Minister Bowinn Ma announcing the opening of 3000 new student seats in K-12 schools across BC.

Dear --

An additional 3000 new student seats are opening this fall in K-12 public schools across BC as students head back to school. Here in North Vancouver, construction on our new 595-seat Cloverley Elementary School is well underway and the new 100-seat addition at Westview Elementary School has also broken ground.

Construction on our new 362-bed student housing project at Capilano University's North Vancouver campus is also progressing well. Click here for a progress video for this project, which is set to open this winter.

After nearly two months of being sealed up, the doors to our North Vancouver-Lonsdale Community Office are finally repaired! As your MLA, I'm often called to the BC Legislature in Victoria. Regardless of where I'm serving you from, my local Community Office in North Vancouver is staffed 5-days a week, accepting walk-ins on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Monday and Fridays are reserved for appointments.

TransLink is now engaging with the public on the future North Shore Bus Rapid Transit service. Although they sound similar, "Bus Rapid Transit" or BRT is different from the current R2 RapidBus service that runs along Marine Drive. BRT is a type of rapid transit service that utilizes vehicles on wheels rather than rail, and is often a precursor to even higher forms of transit.

Comfortable stations, platform-level boarding, dedicated lanes, and priority access onto bridges are all part of the plan for BRT. It is a faster, cost-effective way to deliver reliable high-quality high-volume transit service to communities and is an approach that the TransLink Mayors Council has opted for going forward in order to deliver rapid transit service to a greater number of communities in Metro Vancouver, sooner.

I know that our community will have a lot to say about this important proposed service. While I always appreciate hearing your thoughts, please ensure that you also provide your feedback directly to TransLink through their public engagement website as my e-mail inbox is not shared with TransLink.

--Bowinn Ma, MLA
North Vancouver-Lonsdale
 
 

North Shore BRT

Public engagement on the future Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) route between Metrotown and the North Shore is now open!

This proposed rapid transit service will span 21 km with 16-17 stations, connecting the North Shore, Vancouver, and Burnaby.

BRT provides a high-capacity service that is fast, reliable, and far more comfortable than bus service, with 5-minute frequency during peak hours.

Take the survey now.

Our North Shore Community

👵 North Shore Family Respite Centre

The new North Shore Family Respite Centre that is being built as part of the North Shore Neighbourhood House redevelopment project is coming along!

MLA Susie Chant and I were proud to be able to secure a $2.9 million provincial contribution to support Care BC in the delivery of this centre, which will provide temporary Adult Day Care and Overnight Respite Care for seniors diagnosed with dementia, who are living at home.

🏫 Westview Elementary School Addition

A 100-seat addition to Westview Elementary School is now under construction.

The use of modular pre-fabricated construction technology allows the province to deliver permanent, full-service classroom additions for communities at half the cost and twice the speed when compared to traditional construction methods without compromising on the look, feel, and function of the building.

🎖️ Pam Horton

Pamela Horton from North Vancouver has been awarded the Medal of Good Citizenship (posthumously) in recognition of a lifetime of advocacy in advancing the rights, dignity and inclusion of people with disabilities in BC and across Canada.

It is one of British Columbia's highest honours. Rest in Peace, Pam.
 

Updates from the Minister

MLA Ma also serves as Minister of Infrastructure, which is a new ministry created to deliver provincial capital projects for communities. Here are some updates from her work in this file.

👴 St. Vincent's Heather Long-Term Care Project - Construction is underway on St. Vincent’s Heather, a new 240-bed long-term care home that will increase access to care for seniors in the Lower Mainland.

🏥 Nanaimo Regional General Hospital  - The new High Acuity Unit (HAU) at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital is now open.

🏫 K-12 Schools Opening - 1500 new student seats are opening this fall at schools in Langford, Abbotsford, Delta, Richmond, Kelowna, and Trail.

🏫 Surrey Schools - More than 700 new student seats at three schools in Surrey are opening this fall. Construction has broken ground on a further 2300 new student seats this year, for a total of 4700 additional student seats actively under construction in Surrey and on the way.

🏫 Langley Schools - A new school and two new additions are now open for K-12 students in Langley, bringing more than 900 new seats to the district, with 3000 more actively under construction in Langley and on the way.

🏫 Burnaby Schools - Construction has begun on new K-12 classrooms at three schools in Burnaby, bringing more than 1000 new student spaces to meet the needs of the community.

🏫 K-12 Classrooms Under Construction - Construction has broken ground on an additional 1500 student spaces at schools in Chilliwack, Delta, Fort St. John, Richmond, North Vancouver, and Maple Ridge.

🏢BCIT's Tall Timber Student Housing - New on-campus housing has opened at the BCIT Burnaby campus. The 12-storey mass-timber building adds 469 affordable student beds. 
 

BC Government News Quick-List

July 24 - September 3


Health & Mental Health
🏥 Broadened access to the HPV vaccine program to protect more people against cancers.

Agriculture & Economy
🔌 BC Hydro launches the 2025 call for power for clean or renewable electricity.
⚡ Applications for the CleanBC industry fund have opened to support electrification.
🍽️ Support for BC food and beverage producers access to international markets.
🐔 UV light systems & air filters for 75 poultry farms to help prevent the spread of avian flu.

Arts, Culture, & Sport
🏛️ The What We Heard Report for a Filipino cultural centre released.
🏛️ The What We Heard Report for a South Asian museum released.
🎨 Community Gaming Grant applications are open to support arts and culture not-for-profits. 

►See more BC Government news
 

Have Your Say: Public Consultations

🦌 Angling and Hunting Photo Contests
The Ministry of Waters, Lands and Resource Stewardship holds an annual photo contest. This year the photo contest is for the Hunting and Trapping Regulations Synopsis to be published in 2026.

Deadline October 1, 2025.

🚌 Metrotown - North Shore Bus Rapid Transit
Translink's Public Engagement Survey for the Metrotown - North Shore Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is open. The public is encouraged to share their feedback and help shape our region's next rapid transit expansion.

Deadline September 21, 2025.

 

 

 

👷 Labour Relations Code Review
The Labour Relations Code Review Panel reviewed the Labour Relations Code in 2024. The panel recently released their report and recommendations, which the public is invited to provide feedback on.

Deadline September 19, 2025.

🏗️ Infrastructure Projects Act
Public engagement is open to support implementation of the Infrastructure Projects Act. The public is invited to take part in a survey to share their thoughts on the development of provincially significant projects criteria.

Deadline September 30, 2025

Bowinn Ma, MLA
North Vancouver-Lonsdale
Community Office

50-221 Esplanade W
North Vancouver, BC  V7M 3J3

Walk-In Office Hours:
Tuesdays - Thursdays: 9:30am - 4:30pm
Mondays & Fridays by appointment only.

604-981-0033
Bowinn.Ma.MLA@leg.bc.ca