---
title: "BC Greens candidate Anna Mary McKenzie calls for equitable standards for youth aging out of care in Nanaimo-Gabriola Island"
description: "McKenzie, a journalist and youth worker, says her first priority as an MLA would be a legislative framework to set standards for how the province looks after young people in and from government care."
canonical_url: "https://voche.me/bc/provincial-2026/news/anna-mary-mckenzie-bc-greens-nanaimo-gabriola-island-youth-care-2026"
last_updated: "2026-10-12T06:01:53.075Z"
---

Anna Mary McKenzie, the BC Green Party candidate for Nanaimo-Gabriola Island, told the Nanaimo News Bulletin in an article published October 11 that supporting young people aging out of provincial care is her top priority. McKenzie said the first piece of legislation she would table as MLA would be an equitable standards framework for youth in and from government care.

McKenzie told the Bulletin that an equitable standards framework would be the first legislation she would table. "It ensures that the people that the province is looking after, and is in charge for, are properly looked after and are being the true parents to youth in and from care," she said.

## Background in journalism and youth work

McKenzie is a member of Opaskwayak Cree Nation from Manitoba and has lived in Nanaimo for eight years. Her family is part of Snuneymuxw First Nation, according to the Bulletin. She has worked as a journalist and as a youth worker, and said both shaped her view of what the province owes young people in its care.

She told the Bulletin she was "disturbed to hear about the amount of unhoused youth in Nanaimo" while reporting on the child welfare system, and said the province has failed to "better support" youth aging out of care.

## Other priorities

Beyond youth in care, McKenzie named climate, the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act and food security as issues she would focus on if elected.

On food costs, she said grocery prices have grown unworkable for families. She told the Bulletin she would use every opportunity to promote local farming systems. "We live in this beautiful territory, where it's so abundant. Why would I be buying strawberries from the grocery store..." she said. She said she would look at subsidies for small grocers or small farms, but had not settled on a specific approach.

McKenzie also said she does not want to see disability payments reduced for seniors, citing a case involving her own father where access to such payments made a difference to his ability to afford food and housing.

Voters in Nanaimo-Gabriola Island can review [Anna Mary McKenzie's candidate page](/bc/provincial-2026/candidates/anna-mary-mckenzie) and all district candidates at [/bc/provincial-2026/races/mla/nanaimo-gabriola-island](/bc/provincial-2026/races/mla/nanaimo-gabriola-island) before the October 24 vote. Advance voting runs October 16 to 21.

## Sitemap

See the full [sitemap](/bc/provincial-2026/sitemap.md) for all pages.