Get the Top, Local stories delivered to your inbox! Click here to join the daily Vernon Matters newsletter.
B.C. Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and, Sport, Lana Popham speaks during a FIFA World Cup 2026 update in Vancouver, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns
By The Canadian Press

B.C. minister Popham won’t run for a sixth term, deepening snap election speculation

Sep 21, 2026 | 11:56 AM

VICTORIA — B.C. cabinet minister Lana Popham says she won’t run for a sixth term, deepening speculation about a snap election being called.

Popham’s announcement follows the resignation of Opposition B.C. Conservative leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay on Sunday.

Popham, the current minister for agriculture, says in a written statement provided by the B.C. NDP caucus that her decision not to run again was difficult.

She was first elected in Greater Victoria in 2009 and became the province’s first female agriculture minister in 2017.

The statement says that Popham leaves elected office as the longest serving agriculture minister in provincial history, having also served as minister of tourism, arts, culture and sport for two years.

Missing Since 2016
Remains of woman missing over 10 years found near Yankee Flats
30m ago
Invasive Species
OBWB sounding alarm over growing risk of golden mussels
32m ago
Election 2026
Vernon mayoral candidate withdraws from the race
2h ago

Popham says she plans to remain engaged in causes that have defined her career such as farming, food security and the future of the Agricultural Land Reserve.

“I am sad to leave this role, but I am not leaving public life without purpose,” she says.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 21, 2026.

Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

Recent Matters

Missing Since 2016
Remains of woman missing over 10 years found near Yankee Flats
Police have discovered the remains of a woman who went missing more than a decade ago.Deana Mildred Wertz was reported missing July 22, 2016, and was suspected of being in the Yankee Flats area. Vernon North Okanagan RCMP said that on Sept. 13, civilian dog trainers working in a thick, wooded area in the 2000-block of ...
33m ago
Read More
Invasive Species
OBWB sounding alarm over growing risk of golden mussels
The regional water advocate group has issued a warning of an increasing risk from an invasive species.The Okanagan Basin Water Board (OBWB) said in a release that invasive golden mussels have been aggressively and rapidly spreading in California, adding "recent research suggests the mussels can survive transit thr...
35m ago
Read More
Bike Events
Go By Bike brings documentary screening and group rides to Vernon
Go By Bike Society will air a crowdsourced documentary and hold a series of rides early this week.At 6 p.m. on Tuesday, the film MOTHERLOAD will be aired at the Vernon Library.The documentary follows new mother Liz Canning as she looks to use a cargo bike in understanding the tensions between modern life and the hunter...
39m ago
Read More

What Matters

Missing Since 2016
Remains of woman missing over 10 years found near Yankee Flats
30m ago
Invasive Species
OBWB sounding alarm over growing risk of golden mussels
32m ago
Election 2026
Vernon mayoral candidate withdraws from the race
2h ago
Ongoing Investigation
RCMP seeking information on fraud suspect
4h ago
Prepare Now for Ongoing Drought
Water advocacy group urges preparedness, warns of drought in 2027
Sep 18, 2026