Mike Bernier (born 1968) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

politician, who was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia () is the deliberative assembly of the Legislature of British Columbia, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The other component of the Legislature is the lieutenant governor of British Columbi ...

in the 2013 provincial election. He represented the electoral district of

Peace River South Peace River South is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada. It was created under the name South Peace River by the ''Constitution Amendment Act, 1955'', which split the old riding of Peace Ri ...

as a member of the

BC United BC United (BCU), known from 1903 until 2023 as the British Columbia Liberal Party or BC Liberals, is a provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada. The party has been described as conservative, neoliberal, and occupying a centre-right ...

. In December 2014, he was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary for Energy Literacy and the Environment for the Minister of Environment. On July 30, 2015, he was chosen to be Minister of Education in British Columbia. As Minister of Education, Bernier mandated the SOGI 123 (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity) created by the ARC Foundation into all schools in the province. On October 17, 2016, Bernier fired the Vancouver School Board for failing to pass a balanced budget. On May 9, 2017, Bernier was re-elected in his rural riding of Peace River South with 75.63% of the vote, the highest a BC Liberal has ever been elected with in provincial history and the eleventh highest across all parties in BC history when the

Conservative Party of British Columbia The Conservative Party of British Columbia, commonly known as the BC Conservatives and colloquially known as the Tories, is a provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada. It is the main rival to the governing British Columbia New Demo ...

did not run a candidate in the riding. Bernier was reappointed Minister of Education on June 12, 2017. Bernier sought the BC Liberal Party leadership after Christy Clark's resignation in August 2017, but dropped out of the race after two weeks. In opposition, he has served as the opposition critic for housing and for finance. Before being elected provincially, he was served as a city councillor (2005–2008) and then the mayor (2008–2013) of

Dawson Creek Dawson Creek is a city in northeastern British Columbia, Canada. The municipality of had a population of 12,978 in 2016. Dawson Creek derives its name from the creek of the same name that runs through the community. The creek was named after ...

, BC. He previously worked for 20 years in the natural gas industry. In the

2024 British Columbia general election The 2024 British Columbia general election was held on October 19, 2024, to elect 93 members (MLAs) of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Legislative Assembly to serve in the 43rd parliament of the Provinces and territories of Cana ...

, he ran as an

independent candidate An independent politician or non-affiliated politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicians have polit ...

but was

unseated Unseating is a political term which refers to a legislator who loses their seat in an election. A legislator who is unseated loses the right to sit in a legislative chamber. A landslide victory results in many legislators being unseated. Austral ...

by Conservative Party of British Columbia candidate Larry Neufeld.

Electoral record

References

1968 births British Columbia municipal councillors BC United MLAs Ministers of education of British Columbia Living people 21st-century mayors of places in British Columbia Members of the Executive Council of British Columbia People from Dawson Creek People from North Vancouver 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia {{BCUnited-BritishColumbia-MLA-stub