Nick Wright (politician)

Last updated
Nick Wright
Nicholas dePencier Wright 2018.jpg
Wright in October 2018
Leader of the Green Party of Nova Scotia
In office
March 2006 –May 2007

Nicholas dePencier Wright (born May 20, 1982) [1] is a Canadian business lawyer and politician. He was the founding leader of the Green Party of Nova Scotia and was the founding Executive Director of the Canadian animal advocacy organization Animal Justice. [2] He is currently founder and CEO of foreign affairs publication Geopolitical Monitor [3] and was an elected member ("Bencher") of the governing body of the Law Society of Ontario (2019-2023).

Contents

Background and education

Wright was born in Toronto, Ontario. [1] He attended Lakefield College School before moving to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he received an honours degree in philosophy from the University of King's College, Halifax and an MBA and a law degree from Dalhousie University. He has since additionally earned an LLM in tax law from Osgoode Hall Law School. [4]

Politics

On March 5, 2006, Wright became the leader of the Green Party of Nova Scotia at the Party's founding convention—after winning a contested nomination vote over long time Green Party of Canada candidate and organizer Sheila Richardson. [5]

On December 19, 2006, Wright announced that he would be stepping down as leader of the Green Party of Nova Scotia upon the completion of his term, which ended in May 2007. [6] [7]

On May 1, 2019 Wright was elected 'Bencher' of the Law Society of Ontario as a representative for Toronto [8]

Elections

In the 2006 federal election, Wright ran for the Green Party of Canada for the riding of Halifax [9] and received 3.9% of the popular vote (1,948 votes), losing to NDP incumbent and former NDP federal and provincial leader Alexa McDonough.

Wright then led the Green Party of Nova Scotia [5] [10] [11] [12] through the 2006 Nova Scotia general election. He ran as a candidate for the district of Halifax Citadel and received 4.18% of the popular vote (292 votes), losing to NDP candidate Leonard Preyra.

On October 27, 2014, Wright ran for City Council in Toronto's Ward 20, losing to Joe Cressy. [13]

On June 22, 2015, Wright was nominated Green Party of Canada candidate for Toronto's University—Rosedale for the 2015 federal election. [14] In the election, Wright received 3% of the popular vote (1,423 votes), losing to Liberal candidate Chrystia Freeland.

On May 1, 2019, Wright successfully ran for 'Bencher' to become part of the governing body of the Law Society of Ontario as part of a slate that sought to depoliticize the organization and reduce spending and membership fees. [15]

Post-elections

Wright practices business law in Toronto. He frequently appeared in the media for his work in support of animal protection and civil liberties. [16] [17] [18] [19]

Electoral record

2015 Canadian federal election : University—Rosedale
PartyCandidateVotes%±%Expenditures
Liberal Chrystia Freeland 27,84949.80+19.23$185,406.36
New Democratic Jennifer Hollett 15,98828.59−15.24$142,562.73
Conservative Karim Jivraj9,79017.51−2.62$83,600.78
Green Nick Wright 1,6412.93−1.73$19,152.70
Libertarian Jesse Waslowski2330.42–$393.64
Animal Alliance Simon Luisi1260.22–$153.10
Communist Drew Garvie1250.22––
Bridge David Berlin 1220.21––
Marxist–Leninist Steve Rutchinski510.10––
Total valid votes/expense limit55,925100.0 $206,261.82
Total rejected ballots–––
Turnout–––
Eligible voters71,945
Liberal notional gain from New Democratic Swing +17.24
Source: Elections Canada [20] [21] [22]
2014 Toronto City Council Election: Ward 20 Trinity—Spadina
CandidateVote %
Joe Cressy 12,46641.96
Terri Chu3,69312.43
Sarah Thomson 2,8089.45
Mike Yen1,4314.82
Phillip Morrison1,4074.74
Anshul Kapoor1,0633.58
Charles MacDonald9723.27
Albert Koehl8532.87
Tonny Louie7402.49
Daryl Christhoff7052.37
Mike Andreae5901.99
Sam Goldstein5191.75
Nick Wright3951.33
Stephanie Carty-Kegel3761.27
Sam Novak3761.27
Graham Hollings3071.03
Stella Kargiannakis2860.96
Leanne Hicks2120.71
Susan Tsai1940.65
Michael Monaghan1280.43
Kat Shermack1020.34
Akeem Fasasi860.29
2006 Nova Scotia general election : Halifax Citadel
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
New Democratic Leonard Preyra 3,05442.03%10.83%
Progressive Conservative Bill Black 2,72437.49%7.22%
Liberal Devin Maxwell1,18116.25%-21.09%
Green Nick Wright 3074.23%–
Total7,266–
Source(s)
Source: Nova Scotia Legislature (2021). "Electoral History for Halifax Citadel-Sable Island" (PDF). nslegislature.ca.
2006 Canadian federal election : Halifax
PartyCandidateVotes%±%Expenditures
New Democratic Alexa McDonough 23,42046.88+5.33$67,353.61
Liberal Martin MacKinnon15,43730.90-8.21$62,643.27
Conservative Andrew House8,99218.00+3.37$73,744.64
Green Nick Wright 1,9483.90-0.81$861.16
Marxist–Leninist Tony Seed1640.33–none listed
Total valid votes/expense limit49,961100.0   $77,542
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots2100.42-0.17
Turnout50,17165.25
Eligible voters76,885
New Democratic hold Swing +6.77

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References

  1. 1 2 "Parties & Leaders - Nick Wright". CBC News . June 1, 2006. Archived from the original on March 10, 2016. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  2. ↑ "#11: Celebrating 10 Years of Animal Justice with Founder Nick Wright".
  3. ↑ "Geopolitical Analysis & Forecasting".
  4. ↑ "About Nick Wright | Wright Business Law".
  5. 1 2 "Parties and Leaders, Nick Wright" Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 2006 Jun 1
  6. ↑ "Nova Scotia Greens to seek new leader" Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 2006 Dec 19
  7. ↑ "Greens pick new leader" Kings County Advertiser-Register
  8. ↑ https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/ontario-lawyers-elect-new-governing-body-for-2019-23-term-817830603.html Ontario lawyers elect new governing body for 2019-2023 term
  9. ↑ Decision Canada, electoral results Archived 2015-09-09 at the Wayback Machine Canada.com
  10. ↑ "Parties & Leaders" Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
  11. ↑ "Riding by Riding" [ dead link ] CTV, 2006
  12. ↑ "Greens hope to make mark in June vote" by Keith Corcoran. SouthShoreNow.ca
  13. ↑ http://election.toronto.ca/epr2014/eprDetail.do?C;020,110,309,203,403, Ward” 20 Election Results, City of Toronto
  14. ↑ https://greenparty.ca/en/riding/2013-35110 Green Party of Canada Ridings, University-Rosedale
  15. ↑ https://bencherelection.lawtimesnews.com/article/nicholas-wright-13626/ Bencher Election Candidate Bio
  16. ↑ "Nicholas dePencier Wright on Seal Slaughter" Archived 2012-07-10 at archive.today National Post, 2011 Mar 4
  17. ↑ "Lawyer sues police for unlawful G20 arrest" thestar.com, 2012 Feb 15
  18. ↑ "Humane Society to N.L. Sealers: Let's Talk" Ashley Fitzpatrick. The Telegram, 2012 Apr 04
  19. ↑ "Canada Border Services seizes lawyer's phone, laptop for not sharing passwords" CBC 2019 May 05
  20. ↑ "Voter Information Service – Find your electoral district". www.elections.ca. Archived from the original on October 4, 2015.
  21. ↑ "Final Candidate Election Expenses Limits 42nd General Election October 19, 2015". www.elections.ca. Archived from the original on November 3, 2015.
  22. ↑ "Official Voting Results". elections.ca.
Preceded by
None
 Leader of the Green Party of Nova Scotia
2006-2007		Succeeded by
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