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Selina Mae Robinson ( Dardick; born 1964) is a Canadians politician who was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2013 provincial election and remained in the legislature until 2024.
She represented the electoral district of Coquitlam-Maillardville, first as a British Columbia New Democratic Party (BC NDP) MLA and then as an Independent. She served in the cabinet of British Columbia from 2017 until 2024.
She stepped down in February 2024 after she called Palestine "a crappy piece of land with nothing on it" until the founding of Israel.
In the 2017 provincial election, Robinson once again faced Steve Kim, this time winning by more than 2400 votes. She was subsequently appointed Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing in the new BC NDP government under Premier John Horgan. Following the resignation of Jinny Sims from cabinet in October 2019, Robinson briefly assumed the role of Minister of Citizens' Services, until Anne Kang took over the position in January 2020.
Following the start of the Gaza war, Robinson claimed that Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth called her "every single day from Oct. 7 for about 10 days, to report in to me about what was happening on the ground". Robinson worked with B'nai Brith to mandate Holocaust education in the school curriculum which would be organized by the pro-Israel organization CIJA.
Adel Iskandar, a professor at Simon Fraser University, stated that "There’s absolutely no history book that would affirm Minister Robinson’s articulation of that period in time... Obviously it was not a 'crappy piece of land'. It is the land that has had over 15,000 years of human habitability", and describing the suggestion that the land was empty as a "fundamentally colonialist narrative". Federal NDP MP Matthew Green characterised Robinson's comments as historically inaccurate and "deeply derogatory and insensitive", and called on Eby to reconsider Robinson's ministerial position. Robinson apologised for the comments later that week, calling them "disrespectful," continuing to clarify "I was referring to the fact that the land has limited natural resources". In a statement, Eby said that Robinson's claim was "wrong and unacceptable... I thank her for withdrawing the comments and apologizing unreservedly", though Robinson did not publicly withdraw the comment.
On February 1, 2024, the Federation of Post-Secondary Educators of BC (FPSE) alongside the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) released a statement calling on David Eby to call for the immediate resignation of Robinson. FPSE also describe Robinson as undermining "the democratic principles of freedom of expression, academic freedom, and a college and university system free of direct manipulation by the provincial government" given that Robinson had been directly involved in pressuring Langara College to fire Dr. Natalie Knight regarding her comments in support of the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel. They cite Robinson, retweeting a call by the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) for Langara to fire Knight and that Robinson had later met with the College to express concerns about Knight’s reinstatement.
On February 5, 2024, she was dismissed from her position as Minister of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills because of comments about Israel being founded on a 'crappy piece of land,', which reflected denial of the violence of colonialism and potential support for a settler colony, although Robinson clarified she was referring to the fact that the land has limited natural resources. After a protest of the BC NDP retreat in Surrey, BC, Robinson was dismissed.
On February 1, 2024, the Federation of Post-Secondary Educators of BC (FPSE) alongside the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) released a statement calling on David Eby to call for the immediate resignation of Robinson. FPSE also describe Robinson as undermining "the democratic principles of freedom of expression, academic freedom, and a college and university system free of direct manipulation by the provincial government".
On March 6, 2024, she announced she would sit as an independent. In the 2024 British Columbia general election her seat was held by the NDP by Jennifer Blatherwick.
On January 1, 2025, she told the National Post that the NDP had been antisemitic "for years" and that progressive parties like the NDP are pandering to "conservative Muslim groups that are anti-Israel".
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