Monday August 12, 2024 | VICTORIA, BC [Updated August 13, 2024]
BC Election Analysis by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
Brittny Anderson was elected as the MLA for Nelson-Creston in 2020, becoming one of the youngest MLAs ever to be elected to the BC Legislature.
She was appointed as an advisor on youth in April 2021, under then Premier John Horgan who said at the time that the role carried a lot of responsibility.
In December 2022 Premier David Eby appointed Anderson to the role of Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism to the Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport (the Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport Minister is Lana Popham) as well as maintaining her role as the Premier’s Special Advisor on Youth. In the past year she’s not had a remarkably high profile with either portfolio.
Eby in Nelson today:
Premier David Eby is visiting in Nelson today August 12, to host a town hall event with Brittny Anderson as the BC NDP candidate in Kootenay Central.
With an early campaign bump from the premier, Anderson could succeed with re-election in the riding that includes includes the communities of Nelson, Silverton, Kaslo and Creston.
The top BC NDP themes for all candidates for this election are housing, affordability, health-care and putting people first.
The BC NDP government is in active governance role right up until the writ drops on September 21 (official election campaigning begins).
Power-pack career to date:
Anderson is the Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism to the Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport and the Premier’s Special Advisor on Youth. MLA Anderson is also a member of Treasury Board, among other committees.
She holds a M.Sc in Environmental Science and Policy (earned in Budapest) and has a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations (UBC Okanagan), and a former small-business owner.
Anderson was elected to Nelson City Council in 2018 and served on the Board of the Regional District of Central Kootenay before running for a MLA position.
Race shaping up:
Also running in Kootenay Central for the October 19, 2024 election are two other women:
- BC Green candidate Nicole Charlwood had come a close second in the 2020 election. This time around she is campaigning on rural health-care, affordability and water security.
- Nelson-area resident Corinne Mori is running as an independent.
In 2020, Anderson won the Nelson-Creston riding with 41.78% of the vote, with the BC Green candidate a fairly close second with 32.13%.
Nelson is a city located in the Selkirk Mountains on the West Arm of Kootenay Lake in the Southern Interior of British Columbia.
So far, no candidates have been announced for Kootenay Central for either BC United or BC Conservatives.
Two other Kootenay-area ridings:
There are two other Kootenay ridings that flank Kootenay Central:
- Kootenay-Monashee (includes Castlegar, Trail and Rossland — and covers an electoral footprint of much of the former Kootenay West riding held by MLA Katrine Conroy who is now retiring) where the BC Conservatives are running sustainable living advocate Glen Byle up against Steve Morissette for the BC NDP (mayor of Fruitvale).
- Kootenay-Rockies (including the communities of Cranbook, Sparwood and Fernie, bordering on Alberta) where two-term BC United MLA is seeking re-election; the BC Conservatives are running local businessman Pete Davis and the BC NDP candidate is local municipal politician Sam Atwal.
Environmental focus:
Prior to being in elected politics Brittny Anderson co-founded The Cannabis Conservancy and developed the “Sun and Earth” regenerative certification program, building upon the principles of organic agriculture, focusing on soil health, onsite nutrient fertility, while empowering workers, and fostering community engagement.
Brittny has worked for regional government in the environmental services department, focused on services such as resource recovery and water systems. She has also worked in the service sector, tourism and for non-profits.
On her X feed, her profile says: “Live simply so others can simply live.”
