the current Parliament of British Columbia and composes of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, as elected by the general election of May 12, 2009, and Her Majesty The Queen represented by the Lieutenant-Governor Steven Point...
, with her party forming the official opposition, Elmore acted as the deputy critic for multiculturalism, child care, and early learning. She served on the Select Standing Committee on Children and Youth.
Prior to becoming the first MLA of Filipino descent, Elmore worked in Vancouver driving buses for the Coast Mountain Bus Company
Coast Mountain Bus Company
Coast Mountain Bus Company is the contract operator for bus transit services in Metro Vancouver and is a wholly owned subsidiary of the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority known locally as TransLink, the entity responsible for transit...
. She was active within Vancouver's Filipino Canadian
Filipino Canadian
Filipino Canadians are Canadians of Filipino ancestry. Filipino-Canadians are the fourth-largest subgroup of the Overseas Filipinos.Canada only had a small population of Filipinos until the late 20th century. To date, there are currently around 400,000 Filipino Canadians in Canada, most of them...
community and within her union. Coming out of the University of British Columbia she volunteered and then worked at the BC Philippine Women Centre. Since her high school years, she had helped organize campaigns regarding social justice issues and the peace movement.
Background
Elmore's mother immigrated to Canada from the PhilippinesPhilippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
in 1965 and met her father, an Irish Canadian
Irish Canadian
Irish Canadian are immigrants and descendants of immigrants who originated in Ireland. 1.2 million Irish immigrants arrived, 1825 to 1970, at least half of those in the period from 1831-1850. By 1867, they were the second largest ethnic group , and comprised 24% of Canada's population...
manager at a pulp and paper mill, while in Prince Rupert, British Columbia
Prince Rupert, British Columbia
Prince Rupert is a port city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is the land, air, and water transportation hub of British Columbia's North Coast, and home to some 12,815 people .-History:...
. A couple years later Mable was born in Langley
Langley, British Columbia
Langley, British Columbia may refer to:*Langley, British Columbia *Langley, British Columbia...
. The family moved to Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
and they lived in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
for brief time, but they spent most of Elmore's youth living in Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
. It was at her high school in Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
, learning about South African apartheid, that she became politically aware and active. Following high school, she attended 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...
studying physical education and volunteered at the BC Philippine Women Centre, which turned into a full time job. Several years later, Elmore started working as a bus driver for the Coast Mountain Bus Company
Coast Mountain Bus Company
Coast Mountain Bus Company is the contract operator for bus transit services in Metro Vancouver and is a wholly owned subsidiary of the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority known locally as TransLink, the entity responsible for transit...
. She was a vocal advocate for social justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
issues and worker rights
Labor rights
Labor rights or workers' rights are a group of legal rights and claimed human rights having to do with labor relations between workers and their employers, usually obtained under labor and employment law. In general, these rights' debates have to do with negotiating workers' pay, benefits, and safe...
. She was active with the Vancouver and District Labour Council, the BC Federation of Labour
British Columbia Federation of Labour
British Columbia Federation of Labour is the voice of the Labour movement in British Columbia, Canada.Founded in 1910 and now having over 470,000 individual members and 1100 locals or union sections, the BC Federation of Labour is the provincial Canadian Labour Congress affiliate and the umbrella...
, and in her union, the CAW Local 111
CAW Local 111
The CAW Local 111 is a local union of the Canadian Auto Workers union. It represents the 3300 conventional and community bus operators for Coast Mountain Bus Company in Metro Vancouver. CAW Local 111 was formed from the remnants of the Independent Canadian Transit Union, which had acrimoniously...
. She helped organize peace
Peace movement
A peace movement is a social movement that seeks to achieve ideals such as the ending of a particular war , minimize inter-human violence in a particular place or type of situation, often linked to the goal of achieving world peace...
and anti-war marches in Vancouver.
Provincial politics
With the 2009 provincial electionBritish Columbia general election, 2009
The 39th British Columbia general election was held on May 12, 2009 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The BC Liberal Party formed the government of the province prior to this general election under the leadership of Premier Gordon Campbell...
approaching, and incumbent New Democratic MLA David Chudnovsky
David Chudnovsky (politician)
David Chudnovsky is a Canadian politician. As a member of the New Democratic Party, he was elected as the Member of the Legislative Assembly for Vancouver-Kensington on May 17, 2005. He served as Opposition Critic for Transportation...
retiring, Elmore put her name forward as a candidate for the NDP nomination in the Vancouver-Kensington riding. Due an internal BC NDP rule requiring that the subsequent NDP candidate be female in ridings where there is a retiring male NDP MLA, only women could be nominate. Elmore's only challenger was former BC Teachers' Federation
British Columbia Teachers' Federation
The British Columbia Teachers' Federation is the labour union that represents all public school teachers in the province of British Columbia, Canada.-Governance Structure:...
president Jinny Sims
Jinny Sims
Jinny Jogindera Sims is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2011 election. She represents the electoral district of Newton—North Delta as a member of the New Democratic Party....
who Elmore defeated in the March 2009 nomination election. Within hours of her nomination, copies of a 2004 interview with Elmore published in an online magazine, called Seven Oaks, were distributed in which, in reference to her anti-war activism within a union environment, Elmore identified "vocal Zionists in our worksites" as a challenge. This was viewed as a disparaging remark and party leader Carole James
Carole James
Carole Alison James, MLA is a Canadian politician and former public administrator. She is the former Leader of the Opposition in British Columbia and former leader of the British Columbia New Democratic Party , a social democratic political party...
asked Elmore to make a public apologize. The general election was held in May when Elmore was running against realtor and former radio host Syrus Lee for the BC Liberal Party
British Columbia Liberal Party
The British Columbia Liberal Party is the governing political party in British Columbia, Canada. First elected for government in 1916, the party went into decline after 1952, with its rump caucus merging with the Social Credit Party for the 1975 election...
and engineer Doug Warkentin for the BC Green Party
Green Party of British Columbia
The Green Party of British Columbia is a political party in British Columbia, Canada. It is led by former Esquimalt municipal councillor, university professor and businessperson Jane Sterk, she was elected by the party in 2007. Penticton realtor and columnist Julius Bloomfield serves as the deputy...
. Elmore had the support of many in the Filipino Canadian
Filipino Canadian
Filipino Canadians are Canadians of Filipino ancestry. Filipino-Canadians are the fourth-largest subgroup of the Overseas Filipinos.Canada only had a small population of Filipinos until the late 20th century. To date, there are currently around 400,000 Filipino Canadians in Canada, most of them...
community who helped campaign for her. Elmore's campaign manager helped thwart an attempt to circumvent election laws by the Kash Heed
Kash Heed
Kash P. Heed is a Canadian politician, who was elected as a BC Liberal Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2009 provincial election, representing the riding of Vancouver-Fraserview....
campaign, a BC Liberal candidate in a neighbouring riding, after she was informed of Heed's intent to mail, in the Vancouver-Kensington riding, anti-NDP pamphlets, which did not include the proper disclosure and documentation. Regardless, Elmore went on to win the general election with 53% of the vote, though her party lost to the BC Liberals who formed a majority government with the NDP as the official opposition. Elmore was the first Filipino Canadian
Filipino Canadian
Filipino Canadians are Canadians of Filipino ancestry. Filipino-Canadians are the fourth-largest subgroup of the Overseas Filipinos.Canada only had a small population of Filipinos until the late 20th century. To date, there are currently around 400,000 Filipino Canadians in Canada, most of them...
to be elected as a Member of the BC Legislative Assembly, and only the second (after Jenn McGinn
Jenn McGinn
Jenn McGinn is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, representing the electoral district of Vancouver-Fairview, in a by-election on October 29, 2008. She is the first openly lesbian MLA to serve in the British Columbian Legislature...
) openly lesbian woman.
As the 39th Parliament
39th Parliament of British Columbia
The 39th Parliament of British Columbia is the current Parliament of British Columbia and composes of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, as elected by the general election of May 12, 2009, and Her Majesty The Queen represented by the Lieutenant-Governor Steven Point...
began, Elmore was assigned the role of deputy critic on the Ministry of Children and Family Development, with fellow NDP MLA Maurine Karagianis
Maurine Karagianis
Maurine Karagianis is a Canadian politician, currently the New Democratic Party MLA for the riding of Esquimalt-Royal Roads in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia....
as the full-time critic. In this role, Elmore identified financial misstatements by Solicitor-General Kash Heed
Kash Heed
Kash P. Heed is a Canadian politician, who was elected as a BC Liberal Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2009 provincial election, representing the riding of Vancouver-Fraserview....
which forced Heed and the Premier to reverse a planned $440,000 cut to domestic violence
Domestic violence
Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation...
programs. She was appointed to the Select Standing Committee on Children and Youth in all four sessions of the Parliament and the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services in the third and fourth session.
Elmore had remained loyal to party leader Carole James
Carole James
Carole Alison James, MLA is a Canadian politician and former public administrator. She is the former Leader of the Opposition in British Columbia and former leader of the British Columbia New Democratic Party , a social democratic political party...
and confronted fellow MLA Nicholas Simons
Nicholas Simons
Nicholas Simons is a Canadian politician. He is a Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, and member of the New Democratic Party. He represents the riding of Powell River-Sunshine Coast.-Politics:...
about his criticism of James. During the subsequent NDP leadership election
British Columbia New Democratic Party leadership election, 2011
The British Columbia New Democratic Party leadership convention of 2011 was prompted by Carole James's announcement on December 6, 2010 that she would be resigning as leader of the party...
, Elmore was criticized for submitting bulk membership applications contrary to party rules. The bulk membership submissions were seen as favouring the Adrian Dix
Adrian Dix
Adrian Dix is a Canadian politician, currently serving as MLA for Vancouver-Kingsway in British Columbia and as leader of the British Columbia New Democratic Party. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly in the 2005 election.-Aide to Glen Clark:...
campaign, and Elmore did endorse Dix late in the leadership election campaign period and Dix did eventually win the leadership contest. Elmore added critic for multiculturalism issues to her portfolio and advocated for anti-bullying policies in schools.
Electoral history
|-|New Democrat
New Democratic Party of British Columbia
The New Democratic Party of British Columbia is a social-democratic political party in British Columbia, Canada. The party currently forms the official opposition to the governing British Columbia Liberal Party following the 2009 provincial election in British Columbia.The BC NDP is the provincial...
|Mable Elmore
|align="right"|9,930
|align="right"|52.55%
|align="right"|
|align="right"|$85,850
| style="width: 130px" |BC Liberal
British Columbia Liberal Party
The British Columbia Liberal Party is the governing political party in British Columbia, Canada. First elected for government in 1916, the party went into decline after 1952, with its rump caucus merging with the Social Credit Party for the 1975 election...
|Syrus Lee
|align="right"|7,678
|align="right"|40.63%
|align="right"|
|align="right"|$39,514
|Green
Green Party of British Columbia
The Green Party of British Columbia is a political party in British Columbia, Canada. It is led by former Esquimalt municipal councillor, university professor and businessperson Jane Sterk, she was elected by the party in 2007. Penticton realtor and columnist Julius Bloomfield serves as the deputy...
|Doug Warkentin
|align="right"|1,288
|align="right"|6.82%
|align="right"|
|align="right"|$780
|- bgcolor="white"
! style="text-align:right;" colspan="3"|Total Valid Votes
!align="right"|18,896
!align="right"|100%
|- style="background:white;"
! style="text-align:right;" colspan="3"|Total Rejected Ballots
!align="right"|210
!align="right"|1.1%
|- style="background:white;"
! style="text-align:right;" colspan="3"|Turnout
!align="right"|19,106
!align="right"|51.98%
|}
External links
- Legislative Assembly of British Columbia - Mable Elmore
- Member of the Legislative Assembly - Mable Elmore (Vancouver-Kensington)
- British Columbia New Democratic Party - Mable Elmore