Joel Davison Harden (born c. January 14, 1972) 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, who was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA, french: Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by ...

in the 2018 provincial election. He represents the riding of

Ottawa Centre Ottawa Centre (french: Ottawa-Centre) is an urban federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1968. While the riding's boundaries (mainly to the south and west as the north a ...

as a member of the

Ontario New Democratic Party The Ontario New Democratic Party (french: link=no, Nouveau Parti démocratique de l'Ontario; abbr. ONDP or NDP) is a social-democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. The party currently forms the Official Opposition in Ontario following th ...

Background

Harden grew up in

Vankleek Hill, Ontario Vankleek Hill is a town in Champlain Township in Eastern Ontario. It has a population of 1,996. The town was named after Simeon Vankleek, a United Empire Loyalist who settled there near the end of the 18th century. The agricultural-based communi ...

. Prior to being elected, Harden was a researcher at the

Canadian Federation of Students The Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) is the largest student organization in Canada, representing over 530,000 students from across Canada. Formed in 1981, the stated goal of the Federation is to represent the collective voice of Canadian st ...

. He has also been an instructor at the Department of Law and Legal Studies at

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning World ...

and teaching assistant professor at

Brock University Brock University is a public research university in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It is the only university in Canada in a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, at the centre of Canada's Niagara Peninsula on the Niagara Escarpment. The university bear ...

and has also taught at

Nipissing University , mottoeng = Spirit of Integrity , established = , former_names = Northeastern University (1960-1967), Nipissing College (1967-1992) , type = Public University , academic_affiliation = COU, CVU, Universities Canada , endowment ...

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood and Westdale, adjacent to the Royal Botanical Ga ...

and the Labour College of Canada. From 2005 to 2010, he was senior researcher at the

Canadian Labour Congress The Canadian Labour Congress, or CLC (french: Congrès du travail du Canada, link=no or ) is a national trade union centre, the central labour body in Canada to which most Canadian labour unions are affiliated. History Formation The CLC was ...

and was director of the labour education department at the Canadian Labour Congress from 2010 to 2012. During his time as the Director of Education at the Canadian Labour Congress Harden designed the campaign that won an expansion of the Canada Pension Plan. Harden earned his undergraduate degree in sociology and political studies at Queen's University and his masters and doctorate in political science at

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

. From 1998 to 2000, he was the chairman of the Ontario section of the

Politics

Harden is a self-described

democratic socialist Democratic socialism is a left-wing political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-management within a ...

and a supporter of the

BDS movement Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) is a Palestinian-led movement promoting boycotts, divestments, and economic sanctions against Israel. Its objective is to pressure Israel to meet what the BDS movement describes as Israel's obligations u ...

. On August 23, 2018, Harden was appointed Official Opposition Critic for Accessibility & Persons with Disabilities; Pensions; Seniors' Affairs. Harden's parliamentary roles include sitting on the Standing Committee on Social Policy. In November 2022, Harden was criticized for an interview in which he spoke about hateful language in activism related to Israel and Palestine. Harden ultimately issued a brief written apology for perpetuating anti-Semitic tropes. In the interview, Harden takes a pro-Palestinian position and said: "I think it's important to remain steadfast against all supremacist ideologies, all forms of prejudice and racism. When I'm at Palestinian solidarity demonstrations, if I hear people making antisemitic remarks, I take a point of pulling that person aside and saying "you're not helping."

Electoral record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harden, Joel 1972 births 21st-century Canadian politicians Brock University faculty Canadian democratic socialists Carleton University faculty Living people McMaster University faculty Nipissing University faculty Ontario New Democratic Party MPPs People from the United Counties of Prescott and Russell Politicians from Ottawa Queen's University at Kingston alumni York University alumni