Jean A. Crowder (born July 7, 1952) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

businesswoman and politician. She served as a Member of Parliament for the

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...

from 2004 until 2015.

Life and career

Crowder was born in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. She received a degree in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

from

Wilfrid Laurier University Wilfrid Laurier University (commonly referred to as WLU or simply Laurier) is a Public university, public university in Ontario, Canada, with campuses in Waterloo, Ontario, Waterloo, Brantford, Ontario, Brantford and Milton, Ontario, Milton. The ...

Waterloo, Ontario Waterloo is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is one of three cities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo (formerly Waterloo County, Ontario, Waterloo County). Waterloo is situated about west-southwest of Toronto, but it is n ...

. A

human resources Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms include ' ...

consultant and manager by profession, Crowder was elected to the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

for the first time in the 2004 election as the

(NDP) Member of Parliament for the

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

riding of Nanaimo—Cowichan. Before she won federal office, she was a councillor in the District Municipality of North Cowichan from 2003 to 2004. She has worked at Malaspina University-College, Human Resources Development Canada, and the BC Ministry of Skills Training & Labour. In the NDP's shadow cabinet, she served as the Human Resources and Skills Development Critic, the Critic for Health, Community Economic Development and the Status of Women, and the Critic for Aboriginal Affairs. In the 2008 federal election, she defeated nearest rival Reed Elley, a former MP running for the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

, by over 4,000 votes. After the election, she announced her support for

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...

to be utilized during Canada's next election. She did not run in the 2015 federal election. Following the

2012 Canadian federal electoral redistribution The federal electoral redistribution of 2012 was a redistribution (election), redistribution of Electoral district (Canada), electoral districts ("ridings") in Canada following the results of the 2011 Canadian census. As a result of amendments to t ...

, which took effect with the 2015 election, her riding was abolished and its territory transferred to the new ridings Cowichan—Malahat—Langford and Nanaimo—Ladysmith. In that election, New Democrat candidates

Alistair MacGregor Alistair Bruce MacGregor (born May 4, 1979) is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 2015 Canadian federal election to represent the electoral district of Cowichan—Malahat—Langford. He is a member of ...

(a former constituency assistant to Crowder) and

Sheila Malcolmson Sheila Malcolmson (born March 26, 1966) is a Canadian politician who has served as the Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia for the electoral district of Nanaimo since January 30, 2019. She was previously the federal Member of ...

held the new ridings for the party. After leaving the House, she supported Guy Caron in the 2017 New Democratic Party leadership election.

References

External links

Official website

Parliament webpage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crowder, Jean 1952 births Living people Anglophone Quebec people Members of the House of Commons of Canada from British Columbia New Democratic Party MPs People from Duncan, British Columbia Politicians from Montreal Wilfrid Laurier University alumni Women members of the House of Commons of Canada Women in British Columbia politics 21st-century members of the House of Commons of Canada 21st-century Canadian women politicians