Pam Alexis

Pam Alexis
Minister of Agriculture and Food of British Columbia
In office
December 7, 2022 – November 18, 2024
PremierDavid Eby
Preceded byLana Popham
Succeeded byLana Popham
Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly
for Abbotsford-Mission
In office
October 24, 2020 – September 21, 2024
Preceded bySimon Gibson
Succeeded byReann Gasper
Mayor of Mission
In office
November 1, 2018 – November 12, 2020
Preceded byRandy Hawes
Succeeded byMark Davies (acting)
Personal details
BornVictoria, British Columbia
Political partyNew Democratic
SpouseAlan Fry
Residence(s)Hatzic, British Columbia[1]
Alma materUniversity of Victoria

Pam Alexis is a Canadian politician who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2020 British Columbia general election. She represented the electoral district of Abbotsford-Mission as a member of the British Columbia New Democratic Party (BC NDP). She served as the Minister of Agriculture and Food of British Columbia in the cabinet of David Eby.

In the 2024 British Columbia general election, Alexis was defeated in her bid for reelection by Reann Gasper.

Biography

Born and raised in Victoria, British Columbia, Alexis attended University of Victoria, receiving a bachelor of fine arts degree in 1980 and a teaching certificate in 1982.[2][3] She lived in Japan with her family from 1985 to 1990 before moving to Dallas, Texas, teaching English as a second or foreign language during that time.[3] They returned to Canada in 1994, settling in the District of Mission in the Fraser Valley.[3] She worked at the Clarke Theatre in Mission from 1996 to 2001,[2] before founding an event management company.[3]

Prior to politics, she served on several boards and non-profit organizations, including the Mission Chamber of Commerce (vice-president),[1] the Rotary Club of Mission Midday, and the Sunshine Rotary Club, where she also served as president and earned four Paul Harris Fellowships. She was vice-president for the 2014 BC Winter Games hosted in Mission.[4]

She was first elected as a Mission school trustee in the 2005 municipal election and was re-elected in 2008.[2] She unsuccessfully ran for a seat on Mission District Council in 2011,[2] before winning election to council in 2014 by taking the largest number of votes.[5][6] In 2018, she won the district's mayoral race.[5]

She ran in the 2020 provincial election as a BC NDP candidate in the riding of Abbotsford-Mission,[7] defeating the two-term incumbent Liberal candidate Simon Gibson to become the riding's member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA).[8] She resigned as mayor of Mission on November 12, 2020.[9] She suffered a stroke in September 2021, but recovered with no permanent side effects and resumed her work as MLA the following month.[10][11]

She was named Minister of Agriculture and Food by Premier David Eby on December 7, 2022.[12][13]

Electoral record

2020 British Columbia general election: Abbotsford-Mission
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
New Democratic Pam Alexis 10,364 41.07 +11.90 $22,050.17
Liberal Simon Gibson 9,620 38.12 −13.07 $38,355.28
Green Stephen Fowler 2,667 10.57 −6.51 $1,113.00
Conservative Trevor Hamilton 1,989 7.88 – $1,310.44
Christian Heritage Aeriol Alderking 595 2.36 −0.20 $1,305.19
Total valid votes 25,235 99.40 –
Total rejected ballots 152 0.60 +0.07
Turnout 25,387 53.45 -5.76
Registered voters 47,500
New Democratic gain from Liberal Swing +12.48
Source: Elections BC[14]

References

  1. ^ a b "Council: Alexis, Pam". Mission City Record. October 27, 2014. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d "Profile: Pam Alexis, running for council". Mission City Record. October 12, 2011. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d "Pam Alexis". University of Victoria. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  4. ^ Aun, Carol (September 27, 2014). "Profile: Alexis in civic race". Mission City Record. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  5. ^ a b Mills, Kevin (October 26, 2018). "Meet Mission's new mayor: Pam Alexis". Mission City Record. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  6. ^ "Election Results - 2014 - Municipality - Mission (City)". CivicInfo BC. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  7. ^ "Mission Mayor Pam Alexis to run for the NDP". Mission City Record. September 25, 2020. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  8. ^ "NDP's Pam Alexis wins Abbotsford-Mission riding". Mission City Record. November 7, 2020. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  9. ^ Penner, Patrick (November 12, 2020). "Pam Alexis resigns as Mission's mayor, by-election planned for spring 2021". Mission City Record. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  10. ^ Mills, Kevin (October 28, 2021). "MLA Pam Alexis back at work after suffering from a stroke". Mission City Record. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  11. ^ Mills, Kevin (November 4, 2021). "Looking back: It's been a year since Pam Alexis was elected as MLA for Abbotsford-Mission". Mission City Record. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  12. ^ "New cabinet ready to take action on cost of living, health care, housing, climate" (Press release). Office of the Premier of British Columbia. December 7, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  13. ^ deRosa, Katie (December 8, 2022). "B.C. Premier David Eby unveils new cabinet with Niki Sharma, Katrine Conroy and Ravi Kahlon in top posts". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  14. ^ "Appendix C: Statement of Votes" (PDF). Elections BC. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
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