Suzanne Anton, (born May 31, 1952) 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 and the former Minister of Justice and

Attorney General of British Columbia The attorney general of British Columbia (AG) oversees the Ministry of Attorney General, a provincial government department responsible for the oversight of the justice system, within the province of British Columbia, Canada. The attorney general ...

. Elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2013 provincial election, Anton represented the riding of

Vancouver-Fraserview Vancouver-Fraserview is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada. Geography Following the redistricting in 2015 based on the previous census, Vancouver-Fraserview sits in the southeastern po ...

as a member of the

British Columbia Liberal Party The British Columbia Liberal Party, often shortened to the BC Liberals, is a centre-right provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada. The party currently forms the Official Opposition. Subsequent to the 2020 British Columbia genera ...

, following a career at the municipal level. She was appointed British Columbia's Attorney General and Minister of Justice on June 10, 2013. Prior to her political involvement, Anton was a lawyer and former prosecutor with the Criminal Justice Branch of British Columbia. She was defeated in the 2017 provincial election by

George Chow George Chow ( zh, t=周烱華) is a Canadian politician. He was elected as a New Democratic Party Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2017 provincial election, representing the riding of Vancouver-Fraserview, and ...

. Anton sought official status to lead the "no" side opposing any electoral reform in BC with Bill Tieleman and Bob Plecas.

Attorney General of British Columbia

Crime Victim Assistance Program

Anton has made public statements in regards to the murder of Maple Batalia, a

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a public research university in British Columbia, Canada, with three campuses, all in Greater Vancouver: Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, and Vancouver. The main Burnaby campus on Burnaby Mountain, located ...

student murdered in 2011, whose alleged murderer has been charged but still not tried as of 2015. The trial is expected to resume in January 2016. Anton has stated that the pre-trial delay must be very difficult for to the Batalia family. She said the

British Columbia government The Executive Council of British Columbia (the Cabinet) is the Cabinet of the Canadian province of British Columbia. Almost always composed of members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, the Cabinet is similar in structure and ro ...

is committed to supporting families through the Crime Victim Assistance Program which provides financial benefits to help people recover from the impacts of

victimization Victimisation ( or victimization) is the process of being victimised or becoming a victim. The field that studies the process, rates, incidence, effects, and prevalence of victimisation is called victimology. Peer victimisation Peer victimisat ...

. She said that

Crown counsel Crown counsel are lawyers, generally in Common Law jurisdictions, who provide advice to the government and acts as prosecutors in cases. In various jurisdictions their title can vary and they could also be known as the Queen's Advocate, King's Advo ...

do their best to advance cases promptly and provide the accused with a fair and timely trial.

Background

Born in

Duncan, British Columbia Duncan (pop. 5,047 in 2021) is a city on southern Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It is the smallest city by area (2.07 square kilometres, 0.8 square miles) in Canada. It was incorporated in 1912. Location The city is about 45 kilo ...

, Anton graduated from Queen Margaret's School in 1970 and went on to receive her

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

in mathematics from the

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary insti ...

. She went on to complete her Bachelor of Law from the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top thre ...

in 1979."Suzanne Anton"
''Linkedin Profile'', Accessed August 29, 2009. Prior to her career in politics, Suzanne Anton was a mathematics teacher at the

Carlucci American International School of Lisbon The Carlucci American International School of Lisbon (known as CAISL) is a prominent private international school in Linhó, Sintra, a wealthy suburb of Lisbon on the Portuguese Riviera. Founded in 1956, CAISL is the oldest American school in the ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, and through Canadian University Service Overseas in

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

."About Suzanne"
''Suzanne Anton Website'', Accessed August 29, 2009. She was also a

Crown Counsel Crown counsel are lawyers, generally in Common Law jurisdictions, who provide advice to the government and acts as prosecutors in cases. In various jurisdictions their title can vary and they could also be known as the Queen's Advocate, King's Advo ...

lawyer. She served with many organizations including the Vancouver Sport Tourism Task Force; MoreSports (founding member); ARKS (Arbutus Ridge Kerrisdale Shaughnessy) CityPlan Visioning community liaison group; Vancouver City Planning Commission;

Rick Hansen Richard Marvin Hansen (born August 26, 1957) is a Canadian track and field athlete (Paralympic Games), activist, and philanthropist for people with disabilities. Following a pickup truck crash at the age of 15, Hansen sustained a spinal cord ...

Wheels in Motion Vancouver event; Kerrisdale Soccer Club (past president); Vancouver Field Sport Federation (past vice-president); Achilles Track Society; and Riley Park community association.

Vancouver City Council

In 2002, Anton was elected to the

Vancouver Park Board The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation, commonly referred to as the Vancouver Park Board, is the elected board with exclusive possession, jurisdiction and control over public parks in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Established by sectio ...

and served a single term. In 2005, Anton was elected to

Vancouver City Council Vancouver City Council is the governing body of Vancouver, British Columbia. The council consists of a mayor and ten councillors elected to serve a four-year term. Monthly, a deputy mayor is appointed from among the councillors. The current mayo ...

in 2005, to which she was re-elected in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

. During that time, Anton served on the Board of Directors for the B.C. Pavilion Corporation (PavCo), the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the BC Sports Hall of Fame, the 2011 Grey Cup committee and the Vancouver 125 committee. While in municipal government, Anton served as the Vancouver director for the

Federation of Canadian Municipalities The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM, ''Fédération canadienne des municipalités'') is an advocacy group representing over 2000 Canadian municipalities. It is an organization with no formal power but significant ability to influence d ...

, where she was the vice chair of the committee to Increase Women's Participation in Municipal Government and sat on the Governance Review Committee. As a Director of Metro Vancouver, Anton was a member of the Waste Management Committee, the Land Use and Transportation Committee, and the UBC/Metro Vancouver joint committee. Anton served as the Vancouver director on Translink during the initial construction of the Canada Line. While there, she also served on the audit committee. Anton has served on numerous community and sport boards. In addition to this, Anton served as the vice-chair of the city's Planning and Environment Committee and a member of the Heritage Commission. At the Metro Vancouver level, she was a member of the Land Use and Transportation Committee and the Vancouver/UBC Joint Committee, where she was the lead on the issue of University of British Columbia governance. In Vancouver's 2011 municipal election, Anton was the Non-Partisan Association's candidate for

Mayor of Vancouver The mayor of Vancouver is the head and chief executive officer of Vancouver, British Columbia, who is elected for a four-year term. The 41st and current officeholder is Ken Sim, who has held office since November 7, 2022. List indicate ...

, eventually losing to incumbent Gregor Robertson of

Vision Vancouver Vision Vancouver is a green liberal municipal political party in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Vision was formed in the months leading up to the 2005 municipal election. Formation Vision was founded by former Coalition of Progressive ...

. In her time on

, Anton has also sat on the boards of

TransLink Translink (or TransLink) may refer to: * TransLink (British Columbia), the public transport operator in Vancouver, Canada * Translink (Northern Ireland) Translink is the brand name of the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company (NITHCo), a ...

Metro Vancouver The Metro Vancouver Regional District (MVRD), or simply Metro Vancouver, is a Canadian political subdivision and corporate entity representing the metropolitan area of Greater Vancouver, designated by provincial legislation as one of the 28 ...

, and the

. She has been vice-chair of the city's Planning and Environment Committee and a member of the Heritage Commission. At the Metro Vancouver level, she was a member of the Land Use and Transportation Committee and the Vancouver/UBC Joint Committee, where she was the lead on the issue of University of British Columbia governance.

Personal life

Anton and her husband Olin have three adult children named Elizabeth, Robert and Angus.

Electoral record

2011 Vancouver Mayoral Election 2008 Vancouver Municipal Election - City Council 2005 Vancouver Municipal Election - City Council

References

External links

Suzanne Anton
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anton, Suzanne British Columbia Liberal Party MLAs Canadian King's Counsel Women government ministers of Canada Canadian schoolteachers Women municipal councillors in Canada Lawyers in British Columbia Living people People from Duncan, British Columbia University of Victoria alumni Non-Partisan Association councillors Women MLAs in British Columbia Attorneys General of British Columbia 1952 births Peter A. Allard School of Law alumni 21st-century Canadian politicians 21st-century Canadian women politicians