Marcus Powlowski

Marcus Powlowski (born January 20, 1960) is a Canadian Member of Parliament who was elected to represent the riding of Thunder Bay—Rainy River in the 2019 Canadian federal election.^[2][3] Powlowski was also named a chief in Ambae, Vanuatu with the title of Vera Liu.^{[citation needed]} He is married to Mirasol Añora Powlowski and has six children.

Marcus Powlowski MP
Member of Parliament for Thunder Bay—Rainy River
Incumbent
Assumed office October 21, 2019
Preceded by	Don Rusnak
Personal details
Born	(1960-01-20) January 20, 1960 (age 65) Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada[1]
Political party	Liberal Party of Canada
Spouse	Mirasol Añora-Powlowski

Education

Powlowski received his Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry, Bachelor of Law, and Doctor of Medicine degrees from the University of Toronto. He also holds a Master's degree in Public Health (Health Law and Policy) from Harvard University and a Master's degree in Global Health Law from Georgetown University.

Professional experience

Before his election in 2019, Powlowski served in a number of roles, most recently as an emergency room doctor at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre and as an associate professor of medicine at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. Powlowski also practiced medicine for two years in First Nations communities in Northern Canada, and for seven years in Swaziland, The Gambia, Papua New Guinea, and Vanuatu. He has also worked for the World Health Organization as a health legislation consultant and taught Global Health at Lakehead University and University of San Francisco, and Global Health Law at Lakehead University Faculty of Law.^[4]

Political roles

After assuming office as the Member of Parliament for Thunder Bay—Rainy River in 2019, Powlowski was named to the Standing Committee on Health and the Standing Committee on National Defence.^[5] Powlowski was critical of the government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly regarding to the shortage of masks and ventilators.^[6] He was also an outspoken advocate for the use of human challenge trials for vaccine development during the COVID-19 pandemic. He supported and participated in 2020 in the Bombardier Inc. production line.^[7] to finish and assemble components for portable ventilators, working with 0-Two Medical Technologies ^[8] for the Ontario government. The Hill Times named Powlowski as one of the 25 MP's to watch during the Fall 2020 session of Parliament because of his work on public health during COVID-19.^[9] Powlowski has played a significant role in supporting Alstom, an important employer in Thunder Bay, including by securing federal funding for a streetcar project in 2021^[10] and the TTC Line 2 subway car replacement in 2024.</ref> In 2021, Powlowski was heavily involved in advocating for the rescue of Afghan interpreters during the fall of Kabul^[11] during Canada's involvement in the War in Afghanistan. In 2022 Thunder Bay-Rainy River Powlowski made recommendations to the federal government aimed at easing the physician shortage in rural northwestern Ontario and other parts of Canada. One of those recommendations was in regards to foreign medical licensing.^[12] Powlowski's work in the health sector includes his advocacy for more safeguards regarding Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) for mental illness.^[13] Having a Ukrainian background, Thunder Bay-Rainy River Powlowski has advocated for Ukraine following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.^[14] Previously serving as Member of the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs, Powlowski is a strong defender of Indigenous peoples in Canada and their rights such as safe water access, opioid addiction and mental health resources among others.^[15]

Electoral record

2021 Canadian federal election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Marcus Powlowski	13,655	34.3	-1.0	$85,082.79
	Conservative	Adelina Pecchia	11,671	29.3	0.0	$27,004.63
	New Democratic	Yuk-Sem Won	11,342	28.5	-0.6	$82,351.30
	People's	Alan Aubut	2,621	6.6	+4.8	$0.00
	Green	Tracey MacKinnon	571	1.4	-3.1	$287.74
Total valid votes			39,860
Total rejected ballots			308
Turnout			40,168	61.69
Eligible voters			65,109
Source: Elections Canada[16]

v t e 2019 Canadian federal election: Thunder Bay—Rainy River
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Marcus Powlowski	14,498	35.32	-8.70	$55,609.36
	Conservative	Linda Rydholm	12,039	29.33	+8.24	$50,919.61
	New Democratic	Yuk-Sem Won	11,944	29.10	-0.57	none listed
	Green	Amanda Moddejonge	1,829	4.46	-0.77	none listed
	People's	Andrew Hartnell	741	1.81	–	none listed
Total valid votes/expense limit			41,051	99.20
Total rejected ballots			333	0.80	+0.39
Turnout			41,384	62.41	-3.92
Eligible voters			66,306
	Liberal hold		Swing		-8.47
Source: Elections Canada[17][18]

References

1. • Marcus Powlowski – Parliament of Canada biography
2. "Canada election results: Thunder Bay—Rainy River". Global News. October 21, 2019. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
3. "Marcus Powlowski wins Thunder Bay-Rainy River Liberal nomination". CBC News. July 30, 2019. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
4. "Marcus Powlowski". marcuspowlowski.libparl.ca. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
5. "Marcus Powlowski - Member of Parliament - Members of Parliament - House of Commons of Canada". www.ourcommons.ca. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
6. "Liberal MP emailed criticisms to own party over how feds are handling pandemic". torontosun.com. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
7. "Bombardier Thunder Bay's ventilator production line fully operational". www.cbc.ca. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
8. [[O-Two Controlled Ventilation – Controlled Ventilation (otwo.com) "0-Two Medical Technologies"]. otwo.com. Retrieved February 22, 2024. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
9. "They're back: 25 Members of Parliament to watch this session". The Hill Times. September 23, 2020.
10. "Supporting public transit and protecting jobs in Thunder Bay". www.canada.ca. May 12, 2021. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
11. "War veteran, Liberal MP urge government to rescue Afghan interpreters who worked with the Canadian military". www.cbc.ca. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
12. "Would changing how doctors in Canada are licensed help reduce the physician shortage? This MP feels it could". www.cbc.ca. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
13. "Liberal MP and doctor says he'll vote against assisted death bill". www.cbc.ca. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
14. "MP Marcus Powlowski's Statement on Russian Invasion of Ukraine". marcuspowlowski.libparl.ca. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
15. "Appearance before the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs: 2022-23 Supplementary Estimates (B), Crown-Indigenous Relations, December 8, 2022". rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca. March 30, 2023. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
16. "Official Voting Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
17. "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
18. "Official Voting Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved August 10, 2021.

External links

• Marcus Powlowski – Parliament of Canada biography