Sheila White (politician) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Sheila White is a 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...

political activist and a member of the New Democratic Party

New Democratic Party

The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...

. She has run for office unsuccessfully five times, to date, in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, Canada

Canada

.

White worked as a senior aide to then-North York mayor

Mayor

In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

Mel Lastman

Melvin Douglas "Mel" Lastman , nicknamed "Mayor Mel", is a former businessman and politician. He is the founder of the Bad Boy Furniture chain. He served as the mayor of the former city of North York, Ontario, Canada from 1972 until 1997. At the end of 1997, North York, along with five other...

from 1985 to 1998, in charge of communications, media and community programs. She was then employed for five years as special advisor to Howard Hampton

Howard Hampton

Howard George Hampton, MPP is a Canadian lawyer and politician. He has served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Canada, since 1987 as the Member of Provincial Parliament from the northern riding of Kenora—Rainy River. A member of the Ontario New Democratic Party, he was also the party's...

and the Ontario New Democratic Party

Ontario New Democratic Party

The Ontario New Democratic Party or , formally known as New Democratic Party of Ontario, is a social democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. It is a provincial section of the federal New Democratic Party. It was formed in October 1961, a few months after the federal party. The ONDP had its...

and worked as media and communications director for the party's 2003 election campaign

Ontario general election, 2003

The Ontario general election of 2003 was held on October 2, 2003, to elect the 103 members of the 38th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada....

. She is currently executive assistant to Ontario New Democratic Party Leader and Member of Provincial Parliament for Hamilton East, Andrea Horwath

Andrea Horwath

Andrea Horwath , is a Canadian activist and politician. She is the Leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party in Canada. She is a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, representing the riding of Hamilton Centre, and was chosen as the party's leader at its 2009 leadership convention.She is...

.

White has appeared as a commentator on radio and television political panels.

Family history

White is the daughter of a mixed race couple. Her father, Order of Canada

Order of Canada

The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...

recipient Bill White

Bill White (Canadian politician)

William Andrew White, III, OC was a Canadian composer and social justice activist, who was the first Black Canadian to run for federal office in Canada.-1949 federal election:...

, was a longtime member of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation

Co-operative Commonwealth Federation

The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation was a Canadian political party founded in 1932 in Calgary, Alberta, by a number of socialist, farm, co-operative and labour groups, and the League for Social Reconstruction...

and ran as the party's candidate in Spadina

Spadina (electoral district)

Spadina was a Canadian electoral district that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1935 to 1988. It covered a portion of the western-central Toronto. Its name comes from the Spadina Avenue, which runs through the heart of the riding....

in the 1949 federal election

Canadian federal election, 1949

The Canadian federal election of 1949 was held on June 27 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 21st Parliament of Canada. It was the first election in Canada in almost thirty years in which the Liberal Party of Canada was not led by William Lyon Mackenzie King. King had...

, becoming the first Black Canadian

Black Canadian

'Black Canadians is a designation used for people of Black African descent, who are citizens or permanent residents of Canada. The term specifically refers to Canadians with Sub-Saharan African ancestry. The majority of Black Canadians are of Caribbean origin...

to run for federal office. Both Sheila and her parents are Unitarian Universalists. She is also a cousin of Canadian Senator

Canadian Senate

The Senate of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the House of Commons, and the monarch . The Senate consists of 105 members appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister...

Donald Oliver

Donald H. Oliver, QC is a Canadian Senator.A lawyer and developer, Oliver is a member of Nova Scotia's Black minority. He is the nephew of Canadian opera singer Portia White, politician Bill White and labour union activist Jack White, and the cousin of political strategist Sheila White...

and writer George Elliott Clarke

George Elliott Clarke

George Elliott Clarke, OC is a Canadian poet and playwright. His work largely explores and chronicles the experience and history of the Black Canadian community of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, creating a cultural geography that Clarke refers to as "Africadia".-Life:Born to William and Geraldine...

, niece of singer Portia White

Portia White

Portia May White , was a singer who achieved international fame because of her voice and stage presence. As a Black Canadian, her popularity helped to open previously closed doors for talented blacks who followed....

and labour union activist Jack White

Jack White (politician)

Jack White was a Canadian labour union activist. He was the first elected black representative of the Ironworkers, and one of the first CUPE national staff representatives from a minority background....

, and granddaughter of clergyman William A. White

William A. White

Reverend Captain William Andrew White, II, D.D. was an American-born Canadian missionary and World War I chaplain, the only black chaplain in the entire British Army during the war. He was the father of singer Portia White....

, who, during World War I, became the first Black officer in British North America. He led the Second Construction Battalion

No. 2 Construction Battalion

The No. 2 Construction Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force , was the only all-black battalion in Canadian military history and also the only one to serve in World War I. Commanded by Lieutenant Colonel D.H. Sutherland, formerly of the 193rd Battalion, CEF, all but one of the unit's 19 officers...

as chaplain

Chaplain

Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...

, the only black chaplain in the entire British Army.

Electoral history

White has twice run as a municipal candidate for Toronto City Council

Toronto City Council

The Toronto City Council is the governing body of the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.Members represent wards throughout the city, and are known as councillors....

in Scarborough's Ward 44, placing second in the 1999 by-election

By-election

A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....

and 2000 municipal election. She ran federally for the NDP in Scarborough—Guildwood

Scarborough—Guildwood

Scarborough—Guildwood is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004.It was created in 2003 from parts of Scarborough Southwest and Scarborough Centre....

in the 2004 federal election

Canadian federal election, 2004

The Canadian federal election, 2004 , was held on June 28, 2004 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 38th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin lost its majority, but was able to form a minority government after the elections...

.

Subsequently, White was the NDP candidate in the provincial Scarborough—Rouge River

Scarborough—Rouge River

Scarborough—Rouge River is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1988....

by-election in November 2005 to replace Ontario Liberal Party

Ontario Liberal Party

The Ontario Liberal Party is a provincial political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. It has formed the Government of Ontario since the provincial election of 2003. The party is ideologically aligned with the Liberal Party of Canada but the two parties are organizationally independent and...

Member of Provincial Parliament Alvin Curling

Alvin Curling

Alvin Curling is a prominent Black Canadian. He was Canada's envoy to the Dominican Republic from 2005-2006. A former politician in Ontario, Canada, he was Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario until he resigned on August 19, 2005 to accept his diplomatic appointment...

. Curling had held the riding or predecessors thereto for twenty years prior to his resignation, on August 19, 2005, to accept a diplomatic appointment.

In the ensuing byelection, the riding was won by Toronto city councillor Bas Balkissoon

Bas Balkissoon

Bas Balkissoon is a politician in Toronto, Ontario. Formerly the Toronto city councillor representing Ward 41 in northeast area of Scarborough, Balkissoon won election to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario on November 24, 2005 as the Liberal Member of Provincial Parliament for Scarborough—Rouge...

with 58% of the vote. White captured 15% of the vote, finishing third behind Progressive Conservative candidate Cynthia Lai with 24% of the vote. A snowstorm caused the worst voter turnout in 30 years. Only 19% of voters cast a ballot.

White ran again in Scarborough—Rouge River as the NDP candidate in the 2007 provincial election

Ontario general election, 2007

The Ontario general election of 2007 was held on October 10, 2007 to elect members of the 39th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada. The Liberals under Dalton McGuinty won the election with a majority government, winning 71 out of a possible 107 seats with 42.2% of the popular...

. She again finished third.
|-

|Bas Balkissoon

Bas Balkissoon

|align="right"|22,362
|align="right"|65.2
|align="right"|
|-

|Horace Gooden
|align="right"|4,962
|align="right"|14.5
|align="right"|
|-

|Sheila White
|align="right"|4,646
|align="right"|13.5
|align="right"|
|-

|Serge Abbat
|align="right"|1,275
|align="right"|3.7
|align="right"|
|-

|Joseph Carvalho
|align="right"|581
|align="right"|1.7
|align="right"|
|-

|Alan Mercer
|align="right"|492
|align="right"|1.4
|align="right"|
|-
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|- style="background-color:#E9E9E9"
! colspan="6"|Ontario byelection, November 24, 2005
|- style="background-color:#E9E9E9"
! colspan="2" style="width: 200px"|Party
! style="width: 170px"|Candidate
! style="width: 40px"|Votes
! style="width: 40px"|%
! style="width: 40px"|+/-
|-

| style="width: 185px"| Liberal

Ontario Liberal Party

|Bas Balkissoon

Bas Balkissoon

|align=right|9,347
|align=right|57.6
|align=right|-6.2
|-

| style="width: 185px"| Progressive Conservative
|Cynthia Lai
|align=right|4,032
|align=right|24.9
|align=right|-0.3
|-

| style="width: 185px"|New Democrat

New Democratic Party

Ontario Libertarian Party

The Ontario Libertarian Party is a political party in Ontario, Canada that was founded in 1975 by Bruce Evoy, Vince Miller, and others, inspired by the formation three years earlier of the US Libertarian Party. The Party is guided by adherence to the philosophical ideas of Austrian Economics and...

Family Coalition Party of Ontario

The Family Coalition Party is a small political party in Ontario, Canada that promotes a socially conservative ideology. It was formed in 1987 by members of the pro-life organization Campaign Life Coalition, and has fielded candidates in every provincial election since then...

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