21 Facts About Libby Davies

Libby Davies was born on February 27,1953 and is a Canadian politician from British Columbia.

Libby Davies was the member of Parliament for Vancouver East from 1997 to 2015, House leader for the New Democratic Party from 2003 to 2011, and deputy leader of the party from 2007 until 2015.

Libby Davies was born in Aldershot, United Kingdom, on February 27,1953, and immigrated to Canada in 1968 with her family.

Libby Davies dropped out of university to help Bruce Eriksen found the Downtown Eastside Residents Association, an influential low-income housing advocacy group.

Libby Davies was instrumental in a campaign to save the Carnegie library, which was later converted into the Carnegie Community Centre serving low-income adults.

From 1994 to 1997 Libby Davies was employed by the Hospital Employees' Union.

For 24 years, Libby Davies lived in a common-law relationship with Vancouver city councillor Bruce Eriksen, who died of cancer in 1997.

In 2001, Libby Davies became the first female Canadian member of Parliament to reveal that she was in a same-sex relationship.

Libby Davies was elected to Vancouver City Council as a member of the Coalition of Progressive Electors in 1982 and was re-elected in 1984,1986,1988, and 1990.

Libby Davies ran for Mayor of Vancouver with the backing of COPE in 1993, losing to Philip Owen.

Libby Davies was first elected to parliament in 1997 and re-elected in 2000,2004,2006 and 2008 and 2011.

Libby Davies, who was never formally married to Eriksen, joined other commentators in criticizing Kenney for playing politics with other parliamentarians' personal lives.

In December 2007, Libby Davies received the Justice Gerald Le Dain Award for Achievement in the Field of Law.

Libby Davies was recognized for her "outstanding drug policy reform work" at the 2007 International Drug Policy Reform Conference, hosted by the Drug Policy Alliance and the Criminal Justice Policy Foundation.

Libby Davies faced accusations of antisemitism stemming from a June 5,2010, interview in which she suggested that Israel has been occupied territory since 1948.

Libby Davies was criticized for her comments the next day in an Ottawa Citizen editorial.

Libby Davies responded to these criticisms in a letter to the Citizen, which was posted on Davies' constituency website.

In 2011, it was announced that Libby Davies would serve as health critic for the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet, while continuing to serve in her role as deputy leader of the NDP.

Libby Davies declined to stand as a candidate for the leadership of the New Democratic Party in 2012, citing her inability to speak French as a factor.

On December 12,2014, Libby Davies announced that she would retire from parliament at the 2015 general election after 18 years as a member of Parliament.

In December 2016, Libby Davies was named a member of the Order of Canada.