Norman Levi (25 February 1927 – 25 December 2015) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

-born social worker and political figure 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, ...

. He represented

Vancouver South Vancouver South (french: Vancouver-Sud) is a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1917 to 1997, and since 2004. It covers the southern portion of the city of Va ...

from 1968 to 1969,

Vancouver-Burrard Vancouver-Burrard was a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada. It first appeared on the hustings in the 1933 general election and included the neighbourhoods of Kitsilano and Fairview. This versi ...

from 1972 to 1979 and

Coquitlam-Maillardville Coquitlam-Maillardville is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada. Demographics Geography The Coquitlam–Maillardville district encompasses most of land of the City of Coquitlam except ...

from 1979 to 1983 in the

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is the deliberative assembly of the Parliament of British Columbia, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The Legislative Assembly meets in Victoria, British Columbia, Victoria. Members ar ...

as a

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. He was born in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

and served in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

from 1943 to 1947. After leaving the army he moved to Canada, then studied at

Western Washington University Western Washington University (WWU or Western) is a public university in Bellingham, Washington. The northernmost university in the contiguous United States, WWU was founded in 1893 as the state-funded New Whatcom Normal School, succeeding a pri ...

. In 1951, he married Gloria Hammerman. Levi graduated as a social worker and was hired by the

John Howard Society The John Howard Society of Canada is a Canadian non-profit organization that seeks to develop understanding and effective responses to the problem of crime and prison reform. It is named after John Howard, a philanthropist and early English prison ...

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 ...

. He served as president of the provincial NDP. He was first elected to the provincial assembly in a 1968 by-election held following the death of

Thomas Audley Bate Thomas Audley Bate (March 12, 1913 – September 21, 1967) was a Canadian politician. He served in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is the deliberative assembly of the Parliamen ...

. He was defeated when he ran for re-election in 1969 and 1983. Levi served in the provincial cabinet as Minister of Rehabilitation and Social Improvement and as Minister of Human Resources. He died on 25 December 2015.

References

1927 births 2015 deaths British Army personnel of World War II British Army officers British Columbia New Democratic Party MLAs Canadian socialists Canadian social workers British emigrants to Canada Members of the Executive Council of British Columbia Politicians from Birmingham, West Midlands Politicians from Vancouver Western Washington University alumni 20th-century Canadian politicians {{BritishColumbia-MLA-stub