Stephanie McLean is a seasoned politician, but she never imagined returning to politics after leaving her home province of Alberta.
A graduate of the University of Calgary’s law school, McLean served as minister of status of women and minister of Service Alberta from 2015 to 2019 under Rachel Notley’s NDP government.
After her time in parliament, she resettled in Colwood, where she, her husband, their young son, and three dogs have lived for the past six years.
Yet, quietly sitting at home, McLean felt the itch to get involved with her community.
“I was tired of sitting there doomscrolling, watching the news, feeling like there was nothing I could do,” she said.
Wanting to do her part, she joined the board of the Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke Federal Liberal Association as a volunteer and proud “Colwoodian.” Little did she know that shortly after the election campaign launched in late March, Mark Carney’s team would approach her to fill the Liberal vacancy in the riding.
“It wasn't my intention to get back into politics,” said McLean. “But when you're called upon to serve at this kind of time, you step up and do what you need to do.”
Since her nomination, McLean says that her electoral campaign has been better than she would have thought.
“The momentum has been huge and swift,” said McLean. “The reception at the doors is absolutely incredible. It's a lot of fun when you have this kind of momentum, so it's been a really fun campaign so far, and I just know that it's going to keep growing.”
After years of experience as an MLA in Alberta and decades of work in labour and employment law, McLean believes she is the best candidate to represent her riding at the national level.
“I'm really proud of a lot of the work that I did [in Alberta], and I helped to oversee the province during really tough economic times for the province,” she said. “That experience really serves at this point in the country's history where we are facing incredible threats from Donald Trump and the Americans on our sovereignty and our economic prosperity.”
Putting Canada's economic future and sovereignty at the forefront of her campaign, McLean highlighted the need to support Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt, the third-largest in Canada and home to the Pacific fleet.
“Carney's commitment to increasing defence spending and protecting our borders – particularly the Arctic – is a key element of this election,” she said.
Similarly, if elected on April 28, McLean is committed to dedicating her time to building and strengthening the community.
Whether it’s partaking in a weekly book club with friends, hiking the South Island trails with her husband, son, and three dogs, or taking cold dips in the Esquimalt Lagoon, McLean ultimately feels lucky to represent this riding.
“I wanted to call this place home since I was a small child, and I'm so grateful that I get to do so,” said McLean.
