About Your Candidate

Joanna Kocsis has been nominated to lead the Green Party of Niagara West in the 2021 Federal Election.

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Who is Joanna Kocsis?

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Joanna Kocsis is an experienced community activist with a long history of advocacy for building more inclusive and sustainable communities across Niagara. Born and raised by a Jewish immigrant farming family in Beamsville, where she still lives, Joanna’s roles as a mother and a teacher infuse her activism with a sense of urgency for change that get things done. 

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Joanna has developed a strong commitment to the natural environment as well as to creating equity for all members of society. Her climate change work has examined the impacts of changing weather patterns on the livelihoods of marginalized communities in Central America and Southeast Asia. She is currently completing her PhD and teaching Urban Planning, with a focus on social justice issues, at the University of Toronto.

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Engagement History

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Joanna was motivated to run for the Green Party of Canada by her strong desire to support inclusive and sustainable development in Niagara West. She has actively opposed a proposed toxic waste dumpsite, fought to preserve the West Lincoln Memorial Hospital, serves on the Board of Directors of the Lincoln Public Library and served as the chair of the Canadian Evaluation Society’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Working Group.

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Candidate Values

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Joanna’s experience as an educator, her volunteerism, and her professional and personal background provide her with outstanding organizational and leadership skills and a compassionate perspective that will contribute to a progressive future for Niagara West. Joanna firmly believes we can balance economic security with the health of the planet while providing for the wellbeing of all its citizens.