Yonah Martin

The Honourable
Yonah Martin
The Honourable Yonah Martin
Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; November 4, 2015
Leader	Don Plett
Preceded by	Position established
Canadian Senator; from British Columbia
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; January 2, 2009
Nominated by	Stephen Harper
Appointed by	Michaëlle Jean
Personal details
Born	Yonah Kim; April 11, 1965 (age 59); Seoul, South Korea
Political party	Conservative

Yonah Martin (née Kim; born April 11, 1965) is a Conservative Canadian Senator from British Columbia. She was appointed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in January 2009, and is the first Canadian of Korean descent to serve in the Senate of Canada and the first Korean-Canadian Parliamentarian in Canadian history.^[1]

She is currently the Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate. She served as Deputy Whip of the Government in the Senate, from May 2011 to August 2013; and has been Co-Chair of the Canada Korea Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group since 2009.^[1]

Career

Born in Seoul, South Korea, Martin immigrated to Canada with her family in 1972, settling in Vancouver. With roots in both Korean and Canadian heritage, she became a community activist and voice of authority for Canadians of Korean descent. Inspired by her Canadian-born daughter and immigrant parents, and with a desire to "bridge communities", she co-founded C3 Society in 2003.^[2]

Martin graduated from the University of British Columbia in 1987, and earned a Master of Education in 1996. She spent 21 years as an educator in Abbotsford, Burnaby and Coquitlam school districts until her appointment to the Senate.^[3]

On June 19, 2013, her Bill S-213 (Korean War Veterans Day Act), which enacts July 27 as a day of remembrance for Veterans of the Korean War, received Royal Assent.^[1]

Martin called for the resignation of her senatorial colleagues Patrick Brazeau, Pamela Wallin and Mike Duffy following the Canadian Senate Expense Scandal. The text of Martin's motion would have allowed the impugned senators to keep their Senate life, health and dental insurance.^[4]

Martin has received the Spirit of Community award for Cultural Harmony (2004), the Order of Korea Moran Medal from the Government of the Republic of Korea (2009) and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012).^[3]

Personal life

She has been married to Doug Martin since 1990, and they have a daughter.^[3]

Electoral record

Yonah Martin stood for election to the House of Commons of Canada as a candidate in the riding of New Westminster—Coquitlam.

2008 Canadian federal election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Dawn Black	20,787	41.8%	+3.49
	Conservative	Yonah Martin	19,299	38.8%	+6.27
	Liberal	Michelle Hassen	5,615	11.3%	-12.23
	Green	Marshall Smith	3,574	7.20%	+4.25
	Libertarian	Lewis C. Dahlby	314	0.6	NA
	Marxist–Leninist	Roland Verrier	103	0.20%	+0.10
Total valid votes			49,692	100.00%
Total rejected ballots			165	0.33

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Yonah Martin - Conservative Party of Canada". Archived from the original on June 9, 2016.
^ c3society.org - Home
^ ^a ^b ^c "Biography".
^ "Senate softens possible sanctions for Duffy, Brazeau and Wallin".

External links

[Senate_bio-1] "Yonah Martin - Conservative Party of Canada". Archived from the original on June 9, 2016.

[2] 3society.org - Home

[Martin_bio-3] "Biography".

[4] "Senate softens possible sanctions for Duffy, Brazeau and Wallin".

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v t e Current members of the Senate of Canada
Presiding officers: Speaker: Raymonde Gagné Speaker pro tempore: Pierrette Ringuette
AB	■ Fridhandler ■ LaBoucane-Benson ■ Simons ■ Sorensen ■ Tannas ■ K. Wells
BC	■ Busson ■ Greenwood ■ Martin ■ Woo 2 vacancies
MB	■ Adler ■ Gagné ■ McCallum ■ McPhedran ■ Osler ■ Plett
NB	■ Boudreau ■ Cormier ■ Hartling ■ Kingston ■ McNair ■ Poirier ■ Quinn ■ Richards ■ Ringuette ■ Ross
NL	■ Manning ■ Marshall ■ Petten ■ Ravalia ■ D. Wells ■ White
NS	■ Aucoin ■ Bernard ■ Cordy ■ Coyle ■ Cuzner ■ C. Deacon ■ Greene ■ Kutcher ■ MacDonald ■ Prosper
ON	■ Al Zaibak ■ Ataullahjan ■ Black ■ Boehm ■ Boniface ■ Boyer ■ Burey ■ Cardozo ■ Clement ■ Dasko ■ M. Deacon ■ Dean ■ Harder ■ McBean ■ Moncion ■ Moodie ■ Omidvar ■ Pate ■ R. Patterson ■ Senior ■ Varone ■ Yussuff 1 vacancy
PE	■ Downe ■ Francis ■ MacAdam ■ Robinson 1 vacancy
QC	■ Audette ■ Brazeau ■ Carignan ■ Dagenais ■ Dalphond ■ Forest ■ Galvez ■ Gerba ■ Gignac ■ Gold ■ Housakos ■ Loffreda ■ Massicotte ■ Mégie ■ Miville-Dechêne ■ Moreau ■ Oudar ■ Petitclerc ■ Saint-Germain ■Seidman ■ Smith ■ Verner ■ Youance 1 vacancy
SK	■ Arnot ■ Batters ■ Cotter ■ Klyne ■ Muggli ■ Wallin
Territories	NT ■ Anderson NU 1 vacancy YT ■ Duncan
■ Independent Senators Group (41) ■ Canadian Senators Group (18) ■ Progressive Senate Group (13) ■ Conservative (12) ■ Non-affiliated (16) vacant (5)

v t e Senate Standing Committee on Aboriginal Peoples
Chair	Brian Francis
Vice Chair	Daniel Christmas
Members	David Arnot Michèle Audette Patrick Brazeau Mary Coyle Nancy Hartling Sandra Lovelace Nicholas Yonah Martin Kim Pate Dennis Patterson Scott Tannas