Judi Tyabji

Judeline Kim Mary Tyabji (born 1965)[4] is a former British Columbia politician, who was the youngest elected Member of the Legislative Assembly,[5] and the wife of former provincial Leader of the Opposition Gordon Wilson.

Judi Tyabji
Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
In office 1991–1996
Constituency	Okanagan East
Personal details
Born	Judeline Kim Mary Tyabji 1965 (age 54–55) Calcutta, India
Political party	Liberal (BC) Progressive Democratic Alliance
Spouse(s)	Kim Sandana (ex-husband) Gordon Wilson
Children	Kasimir, Kiri, Tanita[1]
Alma mater	University of Victoria
[2][3]

Early life

Tyabji was born in Calcutta, India in 1965 to English and Indian parents who immigrated their family in the mid-1970s to Canada, first to Toronto then to Kelowna, where she attended Catholic elementary and high schools. Her father Alan Tyabji was an executive for Calona Wines then owned Okanagan Vineyards Winery in Oliver, British Columbia. In 1986, she graduated from the University of Victoria with a degree in Political Science then went to work as an assistant for the federal Liberal party.[5]

Politics

After Gordon Wilson became leader of the provincial Liberal party in 1987, Tyabji became their regional representative. Shortly after her giving birth to her first child, she was their nominee for a by-election in Boundary-Similkameen. She lost her first election to the NDP's Bill Barlee, but raised the Liberal share of vote in the riding from 2% to 11%.[5] After Jean Chrétien became the federal Liberal leader, she briefly switched to the NDP then returned to the provincial Liberals when they disconnected from the federal party in 1991.[5]

When she was 26 years old and pregnant with her third child, Tyabji earned what was described as a "surprise victory" in her first election win in October 1991 by defeating a Social Credit cabinet minister and a prominent NDP activist[5] to become the MLA for the newly created riding of Okanagan-East.Tyabji was the only Liberal elected in the province's Interior region that year and in the Okanagan since before World War Two.[6] She was the youngest MLA on record at the time and the first to give birth while in office. She was also appointed Environment Critic by the Liberals.[5]

Wilson affair

She served as an MLA for the British Columbia Liberal Party from 1991 until 1993 when Wilson's leadership of the Liberals was challenged after it came to light that he was having an extramarital affair with Tyabji, whom he had recently named as the party's House Leader. Wilson and Tyabji retained their seats in the Legislature and sat as members of a new party, the Progressive Democratic Alliance.[1] [7] Wilson and Tyabji then married in 1994,[8] the same year she lost custody of her three children to her ex-husband.[1]

In the 1996 provincial election, Wilson retained his seat, while Tyabji lost hers.[1] Wilson afterwards, in 1997, crossed the floor to join the British Columbia New Democratic Party government of Glen Clark as Minister of Finance and Minister of Employment, Investment and International Trade.[1][7] He subsequently folded his party, the PDA.

Post-politics

After leaving politics she hosted a daily talk show on Victoria-based CHEK-TV until suing CHEK for breach of contract in 1998.[1] She served as a municipal councillor in Powell River from November 1999 until October 2001. She currently heads a software company and remains married to Wilson as Judi Tyabji Wilson.

In 2008, Tyabji, her firm Tugboat Enterprises, and The Province newspaper were sued for defamation by Blair Wilson (despite same surname not related to Gordon Wilson) who was the federal Member of Parliament for West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country and who later lost his attempt at re-election. She, Gordon Wilson and Tugboat were later sued by their legal representatives Hakemi Law Corp for failure to pay legal bills. A string of legal and financial difficulties led to a court-ordered sale of their Powell River waterfront home.[9]

In 2018, Tyabji's son Kaz plead guilty to importation of fentanyl.[10] He was previously charged with assault.[11] She expressed pride for his guilty plea online.[12]

Authored publications

• In 1994, she and Gordon Wilson co-authored a book Political Affairs.
• In 2002, authored a book Daggers Unsheathed: The Political Assassination of Glen Clark about the Glen Clark political era from his seeking the NDP leadership in 1995 to Clark's acquittal in 2002 related to Casinogate scandal.
• In 2016, authored a biography Behind The Smile of then-Premier Christy Clark[13]

Election results

1996 British Columbia general election: Okanagan East
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	John Weisbeck	9,382	38.37%
	Progressive Democrat	Judi Tyabji	6,432	26.30%
	New Democratic	Janet Elizabeth Gooch	5,176	21.17%
	Reform	Paul Halonen	3,116	12.74%
	Green	Dave Cursons	347	1.47%
Total valid votes			24,453
Total rejected ballots			108

B.C. General Election 1991: Okanagan-East[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Judi Tyabji	8,578	38.47
	Social Credit	Larry Chalmers	7,896	35.41
	New Democratic	Eileen M. Robinson	5,825	26.12
Total Valid Votes			22,299	100.00
Total rejected ballots			349

1988 By-Election: Boundary-Similkameen[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	New Democratic	Bill Barlee	15,778	52.82
	Social Credit	Russ Fox	10,585	35.44
	Liberal	Judi Tyabji	3,144	10.53
	Green	Rus Domer	361	1.21
Total Valid Votes			29,868	100.00
Total rejected ballots			87

References

1. Hunter, Jennifer (1 March 1999). "Wilson Joins BC's NDP". Maclean's Magazine. The Canadian Encyclopedia The Historica Dominion Institute. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
2. Rayner, William (2001). "3. The Gord and Judi Show". Scandal!!: 130 years of damnable deeds in Canada's Lotus Land. Heritage House Publishing. pp. 132–136. ISBN 978-1-894384-24-7.
3. "Afternoon Sitting, Volume 2 Number 8". Official Report of Debates of the Legislative Assembly (Hansard). Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. 22 April 1992. p. 863. Retrieved 7 November 2010.
4. "Women Members of the Legislature of British Columbia" (PDF). Legislative Library of British Columbia. 2 July 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 February 2011. Retrieved 7 November 2010.
5. McNeil, Holly (Spring 1992). "Judi Tyabji: A Star Is Elected" (PDF). Okanagan Life: 12–15. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
6. McMartin, Will (4 April 2005). "The Okanagan, a Liberal Stronghold". The Tyee. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
7. Kamath, A P (18 November 1999). "More 'Desi' Connections in BC Election". Rediff.com. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
8. Bitonti, Daniel (24 May 2013). "Reviewing lessons at the school for scandal's B.C. campus". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
9. Mackin, Bob (16 May 2013). "Gordon Wilson's endorsement of Clark follows slew of legal, financial woes". Business in Vancouver. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
10. Hixt, Nancy. "Former B.C. MLA's son pleads guilty to possessing fentanyl, importation charge dropped". Retrieved 18 June 2020.
11. Fraser, Keith. "Son of former MLA Judi Tyabji charged with assault". Retrieved 18 June 2020.
12. "Judy Tyabji". Retrieved 18 June 2020.
13. MacDonald (4 June 2016). "Christy Clark bio goes beyond the smile : Former B.C. MLA Judi Tyabji pens an unauthorized biography of the B.C. Premier". Maclean's Magazine. Archived from the original on 5 June 2016.
14. "B.C. Provincial Elections (1991)". ubc.ca. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
15. "1987–2001 Election History" (PDF). electionsbc.ca. Retrieved 21 February 2015.