New West Progressives
New West Progressives | |
|---|---|
| Active municipal party | |
| Abbreviation | NWP |
| Founded | 2017 |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Centre-right to right-wing |
| Colours | Blue, green |
| Mayor and Council | 2 / 7
|
| School Board | 2 / 7
|
| Website | |
| https://www.nwprogress.ca/ | |
Information correct as of February 3, 2024 | |
The New West Progressives (NWP) are a citizen-led, non-partisan municipal association that contests municipal elections in the city of New Westminster, British Columbia. [1] The party does not have any formal affiliations with other political parties at the municipal, provincial, or federal level. They were the first municipal political party to be formed in New Westminster.
History
The New West Progressives were founded in 2017 as the New Westminster Progressive Electors Coalition, in preparation for the 2018 British Columbia municipal elections. The party was formed in response to a perceived lack of ideological diversity in city council, as the mayor and every councillor elected for the 2014–2018 term shared similar beliefs, and were all endorsed by the New Westminster and District Labour Council, an affiliate of the Canadian Labour Congress.[2]
In the party's first election, they did not nominate a candidate for the mayoral election, and instead focused on the city council and school board elections.[2] In their first election, their top candidate for city council, Daniel Fontaine, received 5,297 votes, but ultimately finished seventh and was not elected. Danielle Connelly, a NWP candidate for the school board, placed sixth in the election after receiving 5,626 votes, and became the first member of the party to hold an elected position in New Westminster.
Prior to the 2022 general election, the party began a stronger campaign and nominated a mayoral candidate, Ken Armstrong, for the first time. The New West Progressives were ultimately unsuccessful in the mayoral election, with Armstrong losing to Patrick Johnstone by 1,449 votes.[3] However, they were able to elect two candidates as city councillors, with Paul Minhas and Daniel Fontaine placing fifth and sixth respectively.[4] Fontaine's electoral victory made him the first known Métis and Indigenous member of the New Westminster City Council.[5] Connelly retained her seat as the sole NWP party member on the school board.[4]
On September 18, 2025, the party nominated Daniel Fontaine as their mayoral candidate for the upcoming 2026 British Columbia municipal elections.[6]
Election results
General elections
| Election | Mayoral election | City council election | School board election | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % | Result | Candidates | Elected[n 1] | Status[n 2] | Candidates | Elected | Status[n 2] | |
| 2018 | no candidate nominated | 4 | 0 / 7
|
No seats | 4 | 1 / 7
|
Opposition | |||
| 2022 | Ken Armstrong | 5,227 | 33.05 | Lost (2nd) | 5+1 | 2 / 7
|
Opposition | 3 | 1 / 7
|
Opposition |
| 2026 | Daniel Fontaine | TBD | TBA | TBD | TBA | TBD | ||||
By-elections
| Date | Type | Candidate | % | Result | Status[n 2] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 3, 2024 | School board | Kathleen Carlsen | 41.24 | Won | Opposition |
References
- Notes
- ^ Number of seats includes the party's mayoral candidate if they were also elected.
- ^ a b c Unlike the House of Commons of Canada or the Legislative assemblies of Canadian provinces and territories, municipal political caucuses in New Westminster are not officically recognized. The label of majority government, minority government, or opposition is a de-facto distinction, and is not legally recognized.
- Sources
- ^ Chris Campbell (October 2, 2018). "New West politics: orange is the new outrage". New Wesminster Record. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ^ a b Justin McElroy (August 16, 2018). "New Westminster Mayor Jonathan Coté currently campaigning against no one". CBC News. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
- ^ "Results for New Westminster (City)". localelections.ca. December 4, 2023. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ^ a b Julie MacLellan (October 15, 2022). "Election Night 2022: Johnstone wins New Westminster mayor's race". New West Record. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ^ Theresa McManus (November 8, 2022). "New West city council inaugurates its first Métis councillor". New West Record. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
- ^ Grochowski, Sarah (September 20, 2025). "Daniel Fontaine launches mayoral run, targets 'one-party rule' in New Westminster". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved September 24, 2025.