Lana Popham made the announcement on Sept. 21
British Columbia’s minister of agriculture won’t run in the next provincial election when the time comes.
Lana Popham, the NDP MLA for Saanich South currently in her second tenure as the ag community’s voice in the provincial legislature, made the announcement on Sept. 21.
“I am sad to leave this role, but I am not leaving public life without purpose,” her statement says. “I look forward to contributing in other ways and ensuring that food security, protection of the Agricultural Land Reserve, and the people who feed us remain in the spotlight for years to come.”
Popham, who co-founded and operated Barking Dog Vineyard on Vancouver Island in 1997, was first elected as an MLA in 2009 and represented her constituents through five elections.
Her involvement in politics started in 2007 when she stood up for farmers.
At the time, Liberal Premier Gordon Campbell planned to introduce policies that would’ve raised property taxes for about 90 producers in the Saanich area.
The language in Bill 32 meant many farmers would’ve lost their farm classifications.
Pressure from Popham and other ag supporters forced Campbell to walk back those policy ideas.
Popham first served as ag minister from 2017 to 2022, and sponsored multiple bills during that time.
Bill 52 in 2018 restricted the size of mansions on the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) to about 5,400 square feet.
And Bill 15 in 2019 provided more ALR protections to keep food production on the land a priority.
She spearheaded Feed BC to help public institutions buy more local food, and Buy BC, a marketing program to help shoppers identify local products.
And between 2021 and 2025 oversaw the phasing out of mink farming in the province.
“Lana Popham will be sorely missed in #bcpoli,” Andrew Weaver, a professor at the University of Victoria’s School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, said on X. “She was perhaps BC’s most effective agriculture minister in my lifetime.”
From 2022 to 2024 Popham was the tourism, arts, culture and sport minister.
Premier David Eby placed Popham back on the ag file in November 2024.
Popham’s sudden announcement comes amid speculation Premier Eby will call a snap election in the province as the Conservative Party of British Columbia tries to find its footing after former Leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay announced her resignation on Sept. 20.
Rob Shaw, a legislative reporter in B.C., says the premier will call an election at 12:15pm local time on Sept. 22.
“Welcome to the 45th general election of British Columbia,” he wrote on X.
As of Sept. 20, Popham’s riding of Saanich South is listed as safe for the NDP, according to 338Canada.com.
The site also projects an NDP majority with around 55 seats. A party needs 47 seats in B.C. for a majority.