Jean Swanson

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Jean Swanson

CM
Jean Swanson.jpg
Swanson in 2012
Vancouver City Councillor
Assumed office
November 5, 2018[1]
Personal details
Born1942/1943 (age 78–79)[2]
NationalityCanadian
Political partyCOPE
ResidenceVancouver, British Columbia
Occupation
  • Activist
  • writer
AwardsOrder of Canada

Jean Swanson CM (born 1942 or 1943)[2] is a Canadian politician, anti-poverty activist, and writer in Vancouver, British Columbia. She currently represents the left-wing Coalition of Progressive Electors on Vancouver City Council as one of Vancouver's 10 at-large city councillors.[1]

Activism[]

Jean Swanson is a coordinator of Carnegie Community Action Project (CCAP), an organization dedicated to the welfare of the Downtown Eastside, one of Canada's poorest neighbourhoods.[3] She believes that "The way to 'revitalize' (the) community would be to restore purchasing power to the low-income residents who live (there): Raise welfare rates, end the barriers to getting on welfare and boost the minimum wage."[4]

Swanson also founded and works with the group End Legislated Poverty, a British Columbia coalition with stated aims to "educate and organize in order to make governments reduce and end poverty".[5][6]

In the 1980s, Swanson worked with the BC Solidarity Coalition, as well as Vancouver's Downtown Eastside Residents Association (DERA).[6]

She was also previous national chair of the National Anti-Poverty Organization (NAPO),[7] and Swanson is also the author of Poor Bashing: The Politics of Exclusion.

Awards and recognition[]

In 2016, she was inducted into the Order of Canada, Canada's highest civilian honour, with the grade of member.[8] Swanson was also the recipient of the 2007 Carleton University Kroeger College Award for Citizenship and Community Affairs, an award recognizing "creativity, persistence, and overall leadership in demonstrating the value of a locally based initiative."[6] Swanson was chosen for the award "for her tireless work against poverty in Canada. (She) is a private individual living in Vancouver who the jury concluded best represented the qualities of commitment, leadership, and community ties."[6]

Electoral record[]

hide2018 Vancouver municipal election: Vancouver City Council
Party Candidate Votes Elected
Green Adriane Carr 69,739 Green tickY
Green Pete Fry 61,806 Green tickY
NPA Melissa De Genova 53,251 Green tickY
COPE Jean Swanson 48,865 Green tickY
NPA Colleen Hardwick 47,747 Green tickY
Green Michael Wiebe 45,593 Green tickY
OneCity Christine Boyle 45,455 Green tickY
NPA Lisa Dominato 44,689 Green tickY
NPA Rebecca Bligh 44,053 Green tickY
NPA Sarah Kirby-Yung 43,581 Green tickY


hideVancouver municipal by-election, October 14, 2017
Resignation of Geoff Meggs
Party Candidate Votes % Elected
NPA Hector Bremner 13,372 27.83 Green tickY
COPE Jean Swanson 10,263 21.36
Green Pete Fry 9759 20.31
OneCity Judy Graves 6327 13.17
Vision Diego Cardona 5411 11.26
Sensible Vancouver Mary Jean Dunsdon 1737 3.62
Independent Gary Lee 886 1.84
Independent Damian J. Murphy 157 0.33
Independent Joshua Wasilenkoff 131 0.27

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Fumano, Dan (November 6, 2018). "Collegiality reigns as Vancouver's new council starts work". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Campbell, Chris (June 30, 2018). "Order of Canada recipient arrested at Burnaby pipeline protest". Burnaby Now. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
  3. ^ Swanson, Jean. Downtown Eastside Seeks Foreign Aid, The Tyee Magazine, Oct 18, 2007
  4. ^ Swanson, Jean. Why poverty is worse than it was 30 years ago, Canadian Dimension Magazine, February 21, 2006
  5. ^ "End Legislated Poverty homepage". Archived from the original on 2008-05-12. Retrieved 2008-04-20.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "News Release: Carleton University's Kroeger College Announces 2007 Winners of the Arthur Kroeger Awards", March 28, 2007 quoted at [1]
  7. ^ Thobani, Sunera. Exalted Subjects: Studies in the Making of Race and Nation in Canada, University of Toronto Press, 2007, ISBN 0-8020-9454-6
  8. ^ "Olympians, jurists, researchers among 113 new appointments to Order of Canada". CBC News. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
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