Carolann Wright

Carolann Wright–Parks (born 1957 or 1958) is a community organizer and former politician, best known, as Carolann Wright, for being the first Black person to run for run for Mayor of Toronto, placing second in the 1988 municipal election, and for coming within 80 votes of unseating Attorney-General Ian Scott in the 1990 Ontario general election. She is currently director of capacity building and strategic initiatives African Nova Scotian Communities at Halifax Partnership, an economic development agency in Halifax, Nova Scotia.[1][2]

Wright was a community worker at Central Neighbourhood House,[3] and a single mother and tenant living Toronto's marginalized Regent Park neighbourhood, when she challenged incumbent mayor Art Eggleton as a protest candidate in the 1988 Toronto municipal election. Her campaign was organized by the Basic Action Poverty Group, a coalition of church and community workers,[4] and endorsed by "Reform Toronto", a coalition of community activists that included sitting city councillor Jack Layton and Metro Toronto councillor Roger Hollander and former councillors William Kilbourn and Allan Sparrow,[4] and ran on a platform of raising welfare payments by 25%, an amnesty for "illegal" apartments, more rooming houses.[5][6] Wright placed second with 24,479 votes, to 91,180 for Eggleton.[7][8]

In the 1990 Ontario general election, Wright was chosen as the Ontario New Democratic Party's candidate in St. George—St. David against Liberal incumbent Ian Scott, who was attorney-general in the provincial government of David Peterson.[9][10] Wright nearly upset Scott, who was declared the victor by 65 votes on election night.[11]

Wright, whose family had lived in Nova Scotia for seven generations,[9] was born in Beechville, Nova Scotia, a Black Nova Scotian settlement in Halifax.[2] After attending Dalhousie University in the 1970s,[12] she moved to Toronto in 1979 to continue her studies at York University[4] and after finding herself homeless, lived in a homeless shelter for two and a half weeks[10] before finding housing in Regent Park and lived on social assistance. She graduated with her Bachelor of Commerce from York, and became a community worker organizing tutors and workshops for young children and computer literacy classes for community residents, also becoming co-chair of the Regent Park Residents' Association.[1][6]

By 1995, Wright had returned to Halifax where she has worked for community agencies and been a community and anti-racist activist.[13][14]