Leah Gazan

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Leah Gazan
MP
Gazan in 2019
Member of Parliament
for Winnipeg Centre
Incumbent
Assumed office
October 21, 2019
Preceded byRobert-Falcon Ouellette
Personal details
Born (1972-04-08) April 8, 1972[1]
Thompson, Manitoba, Canada[2]
PartyNew Democratic Party
University of Winnipeg (BEd)
Central Michigan University (MA)[3]

Leah Gazan MP (born April 8, 1972) is a Canadian politician. A member of the New Democratic Party (NDP), she was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 2019 Canadian federal election, serving as the member of Parliament (MP) for Winnipeg Centre.[4]

Early life

Leah Gazan was born in Thompson, Manitoba[2] to Abraham (Albert) Gazan[5] and Marjorie Anne Lecaine.[6] According to Gazan, both her parents are "survivors"; her maternal grandmother, Adeline LeCaine, is Lakota, and her maternal grandfather is Chinese,[7] while her paternal grandparents are Jewish.[8] Gazan's father, born at The Hague, South Holland in 1938, was two and a half years old when the Germans invaded Holland, and spent the remainder of the war in hiding, sheltered by Dutch families.[9] Gazan's paternal grandmother, Gina Gazan, spent time in a concentration camp.[10]

Both of Gazan's parents were organizers for the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, the NDP's predecessor party.[11]

Before her first political campaign, Gazan was a lecturer at the Faculty of Education in University of Winnipeg.[12][13][14] She also served as president for the Social Planning council of Winnipeg. Gazan participated in Idle No More, and pushed for Bill C-262 to be passed by the House of Commons.[15] She also represented the province of Manitoba for the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues advocating for acknowledgement of injustice perpetuated against Indigenous Canadian adoptive children.[16]

Political career

Gazan identifies as a socialist like her parents.[11][17] In 2019, Gazan won the NDP nomination for Winnipeg Centre over former Manitoba Attorney General Andrew Swan.[18] She subsequently defeated incumbent Liberal Robert-Falcon Ouellette at Winnipeg Centre, retaking the riding for the NDP.[19]

During the 43rd Canadian Parliament, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh appointed Gazan to be the Critic for Families, Children, and Social Development in the NDP's Shadow Cabinet. She introduced one private member's bill, Bill C-323, An Act respecting a Climate Emergency Action Framework, which sought to require the Minister of the Environment to develop and implement a framework on achieving the objectives of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. At a vote on March 24, 2021, it was defeated, with Liberal and Conservative Party MPs voting against it.[20][21]

In August 2020, Gazan introduced Motion 46 in the House of Commons of Canada, which would convert the Canada Emergency Response Benefit introduced by the federal government during the COVID-19 pandemic into a permanent basic income program.[22] In 2021, she spoke in the House of Commons in support of a universal basic income.[23]

In 2023, Gazan presented a motion to the House of Commons to declare the deaths and disappearances of Indigenous women and girls a Canada-wide emergency, which passed unanimously. The motion also called for the creation of a new system to send out alerts for missing Indigenous women.[24]

Statements

In 2022, Gazan faced controversy for a tweet about U.S. aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian war, incorrectly stating the aid was being sent to "anti-Semitic, neo-Nazi & fascist militia". The Ukrainian Canadian Congress asked for a retraction and apology.[25]

In 2025, after NDP leadership candidate Heather McPherson advocated for opening the political party and avoiding purity tests, Gazan called "McPherson's rhetoric a tacit 'justification for white supremacy' that 'centres the comfort' of 'white, male, and able-bodied workers' over social justice."[26] Gazan supported Avi Lewis, who won the leadership.

Gazan faced scrutiny in April 2026 after a clip of her using the acronym "MMIWG2SLGBTQQIA+" in a press conference went viral. The acronym, which combines Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Two-spirit, and LGBTQ acronyms, received pushback from both left-wing and right-wing sources, with some figures on the right criticizing the perceived absurdity of the acronym and sources on the left criticizing the grouping in of MMIW and LGBTQ+ social movements for the sake of brevity. Gazan defended her statements with "Bigots are bigots".[27]

Electoral record

2025 Canadian federal election: Winnipeg Centre
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
New DemocraticLeah Gazan13,52439.48–10.17
LiberalRahul Walia12,10835.34+6.39
ConservativeTom Bambrick7,65822.35+9.55
GreenGary Gervais3891.14–1.25
People'sDonald Grant3671.07–3.21
Animal ProtectionDebra Wall2130.62-0.05
Total valid votes/expense limit
Total rejected ballots
Turnout 34,25953.55
Eligible voters 63,978
New Democratic notional hold Swing –8.28
Source: Elections Canada[28][29]
2021 Canadian federal election: Winnipeg Centre
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
New DemocraticLeah Gazan14,96250.29+9.08$95,075.71
LiberalPaul Ong8,44628.39-5.35$34,450.58
ConservativeSabrina Brenot3,81812.83-4.70none listed
People'sBhavni Bhakoo1,2294.13+2.64$3,735.84
GreenAndrew Brown7082.38-2.86$0.00
LibertarianJamie Buhler3731.25N/Anone listed
Animal ProtectionDebra Wall2130.72N/A$4,055.48
Total valid votes/expense limit 29,74998.8–$101,566.38
Total rejected ballots 3651.2
Turnout 30,11452.2
Eligible voters 57,672
New Democratic hold Swing +7.22
Source: Elections Canada[30]
2019 Canadian federal election: Winnipeg Centre
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
New DemocraticLeah Gazan13,07341.21+13.20$81,565.86
LiberalRobert-Falcon Ouellette10,70433.74-20.77$93,870.93
ConservativeRyan Dyck5,56117.53+5.17$16,427.27
GreenAndrea Shalay1,6615.24+1.17none listed
People'sYogi Henderson4741.49–none listed
Christian HeritageStephanie Hein2510.79+0.14none listed
Total valid votes/expense limit 31,724100.0  
Total rejected ballots 274
Turnout 31,99854.2
Eligible voters 59,012
New Democratic gain from Liberal Swing +16.99
Source: Elections Canada[31][32]

References

  1. Jennifer Howard on Twitter: Happy Birthday! And welcome to 50. Archived 2022-04-08 at the Wayback Machine Twitter
  2. Kusch, Larry (16 October 2019). "Oct 2019: Two-candidate race for heart of Winnipeg Centre". Winnipeg Free Press. Archived from the original on 7 July 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  3. "Leah Gazan". WordPress. n.d. Retrieved February 7, 2026.
  4. "Gazan ousts Ouellette to return riding to NDP". Winnipeg Free Press. October 21, 2019. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
  5. "MANI ABRAHAM - Obituaries - Winnipeg Free Press Passages". passages.winnipegfreepress.com. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
  6. "WIN MARJORIE - Obituaries - Winnipeg Free Press Passages". passages.winnipegfreepress.com. Archived from the original on 2024-07-10. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
  7. "Debates (Hansard) No. 219 - September 18, 2023 (44-1) - House of Commons of Canada". www.ourcommons.ca. Archived from the original on 2024-07-11. Retrieved 2024-07-11.
  8. Bellan, Bernie. "Leah Gazan – the NDP candidate in the Federal riding of Winnipeg Centre is a "proud Jewish, Lakota, Asian woman"". www.jewishpostandnews.ca. The Jewish Post and News. Archived from the original on 2019-07-16. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  9. Millo, Belle (2010). Voices of Winnipeg Holocaust Survivors. Belle Millo. ISBN 978-0-9691256-9-3.
  10. "Debates (Hansard) No. 179 - April 18, 2023 (44-1) - House of Commons of Canada". www.ourcommons.ca. Archived from the original on 2024-07-10. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
  11. Forrest, Maura. "Rookies of Parliament Hill: Leah Gazan — the unapologetic 'proud socialist'". nationalpost. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  12. "Biography". Leah Gazan. 2015-05-31. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  13. "Leah Gazan at University of Winnipeg | Rate My Professors". www.ratemyprofessors.com. Archived from the original on 2023-05-17. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  14. Kusch, Larry; Cash, Martin (21 October 2019). "Gazan ousts Ouellette to return riding to NDP". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  15. "Leah Gazan for Winnipeg Centre". Leah Gazan for Winnipeg Centre. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  16. "Story". Leah Gazan. Archived from the original on 9 November 2019. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  17. Dembicki, Geoff (16 July 2019). "'We Are Living in a Growing Corporate Dictatorship'". The Tyee. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  18. "Former Manitoba justice minister Andrew Swan seeks NDP nod to run in federal election". CBC News. Archived from the original on April 7, 2019. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
  19. Rosen, Kayla (21 October 2019). "NDP candidate Leah Gazan takes Winnipeg Centre seat from incumbent Robert-Falcon Ouellette". www.iheartradio.ca. Bell Media. Archived from the original on 9 November 2019. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  20. Peacock, Paige (December 21, 2020). "'She is very clear about why she is there': rookie MP Gazan putting her 'movement' stamp on first year in House". The Hill Times.
  21. "Bill C-232 An Act respecting a Climate Emergency Action Framework". Parliament of Canada. February 26, 2020. Archived from the original on July 21, 2024. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
  22. McGuckin, Amber (August 12, 2020). "Manitoba MP submits motion to convert CERB benefit to permanent basic income". globalnews.ca.
  23. Sharp, Morgan (2021-04-29). "NDP puts universal basic income back on the agenda". Canada's National Observer. Archived from the original on 2021-05-04. Retrieved 2021-05-04.
  24. "House of Commons unanimously backs system to alert public when Indigenous women go missing". The Globe and Mail. 2023-05-02. Archived from the original on 2023-05-03. Retrieved 2023-05-03.
  25. Keele, Jeff (2022-01-27). "Manitoba MP facing backlash over tweet about Ukraine". CTVNews. Retrieved 2026-03-29.
  26. Mohamed, Rahim (October 1, 2025). "NDP leadership candidate McPherson stands by 'purity test' remarks after criticism from fellow MP". National Post. Retrieved April 9, 2026.
  27. Stefanovich, Olivia (April 10, 2026). "NDP's Leah Gazan calls MMIWG2SLGBTQQIA+ critics 'bigots'".
  28. "Voter information service". Elections Canada. Retrieved April 18, 2025.
  29. "Election Night Results - Electoral Districts". Elections Canada. 29 April 2025. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
  30. "List of confirmed candidates – September 20, 2021 Federal Election". Elections Canada. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  31. "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  32. "Election Night Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved November 9, 2019.