Joachim Stroink (born April 24, 1972) 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 ...

politician, who was elected to the

Nova Scotia House of Assembly The Nova Scotia House of Assembly (; ), or Legislative Assembly, is the deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Nova Scotia, and together with the lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia makes up the Nova Scotia Legislature. The assembly is ...

in the 2013 provincial election. A member of the

Nova Scotia Liberal Party The Nova Scotia Liberal Party (officially the Liberal Association of Nova Scotia) is a Centrist politics, centrist provincial political party in Nova Scotia, Canada and the provincial section of the Liberal Party of Canada. The party currently hol ...

, he represented the electoral district of

Halifax Chebucto Halifax Chebucto is a provincial electoral district (Canada), electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that elects one member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly. It is one of several ridings within the Halifax Regional Municipality. It encom ...

until 2017.

Personal life

Stroink attended LeMarchant-St. Thomas Elementary School and Halifax Central Junior High (then named Cornwallis Junior High School). He attended

Queen Elizabeth High School (Halifax) Queen Elizabeth High School (QEH) was a secondary school in Halifax, Nova Scotia. QEH was known for its high academic standards, competitive sports teams and distinguished extra-curricular activities such as its annual model parliament and musical ...

and

King's-Edgehill School King's-Edgehill School is a Canadian private university-preparatory boarding and day school located in the town of Windsor, Nova Scotia. It is the oldest English independent school in the Commonwealth outside the United Kingdom, founded by Unite ...

. He graduated from Saint Mary's University in 1999 with a degree in Geography.

Community involvement

He joined a number of successful local businesses in launching a petition to save the

Emera Oval The Emera Oval, originally known as the Canada Games Oval, is a permanent skating rink/speed skating rink installed in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on the Halifax Commons for the 2011 Canada Games. It is the size of three NHL hockey rinks. History ...

after the

2011 Canada Winter Games The 2011 Canada Winter Games were held in Halifax, Nova Scotia, from Friday, 11 February 2011, to Sunday, 27 February 2011. Bids Four bids (all from Nova Scotia, as it was that province's turn) were made for the games, and eventually Halifax was ...

. Stroink also served as President of the Learning Disabilities Association of Nova Scotia as a person living with

attention deficit hyperactivity disorder Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and emotional dysregulation that are excessive and pervasive, impairing in multiple con ...

and severe

dyslexia Dyslexia (), previously known as word blindness, is a learning disability that affects either reading or writing. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, reading quickly, wri ...

. In 2015, he floundered about on stage for Bridgeway Academy's Dancing for our Stars fundraising event to highlight the struggles of those living with ADHD and Dyslexia. He was a key figure in the development of the

Blue Nose Marathon The Blue Nose Marathon is a charity road marathon that has been held each spring in Halifax since 2004. This marathon is a standard length at . Since its inception, abbreviated runs are also available including a youth run (2k and 4k), 5k, 10k ...

, named its Race Director in 2004, a position he held for four years, he remains a volunteer at the event. He ran the full marathon in its inaugural year. Stroink is a founding partner of the Brigadoon Village camp for children with chronic illnesses. He donated office space in the Trail Shop to help get the camp off the ground. He has been a member of the board and a volunteer. As MLA for Halifax Chebucto he has hosted community BBQs during the Quinpool Road Business Association's annual Quinfest event with proceeds going to the camp. His primary involvement since 2014 has been as an organizer of Brigaswim, a fundraising event for the camp that involves a marathon swim around

Georges Island (Nova Scotia) Georges Island (named after King George II) is a glacial drumlin and the largest island entirely within the harbour limits of Halifax Harbour located in Nova Scotia's Halifax Regional Municipality. The Island is the location of Fort Charlott ...

Halifax Harbour Halifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality. Halifax largely owes its existence to the harbour, being one of the largest and deepest ice-free natural har ...

. Stroink came up with the idea on the heels of the Halifax Harbour clean-up. He joined other representatives of the

Government of Nova Scotia The Government of Nova Scotia (, ) is the government of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia. The powers and structure of the province are set out in the Constitution Act, 1867. In modern Canadian use, the term ...

to launch the government's annual

United Way United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit organization, nonprofit fundraising affiliates. Prior to 2015, United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public. Individual Un ...

fundraising campaign in September 2016 by swimming across Halifax Harbour. Stroink is also the co-founder of the iconic Not Since Moses run which takes place in the floor of the

Bay of Fundy The Bay of Fundy () is a bay between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with a small portion touching the U.S. state of Maine. It is an arm of the Gulf of Maine. Its tidal range is the highest in the world. The bay was ...

. Stroink is actively involved with the Canadian

Sport Climbing Sport climbing (or bolted climbing) is a type of free climbing in the sport of rock climbing where the Lead climbing, lead climber clips their climbing rope, rope — via a quickdraw — into pre-drilled in-situ bolt (climbing), bolts for their ...

community. He has served on the board of directors of Climbing Escalade Canada since 2019 and has been chair of the board since 2022.

Political career

Stroink was the MLA in the Halifax Chebucto riding in the Liberal government of

Stephen McNeil Stephen McNeil (born November 10, 1964) is a Canadian politician who served as the 28th premier of Nova Scotia, from 2013 to 2021. He also represented the riding of Annapolis in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 2003 to 2021 and was the ...

from 2013 to 2017. As MLA he had been active on a number of key government initiatives and issues. Stroink made the development of the Ocean Tech sector a key part of his mandate as MLA. As Chair of the Standing Committee on Economic Development. Stroink spearheaded a project in his constituency inspired by local municipal Participatory Budgeting programs where he sought input from constituents on the development of a community-driven

Private Members' Bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in whi ...

coining the term Community Members' Bill. In 2015, Halifax area businesses spoke out when faced with commercial tax increases they deemed unfair. Stroink joined Labi Kousoulis, MLA for Halifax Citadel-Sable Island and Minister of Internal Services, in calling on Municipal Affairs Minister

Zach Churchill Zachariah John Churchill is a Canadian politician and activist from Nova Scotia who served as the leader of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party and the leader of the Opposition from 2022 until 2024. He previously served as the member of the Nova Scotia ...

to make changes to the tax system. The call was supported by Municipal officials and resulted in amendments to the HRM Charter that allowed changes to the

Halifax Regional Municipality Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

's commercial tax system. He has also been an advocate of the Select Nova Scotia campaign encouraging people to buy local and actively supporting the expansion of the program.

Gender equality

Both in and out of the legislature Stroink has been an advocate for gender equality. He has publicly supported the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

' He for She campaign calling on men across Nova Scotia to participate actively in the struggle for gender equality. Stroink called on members of the Nova Scotia legislature to donate to the campaign on Pay Equity Day in 2015.

Black face controversy

In December 2013 Stroink came under controversy after being photographed sitting on the lap of a man in

black face Blackface is the practice of performers using burned cork, shoe polish, or theatrical makeup to portray a caricature of black people on stage or in entertainment. Scholarship on the origins or definition of blackface vary with some taking a glo ...

dressed as Black Peter (Zwarte Piet) at a local Dutch Christmas party.

Electoral record

, - ,

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

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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 ...

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Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stroink, Joachim 1972 births Living people Canadian people of Dutch descent Nova Scotia Liberal Party MLAs People with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder Politicians from Halifax, Nova Scotia Politicians from Montreal 21st-century members of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly Saint Mary's University (Halifax) alumni King's-Edgehill School alumni