Minister of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills, running again for the BC NDP in Surrey-Newton.
Jessie Sunner was first elected in 2024 and has been Minister of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills since July 2025. Her 2026 statements in the legislature and in government releases cover trades training, the new SFU medical school in Surrey, a review of public colleges and universities, and a law on schools that enrol international students.
A researched record of Jessie Sunner’s 18 commitments, 11 dated actions and 8 public statements, with 6 news items. Most come from the legislature record and government releases.
On dates without a confirmed appearance the public schedule is unknown; the candidate may still have activities that day. This static page changes only when its research is updated.
01 / Introduction
About Jessie Sunner
Jessie Sunner is the BC NDP candidate in Surrey-Newton on Elections BC's list for the general election of October 24, 2026. She won the district in 2024 with 7,924 votes, 51.17% of the valid vote, according to the Elections BC statement of votes. The Conservative candidate, Tegjot Bal, received 6,658 votes.
The legislature record lists 2024 as her election year and shows her as Minister of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills from July 17, 2025. A government release says she began a leave on July 31, 2026 that was expected to end in October 2026, and that Minister of Labour Jennifer Whiteside took on her ministerial duties during the leave.
In the legislature in 2026 she spoke on her ministry's budget, introduced Bill 7 on schools that enrol international students, and spoke for a bill on civil forfeiture and for a motion supporting the B.C. human rights code. Government releases quote her on a review of public colleges and universities, new trades training seats and the SFU medical school in Surrey.
In the legislature on March 12, 2026 she said she worked as a human rights lawyer before her election. Her campaign page says she was a labour and human rights lawyer and trade unionist, and lists the SFU medical school and the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain extension among investments she worked for. Those are the campaign's own statements.
Published positions and selected commitments, separated by election cycle. Status labels describe the evidence reviewed, not a numerical score or a complete audit of the platform. Council approval is different from delivery.
18 commitments shown · Checked Sep 30
2026 · EducationIn progress
Double funding for trades training
In the budget debate on February 25, 2026, Sunner said the government will spend $241 million over three years to double funding to SkilledTradesBC by 2028-2029. A government release on June 15, 2026 that quotes her says this includes 5,000 new training seats in 2026-27.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The speech gives the cost and the year. The release gives the number of seats for 2026-27 only.
What still needs checking
Does SkilledTradesBC report 5,000 new seats filled in 2026-27?
Trades training for rural, remote and Indigenous communities
A government release on June 15, 2026 quotes Sunner on the Look West Workforce Readiness Initiative, a SkilledTradesBC program that pays for projects to expand trades training.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The release gives $40 million over three years from 2026-27. It gives no number of trainees.
What still needs checking
Which projects were funded after applications closed on September 15, 2026?
A government release on July 6, 2026 quotes Sunner as the Province added tower and mobile crane operators to the trades that need skilled trades certification.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The release gives July 5, 2027 as the date the rule takes effect. It gives no cost and no number of workers.
What still needs checking
How many crane operators are registered or certified by July 5, 2027?
In the budget debate on February 25, 2026, Sunner said the government aims to double the size of the AI and quantum computing sectors over ten years and grow tech jobs to 400,000.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
She names a number and a ten-year period. She names no provincial measure or cost for this goal.
What still needs checking
Which budget lines pay for the goal, and how is progress counted?
In question period on April 20, 2026, Sunner said the federal temporary foreign worker program needs reform and that B.C. needs to expand its provincial nominee program, so workers have a path to citizenship.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The number of people the Province may nominate is set with the federal government, so the Province cannot expand the program alone. She names no number or date.
What still needs checking
Does the federal government raise B.C.’s nominee allocation?
In the budget debate on February 25, 2026, Sunner said the government is building a medical school in Surrey, a $496 million investment, and that the budget gives more than $30 million to run it. A government release on August 5, 2026 quotes her as the first 48 students started.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The release says classes grow to 120 students a year by 2035, and the permanent building is expected in 2030.
What still needs checking
Does construction of the permanent building start in fall 2026, as the June release says?
Independent review of public colleges and universities
A government release on November 25, 2025 quotes Sunner launching an independent review of the 25 public post-secondary institutions, led by Don Avison, with a report due March 15, 2026. In the estimates debate on March 3, 2026 she said the government would make the recommendations public.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
voche.me did not find the published report or the government’s response on this date. She told reporters the Province is not in a position to add funding.
What still needs checking
Was the report published, and which recommendations will the government adopt?
Sunner introduced Bill 7, the Post-Secondary International Education (Designated Institutions) Act, on February 19, 2026. It makes a school hold a provincial certificate before it may enrol students on study permits, and lets the government inspect schools and cancel the certificate. The government page says the rule applies from September 1, 2026.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The law is in force according to the government page. It gives no number of schools inspected or cost.
What still needs checking
How many schools lose or are refused a certificate in the first year?
A government release on June 29, 2026 quotes Sunner as applications opened for the 2026-27 future skills grant, which pays up to $3,500 for short training at public colleges and universities.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The release gives the amount per person and the year. It gives no total budget or number of grants for 2026-27.
In the budget debate on February 25, 2026, Sunner said construction is under way on more than 2,300 new school seats in Surrey, and that more than 15,000 seats have been built or approved there since 2017.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
These are projects of the Ministry of Education and Child Care. She gives the seat numbers; she gives no cost or completion dates.
On March 3, 2026, Sunner spoke for Bill 8, the Civil Forfeiture Amendment Act, 2026, which she said would help the Province pursue property gained through crime.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
She spoke at second reading. voche.me did not check whether the bill passed. She gives no number, cost or date.
What still needs checking
Did Bill 8 receive royal assent, and how much property has been forfeited under it?
Recorded votes and government programs where an official source names her. A government program is the government’s; it is listed here only where the release quotes her or the transcript shows her role.
In force from September 1, 2026, according to the government page
Introduced the international education law (Bill 7)
Sunner introduced Bill 7 and moved its second reading on March 2, 2026. The government page says the rules apply from September 1, 2026.
Scope, limits and sources
The recorded vote index lists no standing vote on Bill 7, so the vote names nobody.
Voted yes on third reading of the freedom of information bill (Bill 9)
The recorded vote index lists Sunner voting yes at second and third reading of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Amendment Act, 2026, and on two amendments moved by Gibson.
Scope, limits and sources
The index does not describe what each amendment changed.
Records are labelled by type, including official findings, civil proceedings and political disputes where applicable. Each entry identifies the response found in the sources and the latest status verified for this page.
No reviewed entries have been added to this section yet. This is a research gap, not a finding about the candidate.
News coverage / Original publishers
Read the reporting
A dated reading list from independent publishers. The headings below are voche.me summaries; follow each link for the original article, context and any corrections.
Reporting
Victoria News · Mark Page
B.C. launches review of post-secondary system
Reports the review and Sunner’s comments that the Province cannot add funding.
Sources checked September 30, 2026. Official records establish decisions; campaign material establishes stated positions; reporting adds investigation and context. None alone establishes every claim.
The campaign page lists no platform of her own and its event search returned no events. Facebook and Instagram showed no readable posts to a direct read; her X profile showed a pinned post from 2024 and four posts from September 2026 only. Her X profile calls her a former minister, while the legislature record read on 2026-09-30 lists the role as active; voche.me found no source that explains the difference. The report of the post-secondary sustainability review, due March 15, 2026, was not found in published form. Two Castanet reports on the review and on tuition answered HTTP 403 and were not used. Whether Bill 8 (civil forfeiture) received royal assent was not checked. The Bill 7 debates of March 9 and 10, 2026 and her introductions were not read line by line. Votes are taken from the vote index only. No 2026 all-candidates meeting for Surrey-Newton was found. Her work as a lawyer and her union role were not checked against the Law Society or the union. Campaign finances and endorsements were not reviewed. The questionnaire has not been sent.
Research status
What voche.me has checked
Evidence reviewed on 2026-09-30: the Elections BC candidate list and 2024 statement of votes, the legislature’s 2026 speech and vote indexes, eight 2026 transcripts where she spoke, ten government releases and one government page, her campaign page, her X profile, the BC NDP platform and releases pages, and news reports from November 2025 to September 2026.
Her commitments on this page come from what she said in the legislature, in government releases and to reporters. Her campaign page states no measures of its own. Sections with no entry record that voche.me found nothing on this date.
Proposed questions for a future interview. They have not been sent to the candidate, and no answers have been supplied.
No questions and answers have been supplied.
Have your own question?
Ask Jessie Sunner directly. We send it to the campaign, and publish the reply here if we get one.
05 / About this page
Questions about this page
Facts voche.me can state about Jessie Sunner's page itself, answered directly rather than left blank.
Is this an official page for Jessie Sunner?
No. This page is researched by voche.me from public sources, listed below, and is separate from Jessie Sunner's own campaign.
What party is Jessie Sunner running with?
Jessie Sunner is running for MLA with BC NDP.
Does Jessie Sunner currently hold public office?
Yes. Jessie Sunner currently serves as Minister of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills; MLA for Surrey-Newton.
How many sources does this Jessie Sunner profile cite?
This profile lists 4 sourced references, each with the date voche.me checked it, in the Sources section below.
Why do some questions on Jessie Sunner's page show no answer?
The "Questions & answers" section on this page lists questions voche.me would put to Jessie Sunner in a future interview. They have not been sent yet, so the page says plainly that no answer has been supplied instead of leaving the section blank.
When is the election Jessie Sunner is running in?
The 2026 British Columbia election, including the MLA race, is decided on October 24, 2026.
06 / Candidate contributions
Space for campaign updates
No campaign updates yet
Announcements, event details and messages can be added here, with their source and publication date. No campaign submission has been added.
