Jessie Sunner is a Canadian lawyer and politician who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2024 general election. She represents the electoral district of Surrey-Newton as a member of the British Columbia New Democratic Party.[1][2][3]

Jessie Sunner
Campaign portrait, 2024
Minister of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills of British Columbia
Assumed office
July 17, 2025
PremierDavid Eby
Preceded byAnne Kang
Parliamentary Secretary for Anti-Racism Initiatives of British Columbia
In office
November 18, 2024  July 17, 2025
PremierDavid Eby
Preceded byMable Elmore
Succeeded byAmna Shah
Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia for Surrey-Newton
Assumed office
October 19, 2024
Preceded byHarry Bains
Personal details
PartyNew Democratic Party of British Columbia
OccupationTrade unionist, lawyer

Early life and career

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Sunner grew up in Surrey, British Columbia.[4] Her parents are Punjabi immigrants.[5]

Sunner previously worked as a human rights lawyer and trade unionist for the Hospital Employees' Union.[2][4] She is the vice-president of the Surrey Women's Centre, and has sat on the boards of several other organizations, including the South Asian Bar Association and the BC College of Social Workers.[4][5]

Following Sunner's election in 2024, she was named the Parliamentary Secretary for Anti-Racism Initiatives. In a cabinet reshuffle in July 2025, Sunner was given the title of Minister of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills.[6]

Electoral record

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2024 British Columbia general election: Surrey-Newton
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
New DemocraticJessie Sunner7,92451.2%−11.2
ConservativeTegjot Bal6,65843.0%
FreedomAmrit Birring3712.4%
UnaffiliatedJapreet Lehal3442.2%
IndependentJoginder Singh Randhawa1891.2%
Total valid votes 15,486
Total rejected ballots
Turnout
Registered voters
Source: Elections BC[7]

References

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  1. Brockman, Charles (20 October 2024). "BC Conservatives make near sweep of 10 Surrey ridings". CityNews Vancouver. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  2. 1 2 Zytaruk, Tom (19 October 2024). "Newcomer Sunner wins Surrey-Newton for NDP". Peace Arch News. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  3. "Election Night recap: B.C. NDP loses major ground in Surrey". Surrey Now-Leader. October 20, 2024. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 Zytaruk, Tom (October 8, 2024). "Meet the candidates: Surrey-Newton". Surrey Now-Leader. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
  5. 1 2 "Jessie Sunner to run as BC NDP candidate in Surrey-Newton in place of Harry Bains". Link Newspaper. August 2, 2024. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
  6. Press, The Canadian (2025-07-18). "B.C. Premier David Eby reshuffles cabinet to boost economy and jobs". CTVNews. Retrieved 2025-07-26.
  7. https://globalnews.ca/news/10779100/bc-election-2024-results-surrey-newton/

See also

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