{{short description|Canadian politician}} {{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = Melanie Mark | native_name = {{small|Hli Haykwhl Ẃii Xsgaak}} | honorific_suffix = | image = Melanie Mark.jpg | caption = | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1975}}<ref name="NP">{{cite news |last1=DeRosa |first1=Katie |title=B.C. First Nations cabinet minister blasts 'nastiness from white men' in legislature as she resigns |url=https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/melanie-mark-resigns-criticizes-legislature-torture-chamber/wcm/c4d06d96-9e62-4ac3-b59a-9f2643471d1e |work=National Post |date=February 22, 2023 |language=en-CA}}</ref> | birth_place = | office = Minister without Portfolio | term_start = September 28, 2022 | term_end = April 14, 2023 | predecessor = ''Position established'' | successor = ''Position abolished'' | premier = John Horgan<br>David Eby | office1 = Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport of British Columbia | term_start1 = November 26, 2020 | term_end1 = September 28, 2022 | predecessor1 = Lisa Beare (Tourism, Arts and Culture) | successor1 = Lisa Beare | premier1 = John Horgan | office2 = Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Training of British Columbia | term_start2 = July 18, 2017 | term_end2 = November 26, 2020 | premier2 = John Horgan | predecessor2 = Linda Reid (Advanced Education)<br>Shirley Bond (Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training) | successor2 = Anne Kang | assembly3 = British Columbia Legislative | constituency_AM3 = Vancouver-Mount Pleasant | term_start3 = February 2, 2016 | term_end3 = April 14, 2023 | predecessor3 = Jenny Kwan | successor3 = Joan Phillip | party = New Democrat | profession = | alma_mater = Simon Fraser University | children = 2 }}
'''Melanie Joy Mark''' (born 1975), also known by her Nisga'a name '''Hli Haykwhl Ẃii Xsgaak''',<ref>{{cite web |title=My Nisga'a name is HLI HAYKWHL ẂII XSGAAK. I am the descendent of #BriefcaseWarriors. The Nisga'a paddled by canoe fr the Nass to Victoria to defend our rights. Implementing #DRIPA will be another defining moment for generations 2 come. W/ a thundering heart let's PaddleTogether |url=https://twitter.com/melaniejmark/status/1192307168562704385?lang=en |website=Twitter |access-date=30 May 2021 |language=en}}</ref> is a Canadian politician in the province of British Columbia. A member of the New Democratic Party (NDP), she served as the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Vancouver-Mount Pleasant from 2016 to 2023. She was Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Training from 2017 to 2020, and Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport from 2020 to 2022. Mark is the first First Nations woman elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, and the first First Nations woman to serve in the Cabinet of British Columbia. On February 22, 2023, Mark announced her intention to resign as MLA and cabinet minister; her resignation took effect April 14 of the same year.
==Background== Born of Nisga'a, Gitxsan, Cree, and Ojibwe ancestry, Mark was raised in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside neighbourhood. She credits her aunts and grandparents with helping her get through the death of her younger brother who was killed by a semi trailer while riding a bicycle, her mother's addiction and homelessness, and her father's overdose.<ref name="VSun2016">{{cite news|last1=Shaw|first1=Rob|date=February 3, 2016|title=B.C.'s newest MLA 'a shining example of resilience'|work=Vancouver Sun|url=http://www.vancouversun.com/news/newest+shining+example+resilience/11695865/story.html}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Mark|first=Melanie|title=My life, so far|url=https://cws.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cws/article/viewFile/6918/6102|access-date=6 October 2020|website=Canadian Woman Studies Journal}}</ref>
After attending six different high schools, including Van Tech,<ref name="wab"/> Charles Tupper, and Ladysmith, she became the first person in her family to graduate from high school and attend college and university.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Palmer |first=Vaughn |date=2023-02-24 |title=A voice and experience that will be missed |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-vancouver-sun-a-voice-and-experience/166632763/ |access-date=2025-02-25 |work=The Vancouver Sun |pages=A3}}</ref> She received a diploma in criminology from a joint program offered by Native Education College and Douglas College,<ref name="VanSun2017"/> then went on to major in political science and minor in sociology at Simon Fraser University (SFU), earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2005.<ref name="SFU">{{cite web | url=http://www.sfu.ca/appreciation/tribute/475/index.html | publisher=Simon Fraser University | title=Melanie Mark | work=SFU Alumni Appreciation Project | accessdate=2019-11-22 | date=2016-04-18 | archive-date=2020-08-04 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804142702/http://www.sfu.ca/appreciation/tribute/475/index.html }}</ref> She also received an advanced executive certificate from Queen's School of Business.<ref name=":0"/> She worked with the Native Court Workers' Association, Covenant House, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Hazelton as a summer student, and as the national aboriginal project coordinator for Save the Children Canada's ''Sacred Lives Project.''<ref name="wab">[http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2016/02/09/wab-kinew-runs-office-163346Of "Wab Kinew Runs for Office"], ''Indian Country Today'', February 2016, accessed 10 February 2016</ref>
From 2000 to 2006, Mark served as president of the Urban Native Youth Association. She is the co-founder of the Vancouver Aboriginal Community Policing Centre.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Hon. Melanie Mark|url=https://www.leg.bc.ca:443/learn-about-us/members/41st-Parliament/Mark-Melanie|access-date=2020-10-06|website=www.leg.bc.ca|language=en}}</ref> Beginning in 2007, she worked for eight years in the Office of the Representative for Children and Youth, becoming an associate deputy representative in 2013.<ref name="gs">{{Cite news |url=https://www.straight.com/news/629331/ndps-melanie-mark-will-become-first-indigenous-woman-be-elected-bc-legislature |title=NDP's Melanie Mark becomes first indigenous woman elected to B.C. legislature from Vancouver–Mount Pleasant |last=Smith |first=Charlie |date=February 2, 2016 |work=The Georgia Straight |access-date=December 14, 2018}}</ref> The Office is the supporting agency for the Representative for Children and Youth, a non-partisan officer of the BC Legislature reporting directly to the BC Legislative Assembly, mandated to advocate for young people and families going through the provincial child and youth welfare system.
In 2006, Mark received the YWCA Vancouver Young Woman of Distinction Award, and in 2015, she received the Chief Joe Mathias Leadership Award from the Native Education College.<ref>{{Cite web|date=June 4, 2015|title=Melanie Mark - NEC Chief Joe Mathias Leadership Award 2015|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=Clk3MVPnTiI|website=YouTube}}</ref> In 2016, she was the recipient of the inaugural Janusz Korczak Medal for Children's Rights Advocacy<ref>{{Cite web|title=The inaugural Janusz Korczak Medal for Children's Rights Advocacy – Janusz Korczak Association of Canada|url=http://www.januszkorczak.ca/melanie-mark-the-inaugural-recipient-of-the-janusz-korczak-medal-for-childrens-rights-advocacy/#:~:text=janusz%20korczak%20medal%20award%202016%20The%20inaugural%20Janusz,Lecture%20Series%20at%20UBC,%20on%20April%206,%202016.|access-date=2020-10-06|website=www.januszkorczak.ca}}</ref> and in 2018, she was the recipient of the Stenberg College, Be the Change, Community Leadership Award.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-04-06|title=Be the Change: Resistance, Resilience & Recovery|url=https://www.stenbergcollege.com/blog/community-mental-health-addictions-worker/change-resistance-resilience-recovery/|access-date=2020-10-06|website=Stenberg College|language=en-US}}</ref>
Mark has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).<ref>{{cite web | url=https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2023/02/22/melanie-mark-resignation/ | title=CityNews | date=22 February 2023 }}</ref>
==Politics== After Jenny Kwan announced she would be resigning as MLA of Vancouver-Mount Pleasant to stand in the 2015 federal election, Melanie Mark entered the nomination contest to be the NDP's candidate for the ensuing by-election.<ref>{{Cite web |last=MacLeod |first=Andrew |date=2015-05-22 |title=Two Candidates Set to Battle for BC NDP Nomination in Vancouver |url=https://thetyee.ca/News/2015/05/22/BC-NDP-Nomination-Vancouver-Mount-Pleasant/ |access-date=2022-10-01 |website=The Tyee |language=English}}</ref> On June 14, 2015, she defeated Diana Day for the NDP nomination.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-06-14 |title=B.C. NDP members nominate Melanie Mark as their next candidate in Vancouver–Mount Pleasant |url=https://www.straight.com/news/471096/bc-ndp-members-nominate-melanie-mark-their-next-candidate-vancouver-mount-pleasant |access-date=2022-10-01 |website=The Georgia Straight |language=en}}</ref> When the by-election was held on February 2, 2016, Mark was elected with 61% of the vote, defeating Liberal candidate Gavin Dew and Green candidate Pete Fry;<ref>{{cite news|title=B.C. NDP candidates Jodie Wickens and Melanie Mark win Metro Vancouver byelections|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/metro-vancouver-byelection-results-1.3431356|accessdate=3 February 2016|agency=CBC News|date=2 February 2016}}</ref> she became the first Indigenous woman elected to the Legislature of British Columbia.<ref name="gs" /> She was re-elected in the 2017 general election, and was named Minister of Advanced Education that July in the NDP minority government.<ref name="VanSun2017">{{cite news|last1=Chan|first1=Cheryl|title=Q&A with Melanie Mark, Minister of Advanced Education|url=https://vancouversun.com/news/politics/qa-with-melanie-mark-minister-of-advanced-education|accessdate=March 18, 2018|newspaper=Vancouver Sun|date=September 1, 2017}}</ref>
As Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Training, Mark oversaw policy changes that made college and university more accessible to more British Columbians. She created the Provincial Tuition Waiver program, which supports youth in and from the foster system to access post secondary education tuition free.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Training|first=Advanced Education Skills and|date=2019-10-26|title=Tuition waiver opens doors for 1,119 former youth in care {{!}} BC Gov News|url=https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2019AEST0100-002047|access-date=2020-10-06|website=news.gov.bc.ca}}</ref> She oversaw the creation of the B.C. Access Grant, which provides upfront, non-repayable financial assistance to low- and middle-income students enrolled in full-time studies at B.C. colleges and universities,<ref>{{Cite web|title=B.C. Access Grant (Full-Time) {{!}} StudentAidBC|url=https://studentaidbc.ca/explore/grants-scholarships/bc-access-grant-full-time|access-date=2020-10-06|website=studentaidbc.ca}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=BC government announces further support for post-secondary students {{!}} News|url=https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/bc-government-student-aid-post-secondary-students|access-date=2020-10-06|website=dailyhive.com|language=en}}</ref> as well as the elimination of fees for Adult Basic Education and English language learning programs<ref>{{Cite news|date=August 8, 2017|title=No more tuition fees for adult basic education or English language learning in B.C.|work=CBC News|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/no-more-tuition-fees-for-adult-basic-education-or-english-language-learning-in-b-c-1.4238822|access-date=6 October 2020}}</ref> and interest on provincial student loans.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Russell|first=Anne|title=Students at UFV celebrate the elimination of interest on B.C. student loans {{!}} UFV Today|date=17 March 2019 |url=https://blogs.ufv.ca/blog/2019/03/students-at-ufv-celebrate-the-elimination-of-interest-on-b-c-student-loans/|access-date=2020-10-06|language=en-US}}</ref>
Following the 2020 election, Mark was named the Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport on November 26.<ref name="CBC News">{{Cite news |date=2022-09-28 |title=B.C. Tourism Minister Melanie Mark resigns from cabinet to take medical leave |work=CBC News |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/melanie-mark-resigns-from-cabinet-1.6599202 |access-date=2022-10-01}}</ref> On September 28, 2022, Mark announced that she would step down from cabinet in order to take medical leave, and was appointed a minister without portfolio.<ref name="CBC News"/><ref>{{Cite web |last=Province of British Columbia |title=Order-in-Council 498-2022 |url=https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/oic/oic_cur/0497_2022 }}</ref>
On February 22, 2023, Mark announced her resignation as MLA and cabinet minister. In her resignation speech, Mark criticized how "institutions fundamentally resist change{{nbsp}}... particularly colonial institutions and government at large," and said that she would "continue to advocate and fight from outside of this House."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Larsen |first=Karin |date=2023-02-22 |title=Melanie Mark, first First Nations woman to serve in B.C. Legislature, delivers tearful resignation |work=CBC News |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/melanie-mark-resigns-1.6756804 |access-date=2023-02-23}}</ref> Mark described the legislature as a "torture chamber" and the opposition as "absolutely awful", adding, "the nastiness from white men in here is awful."<ref name="NP"/> A by-election to replace Mark took place on June 24, 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Premier |first=Office of the |date=2023-05-27 |title=Byelections called for Vancouver-Mount Pleasant, Langford-Juan de Fuca {{!}} BC Gov News |url=https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2023PREM0033-000831 |access-date=2023-06-03 |website=news.gov.bc.ca |language=en}}</ref>
== Electoral record == {{British Columbia provincial election, 2020/Vancouver-Mount Pleasant}} {{British Columbia provincial election, 2017/Vancouver-Mount Pleasant}} {{2016 British Columbia provincial by-elections/Vancouver-Mount Pleasant}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{commons category|Melanie Mark}} *[https://www.leg.bc.ca/learn-about-us/members/42nd-Parliament/Mark-Melanie MLA: Hon. Melanie Mark] - Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
{{s-start}} {{Canadian federal ministry navigational box header |ministry=John_Horgan}} {{ministry box cabinet posts | post1 = Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Training | post1years = July 18, 2017 – November 26, 2020 | post1note = | post1preceded = Linda Reid<br>Shirley Bond<ref>Linda Reid served as Minister of Advanced Education, whilst Shirley Bond served as Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training</ref> | post1followed = Anne Kang | post2 = Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport | post2years = November 26, 2020 – September 28, 2022 | post2note = | post2preceded = Lisa Beare | post2followed = Lisa Beare }} {{s-end}}
{{Horgan Ministry}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mark, Melanie}} Category:Living people Category:1975 births Category:21st-century Canadian women politicians Category:21st-century First Nations people Category:21st-century Indigenous leaders in the Americas Category:21st-century First Nations women Category:21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia Category:British Columbia New Democratic Party MLAs Category:Canadian Ojibwe people Category:Canadian politicians with disabilities Category:Cree politicians Category:Cree women Category:First Nations politicians Category:First Nations women in politics Category:Gitxsan people Category:Members of the Executive Council of British Columbia Category:Ministers of tourism of British Columbia Category:Nisga'a people Category:Ojibwe women Category:People with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder Category:Politicians from Vancouver Category:Simon Fraser University alumni Category:Women government ministers of Canada Category:Women MLAs in British Columbia