Melanie Mark, the longtime New Democrat MLA for Vancouver Mount-Pleasant, announced Wednesday that she’s stepping down from her position.
She credited the cut-throat and “dysfunctional” political environment for her decision, saying it’s become too hard to accomplish her goal of disrupting the status quo for the greater good.
“This journey has been challenging and has come at a significant personal toll. This place felt like a torture chamber,” Mark said during a livestreamed announcement. “It has been my honour to serve, but I will continue my advocacy and fight for positive change from outside this house.”
Please tune in at 1:30 PM for a very important announcement I’m making today in the Legislature.https://t.co/4SJG2bpA95
— Melanie Mark (@melaniejmark) February 22, 2023
Mark was a prominent member of former Premier John Horgan’s cabinet as the minister of tourism, arts, culture, and sport. She resigned from her cabinet position in September 2022 due to health reasons but stayed on as MLA.
She was first elected in the riding in 2016, becoming the first First Nations woman elected as an MLA in BC. After the Fall 2020 election, she also became the first First Nations woman to serve in the cabinet of the provincial government, with her role as the head of tourism.
“Seven years and three elections since I took my seat here. I’m still the only First Nations woman to hold a seat in these chambers and serve in our cabinet. Take a moment and think about that,” she said.
She spent time going over her accomplishments as MLA, including creating a provincial tuition waiver program so kids in foster care could have a chance at post-secondary education.
She also revealed she’s recently been diagnosed with ADHD.
“This decision did not come lightly. I am not quitting. If anything, I’m standing up for myself,” she said. “I may have been the first First Nations woman to have a seat in this house, but I will do my level best to make sure I’m not the last.”
With Mark leaving her position, the riding of Vancouver-Mount Pleasant will hold a by-election to find a new representative. Horgan is also scheduled to step down from his MLA position in March as he enters retirement after battling cancer, meaning there will be two seats in the legislature decided this spring.
With files from Daily Hive’s Kenneth Chan