Mary Richard, (June 7, 1940 – September 9, 2010) was an Aboriginal activist and politician in

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 ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Life

Richard was born to a

Métis The Métis ( , , , ) are a mixed-race Indigenous people whose historical homelands include Canada's three Prairie Provinces extending into parts of Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and the northwest United States. They ha ...

family in

Camperville, Manitoba Camperville is a community in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Camperville's residents are mainly Métis. It is situated on the western shore of Lake Winnipegosis. Manitoba Highway 20 (Northern Woods and Water Route East Branch) passes throu ...

. She has long been active in promoting language retention, housing, training, cultural awareness and business enterprise among and for Manitoba's aboriginal population. She became the director of the Manitoba Association of Native Languages in the 1980s, and held this position for almost a decade. In 1997, she was appointed by Winnipeg

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Susan Thompson Susan Ann Thompson was the 40th mayor of Winnipeg, Manitoba. She was born on 12 April 1947. She was the first and first to date only woman to serve as mayor of Winnipeg, serving two terms from 1992 to 1998. Thompson graduated with a BA from ...

to co-chair the North Main Task Force, examining social problems in north Winnipeg's aboriginal community. She was the first

Chief Executive Officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

(CEO) of Thunderbird House in north Winnipeg, which opened its doors in 2000. Although this was intended as a tourist destination, it soon became primarily a social outreach centre for the many low-income persons living in the area. Under Richard's leadership, Thunderbird House became active in programs to assist aboriginal youth escape solvent abuse, gang life and the sex trade. Richard was also a president of the Aboriginal Council of Winnipeg, and a former executive director of the Indian and Métis Friendship Centre of Winnipeg. She also owned the Teepee Restaurant in Winnipeg. In 2000, she was admitted to the

Order of Manitoba The Order of Manitoba is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Instituted in 1999 when Lieutenant Governor Peter Liba granted royal assent to the ''Order of Manitoba Act'', the order is administered by the Governor-in ...

. She campaigned for 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 ...

in the 1999 provincial election, in the constituency of

Point Douglas Point Douglas is a provincial electoral district in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is named for a part of the city that is surrounded by a bend in the Red River. The riding covers the neighbourhoods of William Whyte, Dufferin Industrial, Nor ...

. Richard's campaign was part of an effort by

Gary Filmon Gary Albert Filmon (born August 24, 1942) is a Canadian politician from Manitoba who served as the 19th premier of Manitoba. He was the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba from 1983 to 2000, and served as the premier from ...

's government to increase its profile in the aboriginal community. She received 1224 votes (19.56%), an improvement over previous Conservative candidacies in the area. The winner was

George Hickes George Hickes may refer to: * George Hickes (divine) (1642–1715), English divine and scholar * George Hickes (Manitoba politician) (born 1946), Canadian politician * George Hickes (Nunavut politician) (born 1968/69), Canadian politician, son of t ...

of 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 ...

. The following year, Richard crossed to the

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (LPC; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. and generally sits at the Centrism, ...

and ran as that party's candidate in

Winnipeg North Centre Winnipeg North Centre was a federal electoral district in Manitoba, Canada, that was represented by a Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of Canada from 1925 to 2004. It is a largely working class riding in Winnipeg and has traditi ...

for the 2000 federal election. In explaining this move, Richard told a ''

Winnipeg Free Press The ''Free Press'' (or FP; founded as the ''Manitoba Free Press''; previously known as the ''Winnipeg Free Press'') is a daily (excluding Sunday) broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It provides coverage of local, provincial, natio ...

'' reporter that she had long supported the Progressive Conservatives at the provincial level and the Liberals at the federal level. She received 6,755 votes, finishing second against

New Democrat New Democrats may refer to: * New Democratic Party, a social democratic party in Canada * New Democrats (United States), the ideological centrist faction of the Democratic Party ** New Democrat Coalition, the related caucus in the United States H ...

Judy Wasylycia-Leis Klazina Judith Wasylycia-Leis (; born 1951) is a Canadian politician. She was a Manitoba cabinet minister in the government of Howard Pawley from 1986 to 1988, and was a member of the House of Commons of Canada from September 22, 1997, to April ...

. She died on September 9, 2010, while undergoing treatment after a kidney transplant.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richard, Mary 1940 births 2010 deaths Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba candidates in Manitoba provincial elections Candidates in the 2000 Canadian federal election Members of the Order of Manitoba Métis politicians Women in Manitoba politics Indspire Awards 20th-century Canadian women politicians Liberal Party of Canada candidates for the Canadian House of Commons Canadian Métis women