Randene Neill

Randene Neill MLA is a Canadian politician and former journalist. She was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2024 general election, representing the electoral district of Powell River-Sunshine Coast as a member of the British Columbia New Democratic Party.^[2] Neill was appointed Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship by Premier David Eby in November 2024.

The Honourable Randene Neill MLA
Neill in 2024
Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship of British Columbia
Incumbent
Assumed office November 18, 2024
Premier	David Eby
Preceded by	Nathan Cullen
Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly for Powell River-Sunshine Coast
Incumbent
Assumed office October 19, 2024
Preceded by	Nicholas Simons
Personal details
Born	1968 or 1969 (age 55–56)[1] Vernon, British Columbia
Political party	BC NDP
Residence	Pender Harbour, British Columbia
Alma mater	University of British Columbia British Columbia Institute of Technology
Occupation	Journalist

Early life and career

Born in Vernon, British Columbia,^[3] Neill studied at the University of British Columbia, graduating in 1991 with a Bachelor of Arts,^[4] and at the British Columbia Institute of Technology, graduating in 1996.^[5] She joined BCTV in 1998 as a news writer and reporter,^[5][6] and was appointed noon news anchor when the station rebranded as Global BC in 2001. In 2011, she became the station's late-night news anchor, later moving to the morning news.^[7] Neill left Global in 2016 to work as a communications director with Anthem Properties.^{[8][9][10][11]} In 2021, she returned to broadcasting as the morning co-anchor for all-news radio station CKWX,^[11] leaving in 2022 after a ten-month stint.^[12]

A video of Neill during an animal adoption segment at Global BC went viral when a shelter dog jumped on her and licked her face, while another dog ran around.^[13][14]

Neill currently resides in Pender Harbour, having moved there in 2020.^[1]

Political career

After incumbent MLA Nicholas Simons announced he would not seek re-election, Neill successfully ran for the British Columbia New Democratic Party nomination for the riding of Powell River-Sunshine Coast.^[6] She was elected as MLA in the 2024 British Columbia general election,^[15] and was appointed Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship by Premier David Eby on November 18, 2024.^[16][17]

Neill has expressed support for a proposed name change of the City of Powell River, which was requested by the Tla’amin Nation due to the assimilationist policies of Israel Powell, B.C.'s superintendent of Indian affairs from 1872 to 1889.^[18]

Electoral record

v t e 2024 British Columbia general election: Powell River-Sunshine Coast
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Randene Neill	14,474	49.62	-1.27	$45,816.99
	Conservative	Chris Moore	10,409	35.68	–	$42,419.32
	Green	Chris Hergesheimer	3,932	13.48	-18.99	$34,685.32
	Independent	Greg Reid	356	1.22	–	$1,043.32
Total valid votes/expense limit			29,171	99.91	–	$71,700.08
Total rejected ballots			27	0.09	–
Turnout			29,198	66.35	+6.36
Registered voters			44,009
	New Democratic hold		Swing		-18.47
Source: Elections BC[19][20]