Dorothy Nan Kostrzewa (née Chung; August 17, 1928 – January 11, 2013) was a Canadian politician. She is the first

Chinese-Canadian , native_name = , native_name_lang = , image = Chinese Canadian population by province.svg , image_caption = Chinese Canadians as percent of population by province / territory , pop = 1,715,7704.63% of the ...

woman to hold political office in Canada when she was elected to

Chilliwack City Council Chilliwack ( )( hur, Ts'elxwéyeqw) is a city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. Chilliwack is surrounded by mountains and home to recreational areas such as Cultus Lake and Chilliwack Lake Provincial Parks. There are numerous outdoor ...

in 1970. She served on city council for 33 years making her the longest serving city councillor in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Early life

Dorothy Kostrzewa was born the youngest of eight children fathered by Chinese immigrant, Dr. Chung Bing Kee in

Chilliwack Chilliwack ( )( hur, Ts'elxwéyeqw) is a city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. Chilliwack is surrounded by mountains and home to recreational areas such as Cultus Lake and Chilliwack Lake Provincial Parks. There are numerous outdoor ...

's Chinatown neighbourhood. Her parents died, leaving the children watched over by family and friends. Kostrzewa was mainly raised by her second-oldest brother, Wally. She studied accounting at the Duffus School of Commerce in

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 ...

, and worked as an accountant at Chilliwack General Hospital from 1949 until 1969. Kostrzewa had high scores in

bowling Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), though ...

in Chilliwack. She also taught

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

and played

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players pe ...

Political career

She was first elected to Chilliwack City Council in 1970 making her the first Chinese-Canadian to hold political office in Canada and the first woman elected to Chilliwack township council. Her successful run for office in 1970 was considered an "exceedingly strong showing" by ''The Chilliwack Progress''. In 1972, she served on the finance committee and the Civic Properties and Recreation Commission as chair. In 1973, she was chair of the Centennial committee. She retired from politics in 2008.

Honours

She earned the Order of Chilliwack and awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws from

University of the Fraser Valley The University of the Fraser Valley (UFV), formerly known as University College of the Fraser Valley and Fraser Valley College, is a Canadian public university with campuses in Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Mission and Hope, British Columbia. Founded ...

in 2009 for outstanding community service. She was named the Woman of the Year in 2000, and millennium woman of the year. She was named Sportsman of the Year. She was named a Paul Harris Fellow by the Chilliwack Rotary Club, and one of Chilliwack’s Community Sports Heroes. Kostrzewa was named one of the "100 Chinese Canadians making a difference in British Columbia" in 2006. In 2013, she was posthumously awarded the

Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (french: Médaille du jubilé de diamant de la reine Elizabeth II) or The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2012 to mark the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's ...

, "for her long service to Chilliwack and her groundbreaking contribution to women in politics". In 2017, she was featured in a traveling exhibition, ''Gold Mountain Dream! Bravely Venture into the Fraser Valley'', created by the

Royal BC Museum Founded in 1886, the Royal British Columbia Museum (sometimes referred to as Royal BC Museum) consists of The Province of British Columbia's natural and human history museum as well as the British Columbia Provincial Archives. The museum is loca ...

References

External links

Dorothy (Chung) Kostrzewa interviewPolitical ad
(1970) {{DEFAULTSORT:Kostrzewa, Dorothy 1928 births 2013 deaths Canadian politicians of Chinese descent Women municipal councillors in Canada British Columbia municipal councillors People from Chilliwack