Former cabinet minister and MLA For Esquimalt-Metchosin Mitzi Dean is withdrawing from the running ahead of the B.C. provincial election in October.
Dean made the announcement Saturday afternoon, saying she made this decision for the sake of her health.
“This has been one of the most difficult decisions of my life because of how much I value the role of representing the people of my community,” she said.
“However, I must put my health and the wellbeing of my family first. The personal challenges of this past year have taken a significant toll on me.”
Premier David Eby, Leader of the BC NDP, says he was advised Saturday that Dean will not be running in the election for “personal reasons.”
“I agree with those reasons, and wish her the best with the difficult personal work she has ahead,” Eby said.
“Mitzi will be on leave from her Minister of State role effective immediately in order to be focused on her health for the 3 weeks remaining in her term as MLA.”
Eby says an announcement regarding the BC NDP nomination for Esquimalt-Colwood will be made “in the near future.”
Dean was removed as Minister of Children and Family Development and became Minister of State for Child Care after a cabinet shuffle in January.
At the time, Eby said her demotion wasn’t in response to calls for her resignation — most notably from the First Nations Leadership Council in June 2023 after the death of a child in foster care in 2021. That call came after a Chilliwack provincial court sentenced a man and a woman to 10 years in prison after they pleaded guilty to the aggravated assault and manslaughter of a fostered First Nations boy, and the aggravated assault of his eight-year-old sister.
With files from Charlie Carey.