Yvonne Atwell
Member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly for Preston
In office
March 24, 1998 – June 18, 1999
Preceded byWayne Adams
Succeeded byDavid Hendsbee
Personal details
Born1943
East Preston, Nova Scotia, Canada
Political partyNDP

Yvonne Atwell (born 1943) is a Canadian community activist, former provincial politician and former hospital administrator. She is known for being the first Black woman elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly.

Early life and education

Yvonne Atwell was born in East Preston, Nova Scotia,[1] in 1943. She left the province seeking work opportunities elsewhere. She studied at Centennial College in Ontario and at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia.[2]

Career

Atwell worked for 20 years as an administrator at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, Ontario, eventually rising to the position of Head of Patient Services. She returned to Nova Scotia in 1984.

From 1993-98 she was the first Managing Director of the African-Canadian Employment Clinic in Halifax.[2]

In 1996, Atwell ran unsuccessfully for the leadership of the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party. She won a seat in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in 1998 for the riding of Preston, becoming the first Black woman MLA in the province.[3] She represented the district until the 1999 provincial election when she lost her seat to David Hendsbee.[4][5][6] During her term in office she served as the Opposition Critic for Status of Women, and Business Consumer Services.[2]

Between 1999-2004, Atwell worked as Policy Advisor and Diversity Officer at the Maritime Centre of Excellence for Women's Health, Dalhousie University.[2]

Atwell has also been Executive Director of Community Justice Society, Executive Director of the Black United Front, President of the African Canadian Caucus of Nova Scotia, Chair of the Indigenous Blacks & Mi’kmaq Initiative at the Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University, a member of the Metropolitan Board of Trade's small business committee, a member of the George Washington Carver Credit Union executive board, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants.[2][7][8]

Honours and legacy

In 2002, Atwell was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal for her contributions to public life.[9]

In 2004, Atwell was inducted to the Rev Dr William Pearly Oliver Wall of Honour by the Black Cultural Society of Nova Scotia.[2]

On March 1, 2020, the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party renamed their Diversity Fund to be called the Yvonne Atwell Diversity in Leadership Fund in recognition of "Yvonne Atwell's leadership in the legislature and her consistent encouragement of candidates with diverse backgrounds to seek public office".[10]

On February 22, 2022, a portrait of Atwell was unveiled at Province House in Halifax to honour her and commemorate her historic role as the first Black woman to be elected in Nova Scotia.[11] Her portrait is displayed in the Province House lobby alongside the portraits of former premiers of Nova Scotia.[12]

References

  1. ↑ MacQueen, Ken (May 25, 1993). "N.S. vote offers blacks historic opportunity". The Gazette. Canada, Montreal. Southam News. p. 19. Retrieved 31 July 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Williams, Dawn P. (2006). Who's who in Black Canada 2: Black Success and Black Excellence in Canada: a Contemporary Directory. D.P. Williams. p. 47. ISBN 9780973138429.
  3. ↑ "New MLA makes history". Archived from the original on March 10, 2003. Retrieved 2018-01-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link). Halifax Chronicle-Herald, March 26, 1998. Retrieved April 26, 2010 via Internet Archive
  4. ↑ "Tory majority lacks minorities". The Halifax Herald. July 29, 1999. Archived from the original on April 1, 2003. Retrieved 2023-06-03.
  5. ↑ "The Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia - A biographical directory from 1984 to the Present" (PDF). Nova Scotia Legislature. 3 September 2021. p. 7. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  6. ↑ "Women in Nova Scotia Politics". Nova Scotia Legislature. 2013-10-11. Retrieved 2022-03-31.
  7. ↑ Canada, Employment and Social Development (2003-10-31). "GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES CREATION OF A SELF-REGULATING BODY FOR IMMIGRATION CONSULTANTS". www.canada.ca. Retrieved 2022-03-31.
  8. ↑ Rutland, Ted (2018). Displacing Blackness: Planning, Power, and Race in Twentieth-century Halifax. University of Toronto Press. p. 239. ISBN 9780774858588.
  9. ↑ General, Office of the Secretary to the Governor. "Yvonne C. Atwell". The Governor General of Canada. Retrieved 2022-03-31.
  10. ↑ "Yvonne Atwell Diversity in Leadership Fund". Nova Scotia NDP. Retrieved 2022-03-31.
  11. ↑ Scotia, Communications Nova (2018-05-11). "Portrait of First Female African Nova Scotia MLA". News Releases. Retrieved 2022-03-31.
  12. ↑ "Yvonne Atwell, first Black woman elected in NS, recognized by the Legislature". www.nsndp.ca/. 22 February 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
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