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

Cabinet positions