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 byMurad Velshi
Succeeded byDavid Johnson
ConstituencyDon Mills
Personal details
Born(1942-07-18)July 18, 1942
Bass River, New Brunswick, Canada
DiedJanuary 22, 1993(1993-01-22) (aged 50)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Political partyNew Democrat
OccupationComputer 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%±%
LiberalMurad Velshi11,08340.70+16.11
Progressive ConservativeDavid Lindsay8,66631.82-18.90
New DemocraticMargery Ward6,42423.59+3.43
IndependentDavid Smith5862.15
FreedomDavid Pengally4751.74
Total valid votes 27,23498.96
Total declined, rejected and unmarked ballots 2851.04+0.19
Turnout 27,51959.14+1.61
Eligible voters 46,534
Liberal gain from Progressive Conservative Swing +17.51
Source: [8][9]
1990 Ontario general election: Don Mills
Party Candidate Votes%±%
New DemocraticMargery Ward9,74034.20+10.61
LiberalMurad Velshi8,78630.85-9.85
Progressive ConservativeNola Crewe7,63126.79-5.03
LibertarianDavid Miller7422.61
GreenKatherine Mathewson6082.13
IndependentColin McKay5621.97
FreedomDavid Pengally4141.45-0.29
Total valid votes 28,48398.54
Total declined, rejected and unmarked ballots 4211.46+0.42
Turnout 28,90464.23+5.10
Eligible voters 44,998
New Democratic gain from Liberal Swing +10.23
Source: [10]

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.
  8. https://results.elections.on.ca/en/data-explorer?fromYear=1867&toYear=2021&edIds=-19_17&electionType=GE&electionId=293&levelOfDetail=district
  9. https://results.elections.on.ca/en/data-explorer?fromYear=1867&toYear=2021&edIds=-19_17&electionType=GE&electionId=293&levelOfDetail=candidate
  10. https://results.elections.on.ca/en/publications
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