Hispanopedia WikiBalarama Holness[1] (born July 20, 1983), also known as Steven Holness, is a Canadian politician and former professional footballsafety. He was originally signed by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He won a Grey Cup Championship with the Montreal Alouettes in 2010. He played CIS Football at Ottawa.
Family and early life
Holness was born in Montreal to a Québécois mother and a Jamaican father.[2]Andrew Michael Holness, the current Prime Minister of Jamaica is his first cousin. His mother's Hinduism resulted in the name Balarama and a childhood at an ashram in West Virginia.[2] Aged nine he moved to Boisbriand, where he was required to use the name "Steven",[2] which he maintained in his pro football career. His daughter is named after Marie-Joseph Angélique, a Portuguese-born black slave in New France.[3]
Political career
While studying law at McGill University,[4] he ran for borough mayor of Montréal-Nord for Projet Montréal in the 2017 Montreal municipal election but lost to Christine Black.[5] After the 2017 election, Holness launched a petition calling for the city to hold a public consultation on systemic racism and discrimination.[6] Founder of a social justice lobby group "Montreal in Action," Holness was profiled on November 21, 2020, by the CTV Television Network as "an inspirational view of a man confronting systemic racism."[7]
On May 20, 2021, he announced his candidacy for mayor of Montreal in the 2021 Montreal municipal election[8] as a candidate of the Mouvement Montréal party. Holness finished in third place with 7.23% of votes and Mouvement Montréal failed to elect any of its candidates.
On June 7, 2022, Holness announced the creation of the party Bloc Montreal, being a part of the 2022 Quebec general election. It was founded after Quebec Liberal Party leader Dominique Anglade offered to work with the Coalition Avenir Québec government on certain legislation. Bloc Montreal finished with only 0.2% of votes, and it failed to elect any of its candidates, including Holness himself. The party dissolved in early 2026, with Holness endorsing the Quebec Liberal Party of Charles Milliard.[9]
Electoral record
Provincial
Municipal
References
- ^Jason Magder (October 11, 2017). "Montreal elections: First-time candidates plan big changes for Montreal". Montreal Gazette. Archived from the original on April 26, 2018.
Known as Steven Holness when he played on the Montreal Alouettes from 2010 to 2011, Balarama Holness (his legal name)…
- ^ abcBruemmer, René (March 4, 2023). "Balarama Holness is yearning for a Montreal that feels like home". Retrieved September 13, 2024.
- ^"The Man Striving to Be the 'Canadian Obama'". The New York Times. July 10, 2020.
- ^Cabrera, Holly (May 20, 2021). "Balarama Holness, activist and former CFL player, enters Montreal mayoral race". CBC. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
- ^Verity Stevenson (November 7, 2017). "How the Projet Montréal 'wave' spread across the city". CBC News. Archived from the original on April 21, 2018.
- ^"20,000 sign petition for Montreal inquiry into systemic racism".
- ^Neff, Kirk (November 21, 2020). "Filming Balarama Holness provides inspirational view of a man confronting systemic racism". W5. Archived from the original on November 21, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
- ^@BalaramaHolness (May 20, 2021). "I'm officially running for Mayor of our city!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/2231143/bloc-montreal-balarama-holness-dissolution?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
- ^Maltais, Isabelle (May 20, 2021). "Balarama Holness se lance dans la course à la mairie de Montréal". Radio-Canada (in French). Retrieved May 20, 2021.
- ^"Rapport officiel du recensement des votes"(PDF). City of Montreal. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
External links
- Montreal Alouettes bio
- Official website
- 1983 births
- Anglophone Quebec people
- Canadian football defensive backs
- Living people
- Montreal Alouettes players
- Ottawa Gee-Gees football players
- Politicians from Montreal
- Players of Canadian football from Montreal
- Winnipeg Blue Bombers players
- Canadian sportsperson-politicians
- Canadian sportsperson-politicians from Manitoba
- Black Canadian players of Canadian football
- Black Canadian politicians
- Black Canadian sportsmen
- Politicians from Winnipeg