Balarama Holness facts for kids
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| No. 36 | |
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| Position: | Cornerback |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | July 20, 1983 Montreal, Quebec |
| Height: | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Weight: | 194 lb (88 kg) |
| Career information | |
| University: | Ottawa |
| Undrafted: | 2008 |
| Career history | |
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| CFL status: | Non-Import |
| Player stats at CFL.ca (archive) | |
Balarama Holness, born on July 20, 1983, is a Canadian politician and a former professional football player. He used to be known as Steven Holness. He played as a safety in Canadian football. He even won a big championship, the Grey Cup, with the Montreal Alouettes in 2010. Before playing professionally, he played CIS Football for the Ottawa Gee-Gees.
Early Life and Family
Balarama Holness was born in Montreal, Quebec. His mother is from Quebec, and his father is from Jamaica. An interesting fact is that Andrew Holness, the current Prime Minister of Jamaica, is his first cousin.
His mother followed Hinduism, which is why he was named Balarama. He spent part of his childhood at an ashram, which is like a spiritual community, in West Virginia. When he was nine years old, his family moved to Boisbriand, Quebec. At that time, he started using the name "Steven," which he kept during his professional football career.
Football Career Highlights
Balarama Holness started his professional football journey in 2008. He was signed by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. This meant he joined the team without being chosen in the main draft.
After playing for the Blue Bombers, he moved to the Montreal Alouettes. With the Alouettes, he achieved a major success. In 2010, his team won the Grey Cup Championship. This is one of the biggest awards in Canadian football. He played as a safety, which is a defensive position on the field.
Political Journey
After his football career, Balarama Holness decided to get involved in politics. While studying law at McGill University, he ran for mayor of a part of Montreal called Montréal-Nord in 2017. He was a candidate for the Projet Montréal party but did not win the election.
After the 2017 election, Holness started a petition. He asked the city to have a public discussion about systemic racism and discrimination. Systemic racism means unfairness built into systems and institutions. He also founded a group called "Montreal in Action." This group works for social justice. In 2020, a TV network, CTV Television Network, featured him. They showed him as someone working to address systemic racism.
In May 2021, he announced he would run for mayor of Montreal. He was the candidate for a new party called Mouvement Montréal. In the 2021 Montreal municipal election, he finished in third place. His party did not win any seats in that election.
On June 7, 2022, Holness announced another new political party. This party was called Bloc Montreal. He ran as part of this party in the 2022 Quebec general election. However, Bloc Montreal received a small percentage of votes. They did not elect any candidates, including Holness himself.
Images for kids
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Balarama Holness
