Laura Mae Monique Lindo (born 1976) is a Canadian politician who was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA, french: Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by ...

in the 2018 provincial election. She represents the electoral district of

Kitchener Centre Kitchener Centre (french: Kitchener-Centre) is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1997. Geography The district includes the north-central and north-eastern parts o ...

as a member of the

Ontario New Democratic Party The Ontario New Democratic Party (french: link=no, Nouveau Parti démocratique de l'Ontario; abbr. ONDP or NDP) is a social-democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. The party currently forms the Official Opposition in Ontario following th ...

Early life and education

Born in Canada, Lindo's parents immigrated to the country from Jamaica. Her mother Osra Lindo graduated from York University with a bachelor's degree in gender and women's studies at the age of 79. She is the niece of former Ontario MPP and Speaker

Alvin Curling Alvin Curling (born November 15, 1939) is a Jamaican-born Canadian politician. He was Canada's envoy to the Dominican Republic from 2005 to 2006. A former politician in Ontario, Canada, he was Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario unt ...

. Raised in Scarborough, Lindo has lived in Kitchener since 2014. Lindo graduated from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

(BA) degree in philosophy in 1998 followed by a second BA degree in African studies and philosophy from

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

. Her

Master of Education The Master of Education (MEd or M.Ed. or Ed.M.; Latin ''Magister Educationis'' or ''Educationis Magister'') is a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. This degree in education often includes the following majors: curriculum a ...

degree, completed at York, examined Ontario's high school philosophy program. Lindo also holds a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

degree in education. She completed her studies at York University in 2011 with a thesis titled ''"I'm Writing for Freedom!" Mapping Public Discourse on Race in Comedy''.

Career

Lindo is Kitchener's first Black MPP. She currently serves as a Member of the Standing Committee on Regulations and Private Bills, and as Critic for Citizenship and Immigration Services and Critic for

anti-racism Anti-racism encompasses a range of ideas and political actions which are meant to counter racial prejudice, systemic racism, and the oppression of specific racial groups. Anti-racism is usually structured around conscious efforts and deliberate a ...

. In 2018, Lindo was named a member of the Ontario NDP's first ever Black Caucus, alongside NDP caucus colleagues

Rima Berns-McGown Rima Michelle Berns-McGown is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the 2018 provincial election. She represented the riding of Beaches—East York as a member of the Ontario New Democratic Party. Sh ...

Faisal Hassan Faisal Ahmed Hassan is a Canadian politician, who was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2018 until his defeat in the 2022 Ontario general election. He represented the riding of York South—Weston as a member of the Ontario N ...

Jill Andrew Jill Andrew is a Canadian politician who has represented Toronto—St. Paul's in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario since June 7, 2018 as a member of the Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP). Education Andrew attended Humber College, where ...

and

Kevin Yarde Kevin Yarde is a Canadian politician and former weather presenter who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the 2018 provincial election for the riding of Brampton North. Initially elected as a member of the Ontario New Democra ...

. Prior to her election, she worked as Director of Diversity and Equity at

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 ...

. In December 2021, she introduced Bill 67, ''The Racial Equity in Education Systems Act'' which "embeds anti-racist language into pieces of legislation from kindergarten to grade 12, and all throughout post secondary", saying "when you define it, then it is real".

Select publications

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Election results

References

Living people Ontario New Democratic Party MPPs Politicians from Kitchener, Ontario People from Scarborough, Toronto Women MPPs in Ontario 21st-century Canadian politicians 21st-century Canadian women politicians Black Canadian politicians Black Canadian women York University alumni 1976 births {{Ontario-MPP-stub