Jean Swanson

Jean Swanson CM (born 1942 or 1943)[2] is a Canadian politician, anti-poverty activist, and writer in Vancouver, British Columbia. She currently represents the left-wing Coalition of Progressive Electors on Vancouver City Council as one of Vancouver's 10 at-large city councillors.[1]

Jean Swanson CM
Swanson in 2012
Vancouver City Councillor
Incumbent
Assumed office November 5, 2018[1]
Personal details
Born	1942/1943 (age 77–78)[2]
Nationality	Canadian
Political party	COPE
Residence	Vancouver, British Columbia
Occupation	Activist writer
Awards	Order of Canada

Activism

Jean Swanson is a coordinator of Carnegie Community Action Project (CCAP), an organization dedicated to the welfare of the Downtown Eastside, one of Canada's poorest neighbourhoods.[3] She believes that "The way to 'revitalize' (the) community would be to restore purchasing power to the low-income residents who live (there): Raise welfare rates, end the barriers to getting on welfare and boost the minimum wage."[4]

Swanson also founded and works with the group End Legislated Poverty, a British Columbia coalition with stated aims to "educate and organize in order to make governments reduce and end poverty".[5][6]

In the 1980s, Swanson worked with the BC Solidarity Coalition, as well as Vancouver's Downtown Eastside Residents Association (DERA).[6]

She was also previous national chair of the National Anti-Poverty Organization (NAPO),[7] and Swanson is also the author of Poor Bashing: The Politics of Exclusion.

Awards and recognition

In 2016, she was inducted into the Order of Canada, Canada's highest civilian honour, with the grade of member.[8] Swanson was also the recipient of the 2007 Carleton University Kroeger College Award for Citizenship and Community Affairs, an award recognizing "creativity, persistence, and overall leadership in demonstrating the value of a locally based initiative."[6] Swanson was chosen for the award "for her tireless work against poverty in Canada. (She) is a private individual living in Vancouver who the jury concluded best represented the qualities of commitment, leadership, and community ties."[6]

Electoral record

2018 Vancouver municipal election: Vancouver City Council
Party		Candidate	Votes	Elected
	Green	Adriane Carr	69,739
	Green	Pete Fry	61,806
	NPA	Melissa De Genova	53,251
	COPE	Jean Swanson	48,865
	NPA	Colleen Hardwick	47,747
	Green	Michael Wiebe	45,593
	OneCity	Christine Boyle	45,455
	NPA	Lisa Dominato	44,689
	NPA	Rebecca Bligh	44,053
	NPA	Sarah Kirby-Yung	43,581

Vancouver municipal by-election, October 14, 2017 Resignation of Geoff Meggs
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	Elected
	NPA	Hector Bremner	13,372	27.83
	COPE	Jean Swanson	10,263	21.36
	Green	Pete Fry	9759	20.31
	OneCity	Judy Graves	6327	13.17
	Vision	Diego Cardona	5411	11.26
	Sensible Vancouver	Mary Jean Dunsdon	1737	3.62
	Independent	Gary Lee	886	1.84
	Independent	Damian J. Murphy	157	0.33
	Independent	Joshua Wasilenkoff	131	0.27

References

1. Fumano, Dan (November 6, 2018). "Collegiality reigns as Vancouver's new council starts work". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
2. Campbell, Chris (June 30, 2018). "Order of Canada recipient arrested at Burnaby pipeline protest". Burnaby Now. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
3. Swanson, Jean. Downtown Eastside Seeks Foreign Aid, The Tyee Magazine, Oct 18, 2007
4. Swanson, Jean. Why poverty is worse than it was 30 years ago, Canadian Dimension Magazine, February 21, 2006
5. "End Legislated Poverty homepage". Archived from the original on 2008-05-12. Retrieved 2008-04-20.
6. "News Release: Carleton University's Kroeger College Announces 2007 Winners of the Arthur Kroeger Awards", March 28, 2007 quoted at
7. Thobani, Sunera. Exalted Subjects: Studies in the Making of Race and Nation in Canada, University of Toronto Press, 2007, ISBN 0-8020-9454-6
8. "Olympians, jurists, researchers among 113 new appointments to Order of Canada". CBC News. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2 July 2016.