# Sue Hammell

Sue Hammell (born June 18, 1945) is a Canadian politician who was the Member of the Legislative Assembly for Surrey-Green Timbers in the province of British Columbia from 1991 to 2001, and from 2005 to 2017. A member of the British Columbia New Democratic Party (BC NDP), she served in several cabinet posts under Premiers Mike Harcourt, Glen Clark and Ujjal Dosanjh.

## Background

Hammell was born in Vancouver, and grew up on Sea Island in Richmond. She attended the University of British Columbia, from which she received a bachelor of arts degree in education. She worked as a teacher in Verdun, Quebec and Courtenay, British Columbia before moving to Surrey, settling in the Green Timbers area in 1990 with her husband. Before entering provincial politics, she was the executive assistant to the mayor of Surrey. She participated in the founding of the Minerva Foundation for B.C. Women in 1999.
She and her husband John Pollard (d. 2019) had one adult daughter, named Sage.

## Political career

She was elected to the Legislative Assembly for the riding of Surrey-Green Timbers in the 1991 election, and was named to the cabinet by Premier Mike Harcourt in October 1995, serving as Minister of Housing, Recreation and Consumer Services. After Glen Clark assumed the premiership in February 1996, Hammell was appointed Minister for Women's Equality. She was re-elected in the May 1996 provincial election, and retained her role in the cabinet. With Clark embroiled in scandal, Hammell resigned her cabinet post in July 1999, stating she could not "in good conscience" stay on in the executive council.
She re-entered the cabinet in February 2000 under new Premier Ujjal Dosanjh, serving as Minister of Multiculturalism and Immigration, and Minister Responsible for the Public Service. With the NDP trailing in the polls, Hammell was defeated in the 2001 election by BC Liberal candidate Brenda Locke. While out of the legislature, she worked as executive director for Surrey Aboriginal Society in 2002.
She then returned to the Assembly by winning back the Surrey-Green Timbers seat from Locke in the 2005 election. She was handily re-elected in 2009 with more than 72% of the vote, and kept her seat in the 2013 election. She served as the NDP's deputy house leader and critic for women's issues, child care and early learning in the 39th Parliament, and as critic for mental health and addictions in the 40th Parliament.
She announced in January 2017 that she would not run in that May's election, citing the need to care for her ailing husband; she served out the remainder of her term. In the same year she co-founded consulting firm Composite Public Affairs, and registered as a lobbyist.

## Election results

vte2013 British Columbia general election: Surrey-Green Timbers :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | New Democratic | Sue Hammell | 9386 | 58.06 |
| | Liberal | Amrik Tung | 5581 | 34.52 |
| | Green | Richard Hosein | 655 | 4.05 |
| | Conservative | Lisa Maharaj | 444 | 2.75 |
| | Vision | Harjit Singh Heir | 101 | 0.62 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 16167 | 100.00 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 194 | 1.19 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 16361 | 52.32 |
| Source: Elections BC |||||||
vte2009 British Columbia general election: Surrey-Green Timbers :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | New Democratic | Sue Hammell | 10,965 | 72.73 | +11.91 |
| | Liberal | Rani Mangat | 3,624 | 24.03 | −8.51 |
| | Green | Dan Kashagama | 488 | 3.24 | −1.20 |
| Total | Total | Total | 15,077 | 100.00 |
vte2005 British Columbia general election: Surrey-Green Timbers :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | New Democratic | Sue Hammell | 10,836 | 60.82 | +24.51 |
| | Liberal | Brenda Locke | 5,619 | 31.54 | −17.41 |
| | Green | Sebastian Sajda | 791 | 4.44 | – |
| | Marijuana | Amanda Boggan | 225 | 1.26 | −2.39 |
| | Emerged Democracy | Rob Norberg | 151 | 0.85 | – |
| | Democratic Reform | Ravi Chand | 142 | 0.80 | – |
| | Communist | Harjit Singh Daudharia | 52 | 0.29 | +0.38 |
| Total | Total | Total | 17,816 | 100.00 |
B.C. General Election 2001: Surrey-Green Timbers :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | Expenditures |
| | Liberal | Brenda Locke | 7,539 | 48.95% | +15.16% | $46,658 |
| | NDP | Sue Hammell | 5,592 | 36.31% | -13.80% | $37,237 |
| | Unity | C. Lewis Robinson | 1,067 | 6.93% | n/a | $7,196 |
| | Marijuana | Dennis Kalsi | 561 | 3.65% | n/a | $394 |
| | Reform | Jim Paterson | 538 | 3.49% | -2.28% | $3,277 |
| | Communist | Harjit Singh Daudharia | 103 | 0.67% | +0.37% | $332 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 15,400 | 100.00% |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 151 | 0.98% |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 15,551 | 66.77% |
B.C. General Election 1996: Surrey-Green Timbers :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | Expenditures |
| | NDP | Sue Hammell | 10,278 | 50.11% | +3.95% | $36,931 |
| | Liberal | Bill Phelps | 6,930 | 33.79% | +0.47% | $39,334 |
| | Reform | Dominic Darmanin | 1,183 | 5.77% | n/a | $7,188 |
| | Progressive Democrat | Gerard Baisch | 1,150 | 5.61% | n/a | |
| | Family Coalition | Gerhard Herwig | 255 | 1.24% | n/a | $2,120 |
| | Green | Romeo De La Pena | 228 | 1.11% | +0.64% | $865 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Cliff Blair | 179 | 0.87% | n/a | |
| | Social Credit | Victoria Kedzierski | 114 | 0.56% | -19.29% | $1,048 |
| | Independent | Don Knight | 101 | 0.49% | n/a | $1,245 |
| | Communist | George Gidora | 62 | 0.30% | n/a | $503 |
| | Natural Law | Ross Ranger | 32 | 0.16% | n/a | $110 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 20,512 | 100.00% |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 254 | 1.22% |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 20,766 | 69.40% |
B.C. General Election 1991: Surrey-Green Timbers :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | Expenditures |
| | NDP | Sue Hammell | 8,708 | 46.16% | n/a | $32,800 |
| | Liberal | Archibald McMurchy | 6,324 | 33.52% | n/a | $4,777 |
| | Social Credit | Russ Burtnick | 3,744 | 19.85% | n/a | $35,747 |
| | Green | Gjhrard Baisch | 89 | 0.47% | n/a | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 18,865 | 100.00% |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 512 | 2.64% |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 19,377 | 72.04% |

## Cabinet positions

British Columbia provincial government of Ujjal Dosanjh :
| Cabinet posts (2) |||
| Predecessor | Office | Successor |
| Ujjal Dosanjh | Minister of Multiculturalism & Immigration February 29, 2000–June 5, 2001 | Gulzar Cheema |
| Helmut Giesbrecht | Minister Responsible for the Public Service February 29, 2000–June 5, 2001 | Ministry Abolished |
| British Columbia provincial government of Glen Clark |||
| Cabinet post (1) |||
| Predecessor | Office | Successor |
| Penny Priddy | Minister for Women's Equality February 28, 1996–July 19, 1999 | Jenny Kwan |
| British Columbia provincial government of Mike Harcourt |||
| Cabinet post (1) |||
| Predecessor | Office | Successor |
| Joan Smallwood | Minister of Housing, Recreation and Consumer Services October 26, 1995–February 22, 1996 | Lois Boone |