Margery Ward

Margery Ward
Ontario MPP
In office
1990–1993
Preceded by Murad Velshi
Succeeded by David Johnson
Constituency Don Mills
Personal details
Born (1942-07-18)July 18, 1942
Bass River, New Brunswick
Died January 22, 1993(1993-01-22) (aged 50)
Toronto, Ontario
Political party New Democrat
Occupation Computer systems designer

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.

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

Ontario general election, 1987: Don Mills
Party Candidate Votes%
LiberalMurad Velshi 10,573 39.9
ConservativeDavid Lindsay 8,666 32.7
New DemocraticMargery Ward 6,368 24.0
IndependentDavid Smith 588 2.2
FreedomDavid Pengally 330 1.2
Total 26,525
Source: "How Metro-Area Voted". The Toronto Daily Star. Toronto. 1987-09-11. p. A12. 
Ontario general election, 1990: Don Mills
Party Candidate Votes%
New DemocraticMargery Ward 9,740 34.2
LiberalMurad Velshi 8,994 31.6
ConservativeNola Crewe 7,385 25.9
LibertarianDavid Miller 744 2.6
GreenKatherine Mathewson 624 2.2
IndependentColin McKay 562 2.0
FreedomDavid 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.
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