Svend Robinson

Svend Robinson
Svend Robinson at the January 2003 NDP convention in Toronto, Ontario
Member of Parliament
for Burnaby—Douglas
(Burnaby—Kingsway; 1988–1997)
(Burnaby; 1979–1988)
In office
May 22, 1979 – June 28, 2004
Preceded byRiding established
Succeeded byBill Siksay
Personal details
Born (1952-03-04) March 4, 1952 (age 72)
Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Political partyNew Democratic
Spouses
  • Patricia Fraser (1972–1975)
  • Max Riveron (1994–present)
OccupationPolitician

Svend Robinson (born March 4, 1952) is a Canadian politician. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1979 to 2004, who represented suburban Vancouver-area constituencies of Burnaby for the New Democratic Party (NDP). He is noted as the first member of Parliament in Canadian history to come out as gay while in office.[1] In 2004, he pled guilty to stealing an expensive ring and decided not to run in the June 2004 election. At the time, he was one of the longest-serving members in the House of Commons, having been elected and re-elected for seven consecutive terms. In the 2019 Canadian federal election, Robinson was the NDP candidate for the riding of Burnaby North-Seymour, but lost to the Liberal incumbent Terry Beech by 1,560 votes.