Uzoma Asagwara 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 retired

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. Since

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, they have represented the

Union Station A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a joint-use station in Japan) is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway companies, allowing passengers to ...

electoral district in the

Legislative Assembly of Manitoba The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba (french: Assemblée législative du Manitoba) is the deliberative assembly of the Manitoba Legislature in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly at provincial gener ...

.Bryce Hoye
"Meet the rookies: Manitobans elect 13 first-time MLAs"

CBC News CBC News is a division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC.ca. ...

Manitoba, September 11, 2019. Asagwara is a member of the

Manitoba New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party of Manitoba (french: Nouveau Parti démocratique du Manitoba) is a social-democratic political party in Manitoba, Canada. It is the provincial wing of the federal New Democratic Party, and is a successor to the Manitoba C ...

(Manitoba NDP).

Biography

Asagwara was born in Winnipeg to

Igbo Igbo may refer to: * Igbo people, an ethnic group of Nigeria * Igbo language, their language * anything related to Igboland, a cultural region in Nigeria See also * Ibo (disambiguation) * Igbo mythology * Igbo music * Igbo art * * Igbo-Ukwu, a ...

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

parents. In 2008, Asagwara completed a

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 of ...

in Psychiatric Nursing from the

University of Winnipeg The University of Winnipeg (UWinnipeg, UW) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, that offers undergraduate faculties of art, business and economics, education, science and kinesiology and applied health as well as gr ...

and

Brandon University Brandon University is a university located in the city of Brandon, Manitoba, Canada, with an enrollment of 3375 (2020) full-time and part-time undergraduate and graduate students. The current location was founded on July 13, 1899, as Brandon Co ...

. Asagwara was the University of Winnipeg Female Athlete of the Year in 2005–06. In 2007 they led the

Canadian Interuniversity Sport U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body of university sport in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country. Its equivalent body for organized sports at colleges in Canada is the Can ...

in scoring with 28.05 points per game. Asagwara was a member of the Canadian National Basketball Team for two years and was part of the team at the Pan American Games in 2007. Prior to their election, Asagwara worked full-time as a registered psychiatric nurse specializing in adult and youth mental health and addictions. Asagwara has a long history as a grassroots community activist, educator, entrepreneur and mental health advocate. They have served as a member of the former Premier's Advisory Council on education, poverty, and citizenship, and as a member of the Women's Health Clinic board of directors. In 2014, Asagwara founded Queer People of Colour Winnipeg, a Winnipeg-based initiative that creates safer spaces for and increases the visibility and representation of queer and transgender people of colour.

Legislative Assembly of Manitoba

In the

2019 Manitoba general election The 2019 Manitoba general election was held on September 10, 2019, to elect the 57 members to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba. The incumbent Progressive Conservatives, led by Premier Brian Pallister, were re-elected to a second majority g ...

, Asagwara was elected to represent the Union Station electoral district. Asagwara, alongside

Jamie Moses Jamie Moses (born 30 August 1955) is an English rock and pop singer and guitarist. He was formerly a member of The Brian May Band, Queen + Paul Rodgers, Mike & the Mechanics and Broken English. Biography The son of an American father (a ...

and

Audrey Gordon Audrey Gordon is a Canadian politician and member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, representing the electoral district of Southdale as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba.Bryce Hoye"Meet the rookies: Manitobans ...

, is one of the first three

Black Canadian Black Canadians (also known as Caribbean-Canadians or Afro-Canadians) are people of full or partial sub-Saharan African descent who are citizens or permanent residents of Canada. The majority of Black Canadians are of Caribbean origin, though t ...

MLAs elected in Manitoba. They are also the first

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Beginning in the lat ...

black person to win a seat and Manitoba's first gender non-conforming MLA. Asagwara currently serves as the Manitoba NDP's health critic. During their time in the legislature, Asagwara has advocated for recognition of Manitoba's minority communities, and was able to pass a bill marking Somali Heritage Week. In November 2021, Asagwara has been re-nominated to represent the NDP in the

riding.

Electoral record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Asagwara, Uzoma New Democratic Party of Manitoba MLAs Black Canadian politicians Living people 21st-century Canadian politicians Basketball players from Winnipeg Politicians from Winnipeg Canadian LGBT people in provincial and territorial legislatures Canadian people of Igbo descent Canadian people of Nigerian descent Canadian sportsperson-politicians Black Canadian LGBT people Non-binary politicians Non-binary sportspeople 1984 births