Lenore Zann (born November 22, 1959) is a Canadian actress and former politician who has served as the
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
Cumberland—Colchester
Cumberland—Colchester (formerly Cumberland—Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley and North Nova) is a federal electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 2004.
Cumberland—Colches ...
in 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 ...
as a member of the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
. Before entering federal politics, she represented the electoral district of
Truro-Bible Hill
Truro-Bible Hill-Millbrook-Salmon River is a provincial electoral district (Canada), electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that elects one member to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly.
The electoral district was created in 1978 and was named ...
in the
Nova Scotia House of Assembly
The Nova Scotia House of Assembly (french: Assemblée législative de la Nouvelle-Écosse; gd, Taigh Seanaidh Alba Nuadh), or Legislative Assembly, is the deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Nova Scotia of the province of Nova Scotia ...
from 2009 until 2019 as a member of the
Nova Scotia New Democratic Party
The Nova Scotia New Democratic Party is a social-democratic, progressive provincial party in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the provincial entity of the federal New Democratic Party (NDP). It was founded as the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (C ...
and from June 9, 2019, until September 12, 2019, as an
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
.
Life and career
Zann was born on November 22, 1959, in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
,
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
, Australia, the daughter of Janice, a
high school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
teacher
A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching.
''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...
, and Paul Zann, a
professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...
. Her great-grandfather, named Zaninovich (Zaninović), came to Australia from
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
.
She emigrated with her parents to Canada in 1968, first to Regina,
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...
, then to
Truro
Truro (; kw, Truru) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cornwall, England. It is Cornwall's county town, sole city and centre for administration, leisure and retail trading. Its ...
,
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 later graduated from
Cobequid Educational Centre
Cobequid Educational Centre (CEC) is a high school located in Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada.
CEC serves not only the town of Truro, but rural areas in Central and West Colchester County. The school is one of the largest high schools in the province o ...
, a high school in Truro, which was noted for its student musical productions. She attended
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 ...
in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
where she studied
drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...
,
fine arts
In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...
and
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
.
Zann worked as a screen, television, stage, and voice actress, and appeared in numerous television shows, films, radio, and animated series. As an actor, she is best known for providing the voice of Rogue on the 1992 animated television adaptation of the ''
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in ...
''
comic book series
a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
,
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
,
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 ...
,
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, and
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, Zann returned to Truro in 2008.
That fall she started a community campaign to restore a historic former academic building in downtown Truro, Provincial Normal College, into a cultural centre. She raised $62,000 for a feasibility study following which the four-story, 24,000-square-foot provincially designated Victorian brick building was repurposed to become the centre point of downtown Truro – the town's new Central Colchester Regional Library, with a skating rink in front during winter months.
During her first four years as a backbencher in the first NDP government in Nova Scotia Zann was appointed ministerial assistant for three positions: culture & heritage, environment & climate change, and deputy premier – unsuccessfully working to reinstate the Nova Scotia Arts Council and improve the film tax credit for the film and TV industry.
As a first-time opposition member Zann has been NDP spokesperson for education, environment, status of women, Human Rights Commission, Aboriginal affairs & truth & reconciliation, agriculture, advanced education, African NS affairs, and Gaelic affairs.
During her ten years as MLA, she introduced two successful bills. Bill 90 amended the Nova Scotia Provincial Exhibition Commission Act to increase the size of the board of directors to ten. Bill 74 changed the name of the new electoral district of Truro–Bible Hill to Truro–Bible Hill–Millbrook–Salmon River.
Political career
On April 8, 2009, Zann successfully ran for the
Nova Scotia New Democratic Party
The Nova Scotia New Democratic Party is a social-democratic, progressive provincial party in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the provincial entity of the federal New Democratic Party (NDP). It was founded as the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (C ...
nomination in the riding of
Truro-Bible Hill
Truro-Bible Hill-Millbrook-Salmon River is a provincial electoral district (Canada), electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that elects one member to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly.
The electoral district was created in 1978 and was named ...
. On the same day, an employee of the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
leaked a topless photo of her to the media from her appearance in ''
The L Word
''The L Word'' is a television drama that aired on Showtime from January 18, 2004 to March 8, 2009. The series follows the lives of a group of lesbian and bisexual women who live in West Hollywood, California. The premise originated with Ilene Ch ...
''. Zann was elected in the 2009 provincial election and served as the ministerial assistant for the Department of Tourism, Culture, and Heritage. She was subsequently re-elected in the 2013 provincial election to represent the reconfigured electoral district, now called
Truro-Bible Hill-Millbrook-Salmon River
Truro-Bible Hill-Millbrook-Salmon River is a provincial electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that elects one member to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly.
The electoral district was created in 1978 and was named Truro-Bible Hill until it wa ...
.
In that election the NDP was reduced to seven seats in the legislature and third-party status. Zann served as the NDP critic for Aboriginal affairs, community culture and heritage, community services, education, Human Rights Commission / status of women, and seniors and disabled.
Zann introduced bill 111, the Environmental Racism Prevention Act, addressing the issue of
environmental racism
Environmental racism or ecological apartheid is a form of institutional racism leading to landfills, incinerators, and hazardous waste disposal being disproportionally placed in communities of colour. Internationally, it is also associated with ...
in Nova Scotia. The bill was not considered by the house.
On June 12, 2015, Zann announced her bid for the leadership of the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party. On February 27, 2016, Zann was defeated in her leadership bid, losing to
Gary Burrill
Gary Clayton Burrill (born 1955)Burrill, Gary, 1955- MemoryNS is a
< ...
on the second ballot.
On June 9, 2019, Zann announced she would seek the
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
nomination to succeed retiring Liberal MP
Bill Casey
William D. Casey (born February 19, 1945) is a Canadian politician from Nova Scotia who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of Canada. First elected as a Progressive Conservative in 1988, he later sat as Conservative ...
in
Cumberland—Colchester
Cumberland—Colchester (formerly Cumberland—Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley and North Nova) is a federal electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 2004.
Cumberland—Colches ...
for the 2019 federal election. She chose to leave the NDP for the Liberals because she believed the Liberals stood a better chance of winning. She sat as an independent member in Nova Scotia's legislature as she sought the nomination. Zann won the federal Liberal nomination on July 27, 2019, defeating three other candidates including Casey's constituency assistant. She resigned her seat on September 12.
During the
43rd Canadian Parliament
The 43rd Canadian Parliament was in session from December 5, 2019, to August 15, 2021, with the membership of its Lower House, the House of Commons of Canada, having been determined by the results of the 2019 federal election held on October 21, ...
, she introduced one private member bill, Bill C-230, ''An Act respecting the development of a national strategy to redress environmental racism'' which sought to require the Minister of the Environment to develop a national strategy which would examine the link between race, socio-economic status and environmental risk. It was brought to a vote on March 24, 2021, and advanced to committee stage with Liberal, NDP and Green Party members voting in favour. However, the parliament ended before the bill could be considered for third reading.
In the 2021 federal election Zann lost her seat to Conservative candidate Stephen Ellis.
Electoral record
Federal
Provincial
, -
,
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 ...
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
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 ...
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...