Margaret Anne Mitchell (née Learoyd; July 17, 1925 – March 8, 2017) was a Canadian social activist and 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 ...

(NDP) Member of Parliament (MP) for

Vancouver East Vancouver East () is a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1935. Since 2015, it has been represented by New Democratic Party MP Jenny Kwan. Vancouver East ...

from 1979 until 1993. A

social worker Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

by profession, she was first 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 ...

in the 1979 federal election. In 1980, she voted against a pay raise for MPs, and subsequently donated her additional pay to charity establishing the Margaret Mitchell Fund for Women. In Parliament, Mitchell was one of the first politicians to raise the issue of

violence against women Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence (GBV) or sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), violent, violence primarily committed by Man, men or boys against woman, women or girls. Such violence is often considered hat ...

. She is best remembered for one incident in which male MPs laughed when she demanded that the government take action to stop domestic violence. Recalling the incident two decades later, she said, "I was shocked and furious about that... that was my one claim to fame, and people still come up to me and talk to me about that." Mitchell graduated from

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood, Ontario, Ainslie Wood and Westdale, Ontario, Westd ...

with a sociology degree in 1947. From 1952 to 1955, she worked as a social worker for the International Red Cross in Japan, Korea, Australia and Austria. She moved to

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

in the 1960s where she worked for the Neighborhood Services Association until 1974. In Parliament, she was variously the NDP's

Critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as Art criticism, art, Literary criticism, literature, Music journalism, music, Film criticism, cinema, Theater criticism, theater, Fas ...

for Immigration, Housing, Status of Women, Health and Welfare and for Multiculturalism and Citizenship. In the 1980s, she attended 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 ...

"Decade of Women Conference" in Nairobi. In 1984, she was the first MP to raise the issue of the Chinese

head tax A poll tax, also known as head tax or capitation, is a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources. ''Poll'' is an archaic term for "head" or "top of the head". The sen ...

in the House of Commons. In the

1993 Canadian federal election The 1993 Canadian federal election was held on October 25, 1993, to elect members to the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons of the 35th Canadian Parliament, 35th Parliament of Canada. Considered to be a major political realignment, it ...

, Mitchell lost her seat to Liberal Anna Terrana. In 2000, Mitchell was recognized as a Member of the

Order of British Columbia The Order of British Columbia is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Instituted in 1989 by Lieutenant Governor David Lam, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier Bill Vander Zalm, the order is administe ...

. Mitchell was a known descendant of former Canadian Prime Minister Sir John Thompson who died in office in 1894 while visiting

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...

. She died on March 8, 2017, aged 91.

References

External links

*
MP Margaret Mitchell famously called wife abuse ‘no laughing matter’
Globe and Mail obituary by Judy Stoffman, 22 March 2017 {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Margaret 1925 births 2017 deaths Activists from Vancouver Canadian activists Canadian socialists Canadian feminists Canadian socialist feminists Women members of the House of Commons of Canada McMaster University alumni New Democratic Party MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from British Columbia Members of the Order of British Columbia People from Brockville Politicians from Vancouver Women in British Columbia politics Canadian women activists 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada 20th-century Canadian women politicians