Penny Priddy (born March 5, 1944) is a politician from

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 ...

(BC),

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 ...

. She served as member of Parliament (MP) from 2006 to 2008, representing the

electoral district An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

Surrey North Surrey North may refer to: * Surrey North (federal electoral district), a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, from 1988 to 2015 * Surrey North (provincial electoral district), a provincial electoral district in British Col ...

in the

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. Prior to that, she was a

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

city councillor A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

(2002–2005), a member of the BC legislature representing

Surrey-Newton Surrey-Newton may refer to: * Surrey-Newton (provincial electoral district) * Surrey Newton (federal electoral district) * Newton, Surrey - Town centre in Surrey, BC {{Disambig ...

(1991–2001), and a trustee with the Surrey School District (1986–1991). She is the only woman in Canadian history to be elected to school board, city council, a provincial legislature and the House of Commons. During her time in the BC legislature, she served in several cabinet posts in the

British Columbia New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party of British Columbia (BC NDP) is a social democratic political party in British Columbia, Canada. The party sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum and is one of the two major parties in British Columbia; since ...

(BC NDP) governments of

Mike Harcourt Michael Franklin Harcourt Officer of the Order of Canada, OC (born January 6, 1943) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 30th premier of British Columbia from 1991 to 1996, and before that as the 34th List of mayors of Vancouver ...

Glen Clark Glen David Clark (born November 22, 1957) is a Canadian retail executive and former politician who served as the 31st premier of British Columbia from 1996 to 1999. Early life and education Clark attended independent Roman Catholic schools, na ...

, Dan Miller and

Ujjal Dosanjh Ujjal Dev Dosanjh (; born September 9, 1947) is a Canadian lawyer and politician. He served as the 33rd premier of British Columbia from 2000 to 2001 and as a Liberal Party of Canada member of Parliament from 2004 to 2011. He was minister of he ...

, including as minister of labour, health and education.

Biography

Born in

Toronto 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 ...

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, she was originally a nurse before moving to

Surrey, British Columbia Surrey is a city in British Columbia, Canada. It is located south of the Fraser River on the Canada–United States border. It is a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver regional district and metropolitan area. Mainly a suburban city, Surr ...

with her husband in 1981, where she worked as a nursing educator. She was first elected to the Surrey School District as a trustee in 1986 under the Surrey Municipal Electors slate, before becoming part of the NDP-affiliated Surrey Civic Electors. After five years as a school trustee, she ran in the 1991 provincial election as a

BC NDP The New Democratic Party of British Columbia (BC NDP) is a social democratic political party in British Columbia, Canada. The party sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum and is one of the two major parties in British Columbia; since ...

candidate in

Surrey-Newton Surrey-Newton may refer to: * Surrey-Newton (provincial electoral district) * Surrey Newton (federal electoral district) * Newton, Surrey - Town centre in Surrey, BC {{Disambig ...

, defeating Premier

Rita Johnston Rita Margaret Johnston (born April 22, 1935; née Leichert) is a Canadian politician in British Columbia. Johnston became the first female premier in Canadian history when she succeeded Bill Vander Zalm in 1991 to become the 29th premier of Br ...

to win the riding. She was subsequently named to the cabinet that November, serving as Minister of Women's Equality during the premiership of

. After

took over as premier in February 1996, Priddy was appointed Minister of Labour. She was re-elected in the May 1996 provincial election, and briefly assumed the Small Business, Tourism and Culture portfolio that June. She was re-assigned as Minister of Children and Families in September 1996, before assuming the roles of Minister of Health and Minister Responsible for Seniors in February 1998. She retained both portfolios during Dan Miller's term as premier and interim NDP leader. She was named Minister of Education in February 2000 by new Premier

. With the NDP trailing in the polls, she announced on October 30, 2000 that she would not run in the following year's provincial election, and was dropped from the cabinet a few days later. She returned to politics in 2002 when she was elected to

Surrey City Council Surrey City Council is the governing body of the City of Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. The council consists of the mayor and eight elected city councilors representing the city as a whole. Municipal elections also select six school trustees. Mu ...

, serving one term as councillor. Following the death of

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 ...

Chuck Cadman Charles Cadman (February 21, 1948 – July 9, 2005) was a Canadian politician and Member of Parliament (MP) from 1997 to 2005, representing the riding of Surrey North in Surrey, British Columbia. Originally a Canadian Alliance MP, Cadman wo ...

, Priddy entered the race for the riding as a federal

NDP NDP may stand for: Computing * Neighbor Discovery Protocol, an Internet protocol * Nortel Discovery Protocol, a layer two Internet protocol, also called SONMP * Nondeterministic programming, a type of computer language Government * National Dev ...

candidate in the 2006 election. Priddy had been friends with Cadman and his wife Dona for many years despite their sharp political differences, and later received Dona Cadman's endorsement for the Surrey North seat. Priddy went on to defeat

Conservative 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 civiliza ...

candidate David Matta and became the riding's MP, serving as the NDP's health critic from 2006 to 2007, then as the party's public safety critic and assistant justice critic from 2007 to 2008. She declined to run in the 2008 federal election.

Personal life and other activities

She and her husband Robert have two adult children. She was diagnosed with

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

in December 1995, and underwent surgery and radiation therapy shortly thereafter. She then went through chemotherapy after the 1996 provincial election, and made a full recovery. In 2001, Priddy was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Law degree from

Kwantlen University College Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) is a public undergraduate degree-granting polytechnic university in British Columbia, Canada, with campuses in Surrey, Richmond, Cloverdale, Whalley, and Langley. KPU is one of the largest institutions b ...

for her service to the people of BC. She is a member of the Canadian Women Voters Congress, Canadian Women of Municipal Government, and the Heritage Advisory Commission for the City of Surrey. She is a past co-chair of the National Women's Campaign School, and served for three terms as a municipal representative to the board of directors for the

Vancouver Fraser Port Authority The Port of Vancouver is the largest port in Canada and the fourth largest in North America by tonnes of cargo, facilitating trade between Canada and more than 170 world economies. The port is managed by the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, whic ...

from 2011 to 2020.

Notes

References

External links

*
Legislative Assembly Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Priddy, Penny 1944 births Living people 20th-century Canadian women politicians 21st-century members of the House of Commons of Canada 21st-century Canadian women politicians British Columbia New Democratic Party MLAs British Columbia school board members Canadian women nurses Ministers of education of British Columbia Ministers of health of British Columbia Members of the Executive Council of British Columbia Members of the House of Commons of Canada from British Columbia New Democratic Party MPs Politicians from Toronto Surrey, British Columbia city councillors Ministers of tourism of British Columbia Women MLAs in British Columbia Women municipal councillors in British Columbia Women government ministers of Canada Women members of the House of Commons of Canada Canadian nurses 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia