Gordon S. Earle (born February 27, 1943) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

politician. Earle is a member of the

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * t ...

and a former member of the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

, representing the riding of

Halifax West Halifax West (french: Halifax-Ouest) is a federal electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1979. Its population in 2021 was 111,944. Demographics ''From the 2016 census'' E ...

from 1997 to 2000. Earle is the first black Member of Parliament elected from Nova Scotia.

Career

Earle was a senior public servant, he was the first employee of the

Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission The Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission (the “Commission”) was established in Nova Scotia, Canada in 1967 to administer the Nova Scotia ''Human Rights Act''. The Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission is the first commission in Canada to engage ...

. He served as Chief Human Rights Officer and assistant to the

Ombudsman An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

and as Ombudsman of Manitoba. While in

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

, Earle was the NDP critic of

Multiculturalism The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for "Pluralism (political theory), ethnic pluralism", with the tw ...

, Citizenship and Immigration,

Indian Affairs and Northern Development Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

National Defence National security, or national defence, is the security and Defence (military), defence of a sovereign state, including its Citizenship, citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government. Originally conceived as p ...

, and

Veterans Affairs Veterans' affairs is an area of public policy concerned with relations between a government and its communities of military veterans. Some jurisdictions have a designated government agency or department, a Department of Veterans' Affairs, Minist ...

. Earle lost his seat in the

2000 Canadian federal election The 2000 Canadian federal election was held on November 27, 2000, to elect members to the House of Commons of Canada of the 37th Canadian Parliament, 37th Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister of Canada, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's Liberal Pa ...

. In the 2004 federal election, Earle ran in the riding of South Shore—St. Margaret's, in which a small part of the old Halifax West, in which he resided, had been moved under

redistricting Redistribution (re-districting in the United States and in the Philippines) is the process by which electoral districts are added, removed, or otherwise changed. Redistribution is a form of boundary delimitation that changes electoral dist ...

. He was defeated by the incumbent,

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

Gerald Keddy Gerald Gordon Keddy (born February 15, 1953) is a Canadian politician. Keddy is a former Christmas tree grower, and offshore drill operator and was a Member of Parliament from 1997 to 2015, first sitting with the Progressive Conservative Party o ...

, coming third. He ran again in the 2006 federal election, again losing to Keddy, but improving his vote total and placing second.Riding history for South Shore—St. Margaret's (2003– ) from the

Library of Parliament The Library of Parliament (french: Bibliothèque du Parlement) is the main information repository and research resource for the Parliament of Canada. The main branch of the library sits at the rear of the Centre Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa ...

Earle ran against Keddy for a third time in the 2008 federal election, losing by less than one thousand votes. Earle again contested the riding in the 2011 federal election losing to Keddy.

Personal life

Earle is a

martial artist Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preserv ...

with a black belt in

Karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

. He founded the Hammonds Plains Karate Club.

Electoral record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Earle, Gordon 1943 births Living people Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Nova Scotia New Democratic Party MPs Ombudsmen in Canada Black Nova Scotians Politicians from Halifax, Nova Scotia Black Canadian politicians

Career

Personal life

Electoral record

See also

References