Margery Ward

Margery Ward (July 18, 1942 - January 22, 1993) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. She served as a New Democratic Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1990 until her death in 1993.

Margery Ward
Ontario MPP
In office 1990–1993
Preceded by	Murad Velshi
Succeeded by	David Johnson
Constituency	Don Mills
Personal details
Born	July 18, 1942 Bass River, New Brunswick, Canada
Died	January 22, 1993 (aged 50) Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Political party	New Democrat
Occupation	Computer systems designer

Background

Ward grew up in Bass River, New Brunswick. She came from a family of eight children, six girls and two boys. She left there as a teenager after dropping out of high school and moved to Toronto. She worked as a grocery store clerk for twenty years. During this time she completed her high school diploma at night school. She attended York University, where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in computer science. She went to work at Manufacturer's Life Insurance Company as a data processing manager and as a computer systems designer. She was active in the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, eventually becoming secretary of the Toronto local.[1][2]

Politics

Ward ran in the 1987 provincial election in the riding of Don Mills. She placed third behind winner Liberal Murad Velshi tallying 6,3681 votes, about 24% of the votes cast.[3] She tried again in the 1990 provincial election and this time was elected over Velshi by 746 votes.[4] Ward attributed her win to her opposition to the rent control system as 60% of the voters in the riding were tenants. She said, "The current legislation provides no protection whatsoever for the tenants."[5]

She was appointed parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Government Services on October 1, 1990, and held this position until her death from cancer in early 1993.[6]

York University now offers a Margery Ward Memorial Bursary in political science.[7]

Electoral results

1987 Ontario general election: Don Mills
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Murad Velshi	10,573	39.9
	Conservative	David Lindsay	8,666	32.7
	New Democratic	Margery Ward	6,368	24.0
	Independent	David Smith	588	2.2
	Freedom	David Pengally	330	1.2
Total			26,525
Source: "How Metro-Area Voted". The Toronto Daily Star. Toronto. 1987-09-11. p. A12.

1990 Ontario general election: Don Mills
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	New Democratic	Margery Ward	9,740	34.2
	Liberal	Murad Velshi	8,994	31.6
	Conservative	Nola Crewe	7,385	25.9
	Libertarian	David Miller	744	2.6
	Green	Katherine Mathewson	624	2.2
	Independent	Colin McKay	562	2.0
	Freedom	David Pengally	413	1.5
Source: "How Metro-Area Voted". The Toronto Daily Star. Toronto. 1990-09-07. p. A10.

References

1. Hall, Joseph (September 27, 1990). "Computer addict's social conscience leads to Legislature". Toronto Star. p. A8.
2. "Margery Ward was socialist, MPP for Don Mills". Toronto Star. January 23, 1993. p. A8.
3. "How Metro-Area Voted". The Toronto Daily Star. Toronto. September 11, 1987. p. A12.
4. "How Metro-Area Voted". The Toronto Daily Star. September 7, 1990. p. A10.
5. Mahood, Casey (September 7, 1990). "Don Mills NDP winner is a surprise in former Tory stronghold". Toronto Star. p. A13.
6. "Margery Ward was socialist, MPP for Don Mills". Toronto Star. January 23, 1993. p. A8.
7. "Awards and Scholarships". York University: Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies. Retrieved March 15, 2014.

External links

• Ontario Legislative Assembly parliamentary history (archived)