The neutrality of this article is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. (January 2011)

A major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject. It may require cleanup to comply with Wikipedia's content policies, particularly neutral point of view. Please discuss further on the talk page. (January 2011)

The Honourable Christy Clark MLA
35th Premier of British Columbia
Incumbent
Assumed office March 14, 2011
Lieutenant Governor	Steven Point
Preceded by	Gordon Campbell
MLA for Vancouver-Point Grey
Incumbent
Assumed office May 30, 2011
Preceded by	Gordon Campbell
MLA for Port Moody-Westwood (Port Moody-Burnaby Mountain)
In office 1996–2005
Preceded by	Barbara Copping
Succeeded by	Iain Black
Deputy Premier of British Columbia
In office June 5, 2001 – September 20, 2004
Premier	Gordon Campbell
Preceded by	Joy MacPhail
Succeeded by	Shirley Bond
Minister of Children and Family Development
In office January 26, 2004 – September 20, 2004
Premier	Gordon Campbell
Preceded by	Gordon Hogg
Succeeded by	Stan Hagen
Minister of Education
In office June 5, 2001 – January 26, 2004
Premier	Gordon Campbell
Preceded by	Joy MacPhail
Succeeded by	Tom Christensen
Personal details
Born	(1965-10-29) October 29, 1965 (age 46) Burnaby, British Columbia
Political party	B.C. Liberal
Religion	Anglican [2]

Christina Joan "Christy" Clark, MLA (born October 29, 1965) is a Canadian politician who currently serves as the 35th Premier of British Columbia, Canada. Clark was sworn in as premier on March 14, 2011, after she won the leadership of the British Columbia Liberal Party in the 2011 leadership election on February 26, 2011. She is the second, and longest serving, woman to serve as premier of British Columbia, after Rita Johnston in 1991.

Clark served as a Member of the Legislature from 1996 to 2005, serving as Deputy Premier from 2001 to 2005 during the first term of Gordon Campbell's government. She left politics in 2005, and became the host of an afternoon radio talk show^[1] At the time of her leadership victory, Clark was not a member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. She re-entered the legislature after winning a by-election on May 11, 2011, in Vancouver-Point Grey, the seat left vacant by Campbell.^[2]

Background[link]

Clark was born in Burnaby, British Columbia on October 29, 1965. Her father, Jim, was a teacher and a three-time candidate for the Legislative Assembly and her mother, Mavis, was a family counsellor. Clark attended Simon Fraser University (SFU), the Sorbonne in France and the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. She studied Political Science and Religious Studies but did not graduate.^[3][4]

In 2001, Clark gave birth to her first child, Hamish Marissen-Clark, with then husband Mark Marissen. Clark was the second woman in Canadian history to give birth to a child while serving as a cabinet minister, after Pauline Marois, a Quebec provincial minister, in 1985.^[5]

Politics[link]

Opposition[link]

Clark was first elected to the legislature in the 1996 election, representing the riding of Port Moody-Burnaby Mountain. During the next five years, she served as the Official Opposition critic for the environment, children and families and for the public service. She also served as the campaign co-chair for the BC Liberals during the 2001 election, in which the party won 77 of 79 seats in the legislature.

Government[link]

Following the BC Liberal Party's election victory in 2001, Premier Gordon Campbell appointed Clark Minister of Education and Deputy Premier. She brought in a number of changes^[which?] that were claimed to increase accountability, strengthen parental power in the decision-making process, and provide parents greater choice and flexibility in the school system.^{[citation needed]} These changes were unpopular amongst teachers, school board members, opposition politicians, and union officials who argued that the decision not to fund the pay increases agreed to by the outgoing New Democratic Party government resulted in funding gaps.The changes made were challenged by the BC teacher's federation, and were later found to be unconstitutional. ^[6]

As Education Minister, Clark sought to increase the independence of the BC College of Teachers against heavy opposition from the British Columbia Teachers' Federation.^[7][8]

In 2002 the BC Liberals and Education Minister Christie Clark introduced Bills 27 & 28 forcing teachers back to work and banning collective bargaining. In 2011 the BC Supreme Court found Minister Clark’s decision to do so unconstitutional and in fact illegal.BC Supreme Court Decision

Clark was deputy premier at the time of the privatization of BC Rail and resulting scandal.^[9] Clark was also the Co-Chair of the 2001 Liberal campaign, which included a platform that specifically promised not to sell BC Rail.^[10] In 2009, Michael Bolton, defence attorney in the Basi-Virk trial, alleged that Clark had participated in the scandal by providing government information to lobbyist Erik Bornmann. These allegations were never proven or tested in court.^[11] Her brother Bruce Clark was the subject of one of the warrants. Though confidential draft "Request for Proposal" documents relating to the bid process allegedly provided by Dave Basi were found in Bruce Clark's home no charges were laid against him. Dave Basi and Bob Virk, Liberal Party insiders were charged for accepting benefits from one of the bidders, however.^[12] Ms. Clark has rebuffed talk of her links to the scandal as "smear tactics". At the time of the raids and associated warrants, her then-husband Mark Marissen was visited at home by the RCMP, but like other elected officials she was excluded from any investigation.^[13] Her husband was also not under investigation, and was told that he might have been the "innocent recipient" of documents (resumes of people looking for federal political work) then in his possession.^[14]

In 2004, Clark was appointed Minister of Children and Family Development after Minister Gordon Hogg was forced to resign. On September 17, 2004, Clark quit provincial politics and did not seek re-election in the 2005 provincial election. She declared she wanted to spend more time with her three-year old son.^[5]

Campaign for mayor of Vancouver[link]

On August 31, 2005, Clark announced that she would seek the nomination of the Non-Partisan Association (NPA) to run for Mayor in the Vancouver Civic Elections against local councillor Sam Sullivan.^[5] On September 24, 2005, she lost the NPA's mayoral nomination to Sullivan by 69 votes out of 2,100 cast. Sullivan was subsequently elected Mayor of Vancouver.^[15]

Radio show and columnist[link]

Clark hosted the The Christy Clark Show, airing weekdays on CKNW 980 AM in Vancouver from August 27, 2007 through to her decision to enter the BC Liberal leadership election in December 2010.

She served as a weekly columnist for the Vancouver Province and the Vancouver Sun newspapers during the 2005 provincial election and an election analyst for Global BC and CTV News Channel during the 2006 federal election.

Campaign for party leadership, 2010–2011[link]

On December 8, 2010, Clark officially announced her intent to seek the leadership of the BC Liberal Party. While Clark had long been touted as a potential successor to BC Premier Gordon Campbell, she often claimed she had no further interest in a political career.^[16][17][18]

One of her early campaign announcements promised to cancel the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) referendum scheduled for September 2011. She suggested a free vote in the House by MLAs, believing the HST referendum has little chance of success. “Let our MLAs do their jobs and let our MLAs vote down the HST. Do it by March 31 and get it over with and get on with life in B.C.,” Clark told a crowd of about 40 in Pitt Meadows.^[19]

Her campaign faced questions regarding her involvement in the sale of BC Rail due to her cabinet position and family connection to people "mentioned prominently in court documents, including search warrants", with opposition members stating that she "wants to shut down the public's questions about the scandal".^[11][20] It was in the wake of the controversial Basi-Virk guilty pleas that ended the trial proceedings that she declared her candidacy for the party leadership on her radio show. Clark had called for more questions to be answered about BC Rail, but since then has said that there is no need for a public inquiry, as have the other Liberal Party leadership contenders.^[21]

Premiership[link]

Clark's first task as Premier was to win a seat in the provincial legislature for herself. She ran in former Premier Gordon Campbell's riding of Vancouver-Point Grey and defeated NDP candidate David Eby by 595 votes.^[22] She was sworn into the legislature on May 30, 2011.^[23]

Since becoming the Premier, her popularity has been on the decline.^[24]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Christy Clark
• Official Biography, Office of the Premier

v t e Premiers of British Columbia McCreight · De Cosmos · Walkem · Elliott · Walkem · Beaven · Smithe · A.E.B. Davie · Robson · T.E. Davie · Turner · Semlin · Martin · Dunsmuir · Prior · McBride · Bowser · Brewster · Oliver · MacLean · Tolmie · Pattullo · Hart · Johnson · W.A.C. Bennett · Barrett · B. Bennett · Vander Zalm · Johnston · Harcourt · G. Clark · Miller · Dosanjh · Campbell · C. Clark

v t e   First Ministers of Canada Federal Prime Minister: Stephen Harper Provincial AB: Alison Redford • BC: Christy Clark • MB: Greg Selinger • NB: David Alward • NL: Kathy Dunderdale • NS: Darrell Dexter • ON: Dalton McGuinty • PE: Robert Ghiz • QC: Jean Charest • SK: Brad Wall Territorial NT: Bob McLeod • NU: Eva Aariak • YT: Darrell Pasloski

Clark
Family name
A scribe or clerk, the occupation from which the name derives
Meaning	Clerk, scribe, secretary
Region of origin	England
Language(s) of origin	Old English
Related names	Clarke, Clerk
Footnotes: Frequency Comparisons[1]

Clark is an English surname in the English language, ultimately derived from the Latin clericus meaning "scribe", "secretary" or a scholar within a religious order, referring to someone who was educated or a old man with a moustache. Clark evolved from "clerk". First records of the name are found in 12th century England. The name has many variants.^[2]

Clark is the twenty-seventh most common surname in the United Kingdom.^[1]

According to the 1990 United States Census, Clark was the twenty-first most frequently encountered surname, accounting for 0.23% of the population.^[3]

Clark is also an occasional given name, as in the case of Clark Gable.

Probably the most famouse person named Clark is Clark Kent a.k.a. Superman

List of people with surname Clark[link]

People with the surname Clark include:

• Abraham Clark (1725–1794), American politician and Revolutionary War figure
• Alan Clark (1928–1999), British Conservative politician and author, son of Kenneth Clark
• Allen George Clark (1898–1962), British businessman
• Andy Clark (musician), British musician
• Anne Clark (born 1960), poet-songwriter
• Benjamin S. W. Clark (1829–1912), New York politician
• Billy J. Clark (1778–1866), New York physician and politician
• Bob Clark (Benjamin "Bob" Clark) (1941–2007), American director
• Brian Clark (disambiguation), several people
• Buddy Clark (1911–1949), American singer
• Carmel Clark (born 1965), New Zealand swimmer
• Catherine Clark (born 1976), Canadian television host
• Charles Clark (disambiguation), several people
• Chris Clark (disambiguation), several people
• Christian Clark (born 1979), Australian actor
• Claudine Clark, R&B singer and performer of the 1962 hit record "Party Lights"
• Colin Clark (disambiguation)
• Corrie Clark (born 1982), American breaststroke swimmer
• Dallas Clark, American football player
• Daniel Clark (Canadian politician and actor), Canadian actor
• Daniel Kinnear Clark (1822–1896), British railway mechanical engineer
• Darius Clark (1798–1871), New York physician and politician
• Dave Clark (musician) (born 1942), drummer of The Dave Clark Five
• David Clark (disambiguation), several people
• Davis Wasgatt Clark (1812–1871), American Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church
• Dick Clark (disambiguation), several people
  • Dick Clark (1929–2012), entertainer and producer, host of Pyramid and Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve
• Douglas Clark (disambiguation), several people
• Duncan Clark (1910–2007), an American public health specialist
• Duncan Clark (athlete) (1915–2003), Scottish hammer thrower
• Dwight Clark, American football player
• Ernest Clark (1912–1994), British actor
• Eugene Clark (disambiguation), several people
• Frank Clark (footballer), English football player
  • Frank M. Clark (1915–2003), American Congressman
• Gavin Brown Clark (1846–1930), MP for Caithness
• George Clark (disambiguation), several people
• Gerry Clark (1927–1999), New Zealand sailor and ornithologist
• Ginger Clark (1879–1943), American baseball pitcher
• Glenn Clark (born 1969), Canadian coach of Toronto Rock
• Helen Clark (born 1950), Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008
• Hilda Clark (1872–1932), American Coca-Cola advertising spokesperson
• Hilda Margery Clarke (born 1926), English painter and curator
• Horace Clark, 1830s New York politician
• Horace F. Clark (1815–1873), US Congressman from New York
• Hugh Massey Clark (1886–1956), New York philatelist
• Hulda Regehr Clark, alternative medicine practitioner
• Isabella Clark, wife of Prime Minister of Canada Sir John A. Macdonald
• Jack Clark (disambiguation), several people
• James Clark (disambiguation), several people
• Jeff Clark (disambiguation), several people
• Joe Clark (born 1939), former Prime Minister of Canada
• John Clark (disambiguation), several people
• Jonas Gilman Clark (1815–1900), American businessman and the founder of Clark University
• Joseph Clark (disambiguation), several people
• Joshua Clark, (born 1980), American writer
• Karen Clark (born 1945), American politician from Minnesota
• Katy Clark (born 1967), British politician and trade union official
• Kenneth Clark (psychologist) (1914–2005), African American psychologist who testified in Brown v. Board of Education
• Kenneth Clark (1902–1983), British art historian; creator of the series Civilisation
• Leslie J. Clark (1924–2003), British engineer and founder of Parvalux
• Louis Clark, musician and conductor with the Orchestra (former members of ELO and ELO Part II)
• Manning Clark (1915–1991), Australian historian
• Marcus R. Clark (born 1956), Louisiana Supreme Court justice
• Mark Wayne Clark (1896–1984), American Army General in WW2 (Italy) and the Korean War
• Nancy B. Clark, person of Marstons Mills, Massachusetts
• Ocky Clark (born 1960), American middle distance runner
• Orville Clark (1801–1862), New York politician
• Otey Clark (born 1915), American baseball pitcher
• Ramsey Clark (born 1927), U.S. Attorney General and activist
• Ranza Clark (born 1961), Canadian middle distance runner
• Roger Clark, British rally driver
• Ryan Clark (disambiguation), several people
• Samuel Clark (disambiguation), several people
  • Samuel Delbert Clark (1910–2003), Canadian sociologist
• Sherman Clark (1899–1980), American Olympic rower and Rear Admiral
• Simon Clark (disambiguation), several people
• Steve Clark (1960–1991), British guitarist for Def Leppard
• Stuart Clark (born 1975), Australian cricketer
• Theresa Maria Clark (c. 1890 – 1953), person of New York
• Thomas Clark (disambiguation), several people
• Tom Clark (journalist), Canadian television journalist
• Tom C. Clark (1899–1977), U.S. Attorney General, U.S. Supreme Court justice
• Tracy Clark, fictional character from The CW primetime drama 90210
• Wendel Clark (born 1966), retired Canadian ice hockey player
• Wesley K. Clark (born 1944), American Army General in the Vietnam War and Kosovo
• Wilfrid Le Gros Clark (1895–1971), British palaeanthropologist
• Will Clark (born 1964), American baseball player
• William Clark (disambiguation), several people

See also[link]

• The Clark Sisters, American gospel vocalists from Detroit
• Clark (taxonomic authority)
• Clarke
• Clerke (disambiguation)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Clark(e) Surname DNA Project

This page or section lists people with the surname Clark. If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.

George Stroumboulopoulos
George Stroumboulopoulos
Born	George Mark Paul Stroumboulopoulos (1972-08-16) August 16, 1972 (age 39) Malton, Ontario, Canada
Other names	Strombo

George Mark Paul Stroumboulopoulos (pronounced /strɒmbəˈlɒpələs/; born August 16, 1972) is a Canadian television and radio personality, best known as the host of CBC Television's George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight (formerly The Hour; a talk show about the world's current events) and being a VJ for Canadian music television channel MuchMusic. Stroumboulopoulos studied Radio Broadcasting at Toronto's Humber College.

Family background[link]

He was born in Malton, Ontario, Canada, to a Greek father from Egypt and a Ukrainian mother who was also part Indian.^[1] He was raised in Toronto primarily by his mother, and a close-knit extended family.^[2]

Career[link]

Radio broadcasting[link]

In the second quarter of 1993, Stroumboulopoulos worked for a rock radio station in Kelowna, B.C., for a few months before getting a job offer at the Toronto radio station Fan 590 AM, working in talk radio for about four years before moving to MuchMusic.^[3]

MuchMusic[link]

From 2000–2004, Stroumboulopoulos worked at MuchMusic as producer and host of The Punk Show, then host of The NewMusic, MuchLOUD and MuchNews.^[4][5]

[edit] The Greatest Canadian

Prior to joining The Hour Stroumboulopoulos was featured on CBC television's The Greatest Canadian series as the advocate for Tommy Douglas. More than 1.2 million votes were cast over six weeks, as each of 10 advocates made their case for the Top 10 nominees. Stroumboulopoulos made a personal and passionate case for Tommy Douglas, Canada's "father of medicare"; Tommy Douglas was later named The Greatest Canadian.

[edit] Strombo Show

Stroumboulopoulos has hosted a long-running Sunday night talk radio show, The Strombo Show. Originally aired as a talk show on CFRB in Toronto and CJAD in Montreal, the show moved to the Corus network in November 2007 and the format changed to one of mainly music. The Strombo Show broadcast from 102.1 The Edge's Toronto studio and on other radio stations in the Corus Entertainment network, including CFOX-FM in Vancouver, Power 97 in Winnipeg, FM96 in London and Y108 in Hamilton.

The show moved to CBC Radio 2 on November 8, 2009.

[edit] The Hour / George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight

On January 17, 2005, the first episode of The Hour went to air. Currently in its seventh season, The Hour is a hybrid of news and celebrity and covers everything from politics, pop culture, the environment, human rights, entertainment, sports and more. Airing nationally at 11:00 pm on CBC, The Hour is Canada's only late-night talk show. It has won eight Gemini Awards. Stroumboulopoulos and The Hour have hosted a range of guests from world leaders to celebrities and politicians.^[6]

For the 7th season of the talk show, CBC announced that beginning September 20, 2010, the show was being renamed and shortened into a daily half-hour show called George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight; the revised program is broadcast weeknights at 11:05 pm local time, 11:30 pm in Newfoundland.^[7]

[edit] The One: Making a Music Star

In July 2006, George Stroumboulopoulos hosted an American reality television talent show, The One: Making a Music Star that aired on ABC in the United States, and CBC Television in Canada. It was advertised as a similar show to American Idol and Rock Star but with the twist that contestants would "live together in a fully functioning music academy", with their actions documented similar to the Big Brother format.

Reportedly the most expensive summer series in the history of the ABC network,^[8] its first episode, on July 18, 2006, scored a low audience of 3.08 million viewers.^[9] Subsequent episodes had even fewer viewers. The series was cancelled after just two weeks (four episodes) with the final results undecided on July 27, 2006, with no plans for any further episodes. Stroumboulopoulos returned to The Hour after the failure of the reality television show The One.

Charity and public awareness[link]

George Stroumboulopoulos and The Hour sponsored the "One Million Acts of Green" Internet Website^[10] challenge, calling on Canadians to register environmental acts they've done. The campaign registered over 1.6 million acts on the website. Stroumboulopoulos and his family^[11] have been devoted to this cause also supported by Dr. David Suzuki.

Stroumboulopoulos has also been involved with numerous charitable initiatives, such as hosting the 'HipHop4Africa' Mandela Children's Fund Canada and CapAids February 2006 Toronto benefit. He has traveled to the Arctic for a special on literacy, youth culture and the loss of Inuit identity. He has been to Sudan with War Child Canada, and Zambia for a World AIDS Day special documentary. He also supports Make Poverty History. He joined other prominent Canadians in sharing views on global issues in the March 2010 issue of Upstream Journal magazine.

He was co-host of Canada for Haiti television with Cheryl Hickey and Ben Mulroney to help the humanitarian crisis in Haiti after a devastating earthquake.

Stroumboulopoulos was appointed Ambassador Against Hunger for the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) the world’s largest humanitarian agency in March 2011. He has visited WFP operations in Pakistan and Haiti and has been a strong supporter of Freerice.com and WFP’s WeFeedback campaign which has helped to feed millions of hungry children.

He also presented at Vancouver's EPIC Expo in May 2011 where he showed support for Fair Trade and the work of the non-profit organization, Fair Trade Vancouver.

George showed up to Occupy Toronto to show his support for the movement.

The CBC and Stroumbuolopuolos came under criticism for hosting an apparently extravagant party during the Toronto International Film Festival, at the Hazelton Hotel in Toronto.^[12] The CBC, which is funded by the Canadian government, was criticized by some in the right-wing media over the expenditure for the event.^[13]

Awards[link]

This section's factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information. Please help improve the article by updating it. There may be additional information on the talk page. (February 2012)

• The Hour has won six Gemini Awards.
  • In 2006 – Viewers Choice Award – Best Host
  • In 2007 – Best Talk Series – Best Host – Best Production/Design
  • In 2008 – Best Host
• Stroumboulopoulos was awarded an honourary Doctor of Laws, from the University of Calgary on November 13, 2007.^[14]
• He was also awarded an honourary degree in Communications from Humber College in June 2009.
• He was selected by the United Nations World Food Programme as an official ambassador in March 2011.
• He was named one of the 192 Young Global Leaders for 2012 by the World Economic Forum in March 2012.^[15]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: George Stroumboulopoulos

• George Stroumboulopoulos on CBC.ca
• George Stroumboulopoulos at the Internet Movie Database
• George Stroumboulopoulos on Myspace
• George Stroumboulopoulos on Twitter

The neutrality of this article is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. (May 2012)

Bill Good is a Canadian television personality and CKNW radio talk show host. He formerly co-anchored the 6:00pm newscast on Vancouver's CIVT alongside Pamela Martin.