Jean A. Crowder (born July 7, 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 ...

businesswoman and politician. She served as a

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 o ...

for 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: * * * * * * * * * * * * ...

from 2004 until 2015.

Life and career

Crowder was born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

. She received a degree in

psychology Psychology is the science, scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immens ...

from

Wilfrid Laurier University Wilfrid Laurier University (commonly referred to as WLU or simply Laurier) is a public university in Ontario, Canada, with campuses in Waterloo, Brantford and Milton. The newer Brantford and Milton campuses are not considered satellite campuses ...

Waterloo, Ontario Waterloo is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is one of three cities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo (formerly Waterloo County). Waterloo is situated about west-southwest of Toronto. Due to the close proximity of the ci ...

. A

human resources Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms includ ...

consultant and manager by profession, Crowder was 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 Commo ...

for the first time in the 2004 election as the

(NDP)

for

Nanaimo—Cowichan Nanaimo—Cowichan is a former federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, which was represented in the House of Commons of Canada between 1988 and 2015. It was located on Vancouver Island. Demographics Geography It included, toget ...

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, for ...

. Prior to being elected to federal office, she was a councillor in the District Municipality of North Cowichan from 2003 to 2004. She has worked at Malaspina University-College, Human Resources Development Canada, and the BC Ministry of Skills Training & Labour. In the NDP's shadow cabinet, she served as the Human Resources and Skills Development Critic, the Critic for Health, Community Economic Development and the Status of Women, and the Critic for Aboriginal Affairs. In the 2008 federal election, she defeated nearest rival

Reed Elley Reed Elley (22 July 1945 – ) is a retired Baptist minister who was elected to the Canadian Parliament in 1997 as a member of the Reform Party. He was reelected in 2000 and retired in 2004. Elley was born in Simcoe, Ontario and was educate ...

(

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

) by over 4,000 votes. After the election, she announced her support for

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

to be utilized during Canada's next election. She did not run in the 2015 federal election, at which her riding was abolished and its territory transferred to the new ridings

Cowichan—Malahat—Langford Cowichan—Malahat—Langford is a federal electoral district in British Columbia. It encompasses a portion of British Columbia previously included in the electoral districts of Nanaimo—Cowichan and Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca. Cowichan—Mal ...

and

Nanaimo—Ladysmith Nanaimo—Ladysmith is a federal electoral district in British Columbia. Nanaimo—Ladysmith was created by the 2012 federal electoral boundaries redistribution and was legally defined in the 2013 representation order. It has come into effect ...

References

External links

Official websiteParliament webpage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crowder, Jean 1952 births Living people Anglophone Quebec people Members of the House of Commons of Canada from British Columbia New Democratic Party MPs People from Duncan, British Columbia Politicians from Montreal Wilfrid Laurier University alumni Women members of the House of Commons of Canada Women in British Columbia politics 21st-century Canadian politicians 21st-century Canadian women politicians