Ian Waddell

Ian Gardiner Waddell Q.C. is a Canadian politician, author and filmmaker who served in the House of Commons of Canada from 1979 to 1993 and in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1996 to 2001.

For the Scottish footballer, see Ian Waddell (footballer). For the Scottish murderer, see Patrick Meehan.
Ian Waddell

Q.C.
Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly
for Vancouver-Fraserview
In office
May 28, 1996 – May 16, 2001
Preceded byBernie Simpson
Succeeded byKen Johnston
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Port Moody—Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam
Vancouver Kingsway (1979-1988)
In office
May 22, 1979 – October 25, 1993
Preceded bySimma Holt
Succeeded bySharon Hayes
Personal details
BornNovember 21, 1942
Glasgow, Scotland
Political partyNew Democrat
ResidenceVancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Life and career

Waddell was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and as a child immigrated to Canada. He graduated from the University of Toronto with bachelor of arts in history and an LLB, a teaching diploma from the Ontario College of Education, and a master's in international law from the London School of Economics.[1]

He worked as crown counsel for the City of Vancouver and then as defence counsel as a criminal lawyer.[1] Later, as Legal Director at Community Legal Assistance Society, he was counsel on the first successful consumer class action in Canada. He went on to be counsel to Justice Tom Berger's landmark Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry.[2]

He was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 1979 general election, representing the riding of Vancouver Kingsway between 1979 and 1988 and the riding of Port Moody—Coquitlam between 1988 and 1993.[1] He was a candidate to succeed Ed Broadbent as leader of the New Democratic Party in 1989.[3] He lost his seat in the 1993 federal election.[4] While in federal politics, he was the NDP Energy Critic at the time of the National Energy Program. Waddell also drafted Section 92A, and Section 35 the native rights amendment to the repatriated Canadian Constitution in 1981.[5] This gave aboriginal Canadians constitutional legal rights.

In 1996 Waddell moved to provincial politics where he was elected to Legislative Assembly to represent the riding of Vancouver-Fraserview.[1] He served in several positions in the British Columbia NDP governments of the 1990s, including Minister of Small Business, Tourism and Culture from February 1998 to November 2000 under Glen Clark, and Minister of Environment, Lands and Parks under Ujjal Dosanjh from November 2000 to April 2001.[1] As minister, Waddell was responsible for the first Olympic bid for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and Whistler, beating out well financed Calgary and political favorite Quebec City. He brought in a film tax credit, which created a billion dollar film industry in BC.

In the 2004 federal election, Waddell ran for reelection to Parliament in the reconstituted district of Vancouver Kingsway, losing to David Emerson. At this time, Waddell came out as bisexual.[6]

Waddell is also an author. In 2002, he released the political mystery A Thirst to Die For, and published his political memoir Take the Torch in 2018.[7][8] Currently Waddell is a documentary film producer and a consultant in environmental and aboriginal affairs.[8] In December 2013 he was appointed the honorary title of Queen's Counsel for his exceptional merit to law and contribution.[5] His film The Drop: Why Young People Don't Vote won the Best Producer Award in the Beverly Hills Film Festival in 2016.[9][10]

References
  1. "Hon. Ian Waddell - Members at dissolution of 36th Parliament on April 18, 2001". Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
  2. Mulgrew, ,Ian (2012-12-26). "Ian Mulgrew: Lawyer’s BC Hydro fight was class-action genesis". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 2017-05-31.
  3. "Before he became provincial NDP leader, Adrian Dix once advised former NDP MP Ian Waddell, above, that he should abandon his bid to lead the federal party. Now Waddell has issued his own scathing account of the party's failed election strategy, writes Sun political affairs columnist Vaughn Palmer". Montreal Gazette. 2013-07-31. Retrieved 2017-05-31.
  4. "CBC - Canada Votes 2004". CBC. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
  5. "Queen's counsel designation recognizes leading lawyers | BC Gov News". BC Gov News. 2013-12-11. Retrieved 2017-05-31.
  6. "Waddell comes out". Xtra!, March 18, 2004.
  7. "Ian Waddell". iPolitics. Retrieved 2017-05-31.
  8. Waddell, Ian (2013-09-13). "Pearson-like diplomat needed today to intervene in Syria". The Hill Times. Retrieved 2017-05-31.
  9. "The Drop: Why Young People Don't Vote". TVO. Retrieved 2017-05-31.
  10. "Beverly Hills Film Festival Unveils Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. 2016-04-11. Retrieved 2017-05-31.
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