| Judy Wasylycia-Leis BA MA |
|
|---|---|
| Member of the House of Commons of Canada | |
| In office June 28, 2004 – April 30, 2010 |
|
| Preceded by | first member |
| Succeeded by | Kevin Lamoureux |
| Constituency | Winnipeg North |
| In office September 22, 1997 – June 28, 2004 |
|
| Preceded by | Rey Pagtakhan |
| Succeeded by | riding dissolved |
| Constituency | Winnipeg North Centre |
| Manitoba Minister of Culture, Heritage and Recreation | |
| In office April 17, 1986 – May 9, 1988 |
|
| Premier | Howard Pawley |
| Preceded by | Eugene Kostyra |
| Succeeded by | Bonnie Mitchelson |
| Member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba | |
| In office 1986–1993 |
|
| Preceded by | Don Malinowski |
| Succeeded by | Gord Mackintosh |
| Constituency | St. Johns |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Klazina Judith Wasylycia August 10, 1951 Winterbourne, Ontario |
| Political party | New Democratic Party |
| Spouse(s) | Ron Wasylycia-Leis[1] |
| Children | Nick, Joe |
| Residence | Winnipeg, Manitoba |
| Alma mater | Carleton University (MA) University of Waterloo (BA) |
| Profession | organizer, policy advisor |
| Religion | United Church of Canada[2] |
| Signature | |
Klazina Judith "Judy" Wasylycia-Leis (pronounced Was-ah-lish-ah-lease) (born August 10, 1951) is a Canadian politician.[3][4] She was a Manitoba cabinet minister in the government of Howard Pawley from 1986 to 1988, and was a member of the Canadian House of Commons from September 22, 1997 to April 30, 2010.[3][4] In 2010 she was an unsuccessful candidate for Mayor of Winnipeg.[5]
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Wasylycia-Leis was born in Winterbourne, Ontario, a small town near Kitchener.[6][7] She graduated from Elmira District Secondary School[8] in 1970.[7] Wasylycia-Leis was educated at the University of Waterloo, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in political science and French in 1974,[9] and Carleton University, where she received a Master of Arts in political science in 1976.[6][10] She worked as a policy planning consultant for the New Democratic Party following her graduation, and served as an executive assistant to party leader Ed Broadbent. She also served as women's organizer for the federal NDP during this period.
Wasylycia-Leis ran for office three times while living in Ontario, though she was not elected on any of these occasions.[6] In 1977, she ran for the Legislative Assembly of Ontario for the provincial NDP in the riding of Carleton, and received 6837 votes for a third-place finish. She ran for the seat again in a 1980 by-election and the 1981 general election, and again placed third on each occasion.
Wasylycia-Leis moved to Manitoba during the 1980s, where she worked as an executive assistant to Premier Howard Pawley and coordinated the Women's Directorate in the Manitoba government.
In the mid 1980s, she decided to challenge longtime incumbent NDP MLA Donald Malinowski for the nomination in the North End Winnipeg riding of St. Johns, which was generally considered a safe seat for the party.[6] "Everyone said it was impossible to beat Father Malinowski," she said.[6] Wasylycia-Leis' campaign for the nomination gained so much momentum that it led Malinowski to drop out of the race.[6] In the end, she won the 1986 provincial election, defeating Progressive Conservative John Baluta by almost two thousand votes.
On April 17, 1986, Wasylycia-Leis was appointed to the Manitoba cabinet as Minister of Culture, Heritage and Recreation with responsibility for Status of Women and the administration of the Manitoba Lotteries Foundation Act.[4] She was relieved of the Status of Women responsibility on September 21, 1987, but retained the other two positions until the Pawley government was defeated in the 1988 provincial election.[4]
Wasylycia-Leis was re-elected in 1988, although by a narrower margin; she defeated Liberal Ruth Oberman, 3,092 votes to 2,480. In the 1990 provincial election, she was re-elected again by a wider margin.
Wasylycia-Leis resigned her seat on August 12, 1993, to seek (and win) the federal NDP nomination in the riding of Winnipeg North. The NDP fared poorly in the 1993 election, however, and Wasylycia-Leis lost to Liberal Rey Pagtakhan by almost 10,000 votes. She subsequently became a co-chair of Cho!ces, a Manitoba social-justice coalition. In the federal election of 1997, Wasylycia-Leis ran in the riding of Winnipeg North Centre, and defeated Liberal Judith Optiz Silver, 13,663 votes to 7,801. She was re-elected by a wider margin in the 2000 election. In 2003, she supported Bill Blaikie's campaign to become leader of the federal NDP.[11][12] Redistribution placed Wasylycia-Leis against Pagtakhan again for the federal election of 2004, in the altered riding of Winnipeg North. On this occasion, Wasylycia-Leis defeated Pagtakhan 12,507 votes to 9,491.
In Parliament, Wasylycia-Leis has focused primarily on issues relating to women (including women's health concerns) and general human rights. She has served as her party's health critic, and was made critic for women's and senior's issues in 2001. She is also an advocate for Israel, and in recent years has been critical of some of her party's foreign policy positions as regards Israel and the Middle East.
Wasylycia-Leis was named Deputy Caucus Chair of the parliamentary NDP on January 30, 2003. On August 2, 2004, she was promoted to caucus chair. In 2003 Wasylycia-Leis was also named the finance critic. In November 2004, Wasylycia-Leis traveled to Ukraine to monitor developments in that country's disputed presidential election.
She became the centre of a national controversy during the 2006 election campaign. She had contacted the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) requesting an investigation into whether or not Liberal Finance Minister Ralph Goodale had illegally leaked information regarding a government announcement on income trusts, so as to benefit certain insiders.[13] Following her request, RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli wrote to Wasylycia-Leis to inform her that the RCMP had commenced a criminal probe into the matter. The letter was delivered to her offices, which were closed for the holidays. When she did not respond to the letter, Zaccardelli called her personally to ask whether or not she had read his letter. Wasylycia-Leis then proceeded to call a press conference to announce that the Liberals were the subject of an RCMP investigation. The effects of this announcement were an almost immediate drop in Liberal popularity and surge in Conservative momentum, as indicated by public-opinion polls. The letter from Zaccardelli to Wasylycia-Leis remains controversial, as it went against standard RCMP policy by publicly announcing that a criminal investigation is being conducted. The controversy is deepened by the timing of the announcement to coincide with a federal election campaign.[14] On February 15, 2007, the RCMP announced the conclusion of the income trust investigation and laid a charge of 'Breach of Trust' against Serge Nadeau, an official in the Department of Finance.[15] Goodale was cleared of any wrongdoing.[16] Nevertheless, Wasylycia-Leis called for an apology from Goodale.[17]
Wasylycia-Leis also played a central role in the debate surrounding the introduction of additional tax on Income Trusts in the 'Tax Fairness Plan' introduced by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty on October 31, 2006. During the subsequent finance committee, hearings examining the taxation scheme, the Canadian Association of Income Trust Investors launched a series of ads critical of the New Democratic Party and Wasylycia-Leis in particular.[18][19]
On September 27, 2007, Jack Layton replaced Wasylycia-Leis with Thomas Mulcair as the NDP finance critic. Wasylycia-Leis became caucus chair, and her critic portfolios included health and persons with disabilities.[20] She was re-elected again in the 2008 federal election.[21]
On April 27, 2010, Wasylycia-Leis announced her retirement from federal politics, effective May 1, without announcing her future plans.[22] On May 3, she filed papers to run as Mayor of Winnipeg in the October 2010 municipal elections.[5] Sharon Carstairs, a Liberal Senator and the former leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party was announced to be her campaign co-chair[23] and Nicole Campbell, a national representative of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, was enlisted as her campaign manager.[24]
Even before she announced her candidacy, she pledged that if she won, she would donate her MP's pension to charity; she would have preferred to simply return it, but this is not possible.[25] During her term as a federal MP, she similarly declined her pension as a provincial MLA.[25]
Wasylycia-Leis lost to the incumbent, Sam Katz, by 25,395 votes.
| Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| (x) Sam Katz | 116,308 | 54.8 |
| Judy Wasylycia-Leis | 90,913 | 42.8 |
| Brad Gross | 3,398 | 1.68 |
| Rav Gill | 1,775 | 0.8 |
| Canadian federal election, 2008 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |
| New Democrat | Judy Wasylycia-Leis | 14,097 | 62.6% | +5.4% | $55,724 | |
| Conservative | Ray Larkin | 5,033 | 22.4% | +4.8% | $6,136 | |
| Liberal | Marcelle Marion | 2,075 | 9.2% | -11.9% | $13,525 | |
| Green | Catharine Johannson | 1,077 | 4.8% | +1.9% | $491 | |
| Communist | Frank Komarniski | 151 | 0.7% | +0.2% | $622 | |
| People's Political Power | Roger F. Poisson | 90 | 0.4% | N/A | $4,416 | |
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | 22,523 | 100.0% | $75,935 | |||
| Total rejected ballots | ||||||
| Turnout | % | |||||
| Canadian federal election, 2006 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |
| New Democrat | Judy Wasylycia-Leis | 15,582 | 57.2% | +9.0% | $52,916 | |
| Liberal | Parmjeet Gill | 5,752 | 21.1% | -15.5% | $64,979 | |
| Conservative | Garreth McDonald | 4,810 | 17.6% | 5.3% | N/A | |
| Green | David Carey | 779 | 2.9% | +0.9% | $398 | |
| Christian Heritage | Eric Truijen | 207 | 0.8% | +0.3% | N/A | |
| Communist | Darrell Rankin | 123 | 0.5% | +0.1% | $295 | |
| Total valid votes | 27,253 | 100.0% | ||||
| Total rejected ballots | 137 | |||||
| Turnout | 27,390 | |||||
| Canadian federal election, 2004 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |
| New Democrat | Judy Wasylycia-Leis | 12,507 | 48.2% | $49,921 | ||
| Liberal | Rey Pagtakhan | 9,491 | 36.6% | $66,996 | ||
| Conservative | Kris Stevenson | 3,186 | 12.3% | $10,733 | ||
| Green | Alon Weinberg | 531 | 2.0% | $2,287 | ||
| Christian Heritage | Eric Truijen | 141 | 0.5% | $1,000 | ||
| Communist | Darrell Rankin | 111 | 0.4% | $654 | ||
| Total valid votes | 25,967 | 100.0% | ||||
| Total rejected ballots | 128 | 0.5% | ||||
| Turnout | 26,095 | 47.1% | ||||
| Canadian federal election, 2000 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | |||
| New Democrat | WASYLYCIA-LEIS, Judy | 14,356 | |||
| Liberal | RICHARD, Mary | 6,755 | |||
| Progressive Conservative | TRONIAK, Myron | 2,950 | |||
| Communist | RANKIN, Darrell | 525 | |||
| Canadian federal election, 1997 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | |||
| New Democrat | WASYLYCIA-LEIS, Judy | 13,663 | |||
| Liberal | SILVER, Judy | 7,801 | |||
| Reform | WIENS, Mike | 3,678 | |||
| Progressive Conservative | LARKIN, Marni | 1,742 | |||
| Natural Law | INNES, Elizabeth | 169 | |||
| Marxist–Leninist | SEGAL, Sharon | 128 | |||
| Canadian federal election, 1993 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||
| Liberal | Rey Pagtakhan | 22,180 | 51.2% | +12.9% | ||
| New Democrat | Judy Wasylycia-Leis | 13,706 | 31.7% | -2.5% | ||
| Reform | Mike Wiens | 4,124 | 9.5% | +7.7% | ||
| Progressive Conservative | Lynn Filbert | 1,992 | 4.6% | -20.0% | ||
| National | Anna Polonyi | 767 | 1.8% | |||
| Natural Law | Federico Papetti | 211 | 0.5% | |||
| Not affiliated | Mary Stanley | 184 | 0.4% | |||
| Canada Party | Joe Lynch | 135 | 0.3% | |||
| Total valid votes | 43,299 | 100.0% | ||||
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Eugene Kostyra |
Manitoba Minister of Culture, Heritage and Recreation April 17, 1986 – May 9, 1988 |
Succeeded by Bonnie Mitchelson |
| Preceded by Eugene Kostyra as Minister responsible for Manitoba Lotteries Foundation |
Manitoba Minister charged with the administration of the Manitoba Lotteries Foundation Act April 17, 1986 – May 9, 1988 |
Succeeded by Bonnie Mitchelson as Minister responsible for Manitoba Lotteries Foundation Act |
| Preceded by Muriel Smith |
Manitoba Minister responsible for Status of Women April 17, 1986 – September 21, 1987 |
Succeeded by Muriel Smith |
| Parliament of Canada | ||
| New constituency | Member of Parliament for Winnipeg North June 28, 2004 – April 30, 2010 |
Succeeded by Kevin Lamoureux |
| Preceded by Rey Pagtakhan |
Member of Parliament for Winnipeg North Centre September 22, 1997 – June 28, 2004 |
Succeeded by Constituency dissolved |
| Preceded by Christiane Gagnon |
Second Vice-Chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health February 3, 2009 – April 30, 2010 |
Succeeded by Luc Malo |
| Preceded by Paul Macklin |
Vice-Chair of the Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations November 4, 2004 – November 29, 2005 Served alongside: Lynn Myers |
Succeeded by Trevor Eyton Paul Szabo |
| Legislative Assembly of Manitoba | ||
| Preceded by Don Malinowski |
Member of the Legislative Assembly for St. Johns September 22, 1997 – June 28, 2004 |
Succeeded by Gord Mackintosh |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by Dick Proctor |
New Democratic Party Caucus Chair August 2004 – January 19, 2009 |
Succeeded by Jean Crowder |