Angela Eve Simmonds is a Canadian politician and lawyer who was elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in the 2021 Nova Scotia general election."Record number of Black MLAs elected to Nova Scotia Legislature". CBC News Nova Scotia, August 18, 2021. She represented the riding of Preston as a member of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party until April 1, 2023. Prior to her election, she was a lawyer, social justice advocate, and executive director of the Land Titles Initiative.
Simmonds announced on January 25, 2023, that she would step down as MLA for Preston on April 1 of that year.
Career and land titles initiative Professionally, Simmonds is a lawyer. In 2014, she authored a document titled "This Land is Our Land: African Nova Scotian Voices from the Preston Area Speak Up". The document discussed how African Nova Scotian communities in the Preston area continue to face ongoing concerns regarding the expropriation of land, clarity of land titles and education regarding land ownership and inheritance. Simmonds also writes about the community's challenges with systemic racism, oppression and inequality, and the issues that stem from it. Following the publication of the document, Simmonds continued her advocacy for land titles to be granted to those residing on unregistered land. She was also named executive director of the Land Titles Initiative on March 5, 2021, by the Equity and Anti-Racism Initiatives. Following Simmonds' election in August 2021, she stepped down from the role.
Political career Simmonds was one of four Black Canadians elected to the Nova Scotia legislature in 2021. On September 24, 2021, Simmonds was elected Deputy Speaker of the House of Assembly, which makes Simmonds the first African Nova Scotian speaker in the province's history. Simmonds is a member of the Law Amendments Committee. She is also a member of the House of Assembly Management Commission.
Simmonds is the Justice Critic within the Nova Scotia Liberal Caucus
On October 29, 2021, the House of Assembly voted to condemn a Justice Ministry staff member who was later fired after making racist comments against Simmonds on social media.
2022 Liberal leadership campaign On February 4, 2022, Simmonds launched her campaign for leader of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party following Iain Rankin's announcement that he would be stepping down. She was the first person to declare their candidacy for Leader of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party. Simmonds' leadership campaign slogan was "New Energy for Nova Scotians". On July 9, 2022, she lost the leadership election to Zach Churchill.
Resignation Simmonds announced her resignation as MLA for Preston in January 2023. Her resignation became effective on April 1, 2023. In the 2023 Preston provincial by-election, the seat was taken by Progressive Conservative Twila Grosse with the Liberal candidate being pushed into third place.
Bills introduced AssemblyAct TitleDateAssembly 64, Session 1Dismantling Racism and Hate ActOctober 13, 2021
Electoral record
Liberal leadership 2022 results CandidateBallot 1NameVotesPointsZach Churchill2,18666.50%3,580.0065.09%Angela Simmonds1,10133.50%1,920.0034.91% TOTAL 3,2875,500
References