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Laurel Collins
MP
Laurel Collins MP
Member of Parliament; for Victoria
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; October 21, 2019
Preceded by	Murray Rankin
Victoria City Councillor
	In office; October 20, 2018 – November 4, 2019
Personal details
Born	May 7, 1984 (age 40); Kispiox, British Columbia, Canada
Political party	New Democratic Party
Spouse	James McNish
Children	Alora McNish Collins
Residence(s)	Victoria, British Columbia

Laurel Collins MP (born May 7, 1984) is a Canadian politician who was elected to represent the riding of Victoria in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2019 Canadian federal election.^[2] Prior to her election in the House of Commons, she was a city councillor for Victoria City Council. She is the NDP Critic for the Environment and Climate Change and the NDP Deputy Caucus Chair.^[3]

Background

Collins was born in Kispiox in northern British Columbia, one of three children. Her parents, school teachers, separated when she was a baby, and she moved around the province, attending elementary school on Salt Spring Island, Alert Bay, and in Port Hardy. She went to high school in Sussex, New Brunswick and did her undergraduate degree at the University of King’s College and Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.^[4] She did a master's degree in Human Security and Peacebuilding at Royal Roads University.^[2]

Career

Collins worked at Victoria Women in Need, running programs for women who have experienced abuse. She co-founded and co-chaired Divest Victoria, a non-profit organization that advocates for cities to take their money out of fossil fuels and put them into environmentally responsible investments. While researching climate migration and displacement, she worked with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Northern Uganda helping to create durable solutions for internally displaced persons in the aftermath of deadly conflict.^[5]

From 2014 to 2019, Collins taught courses at the University of Victoria, including courses in Social Inequality, Social Justice Studies, Political Sociology, and the Sociology of Genders.^[2] In 2015, she co-published a book, Women, Adult Education, and Leadership in Canada.^[6] And, in 2017, she won a Victoria Community Leadership Award in Sustainability and Community Building.^[7]

In October 2018, Collins was elected as a city councillor for Victoria City Council with the electoral organization Together Victoria.^[8] She would resign from this position a year later, after her election to the House of Commons in late October 2019.^[9] The byelection following her departure was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic until December 2020, where it eventually resulted in the election of Stephen Andrew and the defeat of Together Victoria's candidate Stephanie Hardman.^[10]^[11]

Collins was re-elected in the 2021 federal election.

She is the NDP Critic for the Environment and Climate Change and the Deputy Critic for Families, Children, and Social Development.^[12]

Electoral record

v t e 2021 Canadian federal election: Victoria
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Laurel Collins	29,301	43.9	+10.7	$97,858.71
	Liberal	Nikki Macdonald	18,194	27.3	+5.0	$97,566.80
	Conservative	Hannah Hodson	9,152	13.7	+1.1	$18,401.29
	Green	Nick Loughton	7,472	11.2	-18.7	$93,634.92
	People's	John Randal Phipps	2,065	3.1	+1.8	$7,982.12
	Communist	Janis Zroback	273	0.4	+0.2	$0.00
	Animal Protection	Jordan Reichert	243	0.4	-	$2,364.23
Total valid votes/Expense limit			66,748	–	–	$126,387.28
Total rejected ballots			468
Turnout			67,216
Eligible voters			99,889
Source: Elections Canada^[13]

v t e 2019 Canadian federal election: Victoria
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Laurel Collins	23,765	33.2	-9.1	$114,384.10
	Green	Racelle Kooy	21,383	29.9	-3.0	$78,891.28
	Liberal	Nikki Macdonald	15,952	22.3	+10.5	$83,095.70
	Conservative	Richard Caron	9,038	12.6	+0.8	$41,312.21
	People's	Alyson Culbert	920	1.3	-	$5,286.41
	Animal Protection	Jordan Reichert	221	0.3	0.0	$2,270.91
	Communist	Robert Duncan	113	0.2	-
	Independent	David Shebib	111	0.2	-
	Veterans Coalition	Keith Rosenberg	46	0.1	-
Total valid votes/expense limit			71,549	99.3		$121,316.37
Total rejected ballots			475	0.7
Turnout			72,024	76.1
Eligible voters			94,627
	New Democratic hold		Swing		-6.10
Source: Elections Canada^[14]^[15]