Yvonne Atwell (born 1943) is a Canadian community activist, former provincial politician and former hospital administrator. She is known for being the first Black woman elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly.
Early life and education
Yvonne Atwell was born in East Preston, Nova Scotia, in 1943. Frustrated by the discrimination she experienced as a Black Nova Scotian, she left the province in 1960, spending 24 years in Toronto. She studied at Centennial College in Ontario and at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia.
Career
Atwell worked for 20 years as an administrator at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, Ontario, eventually rising to the position of Head of Patient Services. She returned to Nova Scotia in 1984 after inheriting land from her father.
From 1993-98 she was the first Managing Director of the African-Canadian Employment Clinic in Halifax. She represented the district until the 1999 provincial election when she lost her seat to David Hendsbee. During her term in office she served as the Opposition Critic for Status of Women, and Business Consumer Services.
In 2004, Atwell was inducted to the Rev Dr William Pearly Oliver Wall of Honour by the Black Cultural Society of Nova Scotia.
On February 22, 2022, a portrait of Atwell was unveiled at Province House in Halifax to honour her and commemorate her historic role as the first Black woman to be elected in Nova Scotia. Her portrait is displayed in the Province House lobby alongside the portraits of former premiers of Nova Scotia.
References
- Williams, Dawn Who's who in Black Canada 2: Black Success and Black Excellence in Canada : a Contemporary Directory (2006)
- Nova Scotia Legislature Hansard, May 26, 1998
- Yvonne Atwell, Women Social Activists of Atlantic Canada, University of New Brunswick