Margaret Anne Mitchell (née Learoyd; July 17, 1925 – March 8, 2017) was a Canadian social activist and 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 ...

(NDP)

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 ...

(MP) for

Vancouver East Vancouver East (french: Vancouver-Est) is a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1935. It is currently represented by New Democratic Party MP Jenny Kwan. The ...

from 1979 until 1993. A

social worker Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...

by profession, she was first elected to 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 ...

in the 1979 federal election. In 1980, she voted against a pay raise for MPs, and subsequently donated her additional pay to charity establishing the Margaret Mitchell Fund for Women. In Parliament, Mitchell was one of the first politicians to raise the issue of

violence against women Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), are violent acts primarily or exclusively committed against women or girls, usually by men or boys. Such violence is often consi ...

. She is best remembered for one incident in which male MPs laughed when she demanded that the government take action to stop domestic violence. Recalling the incident two decades later, she said, "I was shocked and furious about that... that was my one claim to fame, and people still come up to me and talk to me about that." Mitchell graduated from

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 ...

with a sociology degree in 1947. From 1952 to 1955, she worked as a social worker for the International Red Cross in Japan, Korea, Australia and Austria. She moved to

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 ...

in the 1960s where she worked for the Neighborhood Services Association until 1974. In Parliament, she was variously the NDP's

Critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or governmen ...

for Immigration, Housing, Status of Women, Health and Welfare and for Multiculturalism and Citizenship. In the 1980s, she attended the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

"Decade of Women Conference" in Nairobi. In 1984, she was the first MP to raise the issue of the Chinese

head tax A poll tax, also known as head tax or capitation, is a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources. Head taxes were important sources of revenue for many governments fr ...

in the House of Commons. In 2000, Mitchell was recognized as a Member of the

Order of British Columbia The Order of British Columbia (french: Ordre de la Colombie-Britannique) is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Instituted in 1989 by Lieutenant Governor David Lam, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier B ...

. Mitchell was a known descendant of former Canadian Prime Minister Sir John Thompson who died in office in 1894 while visiting

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original cast ...

. She died on March 8, 2017, aged 91.

References

External links

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MP Margaret Mitchell famously called wife abuse ‘no laughing matter’
Globe and Mail obituary by Judy Stoffman, 22 March 2017 {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Margaret 1925 births 2017 deaths Activists from British Columbia Canadian activists Canadian socialists Canadian feminists Canadian socialist feminists Women members of the House of Commons of Canada McMaster University alumni New Democratic Party MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from British Columbia Members of the Order of British Columbia People from Brockville Politicians from Vancouver Women in British Columbia politics Canadian women activists