# Angela Simmonds

Angela Eve Simmonds (born October 12, 1975) is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in the 2021 Nova Scotia general election. She represented the riding of Preston as a member of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party until April 1, 2023. Prior to Simmonds election, she was a lawyer, social justice advocate, and executive director of the Land Titles Initiative.
Simmonds announced on January 25, 2023 that she would step down as MLA for Preston on April 1 of that year.

## Early life and education

Simmonds grew up in Cherry Brook, Nova Scotia and graduated from Dalhousie Law School in 2017.

## Personal life

She lives in North Preston with her husband, Dean, who is a superintendent with the Halifax Regional Police, and they have three children.

## Land titles initiative

In 2014, Simmonds authored a document named: "This Land is Our Land: African Nova Scotian Voices from the Preston Area Speak Up". This document talked about how the African Nova Scotian communities in the Preston areas continue to face ongoing concerns regarding the expropriation of land, clarity of land titles and education regarding land ownership and inheritance. The challenges that Simmonds wrote about highlighted that the challenges in these communities stem from a history fraught with racism, oppression and inequity. In the document Simmonds referenced that today, fewer instances of overt racism occur and the problems are more systemic, however more work needs to be done.
Following the publication of: "This Land is Our Land: African Nova Scotian Voices from the Preston Area Speak Up", Simmonds continued her advocacy for land titles to be granted to those residing on unregistered land. Owing to her commitment on resolving the issue, Simmonds was named executive director of the Land Titles Initiative on March 5, 2021, by the Equity and Anti-Racism Initiatives. Due to Simmonds' election in August, 2021, she had to step aside from the role as she was now the MLA for Preston.

## Political career

Simmonds was one of four Black Canadians elected to the Nova Scotia legislature in 2021. On September 24, 2021, Simmonds was elected Deputy Speaker of the House of Assembly, which makes Simmonds the first African Nova Scotian speaker in the province's history. Simmonds is a member of the Law Amendments Committee. She is also a member of the House of Assembly Management Commission.
Simmonds is the Justice Critic within the Nova Scotia Liberal Caucus
On October 29, 2021, the House of Assembly voted to condemn a Justice Ministry staff member who was later fired after making racist comments against Simmonds on social media.

### 2022 Liberal leadership contest

On February 4, 2022, Simmonds launched her campaign for leader of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party following Iain Rankin's announcement that he would be stepping down. She was the first person to declare their candidacy for Leader of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party. Simmonds' leadership campaign slogan was "New Energy for Nova Scotians". On July 9, 2022, she lost the leadership election to Zach Churchill.

### Resignation

Simmonds announced her resignation as MLA for Preston in January 2023. Her resignation became effective on April 1, 2023. In the 2023 Preston provincial by-election, the seat was taken by Progressive Conservative Twila Grosse with the Liberal candidate being pushed into third place.

## Bills introduced

| Assembly | Act Title | Date |
| Assembly 64, Session 1 | Dismantling Racism and Hate Act | October 13, 2021 |

## Electoral record

2021 Nova Scotia general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Angela Simmonds | 2,226 | 43.38 | -5.66 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Archy Beals | 1,472 | 28.69 | +6.00 |
| | New Democratic | Colter C.C. Simmonds | 1,433 | 27.93 | +4.36 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 5,131 | 99.21 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 41 | 0.79 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,172 | 46.78 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 11,055 |
| | Liberal notional hold | Liberal notional hold | Swing | Swing | -5.83 |
| Source: Elections Nova Scotia |||||||

### Liberal leadership 2022 results

| Candidate | Ballot 1 | Ballot 1 |
| Name | Votes | Points |
| Zach Churchill | 2,186 66.50% | 3,580.00 65.09% |
| Angela Simmonds | 1,101 33.50% | 1,920.00 34.91% |
| TOTAL | 3,287 | 5,500 |