Let the campaigns begin.
Premier David Eby has called byelections to fill the seats of two prominent New Democratic Party Members of the Legislative Assembly who resigned from their posts earlier this year, including his predecessor.
The seats of former premier John Horgan and former minister of Tourism Melanie Mark will be filled on June 24th. Horgan held the seat for Langford-Juan de Fuca, he first sat in legislature in 2005, becoming premier in 2017. His decision to resign his seat followed his decision to step down as Premier, after a bout with cancer last year.
Mark became the first First Nations woman to serve in the BC Legislature when she was elected to Vancouver-Mount Pleasant in 2016. She later became the first First Nations woman appointed to cabinet, as the Minister of Advanced education for three years, and two years as Minister of Tourism.
Mark’s resignation came in response to mounting stress in the role and some medical issues. In her outgoing address, she referred to the legislature as feeling like a “torture chamber” and said she would not miss the “character assassination” of politics.
