Canadian politician
Lisa Marie Beare (born 1975 or 1976) is a Canadian politician who has represented the electoral district of Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia since 2017. A member of the British Columbia New Democratic Party (BC NDP) caucus, she has served in the cabinets of Premiers John Horgan and David Eby, currently as Minister of Education and Child Care.
Background.
Beare grew up in Maple Ridge, British Columbia and attended Thomas Haney Secondary School. She earned a diploma in local government management from the University of Victoria before starting her career as a flight attendant for Air Transat. During that time she became involved in her union, Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 4078, and eventually served as the local's vice-president.
Political career.
In 2014, Beare was elected a Maple Ridge school board trustee with 6,433 votes. Two years later, she announced her decision to seek the BC NDP nomination for the riding of Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows in the next provincial election. She was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2017 election, defeating the incumbent one-term BC Liberal candidate Doug Bing. In the incoming Horgan ministry, she was named Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture. The following year, she was diagnosed with a medical condition affecting her heart which required surgery.
She was re-elected in the 2020 election, after which she was named the Minister of Citizens' Services. On September 28, 2022, after Tourism Minister Melanie Mark stepped down from cabinet for medical reasons, Beare took over responsibility for the tourism portfolio in addition to her work in citizens' services.
She remained as Minister of Citizens' Services in the Eby ministry announced on December 7, 2022, while the tourism and arts portfolio was re-assigned to Lana Popham. She became Minister of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills in February 2024, replacing Selina Robinson. After the 2024 election, she was named Minister of Education and Child Care.