Rima Berns-McGown

Rima Michelle Berns-McGown[1] is a Canadian politician and author. A member of the Ontario New Democratic Party, Berns-McGown was elected to represent Beaches—East York in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the 2018 election.[2] She declined to run for reelection in 2022, and was succeeded by Mary-Margaret McMahon of the Liberal Party.

Rima Berns-McGown
Critic, Poverty and Homelessness
In office
August 23, 2018 – May 3, 2022
LeaderAndrea Horwath
Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament
for Beaches—East York
In office
June 7, 2018 – May 3, 2022
Preceded byArthur Potts
Succeeded byMary-Margaret McMahon
Personal details
BornSouth Africa
Political partyNew Democratic
OccupationAuthor, researcher and professor

Early life and education

Berns-McGown was born in South Africa. Her paternal grandmother was of Cape Coloured and Afrikaner descent, while her other grandparents were Ashkenazi Jews. Her parents left South Africa in opposition to Apartheid.[3] Berns-McGown moved to Canada when she was four years old and grew up in Montreal, Quebec.[4]

Political career

Berns-McGown was elected to the Ontario Provincial Parliament in the 2018 election, defeating Liberal incumbent Arthur Potts.[5] Identifying as a person of mixed race ancestry in her piece Purity in Danger,[6] Berns-McGown was part of Ontario's first ever Black Caucus, alongside NDP caucus colleagues Laura Mae Lindo, Faisal Hassan, Jill Andrew and Kevin Yarde.[7]

She did not run for reelection in the 2022 provincial election, retiring after a single term in office. In a statement to the press, she noted: “Because I am a deeply introverted person, this job takes an enormous toll. For my well-being, I’ve decided not to run for re-election."[8]

Other activities

She is the author of a book called Muslims in the Diaspora: The Somali Communities of London and Toronto.[9]

Election results
2018 Ontario general election: Beaches—East York
Party Candidate Votes%±%
New DemocraticRima Berns-McGown24,06448.21+9.24
LiberalArthur Potts13,48027.01–13.08
Progressive ConservativeSarah Mallo9,20218.44+4.51
GreenDebra Scott2,1284.26–1.16
LibertarianThomas Armstrong4580.92–0.30
IndependentAndrew Balodis1610.32
Special NeedsRegina Mundrugo1170.23
None of the AboveJoe Ring1040.21
Canadians' ChoiceBahman Yazdanfar740.15
Cultural ActionEric Brazau680.14
The PeopleTony Chipman580.12
Turnout 49,91462.79+6.69
Eligible voters 79,496
New Democratic gain from Liberal Swing +11.16
Source: Elections Ontario[10]

References
  1. @ONPARLeducation (13 July 2022). "Within the halls of the Legislature are walls that contain the names of every Member of Provincial Parliament elected to Ontario's Legislature since 1867. The names for the 42nd Parliament were recently added. For the first time a Member's name was inscribed in Oji-Cree syllabics" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. Nickle, David (June 7, 2018). "NDP reclaims Beaches-East York with Rima Berns-McGown". Toronto Star. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  3. Berns-McGown, Rima (2020-02-04). "In My Opinion: Black History Month is a time to both reflect and look forward". Beach Metro Community News. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  4. Csillag, Ron (2019-04-17). "Jewish MPP delivers call-to-action on Islamophobia". The Canadian Jewish News. Retrieved 2023-03-21. Berns-McGown was born in South Africa and came to Canada with her family when she was four years old. She said she had lost extended family in the Holocaust.
  5. Sherman, Josh (2018-06-12). "Outbound Liberal MPP Arthur Potts takes loss in stride". Beach Metro Community News. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  6. Berns-McGown, Rima (2016). "Purity in Danger". Transition (120): 95–115. doi:10.2979/transition.120.1.11. ISSN 0041-1191.
  7. "NDP establishes first official Black Caucus in Ontario History". Ontario New Democratic Party, April 15, 2019.
  8. "Beaches-East York MPP Berns-McGown announces retirement from politics, will not run in upcoming provincial election". Beach Metro Community News. March 10, 2022. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  9. Berns-McGown, Rima (1999). Muslims in the Diaspora: The Somali Communities of London and Toronto. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 9780802082817.
  10. "Summary of Valid Votes Cast for each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 28, 2018.


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