| Honorific-Prefix: | The Honourable |
| Randene Neill | |
| Honorific-Suffix: | MLA |
| Office: | Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship of British Columbia |
| Term Start: | November 18, 2024 |
| Predecessor: | Nathan Cullen |
| Premier: | David Eby |
| Party: | BC NDP |
| Office1: | Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia for Powell River-Sunshine Coast |
| Termstart1: | October 19, 2024 |
| Predecessor1: | Nicholas Simons |
| Residence: | Pender Harbour |
Randene Neill is a Canadian politician who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2024 general election. She represents the electoral district of Powell River-Sunshine Coast as a member of the British Columbia New Democratic Party.[1]
Neill was adopted as a child by two farmers in the BC interior. She currently lives with her husband in the Garden Bay area of Pender Harbour, having moved there part time in 2017 and full time in 2020.[2] She is a communications consultant and was former television news journalist for Global BC for over 20 years.[3] [4]
She is well known for a viral video during her time on Global. During a segment trying to get shelter dogs adopted, one of the dogs began jumping on her and licking her face very rigorously, while the other dog ran around.[5] She has her own pet dog, and has been a longtime supporter of the BC SPCA.
Neill won the BC NDP nomination after a hotly contested nomination race. Four other candidates ran against her for the nomination, Amanda Amaral (School District 46 board chair), Darnelda Siegers (former mayor of Sechelt), Jacquie Shields (Teachers Association President) and Jäger Rosenberg (who was the youngest person to ever legally run for office in Canada, being 17 at the time of the vote). Richard Feehan (former Minister in Alberta) also initially put his name forward, but dropped out before voting took place. The nomination process took place on June 8, 2024, using ranked ballot voting, with Neill winning on the 4th round of counting. She was endorsed by incumbent BC NDP MLA Nicholas Simons.[6] [7]
Neill was appointed Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship by Premier David Eby on November 18th 2024[8]
Neill has expressed support for a proposed name change of the City of Powell River, which was requested by the Tla’amin Nation due to the assimilationist policies of Israel Powell, B.C.'s superintendent of Indian affairs from 1872 to 1889.[9]