Marion Helen Bryden (2 April 1918 – 12 February 2013) was a
politician
A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...
in
Toronto, Ontario
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 ...
, Canada. She was a
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:
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member of 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 ...
from 1975 to 1990. Prior to becoming a politician, she was actively involved in the
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; , FCC) was a federal democratic socialism, democratic socialistThe following sources describe the CCF as a democratic socialist political party:
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and helped found the Ontario New Democratic Party in 1961. She died in Toronto in February 2013 aged 94.
Background
Bryden was educated at 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 ...
, the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...
and the
Ontario College of Education
The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto (OISE/UT) is Canada's only all-graduate institute of teaching, learning and research. It is located at 252 Bloor Street West on the university's St. George campus in ...
. She was a member of the ''Canadian Council of Social Development'', the
Elizabeth Fry Society The Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies (CAEFS) is an association of groups operating under the Elizabeth Fry Society banner, similar in many respects to the John Howard Society. The Elizabeth Fry Society groups work on issues affecting ...
, and the
Federation of Ontario Naturalists
Ontario Nature ''(formally the Federation of Ontario Naturalists)'' is an environmental charity based in Toronto, that promotes the conservation of wild species and spaces in the Canadian province of Ontario. It was established in 1931 as the Fed ...
. Bryden was also active as a union organizer, and as a researcher and statistician for the Canadian Tax Federation. During the 1960s, she served as president of the Ontario Woodsworth Memorial Foundation. Her husband,
Kenneth Bryden
Walter Kenneth (Ken) Bryden (April 9, 1916 – December 17, 2001) was a Co-operative Commonwealth Federation/NDP member of the Ontario legislature from 1959 to 1967, an economist, academic, civil servant and author.1975 provincial election, defeating incumbent Progressive ConservativeThomas Wardle by 2,650 votes in the riding of Beaches—Woodbine. She faced Wardle again in the 1977 election and defeated him by 2,274 votes. In the 1981 provincial election, Bryden defeated Progressive Conservative Paul Christie by only 324 votes amid provincial setbacks for the NDP. She supported
Ian Deans
Ian Deans (16 August 1937 – 3 May 2016) was a Scottish-Canadian politician. He was a New Democratic member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1967 to 1979 and was a member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1980 to 1986.
Backgr ...
for party leader in 1978 which was won by Michael Cassidy. She supported
Bob Rae
Robert Keith Rae (born August 2, 1948) is a Canadian diplomat and former politician who is the current Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations since 2020. He previously served as the 21st premier of Ontario from 1990 to 1995, leader of the ...
for the party leadership in 1982.
In 1980, Bryden proposed an environmental bill of rights which would have granted rights to people to challenge polluting companies without first having to prove damages. The bill was blocked by a group of 29 Conservative members. At the time, house rules allowed 20 members to block votes on a
private member's 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 wh ...
.
Bryden defeated Christie again by a much greater margin in the 1985 provincial election, and won without difficulty for the redistributed riding of in the 1987 election. She retired prior to the 1990 election, at age seventy-two. The Beaches—Woodbine riding, now renamed as Beaches—East York, remained in NDP hands with Bryden being succeeded by
Frances Lankin
Frances Lankin, (born April 16, 1954), is a former Canadian senator, former president and CEO of United Way Toronto, and a former Ontario MPP and cabinet minister in the NDP government of Bob Rae between 1990 and 1995. From 2010 to 2012, she ...
and then
Michael Prue
Michael David Prue (born July 14, 1948) is a politician in Ontario, Canada. Prue was mayor of East York, Ontario to 1997 and subsequently represented the riding of Beaches—East York in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2001 to 2014 as m ...
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From 1985 to 1990, Bryden served as her party's critic for Colleges and Universities, the Solicitor-General, Correctional Services, Seniors' Issues, Revenue and Transport. She was known as an effective constituency representative.
Books
Bryden wrote and co-authored several books and publications in the field of Canadian taxation. These include ''The costs of tax compliance: a report on a survey conducted by the Canadian Tax Foundation'' (1961), ''Occupancy of tax fields in Canada'' (1965), and ''Statement to the Royal Commission on Taxation'' (1964) with A.D. Russell and Gwyneth McGregor.