Former Peace River South MLA among guest speakers booked for government leadership forum

DAWSON CREEK, B.C. — More than a decade ago, Mike Bernier attended the Union of BC Municipalities’ Local Government Leadership Forum to learn. This year, he’ll be attending to teach.

Bernier, the retired former mayor of Dawson Creek and MLA for Peace River South, is one of three guest speakers for the 2025 forum, which will be held in Richmond this year from March 12th to 15th.

“Once a year, [the UBCM] will usually put on an educational forum for local government, to train [attendees] in different aspects on how to be better leaders, how to be better advocates for their community,” Bernier explains.

“I remember fondly my time, when I was the mayor in Dawson Creek, going down and partaking in these sessions and in this forum. This time, it’s going to be a little bit of a role reversal.”

Bernier says he intends to focus on helping attendees learn how to navigate local issues and collaborate with the provincial government.

“I’ve always had a passion for trying to make our regions and our communities better, so if I can help in any way, I’m excited to do that,” he says.

“I know with my experience being in government — as a minister, and then in opposition, working with the NDP as a critic, but then also being the minister myself on the other side — brings a lot of experience that I can share with local government officials on how they can best move their issues forward.”

Bernier says provincial support for local initiatives is essential, and he looks forward to sharing advice on how communities can garner that support.

He’ll be joined by two other guest speakers: Terry Lake, another retired former mayor and MLA who worked alongside Bernier in Christy Clark’s Liberal provincial government, and former BC NDP leader Carole James.

Bernier feels the forum is an extremely important event which always gave him valuable new knowledge and information during his time as a politician.

To learn more about the forum, click here.