Kennedy Stewart (Canadian politician)

Edward Charles Kennedy Stewart (born November 8, 1966) is a Canadian politician and academic serving as the 40th and current mayor of Vancouver since 2018.[1][2] He previously was the member of Parliament (MP) for the riding of Burnaby—Douglas (2011–2015) and Burnaby South (2015–2018), serving in the House of Commons as a member of the New Democratic Party (NDP) caucus.[3]

His Worship Kennedy Stewart
40th Mayor of Vancouver
Incumbent
Assumed office November 5, 2018
Preceded by	Gregor Robertson
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Burnaby South
In office October 19, 2015 – September 14, 2018
Preceded by	Riding established
Succeeded by	Jagmeet Singh
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Burnaby—Douglas
In office May 2, 2011 – August 4, 2015
Preceded by	Bill Siksay
Succeeded by	Riding dissolved
NDP Science Critic
In office June 19, 2012 – September 14, 2018
Preceded by	Hélène LeBlanc
Succeeded by	TBD
NDP BC Caucus Chair
In office December 9, 2015 – September 14, 2018
Preceded by	Murray Rankin
Succeeded by	TBD
Personal details
Born	Edward Charles Kennedy Stewart November 8, 1966 Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Political party	Independent
Other political affiliations	New Democratic
Spouse(s)	Jeanette Ashe
Residence	Vancouver, British Columbia
Alma mater	Acadia University Simon Fraser University London School of Economics
Profession	Politician academic
Website	www.kennedystewart.ca

In May 2018, Stewart announced his pending resignation from Parliament, in order to seek election as Mayor of Vancouver as an independent candidate.[4] In August 2018, he publicly released his letter to the Speaker of House, Geoff Regan, confirming his resignation, effective September 14, 2018. During the 2018 Vancouver municipal election, Stewart was declared the winner of the mayoral race by a margin of fewer than 1,000 votes over Ken Sim, the Non-Partisan Association (NPA) candidate.[5]

Early life and career

Stewart was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1966 and raised in Wolfville, Nova Scotia.[3] He earned his bachelor's degree in history from Acadia University.[6]

After moving to Burnaby, British Columbia, in 1988, Stewart played bass guitar for the pop music band State of Mind.[7] In 1991, his band won three West Coast Music Awards.

In 1995, Stewart received his master's degree in political science from Simon Fraser University, and a PhD in government from the London School of Economics in 2003.[8]

As an academic, Stewart has published research on citizen participation, democratic reform, and municipal governance.[3] His books include Local Government in Canada.[9]

While serving as mayor, he is on leave from Simon Fraser University's School of Public Policy, where he teaches.[10] Stewart's wife Jeanette Ashe also teaches politics, at Douglas College.

Federal politics

On March 28, 2004, Stewart won the nomination for the New Democratic Party for the federal riding of Vancouver Centre in a close three-way race. Although he lost in the 2004 general election by 4,230 votes, he increased the NDP's vote share in Vancouver Centre by 20 percentage points compared to the 2000 election.

On February 25, 2011, Stewart secured the NDP nomination for the federal riding of Burnaby—Douglas in a first ballot victory.[11] He won the riding in the 2011 general election with 44 percent of the vote, and was re-elected with 35 percent of the vote in 2015.

41st Parliament

In 2012, NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair appointed Stewart as official opposition critic for science and technology and as a member of the standing committee on industry, science and technology. In Parliament, he opposed the Conservative government's elimination of the long-form census and funding cuts for basic scientific research.[12] He tabled legislation (Motion 453) to protect scientific integrity in government departments and end the muzzling of federal scientists.[13]

In 2013, Stewart introduced Bill C-558, The Parliamentary Science Officer Act. Following the elimination of Canada's National Science Advisor in 2008, the bill aimed to create an independent science watchdog tasked with providing Parliament with sound scientific information and ensuring decisions are informed by the best available evidence.[14] Bill C-558 was endorsed by Evidence for Democracy, the Canadian Association of University Teachers, the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, and the Centre for Science in the Public Interest.[15]

Stewart put forward a proposal (Motion 428) for the House of Commons to begin accepting petitions electronically as a means to engage more Canadians in the democratic process.[16] It further proposed that short debates be triggered in Parliament if an online petition receives a significant number of signatures and is sponsored by at least five MPs. Stewart's proposal was endorsed by Ed Broadbent, Preston Manning, and a number of civil society groups.[17] Being opposed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Conservative cabinet, Motion 428 passed the House of Commons by only two votes (142-140) on January 29, 2014.[18] It was widely viewed as a "surprise win" for the official opposition.[19]

Stewart held public consultations with Burnaby residents on Kinder Morgan's proposal to build a new export-only, bitumen-based crude oil pipeline through his riding.[20] Stewart became a vocal opponent of the project, citing community concerns over property expropriation, decreasing housing values, increased tanker traffic in the Burrard Inlet, the use of temporary foreign workers, and the lack of benefits for British Columbia.[21] His constituency office helped local residents sign-up to participate in the National Energy Board's review of the project.[22] In 2013, the Burnaby Newsleader named Stewart their "Newsmaker of the Year" for his community work on the Kinder Morgan pipeline.[21]

Stewart is an advocate for social housing and federal action to address BC's housing crisis.[23] In 2014, he put forward a BC-specific affordable housing strategy (Motion 547) to recognize housing as a fundamental right, expand public investments in housing co-ops, maintain rent subsidies for low-income families, set targets for reducing and ending homelessness, and study the impact of investor speculation and housing vacancies on real estate prices.[24] His motion was endorsed by the City of Burnaby.[25]

42nd Parliament

He was re-elected in the new riding of Burnaby South in the 2015 election.

Following the election, Stewart was re-appointed by Tom Mulcair as NDP critic for science.[26]

On December 4, 2015, Parliament launched its new website for accepting electronic petitions from Canadians.[27] Under the new system, initiated by Stewart's motion that passed before the election, the federal government has to respond within 45 days to online petitions if they are sponsored by one member of Parliament and receive at least 500 signatures.[28] Stewart sponsored the first official e-petition in Canada on behalf of two local constituents.[29]

On December 9, 2015, Stewart was elected by his caucus colleagues as chair of the NDP's British Columbia caucus.[30] In a statement, he vowed to support the NDP's newly elected MPs getting established in Parliament, strengthen engagement with stakeholders and constituents across the province, and hold the new Liberal government accountable for its election promises on affordable housing and pipeline reviews.[30]

2018 contempt of court

On March 23, 2018, Stewart was arrested for civil contempt during a demonstration against the Kinder Morgan pipeline. Other members of the demonstration, including fellow member of Parliament Elizabeth May, were also arrested concerning the same incident. They were accused of violating a court order requiring those demonstrating to stay five metres back from company work sites, when they allegedly blocked the roadway.[31] On April 9, 2018, Justice Kenneth Affleck of the British Columbia Supreme Court recommended that Stewart and the others arrested should be charged with criminal contempt in relation to the alleged incident.[32][33][34] On April 16, 2018, it was reported that special prosecutors would be overseeing the charges against Stewart and May.[35] On May 14, 2018, Stewart pleaded guilty to criminal contempt of court for his actions during the protest and was fined $500. As criminal contempt is a common law—not a Criminal Code—offence, Stewart does not have a criminal record.[36][37]

Vancouver municipal politics

Stewart announced on May 10, 2018, that he will be resigning from Parliament in order to run to be the mayor of Vancouver in the 2018 Vancouver municipal election.[4][38] His resignation was effective September 14, 2018 (the last day he can file his paperwork to officially enter the mayoral race).[39] Until his resignation became official on September 14, Stewart told CBC News he intended to continue to campaign for mayor and collect his MP salary, saying that there was "overlap" between both roles.[40] On May 24, 2018, Stewart announced, if elected mayor, he would create a lobbyist registry and new conflict-of-interest rules for City Hall.[41]

Stewart won the mayoral election, with a margin of fewer than 1000 votes separating him from NPA candidate Ken Sim.[5] Stewart is the first mayor of Vancouver to be unaffiliated with a municipal political party in over 30 years.[1]

Housing

During the 2018 campaign, Stewart promised to address the housing crisis by approving the construction of more rental homes, co-ops, and market housing aimed at middle-income workers and families.[42] He also promised to renew city-held leases to protect the city's current 6000 cooperative housing units.[43] Since becoming mayor, Stewart has supported the Moderate Income Rental Housing Pilot Project (MIRHPP), which allows developers of secured market rental housing to add more units to their developments than the current zoning would allow as long as 20 percent of the units are permanently reserved for moderate income households.[44]

In August 2019, the federal Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Jean-Yves Duclos, and Stewart announced a partnership where the federal government would provide $184 million in low-interest loans and grants to fund the construction of 1,100 units of affordable housing on City-owned land.[45]

In November 2019, Stewart – along with Vancouver City Council – voted to increase the Empty Homes Tax rate from 1% to 1.25% for the 2020 fiscal year and approved future increases in 0.25% increments in 2021 and 2022.[46]

Opioid crisis

As promised during the 2018 campaign, Stewart created a Mayor’s Overdose Emergency Task Force to address the opioid crisis in Vancouver.[47] The task force produced 31 recommendations, which were unanimously approved by Council for implementation in December 2018. An additional eight recommendations were unanimously approved in July 2019, as well as a Safe Supply Statement advocating for a regulated, safe supply of drugs to prevent deaths from drug poisoning.[48]

Transportation

During the 2018 campaign, Stewart expressed his support for extending the planned Broadway extension of the SkyTrain's Millennium Line to Arbutus all the way to the University of British Columbia (UBC).[49] He said that 2020 is a "critical year" to secure federal and provincial funding for the project[50] and, on January 29, 2020, signed a memorandum of understanding with the Musqueam Indian Band, the Squamish Nation, the Tsleil-Waututh Nation and UBC, agreeing to work with the other signatories to seek funding to build SkyTrain to UBC.[51]

Re-election announcement

In November 2019, Stewart announced that he plans to run for re-election in the 2022 municipal elections.[52]

Electoral record

2018 Vancouver municipal election: Mayor of Vancouver
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Kennedy Stewart	49,705	28.71
	NPA	Ken Sim	48,748	28.16
	Independent	Shauna Sylvester	35,457	20.48
	Coalition Vancouver	Wai Young	11,872	6.86
	Yes Vancouver	Hector Bremner	9,924	5.73
	Vancouver 1st	Fred Harding	5,640	3.26
	ProVancouver	David Chen	3,573	2.06
	Independent	Sean Cassidy	1,536	0.89
	IDEA Vancouver	Connie Fogal	1,435	0.83
	Independent	Mike Hansen	951	0.55
	Independent	Jason Lamarche	695	0.40
	Independent	Rollergirl	686	0.40
	Independent	Ping Chan	653	0.38
	Independent	John Yano	510	0.29
	Independent	Tim Ly	349	0.20
	Independent	Sophia C. Kaiser	336	0.19
	Independent	Satwant K. Shottha	331	0.19
	Independent	Lawrence Massey	233	0.13
	Independent	Katy Le Rougetel	181	0.10
	Independent	Gölök Z. Buday	178	0.10
	Independent	Maynard Aubichon	139	0.08

2015 Canadian federal election: Burnaby South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Kennedy Stewart	16,094	35.07	−8.93	$177,796.68
	Liberal	Adam Pankratz	15,547	33.88	+22.16	$33,613.38
	Conservative	Grace Seear	12,441	27.11	−12.51	$83,392.49
	Green	Wyatt Tessari	1,306	2.85	−0.76	$790.18
	Libertarian	Liz Jaluague	499	1.09		–
Total valid votes/Expense limit			45,887	100.00		$207,659.75
Total rejected ballots			275	0.60	–
Turnout			46,162	60.78	–
Eligible voters			75,950
	New Democratic hold		Swing		−15.55
Source: Elections Canada[53][54][55]

2011 Canadian federal election: Burnaby—Douglas
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	New Democratic	Kennedy Stewart	20,943	42.99	+5.05
	Conservative	Ronald Leung	19,932	40.92	+4.67
	Liberal	Ken Low	5,451	11.19	-8.22
	Green	Adrianne Merlo	1,754	3.60	-2.37
	Libertarian	Lewis Clarke Dahlby	420	0.86	–
	Communist	George Gidora	155	0.32	-0.11
	Marxist–Leninist	Brian Sproule	57	0.12	–
Total valid votes			48,710	100.0
	New Democratic hold		Swing		+0.19

2004 Canadian federal election: Vancouver Centre
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Hedy Fry	21,280	40.30	-2.00	$66,619
	New Democratic	Kennedy Stewart	17,050	32.29	+20.25	$57,675
	Conservative	Gary Mitchell	10,139	19.20	-18.70	$73,789
	Green	Robbie Mattu	3,580	6.78	+2.85	$2,440
	Libertarian	John Clarke	304	0.57	–	$60
	Christian Heritage	Joe Pal	243	0.46	–	$389
	Canadian Action	Alexander Frei	101	0.19	-1.08	$100
	Communist	Kimball Cariou	96	0.18	+0.01	$389
Total valid votes			52,793	100.0
Total rejected ballots			226	0.43	-0.05
Turnout			53,019	61.47	0.97
	Liberal hold		Swing		-11.12
Change for the Conservatives is based on the combined totals of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservatives.

References

1. Fumano, Dan (November 6, 2018). "Collegiality reigns as Vancouver's new council starts work". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
2. "Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart calls for UBC subway project to be in service by 2030". The Globe and Mail, January 23, 2019.
3. "Kennedy Stewart bio". Parliament of Canada Biography.
4. Laanela, Mike. "Kennedy Stewart confirms he will run for mayor of Vancouver as independent". CBC News.
5. Vancouver, City of (October 20, 2018). "Election results - table". vancouver.ca. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
6. "Canada Votes 2004: Vancouver Centre". CBC News.
7. "B.C. NDP MP wants commons to accept online petitions". Vancouver Sun, February 14, 2013.
8. "Kennedy Stewart to succeed Siksay for the NDP in Burnaby-Douglas". Burnaby News Leader. February 28, 2011. Archived from the original on January 5, 2016. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
9. "Local Government in Canada, 8th Edition"
10. "Kennedy Stewart" Archived May 2, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. SFU School of Public Policy.
11. "Kennedy Stewart nominated as the federal NDP candidate in Burnaby-Douglas". Georgia Straight. February 26, 2011. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
12. "NDP Science Critic" Archived December 22, 2015, at the Wayback Machine. MP Website
13. "Motion 453". Parliament of Canada website
14. "Bringing Evidence Back to Palriament". Policy Options, July/August 2015
15. "Science Community Rallies Behind NDP Proposal for Independent Science Watchdog" Archived December 22, 2015, at the Wayback Machine. Media Release
16. "Motion 428". Parliament of Canada website
17. "Preston Manning and Ed Broadbent find common ground". Vancouver Sun, February 25, 2013.
18. "Vote #43 on January 29th, 2014", Open Parliament.
19. "NDP scores surprise win on e-petitions thanks to 8 Tory MPs", CBC News, January 20, 2014.
20. "72 percent of Burnaby-Douglas opposes Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion". Burnaby News Leader, January 19, 2012.
21. "Newsmaker of the Year: Kennedy Stewart". Burnaby News Leader. December 26, 2013. Archived from the original on January 5, 2016. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
22. "MP Kennedy Stewart wants Burnaby to have its say on Kinder Morgan pipeline". Vancouver Observer, January 24, 2014.
23. "MP Stewart to Introduced Affordable Housing Strategy" Archived December 22, 2015, at the Wayback Machine. Burnaby Now, November 25, 2014.
24. "Motion 547". Parliament of Canada website.
25. "Council Meeting Minutes". City of Burnaby, April 13, 2015.
26. "NDP Shadow Cabinet". NDP Website.
27. "E-Petitions and Redesigned Committee Websites". Parliament of Canada.
28. "Parliament Starts Accepting E-Petitions This Week". CBC NEWS, December 2, 2015.
29. "Burnaby Couple First in Country to File New Online Petition". Burnaby Now, December 4, 2015.
30. "NDP Elected Kennedy Stewart as BC Caucus Chair". Media Release.
31. Schmunk, Rhianna. "Pipeline protesters including MPs Elizabeth May, Kennedy Stewart should face criminal charge: judge". CBC News.
32. Slepian, Katya. "Elizabeth May, other anti-pipeline protesters should be criminally charged: judge". Surrey Now-Leader.
33. Canadian Press. "B.C. Supreme Court judge calls for criminal charges against Elizabeth May and Trans Mountain protesters". Calgary Herald.
34. Givetash, Linda. "Pipeline protesters including Green leader should face criminal charges: judge". CTV News.
35. Laanela, Mike. "Special prosecutors to handle federal MPs' cases after anti-pipeline protest arrests". CBC News.
36. Fraser, Keith. "MP Kennedy Stewart enters guilty plea to charge of criminal contempt for Kinder Morgan protest". Vancouver Sun.
37. CBC News. "Kennedy Stewart pleads guilty to criminal contempt for Kinder Morgan protest". CBC News.
38. Guly, Christopher. "NDP MP Kennedy Stewart Leaving Federal Scene for Run as Vancouver's Mayor". The Tyee.
39. Stewart, Kennedy [@kennedystewart] (August 2, 2018). "As promised, I've submitted my resignation letter. I'll continue my MP duties until Sept 14 when I officially file as a #Vancouver mayoral candidate. It's been a great honour to serve my constituents for the last seven years. #ndp #vanpoli" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
40. Dickson, Janice (September 9, 2018). "Kennedy Stewart says there's 'overlap' between his mayoral campaign and MP duties". CBC News.
41. Vancouver Courier. "Mayoral candidate promises lobbyist registry, conflict-of-interest rules". Vancouver Courier.
42. "Our City, Our Home". Kennedy Stewart for Vancouver. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
43. "More Affordable Housing". Kennedy Stewart for Vancouver. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
44. "Moderate Income Rental Housing Pilot Program Frequently Asked Questions – December 2019" (PDF). City of Vancouver.
45. "Ottawa commits $184-million in loans, grants for affordable housing projects in Vancouver". Retrieved October 15, 2020.
46. Vancouver, City of. "Vancouver City Council approves 25% increase in Empty Homes Tax rate for 2020". vancouver.ca. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
47. "Vancouver launches opioid task force to 'quick-start' solutions to lethal crisis | CBC News". CBC. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
48. Vancouver, City of. "Mayor's Overdose Emergency Task Force recommendations champion regulated safe drug supply and overdose prevention". vancouver.ca. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
49. "A Vibrant and Connected City". Kennedy Stewart for Vancouver. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
50. "Kennedy Stewart after Year 1: Independent mayor talks challenges and opportunities". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
51. "First Nations, UBC, Vancouver launch joint pitch to fund Broadway subway completion". Global News. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
52. "Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart to officially seek re-election in 2022". dailyhive.com. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
53. Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Burnaby South, 30 September 2015
54. Official Voting Results – Burnaby South
55. "Elections Canada – Final Candidates Election Expenses Limits".

External links

• Kennedy Stewart – Parliament of Canada biography
• Kennedy Stewart - NDP Website
• Kennedy Stewart - Mayoral Campaign Website