University professor, former Kamloops mayoral candidate Cindy Friedman dies

A former Thompson Rivers University professor and former Kamloops mayoralty candidate has died.

Cindy Friedman died from an aortic dissection on Christmas eve morning while visiting her family in Penticton. She was 47.

Her husband Tom Friedman, president of the TRU Faculty Association, made the announcement today (Jan. 2, 2019).

As well as being well-known for her work at TRU, Cindy Friedman was a leading opponent of the Ajax mine project that was ultimately rejected by the provincial and federal governments. She was inducted into the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists in 2014, and was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (U.K.) in 2016.

She was also a member of the Kamloops & District Labour Council and the TRU Faculty Association. She briefly ran for mayor in a Kamloops by-election in 2017 but withdrew due to health-related family issues.

Recently, she taught at the University of Alberta and Concordia University of Alberta.

A celebration of life will be held Saturday, Jan. 12 at 2 p.m. at the Kamloops United Church, 421 St. Paul Street. A full obituary is published here.