Eileen Higdon is native to Lanarkshire, Scotland where she worked as a nurse and midwife; she moved to Toronto in 1973 where she began studying at Ryerson University, receiving her bachelor of science in nursing. She is a well-known public health advocate in Scarborough and has worked as a Registered Nurse in hospitals, retirement homes and schools for over 50 years. She is an active community member and the founder of the Frenchman’s Bay Festival in Pickering which used to be an incredibly popular tourist attraction for local vendors.
No stranger to the political arena, Higdon was elected as a city councillor for Pickering in 1991 and ran as a NDP candidate in the 2014 Ontario election in the provincial riding of Pickering–Scarborough East (losing to Tracy MacCharles of the Liberals on that occasion). During her time with Pickering Town Council, she worked to improve waterfront safety by stopping future development on Frenchman’s Bay and sought to extend Douglas Park. She ran for mayor of Pickering in 2018, coming in second place.
