BC Green Party candidate for MLA in Saanich South. Retired chief coroner of British Columbia, who left the post in February 2024.
Lisa Lapointe is the BC Green Party candidate in Saanich South. By her own statement she was B.C.'s chief coroner for 13 years, until her third term ended on February 18, 2024. The chief coroner is the province's top official for investigating sudden and unexpected deaths. Since retiring she has spoken in public against involuntary drug treatment and for regulated alternatives to the street drug supply, and on October 1, 2026 the party named her as its candidate while it released its toxic drugs policy. The commitments on this page are the BC Green Party's platform, plus one statement of her own that names no measure.
A researched record of Lisa Lapointe's candidacy in Saanich South. Elections BC lists her with the affiliation BC Green Party. Her public record is her time as British Columbia's chief coroner, ending in February 2024, and her public statements on drug policy since. The commitments below are the BC Green Party's platform, plus one statement of her own that names no measure.
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 Lisa Lapointe
Elections BC lists Lisa Lapointe as the BC Green Party candidate in Saanich South. On the copy of the list stamped October 3, 2026 3:00:07 PM, which is after nominations closed at 1 p.m. that day, the district shows three candidates: Lisa Lapointe (BC Green Party), Cathie Ounsted (Conservative Party) and Richard Zussman (BC NDP). In 2024 Lana Popham won Saanich South for the BC NDP with 15,338 votes (49.76 percent). Adam Kubel (Conservative Party) received 10,003 votes (32.45 percent) and Ned Taylor (BC Green Party) received 5,485 votes (17.79 percent), according to Elections BC's statement of votes. CHEK News reports that the incumbent in Saanich South is not running again.
The B.C. government's news release of December 6, 2023 carries a statement from Lapointe. In it she says she had been chief coroner for 13 years, that her third term of appointment ended on February 18, 2024, and that she began in the public service in 1995 as a coroner appointed by chief coroner Vince Cain. She says she later held positions in the Coroners Service, the Corrections Branch and the province's Civil Forfeiture Office. A ministry statement of February 16, 2024 names John McNamee as acting chief coroner after her retirement and thanks her for 13 years of service. The party's candidate page says she held the post from 2011.
As chief coroner she convened death review panels, which bring outside experts together to study a group of deaths and recommend how to prevent more. Victoria News reports that she ordered the first of three panels on drug deaths in 2017. A November 1, 2023 government release reports that a panel convened by the chief coroner in December 2022 recommended that the Province pursue expanding access to safer supply without a prescription. In December 2025 she told a judge that by the time of the last two panel reports it seemed the government was not being influenced by evidence or expert advice, in testimony reported by The Canadian Press.
After retiring she spoke at a news conference in Victoria on September 24, 2024 with then Green leader Sonia Furstenau, backing the party's pledge to expand prescribed safer supply and criticising plans for involuntary treatment. In April 2026 she gave interviews to Victoria News on the drug crisis and the government's response. On October 1, 2026 BC Green leader Emily Lowan announced her as the party's Saanich South candidate at the release of the party's toxic drugs policy, and the party's release quotes her on it.
The party's candidate page makes further claims about her, and voche.me has not checked them with the bodies named. It says she holds a law degree from the University of British Columbia, chaired the Canadian Forum of Chief Coroners and Chief Medical Examiners and the British Columbia Institute of Technology's Forensic Science and Technology Program Advisory Committee, and that the BC Coroners Service received the inaugural Premier's Award for Evidence-Based Design in 2018. It also says she is a board member of PHS Community Services Society and a member of Moms Stop the Harm, and that she served on the Central Saanich Advisory Planning Committee and volunteered with hospice at Saanich Peninsula Hospital.
voche.me has not contacted the campaign. The party's candidate page lists no events and no platform of her own.
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.
6 commitments shown · Checked Oct 3
2026 · Public servicesCampaign pledge
Treat the toxic drug crisis with leadership, regulated alternatives and voluntary treatment
At the October 1, 2026 announcement she said the toxic drug crisis will only be solved when politicians show leadership, when regulated alternatives and voluntary treatment are available, and when people who use drugs have the same access to care, housing and respect as anyone else. The party's release carries the statement and Saanich News quotes it.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
This is her own statement in 2026. It names no bill, budget amount, number or date, so no provincial measure can be checked against it.
What still needs checking
Which provincial measures does she name for Saanich South?
Party platform: regulated pharmaceutical alternatives to the illicit drug supply
The BC Greens Toxic Drugs policy says the party would provide regulated, pharmaceutical alternatives to the illicit drug supply to reduce deaths linked to substance use.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
This is the party's policy, released on October 2, 2026 with her announcement. The release credits the policy to the party, and voche.me found no statement in her own words that repeats this item.
What still needs checking
Does she repeat this commitment in her own campaign?
Party platform: decriminalise possession of drugs for personal use
The BC Greens Toxic Drugs policy says the party would treat drug use as a health and social issue by decriminalising possession of drugs for personal use, with housing, mental health and voluntary care measures alongside.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
This is the party's policy. voche.me found no statement in her own words that repeats it.
What still needs checking
Does she repeat this commitment in her own campaign?
Her public office was an appointed post in the public service, so the record holds government releases and news reports in place of votes. The three dated entries rest on government releases, and one also rests on an independent news report. Each is tagged other and earns no provincial score. voche.me found no allegation, official finding or lawsuit about her in the sources read.
Official record
First Nations youth death review panel report released with the First Nations Health Authority
A government release of November 15, 2017 reports that the BC Coroners Service and the First Nations Health Authority released a review of the unexpected deaths of 95 First Nations youth and young adults aged 15 to 24 who died between 2010 and 2015. It quotes Lapointe, as chief coroner, thanking the authority and First Nations communities for their guidance.
Scope, limits and sources
The release describes the panel report and quotes her thanks. The recommendations are addressed to ministries and the First Nations Health Authority, and the release names no personal decision of hers. It is a public service record, so it earns no provincial score.
Official record, with her role reported by an independent news outlet
Death review panel urges expanded access to safer supply without a prescription
A government release of November 1, 2023 reports that a standing panel convened by the chief coroner in December 2022 recommended that the Province pursue expanding access to safer supply, allowing access without a prescription for people at risk of dying from the toxic drug supply. The Canadian Press reported in December 2025 that she told a court she set off three expert panels since 2017, and that the last two reports recommended a non-medical model.
Scope, limits and sources
The release does not quote her. The news report ties the panels to her. In her December 6, 2023 statement she says the panels' recommendations are essential to ending the crisis. These are recommendations to government, so the entry earns no provincial score.
In a statement released through BC Gov News she said her third term of appointment ended on February 18, 2024 and that she had decided to retire. A ministry statement of February 16, 2024 names John McNamee as acting chief coroner and thanks her for 13 years in the post.
Scope, limits and sources
The first statement is her own account of her decision. The second is the minister's.
Read original statements and reporting, or open the publisher’s video. A summary of a speech is labelled separately from a full recording.
Statement
Statement on her future with the BC Coroners Service
She wrote that it had been an honour to be chief coroner for 13 years and that she would keep supporting the death review panel recommendations after retirement. She also wrote that she was saddened that the Coroners Service had been unable to influence the change needed to reduce the harm from toxic drugs.
News conference in Victoria with Green leader Sonia Furstenau
The Canadian Press reports that she backed the BC Green pledge to expand prescribed safer supply and criticised the involuntary treatment plans of two other parties. She is quoted: "If people can't access the voluntary care that they're trying to access, how can we then incarcerate them involuntarily when there's no evidence that that would be successful?"
Testimony in a court challenge brought by the founders of the DULF compassion club
The Canadian Press reports that she testified in a constitutional challenge brought by the founders of the Drug Users Liberation Front (DULF), a group that sold tested drugs at cost to a small group of users. She told the judge that the last two death review panel reports recommended a non-medical model for supplying drugs and that the government did not respond to them as it had to the 2017 report. She is quoted: "By that point it seemed that government was not being influenced by evidence or expert advice, and I'm not sure what they would need."
Victoria News interview on the drug crisis and the government response
She told Victoria News that the first death review panel recommended regulating treatment and requiring outcome reporting, and that she is angry about the government's response. She is quoted: "I find myself so often so angry that these human beings are dying, and our government is just basically doing nothing." She also questioned spending on involuntary treatment.
Announcement as BC Green candidate and Toxic Drugs policy launch
She appeared in Greater Victoria with party leader Emily Lowan, who announced her candidacy and the party's toxic drugs policy. The release and Saanich News quote her saying the crisis will only be solved when politicians show leadership, regulated alternatives and voluntary treatment are available, and people who use drugs have the same access to care and housing as anyone else.
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
The Canadian Press, on CHEK News
Former chief coroner Lisa Lapointe to run for B.C. Greens in provincial vote
Reports that the party named her as its Saanich South candidate and that she will face Richard Zussman (NDP) and Cathie Ounsted (Conservative).
B.C. Greens release food production, toxic drug crisis policies
Reports the two party policies announced on October 1 and her statement at the toxic drugs announcement. It notes that the seat was held by Lana Popham, first elected in 2009.
All Vancouver Island candidates for the 2026 B.C. election
Lists her among the Saanich South candidates and reports that the incumbents in Saanich North and the Islands and in Saanich South are not running. Her biography in the list covers the same points as the party's page.
'Things look bleak': Greater Victoria experts ponder future of drug crisis
Quotes her on death review panels, treatment regulation and involuntary care. The article names her as the then chief coroner who ordered the first of three panels in 2017.
Former chief coroner describes years of calls for changes to help toxic drug crisis
Reports her testimony in a constitutional challenge brought by the founders of the Drug Users Liberation Front, a group that sold tested drugs at cost to a small group of users.
Sources checked October 3, 2026. Official records establish decisions; campaign material establishes stated positions; reporting adds investigation and context. None alone establishes every claim.
The name search was limited: the WebSearch tool had reached its usage limit, so voche.me used Google News result lists, the Black Press and CHEK sites, BC Gov News and the party's pages directly. Bing and DuckDuckGo returned no readable result list. CBC, The Tyee, the Times Colonist and the Vancouver Sun refused automated requests or were not reachable, so nothing from them is used. Their headlines appear in news listings but were not opened: a Tyee article of February 3, 2026 on the drug response and former coroner, a Vancouver Sun column of December 7, 2023 headed 'Disappointed and blindsided', and a CBC article of December 16, 2023 describing her exit as frustrated with the government's response. The party's own candidate page and release carry these claims, which voche.me could not check with the bodies named: the 2018 Premier's Award for Evidence-Based Design, the 2017 Cultural Safety and Humility commitment of the Coroners Service, her law degree from the University of British Columbia, the two chair roles, her board seat at PHS Community Services Society, membership of Moms Stop the Harm, her service on the Central Saanich Advisory Planning Committee and her hospice volunteering. A search of the PHS site for her name found no page that names her. The District of Central Saanich's page on committees lists an Advisory Planning Commission and no member names, and its minutes were not opened. CHEK's candidate list uses the past tense for her PHS board seat, while the party's page uses the present tense. The party's release is dated October 2 and says 'today', while CHEK and Saanich News date the announcement October 1. Her start year of 2011 comes from the party's page, while her own statement says 13 years and a third term ending on February 18, 2024. The party's full Toxic Drugs policy brief is attached to its release and was not opened. The 2017 death review panel report on drug deaths was not opened, so that panel rests on Victoria News. She has no website of her own and no social account was found, and the party lists a campaign email address, which is left out. No all-candidates meeting, event or endorsement for her in this district was found. The questionnaire has not been sent.
Research status
What voche.me has checked
Evidence reviewed on 2026-10-03: the Elections BC candidate list and the 2024 statement of votes; the BC Green Party's candidate page for her, its release of October 2, 2026 and its plan page; BC Gov News releases from 2017 and 2023 to 2024; reports from CHEK News, Saanich News and Victoria News between 2024 and 2026; and the PHS and District of Central Saanich websites. The name search was limited: the WebSearch tool had reached its usage limit, so voche.me used news listings and the source sites directly. Bing and DuckDuckGo returned no readable result list.
CBC, The Tyee, the Times Colonist and the Vancouver Sun could not be read, so nothing from them is used. No website of her own and no social account was found. The party's page claims about her degree, awards, committee chairs, board seat and local committee service were not confirmed with the bodies named. An empty section records what voche.me did not find on this date. The candidate may have published material that these searches did not reach.
In her statement of December 6, 2023 she says she had been chief coroner for 13 years and that her third term of appointment ended on February 18, 2024. The party's candidate page gives 2011 as the start. A ministry statement of February 16, 2024 names an acting chief coroner after her retirement.
The BC Green Party's release and candidate page say she is a board member of this non-profit, which provides housing and health services in Vancouver and Victoria. voche.me found no page of the society that names her.
Proposed questions for a future interview. They have not been sent to the candidate, and no answers have been supplied.
Which provincial measure on drug policy would you bring forward first as MLA for Saanich South, and who would pay for it?
No response has been submitted.
Which parts of the BC Green Party's platform matter most for Saanich South, and where do you differ from it?
No response has been submitted.
What would you change in provincial housing and health care policy for people in Saanich South?
No response has been submitted.
Have your own question?
Ask Lisa Lapointe 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 Lisa Lapointe's page itself, answered directly rather than left blank.
Is this an official page for Lisa Lapointe?
No. This page is researched by voche.me from public sources, listed below, and is separate from Lisa Lapointe's own campaign.
What party is Lisa Lapointe running with?
Lisa Lapointe is running for MLA with BC Green Party.
Does Lisa Lapointe currently hold public office?
Yes. Lisa Lapointe currently serves as Retired chief coroner of British Columbia (term ended February 18, 2024, by her own statement).
How many sources does this Lisa Lapointe profile cite?
This profile lists 10 sourced references, each with the date voche.me checked it, in the Sources section below.
Why do some questions on Lisa Lapointe's page show no answer?
The "Questions & answers" section on this page lists questions voche.me would put to Lisa Lapointe 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 Lisa Lapointe 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.
