Summary
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 | |
| Leader | Andrea Horwath |
| Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament for Beaches—East York | |
| In office June 7, 2018 – May 3, 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Arthur Potts |
| Succeeded by | Mary-Margaret McMahon |
| Personal details | |
| Born | South Africa |
| Political party | New Democratic |
| Occupation | Author, researcher and professor |
Early life and education edit
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 edit
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 edit
She is the author of a book called Muslims in the Diaspora: The Somali Communities of London and Toronto.[9]
Election results edit
| 2018 Ontario general election: Beaches—East York | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| New Democratic | Rima Berns-McGown | 24,064 | 48.21 | +9.24 | ||||
| Liberal | Arthur Potts | 13,480 | 27.01 | –13.08 | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Sarah Mallo | 9,202 | 18.44 | +4.51 | ||||
| Green | Debra Scott | 2,128 | 4.26 | –1.16 | ||||
| Libertarian | Thomas Armstrong | 458 | 0.92 | –0.30 | ||||
| Independent | Andrew Balodis | 161 | 0.32 | |||||
| Special Needs | Regina Mundrugo | 117 | 0.23 | |||||
| None of the Above | Joe Ring | 104 | 0.21 | |||||
| Canadians' Choice | Bahman Yazdanfar | 74 | 0.15 | |||||
| Cultural Action | Eric Brazau | 68 | 0.14 | |||||
| The People | Tony Chipman | 58 | 0.12 | |||||
| Turnout | 49,914 | 62.79 | +6.69 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 79,496 | |||||||
| New Democratic gain from Liberal | Swing | +11.16 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Ontario[10] | ||||||||
References edit
- ^ @ONPARLeducation (July 13, 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.
- ^ Nickle, David (June 7, 2018). "NDP reclaims Beaches-East York with Rima Berns-McGown". Toronto Star. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Sherman, Josh (2018-06-12). "Outbound Liberal MPP Arthur Potts takes loss in stride". Beach Metro Community News. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
- ^ Berns-McGown, Rima (2016). "Purity in Danger". Transition (120): 95–115. doi:10.2979/transition.120.1.11. ISSN 0041-1191.
- ^ "NDP establishes first official Black Caucus in Ontario History". Ontario New Democratic Party, April 15, 2019.
- ^ "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.
- ^ Berns-McGown, Rima (1999). Muslims in the Diaspora: The Somali Communities of London and Toronto. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 9780802082817.
- ^ "Summary of Valid Votes Cast for each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 28, 2018.