- published: 18 Dec 2013
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Paul W. Dewar, MP (born January 25, 1963) is a Canadian educator and politician from Ottawa, Ontario. He is the New Democratic Party (NDP) Member of Parliament (MP) for the riding of Ottawa Centre.
Dewar was first elected to the House of Commons in the 2006 federal election. He served as the Official Opposition Critic for Foreign Affairs, until he left the post in October 2011 to run for the leadership of the NDP. Before entering politics he worked as a teacher and was an elected representative of the Ottawa-Carleton Elementary Teachers' Federation.
Paul Dewar was born in Ottawa, Ontario on January 25, 1963 to parents Ken Dewar and former Ottawa mayor and New Democratic Member of Parliament, Marion Dewar. When he was in grade three, Dewar was diagnosed with dyslexia, after his teacher noticed that he was struggling to read and write. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Carleton University in political science and economics in 1985.
Not long after he completed his Bachelor of Arts, Dewar embarked on a five-month trip to Nicaragua, where he volunteered as an aid worker. Following his return to Ottawa, he began working as constituency assistant to Ontario Minister of Health and NDP Member of Provincial Parliament for Ottawa Centre, Evelyn Gigantes. Dewar served in this position from 1990 to 1995.[citation needed] It was during this time that he met his wife, Julia Sneyd. They later had two children together: Nathaniel and Daniel.