Suze Morrison is a former Canadian politician, who was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA; ) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by the Legislative Assembly are given royal as ...

in the 2018 provincial election. She represented the riding of Toronto Centre as a member of the

Ontario New Democratic Party The Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP; , NPD) is a social democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. The party sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum. It is Ontario’s provincial section of the federal New Democratic Party. The ...

, and was the Ontario New Democratic Party's Caucus Critic for both Housing and Women's Issues. She did not run for re-election in 2022.

Background

Of mixed European and Indigenous heritage, Morrison was born in the

Parry Sound District Parry Sound District is a census division of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its boundaries are District of Muskoka to the south, the Sudbury District to the north-northwest, the French River and Lake Nipissing in the north, Nipissing Distri ...

before moving to

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

in childhood. She took her

Bachelor of Applied Arts The Bachelor of Applied Arts, often abbreviated as BAA or B.A.A. is an undergraduate degree, with different meaning in different countries. The term 'Applied' means that the degree is vocational in nature, and not research-oriented (depending on the ...

degree in media studies from Guelph-Humber, and has worked in communications and public relations in the non-profit sector. She first became prominent within the riding as an advocate for community safety after witnessing the

drive-by shooting A drive-by shooting is a type of assault that usually involves the perpetrator(s) firing a weapon from within a motor vehicle and then fleeing. Drive-by shootings allow the perpetrators to quickly strike their targets and flee the scene before l ...

of Lemard Champagnie in Toronto's

Regent Park Regent Park is a neighbourhood located in downtown Toronto, Ontario built in the late 1940s as a public housing project managed by Toronto Community Housing. It sits on what used to be a significant part of the Cabbagetown neighbourhood and ...

neighbourhood in 2017."Man killed in Regent Park drive-by shooting ID'd as Lemard Champagnie"

CBC News CBC News is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC ...

Toronto, July 3, 2017. Morrison is a motorsports enthusiast, and competes in

autocross Autocross is a form of motorsport in which competitors are timed to complete a short course using automobiles on a dirt or grass surface, excepting where sealed surfaces are used in United States. Rules vary according to the governing or sanctioni ...

events. She is a two-time winner of the Lorna Wilson Ladies Championship, which is awarded by the Western Ontario Sports Car Association. In June 2021, Morrison came out as

bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...

Politics

During the election campaign, she participated alongside Liberal MPP

Steven Del Duca Steven Alfonso Del Duca (born July 7, 1973) is a Canadian politician who has been serving as the Mayors of Vaughan, mayor of Vaughan since 2022. Del Duca previously served as the leader of the Ontario Liberal Party from 2020 to 2022 and was an ...

and Progressive Conservative MPP Lisa Thompson in Election Brew, a non-partisan event sponsored by

Equal Voice Founded in 2001 by Rosemary Speirs, Donna Dasko, Libby Burnham and Christina McCall. Equal Voice is a national, bilingual, multi-partisan, non-governmental, non-profit organization that promotes the election of more women to all levels of Can ...

and

Labatt Labatt Brewing Company Limited () is a Anheuser-Busch InBev-owned brewery headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1847, Labatt is the largest brewer in Canada. In 1995, it was purchased by Belgian brewer Interbrew. In 2004, Interb ...

to increase citizen engagement in politics through a friendly competition to create

craft beer Craft beer is beer manufactured by craft breweries, which typically produce smaller amounts of beer than larger "macro" breweries and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as emphasising enthusiasm, ne ...

brews; Morrison's beer, an India pale ale, won the competition. She was one of three MPPs of Indigenous heritage elected in 2018, alongside caucus colleagues

Guy Bourgouin Guy Bourgouin is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the 2018 provincial election. He represents the riding of Mushkegowuk—James Bay as a member of the Ontario New Democratic Party. Bourgouin was ...

and

Sol Mamakwa Sol Mamakwa ( , Oji-Cree: ᓴᐧᓬ ᒣᒣᑫᐧ) is a Canadian politician who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the 2018 provincial election. He represents the riding of Kiiwetinoong as a member of the Ontario New Demo ...

. She served as a member of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts,"Ontario Legislature"
August 24, 2018 and as the official opposition critic for housing and women's issues. Morrison was diagnosed with

endometriosis Endometriosis is a disease in which Tissue (biology), tissue similar to the endometrium, the lining of the uterus, grows in other places in the body, outside the uterus. It occurs in women and a limited number of other female mammals. Endomet ...

in 2019. As a result, she declined to run for re-election in the

2022 Ontario general election The 2022 Ontario general election was held on June 2, 2022, to elect Member of Provincial Parliament (Canada), Members of the Provincial Parliament to serve in the 43rd Parliament of Ontario. The governing Progressive Conservative Party of Ont ...

, instead opting to undergo treatment for the disease.

Electoral record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morrison, Suze Ontario New Democratic Party MPPs 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario 21st-century Canadian women politicians Living people Women MPPs in Ontario Politicians from Toronto First Nations women in politics University of Guelph alumni 1988 births Canadian bisexual women Canadian bisexual politicians Canadian LGBTQ people in provincial and territorial legislatures LGBTQ First Nations people Bisexual women politicians 21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people