Laurel Collins

Laurel Collins MP (born May 7, 1984) is a Canadian politician who was elected to represent the riding of Victoria in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2019 Canadian federal election.^[2] Prior to her election in the House of Commons, she was a city councillor for Victoria City Council. She is the NDP Critic for the Environment and Climate Change and the NDP Deputy Caucus Chair. ^[3]

Laurel Collins MP
Member of Parliament for Victoria
Incumbent
Assumed office October 21, 2019
Preceded by	Murray Rankin
Victoria City Councillor
In office October 20, 2018 – November 4, 2019
Personal details
Born	(1984-05-07) May 7, 1984 (age 38) Kispiox, British Columbia, Canada
Political party	New Democratic Party
Spouse	James McNish^[1]
Children	Alora McNish Collins
Residence(s)	Victoria, British Columbia

Background

Collins was born in Kispiox in northern British Columbia, one of three children. Her parents, school teachers, separated when she was a baby, and she moved around the province, attending elementary school on Salt Spring Island, Alert Bay, and in Port Hardy. She went to high school in Sussex, New Brunswick and did her undergraduate degree at the University of Kings College and Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.^[4] She did a master's degree in Human Security and Peacebuilding at Royal Roads University.^[2]

Career

Collins worked at Victoria Women in Need, running programs for women who have experienced abuse. She co-founded and co-chaired Divest Victoria, a non-profit organization that advocates for cities to take their money out of fossil fuels and put them into environmentally responsible investments. While researching climate migration and displacement, she worked with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Northern Uganda helping to create durable solutions for internally displaced persons in the aftermath of deadly conflict.^[5]

From 2014 to 2019, Collins taught courses at the University of Victoria, including courses in Social Inequality, Social Justice Studies, Political Sociology, and the Sociology of Genders.^[2] In 2015, she co-published a book, Women, Adult Education, and Leadership in Canada.^[6] And, in 2017, she won a Victoria Community Leadership Award in Sustainability and Community Building.^[7]

In October 2018 Collins was elected as a councillor for the City of Victoria with the electoral organization Together Victoria.^[8] She would resign from this position a year later, after her election to the House of Commons in late October, 2019.^[9] The byelection following her departure was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic until December of 2020, where it eventually resulted in the election of Stephen Andrew and the defeat of Together Victoria's candidate Stephanie Hardman.^[10][11]

Collins was re-elected in the 2021 federal election.

She is the NDP Critic for the Environment and Climate Change and the Deputy Critic for Families, Children, and Social Development.^[12]

Electoral record

2021 Canadian federal election
** Preliminary results — Not yet official **
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	New Democratic	Laurel Collins	25,227	43.89	+10.69
	Liberal	Nikki Macdonald	14,956	26.02	+3.72
	Conservative	Hannah Hodson	8,191	14.25	+1.65
	Green	Nick Loughton	6,637	11.55	-18.35
	People's	John Randal Phipps	1,970	3.43	+2.13
	Communist	Janis Zroback	260	0.45	+0.25
	Animal Protection	Jordan Reichert	243	0.42	+0.12
Total valid votes			57,484
Total rejected ballots
Turnout			57,484	57.55
Eligible voters			99,889
Source: Elections Canada^[13]

v t e 2019 Canadian federal election: Victoria
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Laurel Collins	23,765	33.2%	-9.1	$114,384.10
	Green	Racelle Kooy	21,383	29.9%	-3.0	$78,891.28
	Liberal	Nikki Macdonald	15,952	22.3%	+10.5	$83,095.70
	Conservative	Richard Caron	9,038	12.6%	+0.8	$41,312.21
	People's	Alyson Culbert	920	1.3%	-	$5,286.41
	Animal Protection	Jordan Reichert	221	0.3%	0.0	$2,270.91
	Communist	Robert Duncan	113	0.2%	-
	Independent	David Shebib	111	0.2%	-
	Veterans Coalition	Keith Rosenberg	46	0.1%	-
Total valid votes/expense limit			71,549	99.3%		$121,316.37
Total rejected ballots			475	0.7%
Turnout			72,024	76.1%
Eligible voters			94,627
	New Democratic hold		Swing		-6.10
Source: Elections Canada^[14]^[15]

References

1. "Victoria MP Laurel Collins expecting first child while preparing for a possible election". Times Colonist. Retrieved 2021-05-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
2. "Victoria: City councillor Laurel Collins off to Ottawa as NDP MP". Times Colonist. Retrieved 2019-10-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
3. "Critic Roles". cbc.ca. Retrieved 2021-02-24.
4. "University of King's College". University of Kings College Halifax Nova Scotia. 21 Jul 2021. Retrieved 4 Dec 2022.
5. "Councillor Laurel Collins". victoria.ca. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
6. "Women, Adult Education, and Leadership in Canada". Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
7. "Victoria Community Leadership Awards" (PDF). Retrieved 2019-10-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
8. "CivicInfo BC: Election Results - 2018 - Municipality - Victoria (City)". www.civicinfo.bc.ca. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
9. "Victoria's new MP Laurel Collins will resign from city council". Victoria Times Colonist. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
10. "Victoria By-Election Delayed Indefinitely By COVID-19". Capital Daily. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
11. "Victoria city council byelection live results". CHEK. 2020-12-13. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
12. "NDP announces new critic roles for caucus". Canada's NDP. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
13. "List of confirmed candidates – September 20, 2021 Federal Election". Elections Canada. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
14. "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
15. "Election Night Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved November 15, 2019.

External links

• Laurel Collins – Parliament of Canada biography