Tim Louis (born August 13, 1958) is a lawyer and municipal politician in

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...

, Canada. He 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 ...

in 1990 and 1993, and later to Vancouver City Council as a member of the

Coalition of Progressive Electors The Coalition of Progressive Electors (COPE) is a municipal political party in the Canadian city of Vancouver, British Columbia. It has traditionally been associated with tenants, environmentalists, and the labour movement. COPE is generally gu ...

(COPE) in 1999 and 2002.

Education, advocacy and professional life

Tim Louis graduated South Delta Secondary School (class of 1976), and went on to attend Langara College (class of 1979) and 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 ...

where he graduated from law school in 1983. While a student at UBC, he co-founded the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC), a consumer watchdog nonprofit. He articled with lawyer and then-city councillor Harry Rankin in 1984. He also served on the board of

BC Transit BC Transit is a provincial crown corporation responsible for coordinating the delivery of public transportation within British Columbia, Canada, outside Greater Vancouver. BC Transit is headquartered in Victoria, British Columbia. In , the syst ...

's paratransit service and was chair of the Vancouver Public Library Board.

Political career

In 1990, Louis was elected to the Vancouver Board of Parks & Recreation and re-elected in 1993. First elected to Vancouver City Council in 1999, Louis became known for his pointed questions aimed at addressing issues of social justice in the city of Vancouver. He was re-elected in 2002. Louis proudly showed off his progressive beliefs, often appearing at public functions in a red

Che Guevara Ernesto Che Guevara (; 14 June 1928The date of birth recorded on /upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Ernesto_Guevara_Acta_de_Nacimiento.jpg his birth certificatewas 14 June 1928, although one tertiary source, (Julia Constenla, quot ...

shirt. Louis has been a critic of large government projects, including the Richmond-Airport-Vancouver rapid transit project and the

2010 Olympic Winter Games )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...

, but always in the spirit of protecting community priorities. He also takes a public stance on local and international causes; for example he has been an open critic of the U.S blockade of Cuba and the Israeli blockade of Gaza. In the 2005 municipal election, Louis attracted attention when he told the ''

Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network. Published s ...

'' editorial board that he favoured establishing a city-owned non-profit brothel to help protect sex-trade workers. He lost his council seat in that election, finishing 17th with 43,349 votes. In 2008, Louis ran for a nomination for city council within COPE, as part of a 'Keep It COPE' slate; he narrowly lost by six votes to Ellen Woodsworth. She along with David Cadman went on to become elected to council as part of COPE's combined slate with the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...

and Vision Vancouver. Louis sought re-election as a Vancouver city councillor in the municipal election of 2011 but lost, coming in 17th, with 43,926 votes.

Personal life

Louis' long-time partner is Penny Parry, an artist and community advocate. They live in Kitsilano, a West Side neighbourhood of Vancouver.

References

External links

Tim Louis & Company

Tim Louis's website

COPE website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Louis, Tim Coalition of Progressive Electors councillors Lawyers in British Columbia Living people 1958 births Langara College people