Carole James
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| Carole James | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 2005 |
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| Preceded by | Jeff Bray |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 2005 |
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| Preceded by | Joy MacPhail |
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| Born | December 22, 1957 Dukinfield, England |
| Political party | New Democrat |
| Residence | Victoria, British Columbia |
| Occupation | school trustee, social worker |
Carole Alison James, MLA, (born December 22, 1957, in Dukinfield, England) is a Canadian politician and former public administrator. She is currently the Leader of the Opposition in British Columbia and leader of the New Democratic Party of British Columbia (NDP), a social democratic political party.
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[edit] Background
James was raised in North Battleford, Saskatchewan, and in Victoria, British Columbia. After graduating from high school, James and her first husband worked in institutions for the developmentally disabled in Alberta and British Columbia. As a mother of young children, Alison and Evan, she became involved in a parents' group in Victoria, which led to her first foray into politics. James is part Métis, and in 2004 married her long-time partner, Albert Gerow, a First Nations artist and former Burns Lake municipal councillor and Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer.
James has been a foster parent for over twenty years.
On July 13, 2006, James announced publicly that she had been diagnosed with localized uterine endometrial cancer. She underwent surgery and radiation treatment and her prognosis is considered to be excellent.
[edit] Early career
James served on the Greater Victoria School Board from 1990 to 2001, including seven terms as chair, and gained a province-wide profile in her unprecedented five terms as president of the BC School Trustees Association. She also served at the national level as vice-president of the Canadian School Boards Association. From 1999 to 2001, James held the position of director of child care policy for the British Columbia government. In addition, she served on several local and provincial panels and committees.
In 2001, James ran unsuccessfully for the NDP in the riding of Victoria-Beacon Hill. She subsequently moved to Prince George, British Columbia to serve as the director of child and family services for Carrier Sekani Family Services, and later as co-ordinator of the Northern Aboriginal Authority for Families.
[edit] Leader of the Opposition
James was elected leader of the provincial NDP on November 23, 2003. At the time of her election the party was suffering low morale in the wake of the 2001 provincial election, which had reduced the NDP to only two seats in the Legislative Assembly. During her campaign to win the party leadership, James pledged to modernize the NDP's ideology and internal structures and build a broader base of support for the party, a move which alienated some traditional supporters.
During the 2005 provincial election, James campaigned heavily on her name and image. On election night James and the NDP surprised many supporters and critics alike with a very strong electoral showing; the party winning 41.52% of the popular vote (a 19.96% increase from the 2001 election result) and 33 out of 79 seats in the Legislative Assembly. James also won her own seat in the riding of Victoria-Beacon Hill with 57.21% of the vote, defeating the incumbent B.C. Liberal MLA Jeff Bray by an almost 2-1 margin of victory.
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