Interviews

Honorable Jennifer Whiteside – Minister of Education

The Honorable Jennifer Whiteside was elected MLA for New Westminster in 2020 and is the current Minister of Education for British Colombia.

Tell us about your experience advocating for social change? What led you to where you are today?

She started in New Westminster, her hometown and got involved in student activism and the student union at Douglas College that sparked her passion. She continued this work at SFU and felt purpose in the student movement.  She graduated with a degree in history and a love for helping people.

              After university, she worked with a job grant that gave her an opportunity to work on a project having to do with childcare in a neighbourhood house. She was able to reach out to women who were providing childcare in their homes, invite them into a collaborative space to determine the support they need. She heard the importance of education, communication and skills development, and developed a knack for organizing and for working with people. 

              These were the lessons she took into her next role in the labour movement as an activist. She worked for the hospital employees union for five years, a representative for mainly women and racialized workers. Her main focus was one equity and privatization. Then Covid hit and her calling changed, she entered into politics. As we know, the pandemic has hit long term care centers hard, and revealed the strain our healthcare system has been under. For the first half of the pandemic, Jennifer worked to implement protection for long term care homes and in this task saw an opportunity. An opportunity to join government and help build a response to this crisis.

              Following an opportunity is how Jennifer has ended up in most of her positions. She does not always plan for the next steps but recognizes and capitalizes on opportunities to make change and help people. “A plan is just a plan, it is often important too to take those branches in the road to see where they lead.” The most rewarding part of following those opportunities is answering the question “Can you help?” using your special set of skills and lived experience.              

How did you build your confidence?

              The process of building confidence is different for men and women. With women, there are often concerns and doubts, feelings of not being ready. Jennifer has experienced these feelings as well but believes that confidence comes from the team that we build and the work that we do. Using collaboration as a source of strength. Then once you have built your confidence, using it to step back and support those who are now in the developmental phase.

Who do you draw inspiration from?

              On a large scale, the women who have influenced her are those that were a part of many different movements, such as women’s or civil rights. Specifically, the women who used an approach to leadership that recognized a true leader is to bring other leaders along and develop those who are coming next. A leaders position is only held for a moment in time and is not owned by the individual who holds the title. A strong leader will make sure that the space they leave been will be filled by a better, stronger leader who can continue moving us forward. The value of teamwork and collaboration is felt here too. Each leader may be different, but in the bigger picture we are all in this together and leadership should reflect that.

As Minister of Education, what do you see for the future of female or marginalized gendered youth in our province?

One of the most inspiring parts of the election campaign for Jennifer was the interaction with youth. One all candidate meeting during the campaign was organized by a local high school environmental club, and in the end turned out to be the most compelling and ground event of the campaign. The youth were smart, well informed and thoughtful. This capability and compassion created a feeling that things were going to be okay. Her goal now is to develop her position and environment into a space that folks can come up into and continue the work. She hopes that other leaders do the same.

What are your next steps?

Recently, the Premier provided a mandate letter to the Ministry of Education to develop a more anti-racist focused and equitable education system. The Ministry aims to develop structures that create better equity of outcome for all students. One of her priorities is to engage with marginalized youth to find what they need and what they experience in the current structures.