A Nanaimo woman who built a home on Protection Island wants to follow in the footsteps of former mayor Frank Ney, who sold real estate there.
Agnes Provost announced last week she is running for mayor of the City of Nanaimo.
“I want people to be proud that we live here,” said the 35-year-old. “When we talk about Frank Ney, that’s what it was, it was full-on spirit and that’s what I’m bringing to the table.”
Provost said she began considering politics as she was finishing up her Nanaimo Foodshare Cultivating Abilities program, which she said is about more than growing and preparing healthy food.
“They teach you about who you are and who you can be. They give you hope in wanting to change the future,” she said.
Provost has lived in Nanaimo for three years and owns a small art business. She and her husband wanted to buy a home, but were deterred by real estate prices until they came across a foundation on Protection Island that had been on the market for two years.
“Nobody saw the gift that was there. It was just waiting and then we took it,” she said. “People would come [by] and they said, ‘well, you’re not a builder,’ and ‘you’re not an electrician’ and ‘you don’t know any of the rules,’ and I said, ‘OK, I’m going to try. This is my goal.’ And now I have a house.”
It reinforced to her what can be built from a foundation, and she compares it to her hopes for improving the City of Nanaimo. She said people should be able to work, invest and follow their passions in Nanaimo but she isn’t sure that can happen until people feel safer where they live.
“People are screaming that they want safety in their community,” she said.
She said she’s still in the “exploration” phase of developing her safety platform, but said it will likely take greater police presence and less “catch-and-release” of offenders.
Asked about trying for the mayor’s chair rather than a city councillor’s seat, Provost said she dreams big, and thinks she can lead with positivity and high spirits.
“I know that it’s a full-time job … reading all the time, multiple meetings a day, but luckily they give you an orientation just like every other job,” she said.
Provost said she’s learned a lot just in her first week of campaigning.
“The last six days have been the craziest and most fun of my life. I’ve talked to councillors, I’ve talked to journalists. It’s just been an amazing experience,” she said.
For more information, visit www.instagram.com/agnesformayorofnanaimo.
Mayor Leonard Krog is running for re-election and other announced mayoral candidates include Tasha Brown and Brunie Brunie.
Anyone running for mayor or councillor in the City of Nanaimo or the District of Lantzville, regional director in the Regional District of Nanaimo’s Area A, B, C or E, or school trustee in School District 68 is asked to contact the Nanaimo News Bulletin to set up an interview or invite us to a campaign launch event. Phone Greg Sakaki at 250-734-4621 or e-mail editor@nanaimobulletin.com.
ELECTION 2022: Candidates in Nanaimo, Lantzville, RDN and SD68
editor@nanaimobulletin.com
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