Laurin Liu

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Laurin Liu
MP
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Rivière-des-Mille-Îles
Incumbent
Assumed office
June 2, 2011
Preceded by Luc Desnoyers
Personal details
Born (1990-11-13) November 13, 1990
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Political party New Democratic Party
Residence Saint-Eustache, Quebec[1]
Profession Journalist, student

Laurin Liu, MP (traditional Chinese: 劉舒雲; simplified Chinese: 刘舒云; Jyutping: Lau4 Syu1 Wan4, born November 13, 1990) is a Canadian politician who was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 2011 federal election.[2] She represents the electoral district of Rivière-des-Mille-Îles as a member of the New Democratic Party. Born in Calgary in 1990,[3][4] she is the youngest female Member of Parliament in Canadian history.

She was one of five candidates, alongside Mylène Freeman, Matthew Dubé, Charmaine Borg and Jamie Nicholls, who were McGill University students when elected in the 2011 election following the NDP's unexpected mid-campaign surge in Quebec.[5] At the time of her election, she was pursuing a double major in History and Cultural Studies.[6] She was active on campus as a board member of CKUT radio, a representative to the CKUT Programming Committee, an employee of McGill university's undergraduate student union, and a staff member of the McGill Daily.[6][7][8]

Liu was raised in Pointe-Claire, Quebec.[1] Prior to attending McGill, she was a student at Royal West Academy and Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf.[5] At Jean-de-Brébeuf, she became politically active by founding the NDP campus club. She later moved on to be co-president of the youth wing of the Quebec section of the NDP.[9]

Liu, whose parents came to Canada from Hong Kong in the 1980s, is fluent in French, English and Cantonese.[5][10]

MP for Rivière-des-Mille-Îles

Liu had not expected to win, and spent most of the campaign helping NDP Quebec lieutenant Thomas Mulcair win reelection. She was working in a polling station in Mulcair's Outremont riding as an NDP scrutineer[11] when a friend texted her that she was leading Bloc Québécois incumbent Luc Desnoyers.[5]

Ultimately, she crushed Desnoyers by a staggering 11,000-vote margin. By comparison, no NDP candidate had finished higher than fourth since the riding's creation in 1997, and all previous NDP challengers had gotten below the 10% necessary for their expenses to be refunded. At the age of 20 years, 196 days, Liu became the youngest woman in Canadian history to be elected to Parliament. She is the second-youngest MP in the 41st parliament, after Pierre-Luc Dusseault.

Liu was named deputy critic for the environment.[12] In this capacity, she represented the NDP at the December 2011 conference on climate change in Durban, South Africa, where she denounced the Conservatives' environmental policies.[13]

In the 2012 NDP leadership race following the death of Jack Layton, Liu supported Peggy Nash.[14]

Following the accession of Thomas Mulcair as party leader, Liu was named deputy critic for science and technology.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Joanna Smith (June 17, 2011). "How I learned to be an MP". The Toronto Star. Retrieved June 18, 2011. 
  2. ↑ Election 2011: Rivière-des-Mille-Îles. The Globe and Mail, May 2, 2011.
  3. ↑ http://www2.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=06d5b7d7-0b78-47d6-ba35-64d00315a605
  4. ↑ Text message tweaked rookie New Democrat to her surprise victory . The Globe and Mail, May 12, 2011.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "McGill 5 head off to House of Commons". The Gazette, May 4, 2011.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Henry Gass (May 4, 2011). "Four McGill students elected to parliament". McGill Daily. Retrieved May 4, 2011. 
  7. ↑ Tamsin McMahon (May 4, 2011). "The REALLY New Democrats". National Post. Retrieved May 4, 2011. 
  8. ↑ "Laurin Liu Candidate Bios - CKUT Board". The McGill Tribune. March 7, 2011. Retrieved May 4, 2011. 
  9. ↑ "Laurin Liu, NDP MP". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved May 4, 2011. 
  10. ↑ Lorianna De Giorgio (May 6, 2011). "Canada’s youngest MPs confident they have what it takes". The Toronto Star. Retrieved May 6, 2011. 
  11. ↑ Porter, Catherine (May 13, 2011). "Porter: NDP’s young political junkies are ready for dose of reality". The Toronto Star. Retrieved May 15, 2011. 
  12. ↑ "Shadow Cabinet." NDP. Accessed 6 December 2011.
  13. ↑ "NDP to attend Durban to promote Canadian leadership and jobs." NDP. December 2, 2011. Accessed December 6, 2011.
  14. ↑ "Two more Quebec MPs step out to endorse Peggy Nash for NDP leadership". Peggynash.ca. Retrieved February 10, 2012. 

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