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Who is Lisa Beare?

Get to know your new minister and local MLA
7775680_web1_LisaBeareHeadshot

Lisa Beare has had an eventful debut into provincial politics, with an appointment to John Horgan’s cabinet mere months into her first term as MLA for Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows.

Her new position as Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture is a bit of a surprise, considering she’s made a name for herself so far as an advocate for education and child care.

Beare came out swinging against former premier Christy Clark on that very topic during her first question period in June.

She took Clark to task over her government’s commitment priorities, asking, “Why does she think that hanging on to her job is more important than letting a new government get to work on affordable child care?”

Prior to her victory over Liberal incumbent Doug Bing in May’s election, Beare had been serving as a school board trustee for School District 42, representing Maple Ridge.

She ran a compassionate campaign focused on children’s needs and more transparency in the school board, which led her to victory in the 2014 municipal election.

A long-time Maple Ridge resident who grew up in the area, Beare left behind a career in the aviation industry to get into politics.

She was a flight attendant for Air Transat for years, and has also trained as a commercial pilot. She also served as president of local chapters of The 99s International Organization of Women Pilots and Women in Aviation.

But the opportunity to provide leadership on other issues she feels passionately about led her to take on a number of board positions, including two years with Variety the Children’s Charity.

She also served as vice president of the CUPE Local 4078 union chapter.

After graduating high school from Thomas Haney Secondary, Beare went on to earn a diploma in local government management from the University of Victoria.

Beare also has an adorable young daughter, Brinley, who is often at her mother’s side: