Audrey Gordon is a Canadian politician who was a member of the

Legislative Assembly of Manitoba The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba () is the deliberative assembly of the Manitoba Legislature in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly at List of Manitoba genera ...

from 2019 to 2023, representing the electoral district of Southdale as a member of the

Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba The Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba (PC; ) is a centre-right political party in Manitoba, Canada. It is currently the opposition party in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, following a defeat in the 2023 provincial election. Hist ...

.Bryce Hoye
"Meet the rookies: Manitobans elect 13 first-time MLAs"

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 ...

Manitoba, September 11, 2019. Alongside Jamie Moses and Uzoma Asagwara, she was one of the first three

Black Canadian Black Canadians () are Canadians of full or partial Afro-Caribbean or sub-Saharan African descent. Black Canadian settlement and immigration patterns can be categorized into two distinct groups. The majority of Black Canadians are descendants ...

MLAs elected in the

2019 Manitoba general election The 2019 Manitoba general election was held on September 10, 2019, to elect the 57 members to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba. The incumbent Progressive Conservatives, led by Premier Brian Pallister, were re-elected to a second majority ...

Early life and career

Born in

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

as the seventh of eight children, Gordon's family moved to

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

when she was five. Gordon attended the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1877, it is the first university of Western Canada. Both by total student enrolment and campus area, the University of ...

and where she completed both a BA and

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

. Prior to entering politics, Gordon was the Director of Strategic Initiatives at the

Winnipeg Regional Health Authority The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA; , ORSW) is the governing body for healthcare regulation for the City of Winnipeg, the northern community of Churchill, and the Rural Municipalities of East and West St. Paul, in the Canadian provinc ...

and a provincial civil servant for 25 years.

Political career

At the 2016 general election, Gordon stood in the central

constituency of Fort Rouge. She came in second place to

Wab Kinew Wabanakwut "Wab" Kinew (born December 31, 1981) is a Canadian politician who has served as the 25th premier of Manitoba since October 18, 2023 and the leader of the Manitoba New Democratic Party (NDP) since September 16, 2017. Kinew represents ...

, who later became leader of the

Manitoba NDP The New Democratic Party of Manitoba (Manitoba NDP; ), branded as Manitoba's NDP, is a social democratic political party in Manitoba, Canada. It is the provincial section of the federal New Democratic Party, and is a successor to the Manitoba ...

, narrowing the NDP majority in the district;

Manitoba Liberal Party The Manitoba Liberal Party () is a political party in Manitoba, Canada. Its roots can be traced to the late 19th century, following the province's creation in 1870. History Origins and early development (to 1883) Originally, there were no off ...

leader

Rana Bokhari Rana Bokhari (born October 23, 1977) is a politician in Manitoba, Canada who was the leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party from 2013 until 2016. Background Bokhari was born on a farm near Anola, Manitoba. As a student she attended the University o ...

, who did not have a seat at the time of the election, ran third in this riding. At the 2019 general election, Gordon was elected in the southeastern Winnipeg constituency of Southdale. In August 2020, Gordon was victim of a racist attack when a bench with her image on it was defaced with graffiti. In May 2021, Springs Church, of which Gordon is a member, held an in-person graduation event. This was in defiance of restrictions meant to curb the spread of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

. Gordon eventually commented on the event in a Facebook post, adding: "I have read several posts stating that I was present at the Springs graduation ceremony. To my knowledge, no evidence has been provided to substantiate this claim." Her Facebook page was later deactivated. In November 2021, Gordon was criticized for offering "

thoughts and prayers "Thoughts and prayers" is a phrase commonly used by politicians, public figures, and celebrities, particularly in the United States, as a condolence after a deadly event such as a natural disaster or mass shooting. The phrase "thoughts and pr ...

" to Manitobans who had their surgeries cancelled and placed on a waitlist of over 130,000 postponed procedures. As of December 7, the delayed procedure backlog has surpassed 152,000 and on December 8 health officials announced that they would look at cancelling additional surgical procedures as ICU beds are required for new COVID-19 patients that are being admitted to hospitals. Gordon received further criticism from the opposition and in the media after a third of the nurses in the sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) program resigned in March 2023. When confronted by the opposition, Gordon shifted the blame to "health system leaders" in the bureaucracy despite this being under her portfolio, bringing on more outcry over her leadership. At the 2023 general election, Gordon lost re-election to

Renée Cable Renée Cable is a Canadian politician who has been the Minister of Advanced Education and Training for Manitoba since October 18, 2023. She was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba in the 2023 Manitoba general election, representing ...

in her riding of Southdale.

Personal life

Gordon is married with two sons.

Electoral record

References

External links

Audrey Gordon on Twitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Audrey Living people Politicians from Winnipeg Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba MLAs Black Canadian politicians Black Canadian women Members of the Executive Council of Manitoba Women government ministers of Canada Ministers of health of Manitoba 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba 21st-century Canadian women politicians Year of birth missing (living people) Women MLAs in Manitoba Jamaican emigrants to Canada University of Manitoba alumni