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Margaret Mitchell | |
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| Member of theCanadian Parliament forVancouver East | |
| In office 1979–1993 | |
| Preceded by | Art Lee |
| Succeeded by | Anna Terrana |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Margaret Anne Learoyd (1925-07-17)July 17, 1925 Brockville,Ontario, Canada |
| Died | March 8, 2017(2017-03-08) (aged 91) Vancouver,British Columbia, Canada |
| Party | New Democratic Party |
| Alma mater | McMaster University |
| Portfolio | Deputy Whip of the NDP (1989–1990) |
Margaret Anne MitchellOBC (néeLearoyd; July 17, 1925 – March 8, 2017) was a Canadian social activist and theNew Democratic Party (NDP)Member of Parliament (MP) forVancouver East from 1979 until 1993. Asocial worker by profession, she was first elected to theHouse of Commons of Canada in the1979 federal election. In 1980, she voted against a pay raise for MPs, and subsequently donated her additional pay to charity establishing theMargaret Mitchell Fund for Women.
In Parliament, Mitchell was one of the first politicians to raise the issue ofviolence against women. She is best remembered for one incident in which male MPs laughed when she demanded that the government take action to stop domestic violence.[1] Recalling the incident two decades later, she said, "I was shocked and furious about that... that was my one claim to fame, and people still come up to me and talk to me about that."[citation needed]
Mitchell graduated fromMcMaster University with a sociology degree in 1947. From 1952 to 1955, she worked as a social worker for the International Red Cross in Japan, Korea, Australia and Austria. She moved toVancouver in the 1960s where she worked for the Neighborhood Services Association until 1974. In Parliament, she was variously the NDP'sCritic for Immigration, Housing, Status of Women, Health and Welfare and for Multiculturalism and Citizenship. In the 1980s, she attended theUnited Nations "Decade of Women Conference" in Nairobi.[2] In 1984, she was the first MP to raise the issue of theChinese head tax in the House of Commons.[3] In the1993 Canadian federal election, Mitchelllost her seat to LiberalAnna Terrana.
In 2000, Mitchell was recognized as a Member of theOrder of British Columbia.[4] Mitchell was a known descendant[citation needed] of former Canadian Prime MinisterSir John Thompson who died in office in 1894 while visitingQueen Victoria atWindsor Castle. She died on March 8, 2017, aged 91.[5][6]
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