Dorise Nielson (
July 30 1902 -
December 9 1980) was a Canadian politician and teacher. She was the first member of the
Communist Party of Canada to be elected to the
Canadian House of Commons. She won a seat in the
1940 Canadian election representing North Battleford,
Saskatchewan on the
Progressive Unity label beating the
LIberal candidate in a two-way race. She ran for re-election in the
1945 Canadian election for the
Labour Progressive Party (the name the Communist Party used between
1941 and
1959) but came in third behind the
CCF and the
Liberals with 13% of the vote . She ran again in the
1953 Canadian election, this time in
Brantford, Ontario, but came in last place with 216 votes.
According to Eugene Forsey, Nielson ended up in the People's Republic of China though it is unclear from his account whether she settled there or simply visited. She was also a senior member of the Canadian-Soviet Friendship Society in the 1940s.