Mable Elmore

Elmore's mother immigrated to Canada from the Philippines in 1965 and met her father, an Irish Canadian manager at a pulp and paper mill, while in Prince Rupert, British Columbia.{{cite news |title=Pointing Filipinos in the right direction |last=Lee-Young |first=Joanne |newspaper=The Vancouver Sun |date=June 16, 2010 |page=A11}} A couple of years later Mable was born in Langley. The family moved to Nova Scotia and they lived in Turkey for a brief time, but they spent most of Elmore's youth living in Manitoba.{{cite news |title=She B.C.'s first MLA of Philippine heritage; Social activist won over diverse community |last=Austin |first=Ian |newspaper=The Province |location=Vancouver |date=June 5, 2009 |page=A15}} It was at her high school in Winnipeg, learning about South African apartheid, that she became politically aware and active.{{cite news |title=Faithful supporters carry B.C.'s first Filipino MLA into legislature |last=Ward |first=Doug |newspaper=The Vancouver Sun |date=May 25, 2009 |page=A4}} Following high school, she attended the University of British Columbia studying physical education and volunteered at the BC Philippine Women Centre, which turned into a full-time job.

Several years later, Elmore started working as a bus driver for the Coast Mountain Bus Company. She was a vocal advocate for social justice issues and worker rights. She was active with the Vancouver and District Labour Council, the BC Federation of Labour, and in her union, the CAW Local 111.{{cite news |title=Unions Launch Campaign |last=Hamilton |first=Gordon |newspaper=The Vancouver Sun |date=May 5, 2005 |page=B2}}{{cite news |title=Mayor frazzled by Wal-Mart debate: Anti-big-box group out in force |last=Carrigg |first=David |newspaper=The Province |location=Vancouver |date=June 22, 2005 |page=A23}} She helped organize peace and anti-war marches in Vancouver.{{cite news |title=Peace marchers gather today: Thousands expected to walk for peace and sustainability |last=Bridge |first=Maurice |newspaper=The Vancouver Sun |date=June 24, 2006 |page=B8}}{{cite news |title=War led to economic downturn, activist says |last=Youds |first=Mike |newspaper=Kamloops Daily News |location=Kamloops |date=May 1, 2008 |page=A4}}

With the 2009 provincial election approaching, and incumbent New Democratic MLA David Chudnovsky retiring, Elmore put her name forward as a candidate for the NDP nomination in the Vancouver-Kensington riding. Due to an internal BC NDP rule requiring that the subsequent NDP candidate be female in ridings where there is a retiring male NDP MLA, only women could be nominated.{{cite news |title=Study suggests bias in political-candidate selection |last=Wong |first=Jackie |newspaper=WestEnder |date=May 7, 2009 |page=3}} Elmore's only challenger was former BC Teachers' Federation president Jinny Sims, whom Elmore defeated in the March 2009 nomination election. Within hours of her nomination, copies of a 2004 interview with Elmore published in an online magazine, called Seven Oaks, were distributed in which, in reference to her anti-war activism within a union environment, Elmore identified "vocal Zionists in our worksites" as a challenge.{{cite news |title=Seven weeks to the election and NDP is a party in search of issues |last=Palmer |first=Vaughn |newspaper=The Vancouver Sun |date=March 24, 2009 |page=A3}} This was viewed as a disparaging remark and party leader Carole James asked Elmore to make a public apology.{{cite news |title=NDP candidate apologizes for 'vocal Zionists' comment |last=Fowlie |first=Jonathan |newspaper=The Vancouver Sun |date=March 24, 2009 |page=A6}}

The general election was held in May when Elmore ran against realtor and former radio host Syrus Lee for the BC Liberal Party and engineer Doug Warkentin for the BC Green Party.{{cite news |title=Vancouver-Kensington tightly contested in 2005 |last=Smedman |first=Lisa |newspaper=Vancouver Courier |date=April 24, 2009 |page=15}} Elmore had the support of many in the Filipino Canadian community who helped campaign for her. Elmore's campaign manager helped thwart an attempt to circumvent election laws by the Kash Heed campaign, a BC Liberal candidate in a neighbouring riding, after she was informed of Heed's intent to mail, in the Vancouver-Kensington riding, anti-NDP pamphlets, which did not include the proper disclosure and documentation.{{cite news |title=Elections BC asked post office to cancel mail-outs |last=Hunter |first=Justine |newspaper=The Globe and Mail |date=April 14, 2010 |page=S1}} Regardless, Elmore went on to win the general election with 53% of the vote, though her party lost to the BC Liberals who formed a majority government with the NDP as the official opposition. Elmore was the first Filipino Canadian to be elected as a Member of the BC Legislative Assembly,{{cite news |url=https://vancouversun.com/Mable+Elmore+first+Filipina+elected+legislature/1590294/story.html |title=NDP's Mable Elmore is first Filipina to be elected to the B.C. legislature |newspaper=The Vancouver Sun |date=May 12, 2009 |accessdate=November 22, 2011 |archive-date=December 28, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101228201731/http://www.vancouversun.com/Mable+Elmore+first+Filipina+elected+legislature/1590294/story.html |url-status=dead }} and only the second openly lesbian member, after Jenn McGinn.{{cite news |url=https://www.straight.com/article-210621/filipinos-rally-behind-mable-elmore |title=Filipinos rally behind NDP candidate Mable Elmore |newspaper=Georgia Straight |date=April 2, 2009 |accessdate= November 22, 2011}}

As the 39th Parliament began, Elmore was assigned the role of deputy critic on the Ministry of Children and Family Development, with fellow NDP MLA Maurine Karagianis as the full-time critic.{{cite news |title=James makes some hard choices, talks tough with shadow cabinet |newspaper=The Vancouver Sun |date=June 12, 2009 |page=A3}} In this role, Elmore identified financial misstatements by Solicitor-General Kash Heed which forced Heed and the Premier to reverse a planned $440,000 cut to domestic violence programs.{{cite news |title=Cutting remarks cost Heed credibility |last=Matas |first=Robert |newspaper=The Globe and Mail |date=October 3, 2009 |page=S3}} She was appointed to the Select Standing Committee on Children and Youth in all four sessions of the Parliament. She also serves as the vice-chair of the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services in the third and fourth session. Elmore was part of an effort to defend party leader Carole James in 2010 when MLAs began to criticize the party leadership.{{cite news |url=https://thetyee.ca/News/2010/12/04/13NDPDissidents/ |title=Who Are the NDP's 13 Dissidents? |newspaper=The Tyee |first=Andrew |last=MacLeod |date=December 4, 2010 |accessdate= January 3, 2020}}{{cite news |url=https://www.straight.com/news/933791/who-going-be-john-horgans-bc-ndp-cabinet |title=Who is going to be in John Horgan's B.C. NDP cabinet? |newspaper=Georgia Straight |first=Charlie |last=Smith|date= July 6, 2017 |accessdate= January 3, 2020}} Following James' resignation as leader, interim leader Dawn Black reassigned Elmore to be the opposition's multiculturalism critic,{{cite news |title=Provincial budget Feb. 15 unlikely to rock any boats |last=Austin |first= Ian |newspaper=The Province |location=Vancouver |date=January 27, 2011 |page=A8}} and in the April 2011 leadership election Elmore endorsed Adrian Dix.{{cite news |title=NDP hopefuls gather backers in shadow of front-page news |last=Austin |first= Ian |newspaper=The Province |location=Vancouver |date=March 18, 2011 |page=A19}} In July 2012, Dix reassigned her to be the Critic for the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) and Deputy Critic for Finance.{{cite news |title=Dix appoints NDP's newest MLAs to critic positions |last=Cassidy |first= Olivier |newspaper=The Province |location=Vancouver |date=July 19, 2012 |page=A12}}

In the 2013 provincial election Elmore was challenged by Philippines-born Gabby Kalaw for the BC Liberals, research scientist Chris Fjell for the BC Greens, and realtor Raj Gupta for the BC Conservatives,{{cite news |title=Meet the candidates |newspaper=Vancouver Courier |date=May 8, 2013 |page=44}} but won with over 50% of the vote. With her party forming the Official Opposition in the 40th Parliament, she retained her critic roles focusing on ICBC and finance, even after John Horgan became party leader in the May 2014 leadership election. She was a vocal critic of the abuse of the temporary foreign worker program.{{cite news |title=Gov'ts urged to repair foreign worker scheme |last=Carman |first =Tara |newspaper=The Province |date=April 18, 2014 |page=A11}}{{cite news |title=The facts on temp foreign workers; What you need to know about the nationwide controversy that started in a Victoria McDonald's |last=McIntyre |first =Gord |newspaper=The Province |date=May 4, 2014 |page=A13}} In January 2017, Horgan reassigned her critic roles to formally focus on temporary foreign workers and immigration while keeping her as deputy critic on finance.{{cite news |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-ndp-shadow-cabinet-jan-2017-1.3956120 |title=B.C. NDP leader John Horgan refreshes shadow cabinet ahead of May election |newspaper=The Province |date= January 27, 2017 |accessdate=January 2, 2020}}

Following the announcement that Libby Davies would not seek re-election as the Member of Parliament in the 2015 federal election and would retire from the House of Commons of Canada after having served since 1997, the 45-year-old Elmore sought the New Democratic Party nomination in Vancouver East.{{cite news |title=MLA Mable Elmore seeks federal NDP nomination to replace Libby Davies in Vancouver East|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/mla-mable-elmore-seeks-federal-ndp-nomination-to-replace-libby-davies-in-vancouver-east-1.2881191|publisher=CBC News|date=22 December 2014}}{{cite news |title=Vancouver MLA Mable Elmore seeks federal NDP nomination|url=http://globalnews.ca/news/1739091/vancouver-mla-mable-elmore-seeks-federal-ndp-nomination/|publisher=Global News|date=22 December 2014}}{{cite news |title=NDP can hold Vancouver East if the party chooses the right candidate |last=Smith |first=Charlie |url=https://www.straight.com/news/789681/ndp-can-hold-vancouver-east-if-party-chooses-right-candidate |work=The Georgia Straight |date=16 December 2014}}{{cite news |title=Game On For Coveted East Van Riding |last=Nuttall |first=Jeremy |url=https://thetyee.ca/News/2015/02/05/East-Van-Riding/ |work=The Tyee |date=5 February 2015}} She was challenged by her BC NDP colleague Jenny Kwan, the MLA for Vancouver-Mount Pleasant at the time, and in the nomination contest on March 22, 2015, Kwan was selected.{{cite news |title=MLA Jenny Kwan selected as NDP representative for Vancouver East|url=http://www.cknw.com/2015/03/22/mla-jenny-kwan-selected-as-ndp-representative-for-vancouver-east|publisher=CKNW|date=22 March 2015}}{{cite news|title=Jenny Kwan wins federal NDP nomination for Vancouver East|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/jenny-kwan-wins-federal-ndp-nomination-for-vancouver-east-1.3005059|publisher=CBC News|date=22 March 2015}}

Elmore sought re-election in Vancouver-Kensington during the 2017 provincial election, in which she faced former senior advisor for the BC Ministry of Health Kim Chan Logan for the BC Liberals and Simon Rear for the BC Greens.{{cite news |url=https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/b-c-liberal-candidate-asks-parties-to-correct-donations-in-her-name

|title=B.C. Liberal candidate asks parties to correct donations in her name |first=Gordon |last=Hoekstra |newspaper=Vancouver Sun|date=March 23, 2017 |accessdate=January 3, 2020}}{{cite news|title=Meet the candidates |newspaper=Vancouver Courier|date=April 27, 2017 |page=A28}} She won her riding with over 50% of the vote but her party began the 41st Parliament as the official opposition to a BC Liberal minority government. After the BC Liberals lost a confidence vote and the BC NDP formed the minority government, the new premier, John Horgan, appointed Elmore to be the position of parliamentary secretary for poverty reduction under Social Development Minister Shane Simpson, as well as the deputy government caucus chairperson.{{cite news|title=Nanaimo MLA named NDP caucus chair |newspaper=Times Colonist |date=July 20, 2017 |page=A4}} She co-chaired an advisory committee on poverty reduction tasked with

offering expertise and advice on how best to implement a Poverty Reduction Strategy and recommending priority actions and principles for that strategy.{{cite news|title=B.C. government poverty strategy tour set to begin |last=Fletcher |first=Tom|newspaper=The News|location =Abbotsford, British Columbia |date=November 21, 2017}}

After winning re-election in 2020, Elmore was reassigned as Parliamentary Secretary for Seniors Services and Long Term Care.{{cite news |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-cabinet-announcement-1.5816947 |title=New faces join B.C.'s new cabinet, while stalwarts stay on in key roles |publisher=CBC News |first1=Bethany |last1=Lindsay |date=2020-11-26 |accessdate=2022-04-24 }} She remained in that post until December 7, 2022, when new Premier David Eby named her Parliamentary Secretary for Anti-Racism Initiatives.{{Cite press release |date=2022-12-07 |title=New cabinet ready to take action on cost of living, health care, housing, climate |url=https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2022PREM0097-001863 |access-date=2022-12-09 |publisher=Office of the Premier of British Columbia |language=en}}

{{2024 British Columbia general election/Vancouver-Kensington}}

{{British Columbia provincial election, 2020/Vancouver-Kensington}}

{{British Columbia provincial election, 2017/Vancouver-Kensington}}

{{British Columbia provincial election, 2013/Vancouver-Kensington}}

{{British Columbia provincial election, 2009/Vancouver-Kensington}}

{{reflist}}

{{commons category|Mable Elmore}}

• [http://www.leg.bc.ca/mla/39thParl/elmoreM.htm Legislative Assembly of British Columbia] - Mable Elmore
• [http://mableelmore.bcndp.ca/ Member of the Legislative Assembly] - Mable Elmore (Vancouver-Kensington)
• [https://www.bcndp.ca/people/mable-elmore British Columbia New Democratic Party] - Mable Elmore

{{British Columbia MLAs}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elmore, Mable}}

Category:British Columbia New Democratic Party MLAs

Category:Bus drivers

Category:Canadian LGBTQ people in provincial and territorial legislatures

Category:Canadian people of Filipino descent

Category:Canadian people of Irish descent

Category:Canadian women trade unionists

Category:Canadian lesbian politicians

Category:Living people

Category:People from Langley, British Columbia (city)

Category:Politicians from Vancouver

Category:Trade unionists from British Columbia

Category:University of British Columbia alumni

Category:Women MLAs in British Columbia

Category:Year of birth missing (living people)

Category:21st-century Canadian women politicians

Category:Lesbian trade unionists

Category:21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people

Category:21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia