MLA in Chilliwack-Cultus Lake · BC provincial 2026
Kelli Paddon
BC NDP candidate for MLA in Chilliwack-Cultus Lake, and MLA for Chilliwack-Kent from 2020 to 2024.
Kelli Paddon is the BC NDP candidate in Chilliwack-Cultus Lake. She was elected MLA for Chilliwack-Kent in 2020 and was Parliamentary Secretary for Gender Equity from December 2022 to November 2024. In 2024 she lost Chilliwack-Cultus Lake to the Conservative candidate, with 11,366 votes (45.42 percent). In May 2026 the Registrar of Lobbyists refused her request to start lobbying the Province before her two-year waiting period ends.
A researched record of Kelli Paddon's 2026 candidacy, her term as MLA for Chilliwack-Kent from 2020 to 2024, and her work as Parliamentary Secretary for Gender Equity.
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 Kelli Paddon
Elections BC lists Kelli Paddon as the BC NDP candidate in Chilliwack-Cultus Lake. The Chilliwack Progress reports that the party announced her candidacy on September 23, 2026.
She was elected MLA for Chilliwack-Kent in 2020 with 8,268 votes (36.42 percent), according to the Elections BC statement of votes. The legislature lists her as a member of the 42nd Parliament for the BC NDP. A government release of December 7, 2022 named her Parliamentary Secretary for Gender Equity, and the Registrar of Lobbyists records that she held the post until November 18, 2024.
In the 2024 election she ran in the new district of Chilliwack-Cultus Lake. The statement of votes gives her 11,366 votes (45.42 percent) and Conservative candidate A'aliya Warbus 13,656 votes (54.58 percent).
The Elections BC list read on October 3, 2026 names A'aliya Warbus of the Conservative Party as the other candidate in the district. The Chilliwack Progress reports that Warbus, the incumbent MLA, left the BC Conservatives on August 31, 2026, sat as an independent, and returned to the party on September 22.
Her legislature biography says she worked as a community support worker, youth employment counsellor and instructor, and in policy and government relations for Community Living BC. Her campaign page says she founded Equiiti Strategic, a Chilliwack business that gives advice and coaching to organizations. The provincial lobbyist registry lists her as executive director of the Board Voice Society of BC, a group for the volunteer boards of social service non-profits.
voche.me has not contacted the campaign. The legislature's recorded votes and Hansard speeches from her time as MLA are listed in the sections below. The commitments come from the party's 2026 announcement and from the nine plan items on her campaign page, which use party wording.
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.
14 commitments shown · Checked Oct 3
2026 · EconomyCampaign pledge
Protect workers and businesses from US tariffs
In the party's September 23, 2026 announcement, as reported by the Chilliwack Progress, she said the BC NDP is working to protect workers and businesses from the effects of tariffs.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The quote comes from a party release that names her as the speaker. It names no measure, no number of jobs, no cost and no date.
What still needs checking
Which tariff measures will she support, and how many jobs in the district do they cover?
Depend less on trade with the United States (party plan)
The party release says she stands with the BC NDP to decrease trade dependence on the United States. Her campaign page speaks of an economy free from the United States.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
These are party words. They name no market, amount or date.
What still needs checking
Which new markets or industries does she expect to grow in the district?
In the party's May 2024 nomination release she said the BC NDP was easing everyday costs with car insurance savings, BC Hydro rebates and child care savings.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
This is from her 2024 campaign. No 2026 page found by voche.me repeats it.
Her past actions come from the legislature (recorded votes and Hansard), Elections BC, government releases, the Registrar of Lobbyists and reporting. Two funding announcements that quote her by name earn a record point, and so does each named bill she voted on.
Elected
Elected MLA for Chilliwack-Kent
Won Chilliwack-Kent with 8,268 votes (36.42 percent), ahead of the sitting member Laurie Throness with 6,964 votes (30.68 percent).
Scope, limits and sources
The 2020 general election was held on October 24, 2020. An election result is a job title and earns no score.
Canada and B.C. agreement on gender-based violence
The federal release names her with the federal minister and the B.C. finance minister as announcing an agreement under which, in the release's words, Ottawa "will be investing nearly $62 million over four years" in B.C.
Scope, limits and sources
The agreement was made between two governments. Her role in it was announcing it, so it earns no score.
Safe and Supported: B.C. gender-based violence action plan
The Canadian Press reports that she presented the three-year plan at a news conference with the finance minister, and said the Province began consultations for it in 2022.
Scope, limits and sources
The date is the Sunday news conference the report describes. A plan presented earns no score.
A government release quotes her as the BC Society of Transition Houses received what the release calls "approximately $1.4 million" to expand its school violence prevention program to more than 7,000 students and staff.
Scope, limits and sources
The money came from the federal National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence. The student count is the release's own forecast.
A government release quotes her as the Province gave $100,000 each to three domestic violence units and $150,000 to a unit that supports victims of sexual exploitation.
Scope, limits and sources
The money came through the federal National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence. The release does not report results.
Voted yes on third reading of the Residential Development housing bill (Bill 44)
The recorded vote index lists Paddon voting Yea at second reading (359B:1755) and third reading (373B:1540) of the Housing Statutes (Residential Development) Amendment Act, 2023, and Nay on two amendments to clause 15, moved by Olsen (370B:2005) and Walker (370B:2105).
Scope, limits and sources
The vote index gives the vote and a transcript time stamp. It does not describe what the bill or the amendments changed, and the transcripts of the votes were not opened.
Voted yes on third reading of the transit-oriented areas housing bill (Bill 47)
The index lists Paddon voting Yea at third reading (375B:1450) of the Housing Statutes (Transit-Oriented Areas) Amendment Act, 2023, and Nay on amendments moved by Wat (375B:1325) and Milobar (375B:1440).
Scope, limits and sources
The vote index gives the vote and a transcript time stamp. It does not describe what the bill or the amendments changed, and the transcripts of the votes were not opened.
Voted yes on third reading of the development financing housing bill (Bill 46)
The index lists Paddon voting Yea at second reading (361B:1630) and third reading (373B:2155) of the Housing Statutes (Development Financing) Amendment Act, 2023.
Scope, limits and sources
The vote index gives the vote and a transcript time stamp. It does not describe what the bill or the amendments changed, and the transcripts of the votes were not opened.
Voted yes on third reading of the Police Amendment Act, 2023 (Bill 36)
The index lists Paddon voting Yea at second reading (340B:1540), on the motion to report the bill complete with amendment (344B:1625) and at third reading (347B:1445).
Scope, limits and sources
The vote index gives the vote and a transcript time stamp. It does not describe what the bill or the amendments changed, and the transcripts of the votes were not opened.
Voted yes on third reading of the Restricting Public Consumption of Illegal Substances Act (Bill 34)
The index lists Paddon voting Yea at third reading (359B:1440).
Scope, limits and sources
The vote index gives the vote and a transcript time stamp. It does not describe what the bill or the amendments changed, and the transcripts of the votes were not opened.
Voted yes on third reading of the Zero-Emission Vehicles Amendment Act, 2023 (Bill 39)
The index lists Paddon voting Yea at second reading (353B:1355) and third reading (361B:1340).
Scope, limits and sources
The vote index gives the vote and a transcript time stamp. It does not describe what the bill or the amendments changed, and the transcripts of the votes were not opened.
Voted no on referring CleanBC Go Electric program practices to the Auditor General
The 2024 vote index lists Paddon voting Nay on a motion without notice to refer CleanBC Go Electric program administration practices to an Auditor General review (405B:1135).
Scope, limits and sources
The index gives the vote and a transcript time stamp. The index does not say who moved the motion, and the transcript was not opened.
She told the Investigative Journalism Foundation she was unsurprised by the decision, and that she plans to lobby later in 2026 on multi-year contracts and cost of living increases in funding for non-profits.
In the Throne Speech debate she said the speech named costs, housing, toxic drugs and community safety, and that the government would not reach a stable economy by "cutting critical core services."
Debate on the Intimate Images Protection Act (Bill 12)
She thanked the Minister of State for Child Care and the Attorney General, and said the act is "about access to justice." She defined sextortion for members.
She cited the United Way figure that 26 percent of people who menstruate in B.C. have gone through a period without menstrual products, and named Project AIM, a Chilliwack-Kent group.
She said she worked in non-profits, with 2005 to 2015 as her main decade, and that her office hosted the first Chilliwack-Kent non-profit round table in 2021, which now meets every quarter. These are her own words.
Debate on the Crime Victim Assistance Amendment Act, 2023 (Bill 37)
She said she had worked as a victim support worker and caseworker for several years, and called the bill "a step to close critical gaps in legislation."
Debate on a private member's motion on gender-based violence
She said ending gender-based violence is "the focus of everyone in this chamber" and called it "a political issue." She said the previous B.C. Liberal government cut legal aid by nearly 40 percent. That figure is her statement, and voche.me has not checked it.
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.
Official finding
Request to lobby before the two-year waiting period ends refused
Former parliamentary secretaries may lobby the Province only two years after leaving the post. She asked the Registrar of Lobbyists to excuse her from the last six months of that period so she could lobby for Board Voice Society of BC. The registrar refused, finding that the lobbying would be in the same sector as her former role and that the public interest had not been shown.
Candidate or party response
The Tyee, publishing a report by the Investigative Journalism Foundation, says she told that outlet she was unsurprised by the decision.
Verified status and limits
Refused on May 13, 2026. The Deep Dive reports that the waiting period ends on November 18, 2026. The decision makes no finding of wrongdoing.
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
Chilliwack Progress
Incumbent Warbus returns to the Conservatives
Reports that the incumbent MLA for Chilliwack-Cultus Lake, A'aliya Warbus, returned to the Conservative Party of BC on September 22, 2026 and confirmed she will run in the district. Paddon is the BC NDP candidate in the same district.
Sources checked October 3, 2026. Official records establish decisions; campaign material establishes stated positions; reporting adds investigation and context. None alone establishes every claim.
Checked again on 2026-10-03. Still open: a local platform for her 2026 campaign (her campaign page lists nine plan items in party wording, and none names a measure, number or date); the party's September 23, 2026 release (the BC NDP media centre listed releases from October 1 to 3, and none names her or the district, so it is read only through the Chilliwack Progress report); her Facebook, Instagram and X posts (no post text could be read, so none is used); an outside record for her work before 2020 and for her business, Equiiti Strategic (the legislature biography and campaign page are her own statements, and so are her 2023 Hansard remarks about non-profit and victim support work); whether she still leads Board Voice Society of BC during the campaign (no source read states it); all-candidates meetings, endorsements and campaign finances (none found on this date); and the In Their Name page, which returned HTTP 403 on 2026-09-30 and was not retried. Legislature record: six 2023 transcripts were opened for her speeches. Her 2021, 2022 and 2024 speeches are listed in the Hansard indexes (for example the 2021 debate on the Early Childhood Educators Act (Bill 14) and the 2022 debate on the Mortgage Services Act (Bill 29)), but those transcripts were not opened, and the 2021 and 2022 recorded-vote indexes were not read. Each 2023 and 2024 recorded vote below comes from the vote index with its transcript time stamp, and the transcripts of the votes were not opened. Search tool limit: web search was unavailable on 2026-10-03, so the news check used the Chilliwack Progress and Fraser Valley Today site searches and the party media centre. Local news from the last five days may hold items those searches did not return.
Research status
What voche.me has checked
Evidence reviewed on 2026-09-30: the Elections BC candidate list, the 2020 and 2024 statements of votes, the legislature's member record and its 2023 and 2024 speech indexes, the BC NDP campaign page, party releases and platform page, government releases that quote her, the Registrar of Lobbyists decision and registry, and reporting from the Chilliwack Progress, The Tyee, The Deep Dive, The Canadian Press and Fraser Valley Today.
Second pass on 2026-10-03. Repeated: the Elections BC list (Kelli Paddon, BC NDP, Chilliwack-Cultus Lake, unchanged; it now also lists A'aliya Warbus, Conservative Party, in the district, which the 2026-09-30 copy did not), her campaign page (it now lists nine plan items where it listed six on 2026-09-30), the BC NDP media centre (no release naming her or the district among those dated October 1 to 3), and the Chilliwack Progress search (two election articles in the district, both dated September 23). Added: the 2021 and 2022 Hansard indexes, the recorded vote indexes for 2023 and 2024, and six 2023 transcripts of her speeches, read in full where she spoke.
Correction on 2026-10-03: the record held two portrait entries, one credited to Wikimedia Commons under CC BY 2.0 and one credited to the BC NDP campaign. The provenance file for the image on the site names the campaign page, so the Commons entry was removed.
Her campaign page holds party text with her name in it, and no local platform was found. Her Facebook page returned only her name on 2026-10-03, and her Instagram and X accounts were not read; no post from any of them is used. An empty section records what voche.me did not find on this date.
03 / Background
Experience & community
Not dated
Founder, Equiiti Strategic
Her campaign page says she founded this Chilliwack business, which gives strategic guidance and leadership coaching to organizations. This is the campaign's statement, and voche.me has found no outside record of the business.
Her legislature biography says she was a community support worker, youth employment counsellor and instructor, and worked in policy and government relations for Community Living BC.
In a statement in the legislature on October 30, 2023 she said she worked in non-profits, and that 2005 to 2015 was the main decade. These are her own words, and the statement names no employer.
On October 31, 2023 she told the House she had worked as a victim support worker, as a caseworker, for several years. These are her own words, and the statement gives no dates or employer.
Proposed questions for a future interview. They have not been sent to the candidate, and no answers have been supplied.
Which measures would you ask the government to take to protect jobs in Chilliwack-Cultus Lake from US tariffs, and at what cost?
No response has been submitted.
How many new health care workers should the Fraser Valley get, and by when?
No response has been submitted.
Will you keep your role at Board Voice Society of BC if you are elected?
No response has been submitted.
Have your own question?
Ask Kelli Paddon 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 Kelli Paddon's page itself, answered directly rather than left blank.
Is this an official page for Kelli Paddon?
No. This page is researched by voche.me from public sources, listed below, and is separate from Kelli Paddon's own campaign.
What party is Kelli Paddon running with?
Kelli Paddon is running for MLA with BC NDP.
Does Kelli Paddon currently hold public office?
Not according to this profile. voche.me has not listed a current public office for Kelli Paddon.
How many sources does this Kelli Paddon profile cite?
This profile lists 8 sourced references, each with the date voche.me checked it, in the Sources section below.
Why do some questions on Kelli Paddon's page show no answer?
The "Questions & answers" section on this page lists questions voche.me would put to Kelli Paddon 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 Kelli Paddon 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.
