Ian Waddell

Waddell was born in Glasgow, Scotland,[1] and immigrated to Canada when he was five.[2] His father was an electrician, and his mother was a waitress. Initially staying in Scarborough, Ontario, the family later moved to Etobicoke.[3] He studied history at the University of Toronto (UT), graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 1963.[4] After receiving a teaching diploma from the Ontario College of Education that same year, he taught at Western Tech in Toronto.[3][5] He then returned to UT to study law, graduating with an LLB in 1967.[4] Later he studied at the London School of Economics (LSE), from which he received a master's degree in international law.[6][7]

Critical of the Law Society of Upper Canada, Waddell moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, where he articled at McTaggart, Ellis and Company.[3][5] He worked as assistant city prosecutor for the City of Vancouver (1971-72), and then as defence counsel as a criminal lawyer.[6] Later, as Legal Director at Community Legal Assistance Society, he was counsel on the first successful consumer class action in Canada.[7][8] He went on to be counsel to Justice Tom Berger's landmark Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry (1974-77),[2][7][9] before becoming partner at DeCarlo & Waddell.[8]

Waddell supported the Liberal Party of Canada in his youth; he joined the Liberal club during his time at UT, and chauffeured party leader Lester Pearson during the 1962 federal election campaign.[3][5] During his time at LSE, he became convinced of the merits of social democracy, and with the realization that the British Columbia Liberal Party had a more conservative stance, he came to support the British Columbia New Democratic Party (BC NDP), canvassing for that party's candidates during the 1969 provincial election.[5]

He won the nomination as a New Democratic Party candidate in 1977,[3] and ran for that party in the 1979 federal election, contesting the riding of Vancouver Kingsway. He won the seat with 45% of the vote, beating incumbent Liberal candidate Simma Holt, and was re-elected member of parliament (MP) for that riding in the 1980 and 1984 federal elections.[10] He served as NDP's energy critic at the time of the National Energy Program, before covering other portfolios such as economic development, employment, fisheries and communications.[1]

During the repatriation of the Canadian constitution, Waddell participated in drafting Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 and Section 92A of the Constitution Act, 1867;[2][11] the former provides constitutional protection to the indigenous and treaty rights of indigenous peoples in Canada, while the latter gave provinces greater control over non-renewable natural resources.[12]

With the dissolution of Vancouver Kingsway, Waddell instead contested the newly established riding of Port Moody—Coquitlam in the 1988 federal election. He was elected MP for that riding,[13] and served as NDP's justice critic in the 34th Canadian Parliament.[1] Following the resignation of Ed Broadbent as federal NDP leader in 1989, Waddell joined in the leadership race;[14][15] he placed sixth in the first ballot before withdrawing.[16] He sought re-election in Port Moody—Coquitlam in the 1993 federal election, but came in third with 21% of the vote, ending his 14-year career as MP.[13][17]

As a BC NDP candidate in the 1996 provincial election, Waddell was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia to represent the riding of Vancouver-Fraserview, winning by 380 votes.[18] He was appointed Minister of Small Business, Tourism and Culture in February 1998 by Premier Glen Clark.[6] 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.[7] He brought in a film tax credit, which created a billion dollar film industry in BC. He subsequently served as Minister of Environment, Lands and Parks under Ujjal Dosanjh from November 2000 to April 2001.[6][19] He lost the Vancouver-Fraserview seat to Liberal candidate Ken Johnston in the 2001 provincial election.[18]

In the 2004 federal election, Waddell ran for reelection to Parliament in the reconstituted district of Vancouver Kingsway, losing to Liberal candidate David Emerson.[20][21] At this time, Waddell came out as bisexual.[22][23] In a rematch between the two in the 2006 federal election, Waddell once again lost to Emerson.[24]

Since leaving politics, Waddell has worked as a consultant in environmental, governmental and aboriginal affairs.[8][25] In December 2013 he was appointed the honorary title of Queen's Counsel for his exceptional merit to law and contribution.[11] He also became a documentary film producer, winning the Best Producer Award in the 2016 Beverly Hills Film Festival alongside Dylan Playfair and Robert Lang for their film The Drop: Why Young People Don't Vote.[26][27] In addition, he released the political mystery novel A Thirst to Die For in 2002, and published his political memoir Take the Torch in 2018.[25][28]

• Ian Waddell – Parliament of Canada biography
• Ian Waddell's Website