Michelle Mungall, the MLA for Nelson-Creston and Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Competitiveness, won’t be seeking re-election.
In a statement Wednesday Mungall said she wants more time with her family.
“As my husband Zak and I have been thinking about our family’s future and where we want it to be, we want it to be in the Kootenays and we want to be together,” said Mungall.
“Our two-year-old son Zavier loves his friends, the mountains, days on the beach at Kootenay Lake, playing in the snow in our backyard. We want him to grow up in our wonderful Kootenay community, and neither Zavier nor I want me to miss out on it for a large part of the year.”
Mungall said she’s proud of her involvement in the preservation of the Jumbo Valley, reducing child poverty, fighting for people on disability and income assistance, the CleanBC program, and the pandemic economic stimulus.
She was first elected to the legislature in 2009 and re-elected in 2013 and 2017. She served as the BC NDP government’s Minister for Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources from July 2017 to January 2020.
Mungall was a member of Nelson City Council from 2002 to 2005. At the age of 24, she was the youngest councillor in Nelson’s history and one of the youngest female politicians in Canada at the time.
“As MLA and cabinet minister, I have been proud to work with Premier Horgan and people in the Kootenays to make our communities stronger,” she said. “Together we were able to bring home a health campus at Mount St. Francis in Nelson, new ferries and upgraded terminals for Kootenay Lake, [and] over 300 units of affordable social housing throughout the Kootenays …
“I have loved working with my colleagues in the New Democrat BC government caucus and cabinet with John Horgan as our premier. I am going to miss them very much. And most importantly, thank you to my fabulous husband, Zak, family and friends for everything.”
Mungall is the third cabinet minister this week to announce they are leaving politics.
Forestry minister Doug Donaldson said Monday he will opt out of the next election, as will Scott Fraser, the Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation.
The next general election will be held on or before Oct. 16, 2021.
