As the newly-nominated BC NDP candidate for New Westminster-Coquitlam, Jennifer Whiteside renewed her commitment to look out for everyday people, and defend against powerful interests.

A former labour leader and community advocate, Whiteside was elected as the MLA for New Westminster in October 2020. She is the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and previously served as the Minister of Education and Child Care. She was born and raised in New Westminster.

“We all want to build a good life for ourselves and our families (here?) and that’s why we’re taking on today’s challenges with action to lower costs, build homes people can afford and improve health care ,” said Whiteside. “There’s much more to do. We can’t afford reckless cuts to hospitals and schools— we’ve seen that before and John Rustad and his Conservative party say they’ll do it again.”

Since forming government in July 2017, the BC NDP has taken action on crucial issues that matter to the people of New Westminster-Coquitlam, including:

• Strengthening healthcare by building and expanding hospitals in Surrey, Burnaby, Vancouver and Richmond
• Hiring new doctors and nurses, plus licensing internationally-trained health professionals to work in BC
• Tackling housing costs by taking on speculators, updating zoning rules to allow for more townhouses, duplexes and triplexes, and making it easier for cities to build more homes near transit
• Connecting communities across the province with new infrastructure, including the Surrey-Langley Skytrain, Patullo bridge replacement and Massey crossing — while keeping tolls off bridges
• Keeping kids safe by taking phones out of classrooms and building new schools

“Jennifer is an outstanding and effective champion for the people of New Westminster and Coquitlam,” said Premier David Eby. “She’s in it to make life better for everyone in her community and will work everyday to deliver affordable housing and high quality education, healthcare, and services for you.”

Jennifer Whiteside will join David Eby and 91 other exceptional BC NDP candidates in this fall’s provincial election, all committed to real action to help people build a good life here in BC.