Larry Campbell

Last updated

The Honourable
Larry Campbell
Larry Campbell (2714953856).jpg
Former Vancouver Mayor Larry Campbell in 2009
Canadian Senator
from British Columbia
In office
August 2, 2005 –February 28, 2023
OccupationPolitician, RCMP, BC Coroner's Service

Larry W. Campbell (born 28 February 1948) is a Canadian politician who was the 37th mayor of Vancouver, Canada, from 2002 until 2005, and a member of the Senate of Canada from 2005 until his retirement in 2023.

Contents

Before he was mayor, Campbell worked for the RCMP as a police officer, and in 1969, he was transferred to the Vancouver detachment. [1] From 1973, he served as a member of the force's drug squad. [1]

Starting in 1981, Campbell worked for the Vancouver District Coroner's office and in 1996 was appointed BC Chief Coroner, a post in which he served until 2000. [2]

Early career

Originally from Ontario and of Scottish descent, after high school Campbell's grandfather found him a job digging ditches for coaxial cable. [3] Later he was a steel worker as a hand riveter in a boxcar plant in Hamilton. He joined the RCMP on a bet with a Hamilton municipal police officer. He spent about three years in uniform, but did not like to issue traffic tickets. He was transferred to the drug squad in Vancouver where he worked in street enforcement mainly regarding heroin, including undercover work. He started a drug squad in Langley. Throughout his RCMP tenure, he never laid a single marijuana charge. [3]

After serving in the RCMP for 12 years, the provincial chief coroner told him that the new Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms would negatively impact his drug enforcement efforts and convinced him to become Vancouver's coroner. During the emerging AIDS pandemic, he became a strong advocate for progressive harm reduction policies, quipping that needle exchanges causing drug addiction "is like flies causing garbage". He served for 20 years, retiring as chief coroner for the province. [3]

As the city's former chief coroner, his life inspired a popular CBC Television drama called Da Vinci's Inquest . [1] The show was later followed by a spinoff, Da Vinci's City Hall , in which the Da Vinci character followed his real-life counterpart into politics. [4] He was also one of several coroners who dismissed the murders of several indigenous women in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver between 1967 and 1985 as "unnatural and accidental."

Mayor

Campbell was elected mayor in the 2002 Vancouver municipal election as a member of the Coalition of Progressive Electors, by a large margin of 58% to 30% for his nearest opponent.

Shortly after Campbell's election, divisions began to emerge within his COPE party between a centrist group, led by Campbell and a more left-wing group. [5] On 14 December 2004, Campbell and councillors Jim Green, Raymond Louie and Tim Stevenson announced that they would form an independent caucus within COPE. The media quickly dubbed the bloc the "COPE Light" councillors (in contrast to the "COPE Classic" councillors). [6] In 2005, the moderate group formed the centre-left Vision Vancouver party, but Campbell announced he would not run for re-election. [7] [8]

Senate

On 2 August 2005, Prime Minister Paul Martin announced Campbell's appointment by Governor General Adrienne Clarkson as a Liberal senator. Campbell completed his term as mayor before taking up his seat in the Canadian Senate.

On 29 January 2014, Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau announced all Liberal senators, including Campbell, were removed from the Liberal caucus, and would continue sitting as Independents. [9] According to Senate Opposition leader James Cowan, the senators will still refer to themselves as Liberals even if they are no longer members of the parliamentary Liberal caucus. [10]

On 6 April 2016, Campbell left the Senate Liberal Caucus to sit as an Independent and later joined the Independent Senators Group. On 4 November 2019, he joined the Canadian Senators Group. [11] On 24 October 2022, Campbell left the CSG to sit as a non-affiliated senator. [12] Campbell remained an independent senator until 28 February 2023, when he reached the mandatory retirement age of 75.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liberal Party of Canada</span> Federal political party

The Liberal Party of Canada is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism, and generally sits at the centre to centre-left of the Canadian political spectrum, with their main rival, the Conservative Party, positioned to their right and the New Democratic Party positioned to their left. The party is described as "big tent", practising "brokerage politics", attracting support from a broad spectrum of voters. The Liberal Party is the longest-serving and oldest active federal political party in the country, and has dominated federal politics of Canada for much of its history, holding power for almost 70 years of the 20th century. As a result, it has sometimes been referred to as Canada's "natural governing party".

The Coalition of Progressive Electors (COPE) is a municipal political party in the Canadian city of Vancouver, British Columbia. It has traditionally been associated with tenants, environmentalists, and the labour movement. COPE is generally guided by democratic socialist principles following the split of its social democratic wing in 2014 to form OneCity Vancouver, and has a long history of advocating for issues such as improving public transit and investing in affordable housing. It last held a majority government on city council from 2002 to 2005. COPE describes itself as being committed to renter protections, ending homelessness, taxing the rich to build social housing, safe supply, free transit, Indigenous reconciliation, climate action, and other social and environmental reforms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Non-Partisan Association</span> Municipal political party in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

The Non-Partisan Association (NPA) is a municipal political party in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It was established by the city's business leaders in 1937 to challenge the democratic socialist Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) in that year's municipal election. The party has historically been described as centre-right and drawn its strongest support from Vancouver's business community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Art Eggleton</span> Canadian politician

Arthur C. Eggleton is a retired Canadian politician who served as the 59th and longest-serving mayor of Toronto from 1980 to 1991. He was elected to Parliament in 1993, running as a Liberal in York Centre and served as a member of Parliament (MP) until 2004 when he declined to seek re-election. Eggleton held a number of cabinet positions from 1993 to 2002 including Treasury Board president, minister of infrastructure, minister of international trade, and minister of national defence. He was appointed to the Senate in 2005, serving until he reached the mandatory retirement age of 75 in 2018.

<i>Da Vincis Inquest</i> 1998 Canadian TV series or program

Da Vinci's Inquest is a Canadian crime drama television series which originally aired on CBC Television from 1998 to 2005. While never a ratings blockbuster, the critically acclaimed show did attract a loyal following, and ultimately seven seasons of thirteen episodes each were filmed for a total of ninety-one episodes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Munson</span> Canadian politician and journalist

Jim Munson is a former Canadian Senator and retired journalist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Scheer</span> Canadian politician

Andrew James Scheer is a Canadian politician who has served as the member of Parliament (MP) for Regina—Qu'Appelle since 2004. Scheer served as the 35th speaker of the House of Commons from 2011 to 2015, and was the leader of the Conservative Party and leader of the Official Opposition from 2017 to 2020.

<i>Da Vincis City Hall</i> 2005 Canadian TV series or program

Da Vinci's City Hall is a Canadian drama television series that premiered on CBC Television on 25 October 2005 and ended on 28 February 2006. It is a spin-off of the long-running Canadian series Da Vinci's Inquest. The creator, writer and executive producer of the series is Chris Haddock.

Mobina S. B. Jaffer is a former Canadian Senator representing British Columbia. Jaffer was the first Muslim to be appointed to the upper house as well as being the first senator who was born in Africa, and the first of South Asian descent. She retired on August 20, 2024 upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jane Cordy</span> Canadian senator (born 1950)

Jane Marie Cordy is a Canadian Senator representing Nova Scotia and former teacher and administrator. As of 2024, she is the longest-serving member of the Senate.

John Les is a Canadian politician and former member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for British Columbia, representing Chilliwack-Sumas from 2001 to 2009, and Chilliwack from 2009 to 2013. A caucus member of the British Columbia Liberal Party, he served in the cabinet of Premier Gordon Campbell as Minister of Small Business and Economic Development from 2004 to 2005, and Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General from 2005 to 2008. Prior to entering provincial politics, he was a municipal councillor and mayor of Chilliwack.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicholas Campbell</span> Canadian actor and filmmaker

Nicholas Campbell is a Canadian actor and filmmaker. He is a four-time Gemini Award winner, a three-time Genie Award nominee, and a Canadian Screen Award nominee. He is known for his portrayal of the eponymous character, coroner Dominic Da Vinci, on the crime drama television series Da Vinci's Inquest (1998-2005) and its spin-off Da Vinci's City Hall (2005-2006).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Green (Canadian politician)</span> Draft evader and politician

Jim Green was an American-Canadian who was a longshoreman, taxicab driver, community activist, non-profit housing developer, municipal politician, university instructor and development consultant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vision Vancouver</span> Political party in Canada

Vision Vancouver is a green liberal municipal political party in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Vision was formed in the months leading up to the 2005 municipal election.

Vancouver, unlike other British Columbia municipalities, is incorporated under a unique provincial statute, the Vancouver Charter. The legislation, passed in 1953, supersedes the Vancouver Incorporation Act, 1921 and grants the city more and different powers than other communities possess under BC's Municipalities Act.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rich Coleman</span> Canadian politician

Richard Thomas Coleman is a Canadian politician and former police officer who served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in British Columbia, representing Fort Langley-Aldergrove from 1996 to 2017, and Langley East from 2017 to 2020. As part of the British Columbia Liberal Party caucus, he served in several cabinet posts under Premiers Gordon Campbell and Christy Clark, including as the 13th Deputy Premier of British Columbia from 2012 to 2017. He was also the party's interim leader and Leader of Opposition in British Columbia between 2017 and 2018.

Jamie Graham, O.O.M. is a former chief for the Victoria Police Department. He previously served as the chief constable of Vancouver, British Columbia from August 22, 2002 to August 13, 2007. A former Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer, Graham's five-year contract with the Vancouver Police Department was not renewed. His time as chief there ended on August 22, 2007.

Brenda Joy Locke is a Canadian politician who currently serves as the mayor of Surrey, British Columbia. She was elected to the post in 2022 after defeating the incumbent Doug McCallum. She previously served on the Surrey City Council from 2018 to 2022, and in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 2001 to 2005, representing the electoral district of Surrey-Green Timbers as a member of the British Columbia Liberal Party.

The Independent Senators Group is a parliamentary group in the Senate of Canada. Established on March 10, 2016, the Independent Senators Group is committed to a non-partisan Senate and the modernization of the Upper House of Canada's Parliament. The Independent Senators Group is the largest parliamentary group in the Senate. Composed of independents not affiliated with any political caucus, members of the group work cooperatively but act independently.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian Senators Group</span> Parliamentary group in the Senate of Canada

The Canadian Senators Group is a parliamentary group of senators in the Senate of Canada founded on November 4, 2019, by eight senators from the Independent Senators Group, two from the Conservative Party of Canada's Senate caucus, and one non-affiliated senator. Its inaugural and current leader is Scott Tannas.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Biography, larrycampbell.coa
  2. ↑ "Senate of Canada - Senator Larry W. Campbell". 11 October 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine : "The War on Drugs Has Failed. Is Legalization the Answer? -- Closing Plenary". Rice University's Baker Institute. 9 March 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  4. ↑ "Da Vinci's City Hall - IMDB". imdb.com. Internet Movie Database. 25 October 2005. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  5. ↑ Bula, Frances. "Campbell stakes out centre: Jim Green aims subtle threat, invitation at diverse group at dinner," Vancouver Sun, 31 March 2005, pp. B1.
  6. ↑ Bula, Frances. "Mayor Campbell, councillors will form their own caucus," Vancouver Sun, 15 December 2004, pp. A1.
  7. ↑ Paulsen, Monte (3 April 2008). "Vision's Three Would-Be Kings". The Tyee. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  8. ↑ Smith, Charlie (9 March 2018). "COPE Classic, COPE Lite, and the 2018 Vancouver civic election". Georgia Straight. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  9. ↑ Cudmore, James (29 January 2014). "Liberal leader says senators not welcome in caucus | CBC News". CBC. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  10. ↑ "Trudeau's expulsion catches Liberal senators by surprise". Globe and Mail. 29 January 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  11. ↑ "Senators List". Senate of Canada. September 2016. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  12. ↑ Lapointe, Mike (2 November 2022). "Tannas joins Senate Internal Economy deputy chair slate". The Hill Times . Retrieved 15 November 2022. Senator Larry Campbell's decision to leave the Canadian Senators Group on Oct. 24
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.