Charlie Angus
Angus in 2023
Member of Parliament forTimmins—James Bay
In office June 28, 2004 – March 23, 2025
Preceded by	Réginald Bélair
Succeeded by	Gaétan Malette
Personal details
Born	Charles Joseph Angus (1962-11-14)November 14, 1962 (age 63) Timmins, Ontario, Canada
Political party	New Democratic Party
Spouse	Brit Griffin ​ (m. 1986)​ [1]
Residence(s)	Cobalt, Ontario, Canada
Profession	Writer editor broadcaster musician
Website	charlieangus.ca

Charles Joseph Angus (born November 14, 1962) is a Canadian author, journalist, broadcaster, musician and politician. A member of theNew Democratic Party (NDP), Angus served as the federal Member of Parliament for theriding ofTimmins—James Bay from 2004 to 2025. Until his retirement from politics, he was the NDP critic for Ethics, FedNor, Indigenous Youth and Income Inequality and Affordability. He was also deputy critic for Labour.^[2]

Angus was a candidate for leadership of the federal NDP in the2017 New Democratic Party leadership election, where he received 19.4% of the vote.

He is the author ofCobalt: Cradle of the Demon Metals, Birth of a Mining Superpower.

Angus was born inTimmins,Ontario,^[3] and moved toToronto in 1973, where in 1980 he co-founded thepunk rock bandL'Étranger with childhood friendAndrew Cash. Angus performed bass and co-wrote many of the group's songs, which were influenced by theClash and the group's Catholicsocial justice roots.^[4][5] L'Étranger is best known for their anti-apartheid single "One People", played frequently on the then-newMuchMusic.^[6] Angus later co-founded thealternative folk groupGrievous Angels.^[7] After his election to Parliament, Angus continued to perform with the group on occasion and released a new album in 2021.^[8]

Angus was a community activist in Toronto in the 1980s where, along with his wifeBrit Griffin, he established aCatholic Worker house, a homeless shelter for men, especially those who were minority refugees and former prisoners. He moved toCobalt, Ontario, with his young family in 1990. In 1995, Brit and Charlie launchedHighGrader, a magazine devoted to Northern Ontario life and culture. In 1999, he received an award from theNorthern Lights Festival Boréal inSudbury for his outstanding contributions to Northern Ontario culture.^[7]

He is the author of eight published books, including an admiring biography ofLes Costello, the celebratedToronto Maple Leafs player who left professional hockey to become a Catholic priest in Timmins.^[9] Angus's fifth book,Cage Call, a photo documentary with photographerLouie Palu, was released in 2007.

From 2000 to 2004, Angus served as a trustee on theNortheastern Catholic District School Board.^[3]

Angus entered federal politics in the2004 election as the successfulNew Democratic Party candidate in the Ontario riding ofTimmins—James Bay, winning election to theHouse of Commons of Canada by fewer than 600 votes. He was re-elected in the2006 federal election with an outright majority, over six thousand votes ahead ofLiberal challenger Robert Riopelle. Angus was the NDPcritic forCanadian heritage from 2004 to 2007, and was additionally critic foragriculture from 2004 to 2006.

In 2005, Angus's parish priest, Father John Lemire, confronted him and threatened to deny himHoly Communion if he voted with the government and his party to legalizesame-sex marriage. Angus stood his ground and was denied communion. Angus's treatment provoked widespread public reaction both from those who supported the church's stance and those who supported Angus.^[10] Some Catholic MPs were in the latter group, arguing that the Church was selective in its exclusion of practising Catholic MPs from its activities. Angus and fellow NDP MPJoe Comartin were the only two Catholic MPs who supported same-sex marriage but were excluded.^[11]

In 2007, he became theNDP critic forPublic Works andTreasury Board, as well as the NDP spokesman for digital issues such ascopyright andinternet neutrality.^[12]

In 2006, after he had served just two years as a Member of Parliament, theToronto Star selected Angus as one of the ten most effective opposition MPs. He also won "Best Constituent Representative" at the 2007Maclean's Parliamentarian of the Year Awards. Angus was re-elected in the federal elections of both2008 and2011. Angus also served as the party's spokesperson on privacy, ethics, and government accountability. Angus voted against a bill to abolish theCanadian Firearms Registry in September 2010.^[13] Although the registry is unpopular with many of his constituents, Angus voted against its abolition based on supportive studies provided by police. He subsequently introduced aprivate member's bill to reform the registry.^[14]

He was named toMaclean's magazine's Power List in 2012 as one of the 25 most influential Canadians.^[15] The same year,Zoomer Magazine chose him as the third most influential Canadian over the age of 45; he was one of only two MPs on the list, alongside NDP leaderTom Mulcair.^[16] In 2011,CTV News Channel'sPower Play placed him among the top three MPs of the year, along with the thenConservativePrime Minister,Stephen Harper, and NDP leaderJack Layton, who had died that August. In 2012, Angus backedPaul Dewar to becomeleader of the NDP.^[17]

Angus has been an advocate for the rights of First Nations children and was the co-founder of theShannen's Dream campaign, named in honour of the late Cree youth leader Shannen Koostachin, who Angus fought alongside to build a new elementary school for her community. In early 2012, Angus's parliamentary motion "Shannen's Dream," calling for an end to the systemic underfunding of First Nations education, passed unanimously through the House of Commons.

After the2015 federal election, he was appointed NDP critic forIndigenous and Northern Affairs in the42nd Canadian Parliament and elected Caucus Chair in January 2016.^[18] He was also a member of the Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development committee.^[19] He resigned from both roles on November 23, 2016, in to prepare for the 2017New Democratic Party leadership race.^[20] On February 20, 2017, Angus officially registered to run in the NDP leadership race to succeedTom Mulcair.^[21] He placed second with 19.4% of the vote, losing to then Ontario provincial politicianJagmeet Singh.^[22] MPsNiki Ashton andGuy Caron respectively came in third and fourth.

Angus was re-elected in the2019 and2021 federal elections.

On April 4, 2024, Angus announced that he would not be running for re-election in the2025 Canadian federal election.^[23]

• We Lived a Life and Then Some withBrit Griffin, Sally Lawrence, andRob Moir.Between the Lines Books, 1996.ISBN 1-896357-06-7.^[24]
• Industrial Cathedrals of the North, withLouie Palu andMarguerite Andersen. Between the Lines, 1999.ISBN 1-896357-18-0.
• Mirrors of Stone: Fragments from the Porcupine Frontier, with Louie Palu. Between the Lines, 2001.ISBN 1-896357-49-0.
• Les Costello: Canada's Flying Father. Novalis, 2005.ISBN 2-89507-631-6.
• Cage Call, with Louie Palu. Photolucida, 2007.ISBN 978-1-934334-02-7.
• Unlikely Radicals. Between the Lines, 2013.ISBN 9781771130400.
• Children of the Broken Treaty: Canada's Lost Promise and One Girl's Dream.University of Regina Press, 2015.ISBN 978-0889774018.
• Cobalt: Cradle of the Demon Metals, Birth of a Mining Superpower.House of Anansi Press, 2022,ISBN 978-1487009496
• Dangerous Memory: Coming of Age in the Decade of Greed. House of Anansi, 2024.ISBN 9781487012885.

Angus was selected as "Best Mentor" inMaclean's magazine's 12th annual Parliamentarians of the Year award and was also the 2007 winner for "Best represents constituents".^[25] He was also a finalist for "Most knowledgeable".^[26]

Wikiquote has quotations related toCharlie Angus.

• Official website
• How'd They Vote?: Charlie Angus's voting history and quotes
• Charlie Angus – Parliament of Canada biography
• Charlie Angus onBluesky

• Charlie Angus
• 1962 births
• 20th-century Canadian historians
• 21st-century Canadian historians
• Canadian country singer-songwriters
• Canadian country rock musicians
• Canadian environmentalists
• Canadian feminists
• Canadian folk rock musicians
• Canadian folk singer-songwriters
• Canadian male singer-songwriters
• Canadian male non-fiction writers
• Canadian magazine editors
• Canadian Roman Catholic writers
• Catholic Workers
• Copyright activists
• Ecofeminists
• Living people
• Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario
• Musicians from Timmins
• New Democratic Party MPs
• Ontario school board trustees
• People from Cobalt, Ontario
• Politicians from Toronto
• Singers from Toronto
• Writers from Timmins
• Writers from Toronto
• L'Étranger (band) members
• 21st-century members of the House of Commons of Canada
• Politicians from Timmins

• Webarchive template wayback links
• All articles with dead external links
• Articles with dead external links from October 2025
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use Canadian English from September 2021
• All Wikipedia articles written in Canadian English
• Use mdy dates from April 2024