Frank Howard (April 26, 1925 – March 15, 2011) was a Canadian

trade unionist A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and Employee ben ...

and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

Life and career

Howard was born in Kimberley,

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, ...

. After a career as a logger and

labour union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

organizer, he was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is the deliberative assembly of the Parliament of British Columbia, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The Legislative Assembly meets in Victoria, British Columbia, Victoria. Members ar ...

as a BC CCF MLA in 1953. He was defeated in 1956 but won a seat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

representing Skeena in the 1957 election. Howard first sat as a member of the

Co-operative Commonwealth Federation The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; french: Fédération du Commonwealth Coopératif, FCC); from 1955 the Social Democratic Party of Canada (''french: Parti social démocratique du Canada''), was a federal democratic socialism, democra ...

and then for its successor, 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: * * * * * * * * * * * * t ...

(NDP). In Parliament, Howard and his caucus colleague

Arnold Peters William Arnold Peters (May 14, 1922 – September 17, 1996) was a Canadian politician. He represented the riding of Timiskaming in the House of Commons of Canada from 1957 to 1980. He was originally elected as a member of the Co-operative Co ...

were responsible for reforming Canada's divorce laws, and for achieving significant reforms to Canada's prison system. He was also instrumental in attaining full voting rights for Canadian

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

. Howard stood as a candidate in the 1971 NDP leadership convention, finishing fifth. He was 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 of ...

for seventeen years until he lost his seat in the 1974 general election. In 1979, Howard returned to politics, running again for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. He won that election and served as Skeena's

Member of the Legislative Assembly A member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to a legislative assembly. Most often, the term refers to a subnational assembly such as that of a state, province, or territory of a country. S ...

until 1986. Howard published an autobiography, ''From Prison to Parliament'', in 2003, the title referring to his overcoming a troubled upbringing. Howard's mother worked as a prostitute on the outskirts of

Kootenay River Valley Kootenay, Kootenai, and Kutenai may refer to: Ethnic groups *The Kutenai, also known as the Ktunaxa, Kootenai, or Kootenay, an indigenous people of the United States and Canada **Kutenai language, the traditional language of the Kutenai ** Ktunaxa ...

, a mining town, while his father was believed to have been her

pimp Procuring or pandering is the facilitation or provision of a prostitute or other sex worker in the arrangement of a sex act with a customer. A procurer, colloquially called a pimp (if male) or a madam (if female, though the term pimp has still ...

. Involved with petty thievery as a child, a judge determined that he was neglected and sent him to an

orphanage An orphanage is a Residential education, residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the Childcare, care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parent ...

at the age of 12 from which he was sent to a succession of foster homes. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he found work on a Vancouver shipyard then, in 1943, engaged in a month-long crime spree with an accomplice in the summer of 1943, robbing two jewellery stores and a hotel while armed with a revolver. Howard was convicted of three counts of armed robbery and sentenced to two years on each charge, ultimately serving 20 months in the federal penitentiary before being released on May 1, 1945. After leaving prison he changed his name from Frank Thomas Woodd and found work as a logger, ultimately becoming an organizer for the

International Woodworkers of America International Woodworkers of America (IWA) was an industrial union of lumbermen, sawmill workers, timber transportation workers and others formed in 1937. History The IWA was formed when members of the Sawmill and Timber Workers’ Union divis ...

and serving as president of Local 1-71 for seven years before entering politics in 1952 and then winning his first election in 1953. Howard died on March 15, 2011, at the age of 85.

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*
From a cellblock to Centre Block
Globe and Mail obituary {{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Frank 1925 births 2011 deaths New Democratic Party MPs Co-operative Commonwealth Federation MPs British Columbia New Democratic Party MLAs British Columbia Co-operative Commonwealth Federation MLAs 20th-century Canadian politicians Members of the House of Commons of Canada from British Columbia Trade unionists from British Columbia Canadian socialists Canadian loggers International Woodworkers of America people Canadian politicians convicted of crimes People convicted of robbery

Life and career

Archives

References

External links