MLA in Coquitlam-Burke Mountain · BC provincial 2026
Jodie Wickens
Minister of Children and Family Development, running again for the BC NDP in Coquitlam-Burke Mountain.
Jodie Wickens won Coquitlam-Burke Mountain in 2024 with 11,020 votes (50.85 percent) and has been Minister of Children and Family Development since December 10, 2024. In 2026 she announced a new system of funding for children and youth with disabilities, with $475 million in new money over three years, which replaces the autism funding program after March 31, 2027. Families and Conservative MLAs called the change a cut. She said in the legislature that the change adds money and reaches more children.
A researched record of Jodie Wickens's 9 commitments in her own words and 4 party commitments, 7 dated actions and 8 public statements from 2026, with 3 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 Jodie Wickens
Jodie Wickens is the BC NDP candidate in Coquitlam-Burke Mountain on the Elections BC candidate list stamped October 1, 2026 12:00:07 PM. On that copy she is the only accepted candidate in the district. Nominations close at 1 p.m. on October 3, 2026.
Elections BC records show her first win in a by-election on February 2, 2016, with 3,836 votes (46.48 percent). In the 2017 general election Joan Isaacs received 10,388 votes and Wickens received 10,301. In 2024 she won the district again with 11,020 votes (50.85 percent), against 10,652 for Conservative Stephen Frolek.
The legislature record lists her as Minister of State for Child Care and Children and Youth with Support Needs from November 18, 2024, and as Minister of Children and Family Development from December 10, 2024. Her member page says she worked as Director of Programs and Services at SHARE Family & Community Services Society before 2024, and an earlier version says she was Executive Director of the Autism Support Network. voche.me did not check these jobs with those groups.
On February 10, 2026 her ministry announced a new disability benefit and supplement for children and youth, and more community services. In the legislature she answered questions on this change many times. Families protested outside her constituency office on April 24, 2026, according to Freshet News.
Her campaign page, written by the party, says she was the youngest woman MLA when first elected in 2016. voche.me did not check this claim with the legislature.
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.
13 commitments shown · Checked Oct 1
2026 · Public servicesIn progress
New disability benefit for children and youth
A government release on February 10, 2026 quotes Wickens on $475 million over three years for a new B.C. Children and Youth Disability Benefit and Supplement. The release says the benefit will pay families of children with significant disabilities $6,500 or $17,000 per year, and that the autism funding program ends on March 31, 2027.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The release gives the total cost and the launch years. It gives no count of children who will receive the benefit.
What still needs checking
How many families receive the new benefit by March 31, 2027?
In her budget debate speech on February 18, 2026, Wickens described a new supplement, paid according to family income, of up to $6,000 per year for middle- and low-income families of children with disabilities, with $245 million set aside. The government release says it starts in July 2027.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
She gives the cost and the yearly amount. She gives no count of families who will qualify.
What still needs checking
Does the supplement open in July 2027, and how many families receive it?
More community services for children with support needs
In the budget debate of February 18, 2026, Wickens said $80 million will expand community-based programs by more than 40 percent over three years. In the estimates debate of March 12, she said 75 more full-time staff positions are funded from April 1, 2026, to serve 4,000 more children.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
She gives the cost, the number of children and the start date. She gives no wait time target.
What still needs checking
Are the 75 positions filled, and how many more children were served in the first year?
In the legislature on February 18, 2026, Wickens said a Foundry centre for children and youth would open in the Tri-Cities within weeks, with primary care, peer support and counselling.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
A statement. She gives no cost and no opening date beyond "a few weeks". voche.me did not confirm the opening.
In the legislature on February 18, 2026, Wickens said the new Burke Mountain high school will let 1,000 high school students go to school in their community. On March 5 she said the Province put $168 million into the school.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
She gives the seat count and the cost. She gives no opening date.
What still needs checking
Has the Burke Mountain secondary school opened, and at what final cost?
Child and Youth Well-Being Action Plan and outcomes tracking
A government release on June 16, 2026 quotes Wickens as the Province released a Child and Youth Well-Being Action Plan, with an Outcomes Framework to track results across ministries.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The release describes the plan and the framework. It gives no cost, no target and no date for the first results report.
What still needs checking
When is the first report under the Outcomes Framework published?
Reform of specialized homes and contractor oversight
In question period on May 7, 2026, Wickens said her ministry is reforming its specialized homes and support services, and that any organization with a ministry contract over $500,000 must be accredited.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
She names the reform and an existing accreditation rule. She gives no cost and no date for the reform.
What still needs checking
What does the reform of specialized homes change, and when?
First Nations jurisdiction over child and family services
In her budget debate speech on February 18, 2026, Wickens said the Province has signed 15 agreements with First Nations on their own child and family services, with more to come.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The 15 agreements describe work already done. She gives no number or date for the next agreements.
What still needs checking
How many more agreements are signed in 2026 and 2027?
The BC NDP platform page says the party is delivering 80,000 homes now, with an estimated 300,000 more over the next ten years. The page does not name Wickens.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
Party text. voche.me found no 2026 statement by Wickens on housing.
What still needs checking
Does Wickens speak on housing in the district during the campaign?
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.
Announced; autism funding program ends March 31, 2027
New disability benefit and supplement announced
The Province announced $475 million over three years for a new benefit, a new supplement and more community services for children and youth with disabilities. The government release quotes Wickens, and The Canadian Press reports she spoke at the news conference.
Scope, limits and sources
The release is the government's own account. The supplement starts in July 2027.
Voted yes on third reading of the freedom of information bill (Bill 9)
The recorded vote index lists Wickens voting yes at second and third reading of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Amendment Act, 2026, and yes on two amendments moved by Gibson.
Scope, limits and sources
The index does not describe what each amendment changed.
Wickens described the $475 million for children and youth with disabilities, the action plan, First Nations agreements on child and family services, and projects in Coquitlam.
Ministry of Children and Family Development budget debate
Over two days Wickens answered questions on contractor oversight, social worker numbers, child and youth mental health services and the new disability funding.
Wickens said 80 percent of families now receiving autism funding will receive one of the two new benefits, and that families with net income over $200,000, or whose children do not meet the federal criteria, may see less direct funding.
Statement to Freshet News on the protest at her office
In an emailed statement, Wickens said most families now receiving funding will keep direct support and that she will support families through the change.
Statement on federal money for the Burke Mountain Community Centre
A federal release quotes Wickens on the Burke Mountain Community Centre. She says the Province announced $10 million for the project in the spring; voche.me did not open a provincial record of that amount.
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.
Policy dispute
Change to autism funding for children
The new system ends the autism funding program on March 31, 2027. Conservative MLAs asked in question period why families would lose funding. CHEK News reported that families and Conservative members rallied at the legislature on April 2, 2026, and Freshet News reported a protest outside her constituency office on April 24, 2026, where a parent said her family's monthly funding would fall.
Candidate or party response
Wickens said in the legislature that the change adds $475 million and that funding is now tied to each child's level of need. She disputed that it is a cut. She told Freshet News that most families now receiving funding will keep direct support.
Verified status and limits
On 2026-10-01 voche.me found no change to the plan announced on February 10, 2026.
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
The Canadian Press
B.C. revamps funding for children with autism and other support needs
Reports the new funding system and Wickens's comments at the news conference.
Sources checked October 1, 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 events and no platform of her own. The BC NDP team page loads its list by script, and voche.me did not read the data behind it on this date; the district address coquitlamburkemountain.bcndp.ca opens her campaign page. Her Facebook, X and Instagram pages show no readable posts to a direct read, so nothing from them is used. The ministry budget debates of March 11 and 12, 2026 were read for her main answers and not line by line. Votes are taken from the vote index only; the transcripts of those votes were not opened. voche.me found no 2026 statement by her on housing, transportation, policing or climate. Her jobs at SHARE Family & Community Services Society and the Autism Support Network come from her member page and were not checked with those groups. The campaign page says she was the youngest woman MLA in 2016; voche.me has not confirmed it. Her record from 2016 to 2017 was not reviewed. voche.me found no local government or school board role on record. The opening of the Tri-Cities Foundry centre and of Burke Mountain secondary school were not confirmed. No 2026 all-candidates meeting for Coquitlam-Burke Mountain was found. Campaign finances and endorsements were not reviewed. Nominations close October 3, 2026, so other candidates may still be added. The questionnaire has not been sent.
Research status
What voche.me has checked
Evidence reviewed on 2026-10-01: the Elections BC candidate list, key dates page, 2016 by-election results, 2017 results and 2024 statement of votes, the legislature member record, the 2026 speech and vote indexes, 10 transcripts of 2026 sittings where she spoke, three government releases that quote her, a federal release that quotes her, her campaign page, the BC NDP platform and releases pages, and reports by The Canadian Press, CHEK News and Freshet News.
Most commitments on this page come from what she said in the legislature and in government releases in 2026. 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.
How will you measure whether the new disability benefit serves more children than the autism funding program did?
No response has been submitted.
What would you do first as MLA for Coquitlam-Burke Mountain on schools and community services on Burke Mountain?
No response has been submitted.
How would you reduce caseloads for social workers in the Ministry of Children and Family Development?
No response has been submitted.
Have your own question?
Ask Jodie Wickens 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 Jodie Wickens's page itself, answered directly rather than left blank.
Is this an official page for Jodie Wickens?
No. This page is researched by voche.me from public sources, listed below, and is separate from Jodie Wickens's own campaign.
What party is Jodie Wickens running with?
Jodie Wickens is running for MLA with BC NDP.
Does Jodie Wickens currently hold public office?
Yes. Jodie Wickens currently serves as Minister of Children and Family Development; MLA for Coquitlam-Burke Mountain.
How many sources does this Jodie Wickens profile cite?
This profile lists 5 sourced references, each with the date voche.me checked it, in the Sources section below.
Why do some questions on Jodie Wickens's page show no answer?
The "Questions & answers" section on this page lists questions voche.me would put to Jodie Wickens 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 Jodie Wickens 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.
