Eileen Dailly

Who is Eileen Dailly?

Eileen Elizabeth Dailly was an educator and political figure in British Columbia. She represented Burnaby North in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1966 to 1986 as a New Democratic Party member.

She was born Eileen Elizabeth Gilmore, the daughter of Joseph Gilmore and Mary Scott, in Vancouver, British Columbia and taught school for ten years in British Columbia. In 1951, she married James Dailly. She served ten years as a school trustee and was chairman of the school board for four years. In the assembly, Dailly served as deputy premier and as Minister of Education. As education minister, she banned corporal punishment in schools in 1973; she also introduced mandatory kindergarten and created the first First Nations school board in the province. She retired from politics in 1986. From 1988 to 1991, she hosted a senior's program on community cable television called "Coming of Age".

Dailly died on Salt Spring Island at the age of 84 from complications following skin cancer surgery.