Sharon L. Hartwell is a Canadian politician who has been serving as member of the

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia () is the deliberative assembly of the Legislature of British Columbia, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The other component of the Legislature is the lieutenant governor of British Columbi ...

since

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

. A member of the Conservative Party, she represents the riding of Bulkley Valley-Stikine. She previously served as the mayor of Telkwa, British Columbia from 1995 to 2009.

Early life and career

Hartwell was born and raised in the

Bulkley Valley The Bulkley Valley is in the northwest Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada. Geography The Bulkley, a stream running through Houston, British Columbia, joins the larger Morice River about to the west. At the confluence, they become no ...

. She has two sons, who also live in the region. Hartwell was a business owner dedicated to her communities, which led to her start in politics. Between then

2009 British Columbia general election The 2009 British Columbia general election was held on May 12, 2009, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The British Columbia Liberal Party (BC Liberals) formed the government of the provinc ...

and her 2023 nomination for the

2024 British Columbia general election The 2024 British Columbia general election was held on October 19, 2024, to elect 93 members (MLAs) of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Legislative Assembly to serve in the 43rd parliament of the Provinces and territories of Cana ...

, she lived in

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

for eight years.

Political career

Municipal politics

Hartwell as served in the public service for over 20 years. Her involvement began when she served a term and a half as a village councillor for Telkwa, British Columbia, after which she served as mayor from 1995 through 2009. During her tenure she served as the Small Community Representative for the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) successfully lobbying for a grant process that improved the relationship between the municipalities and the provincial and federal governments. She was also elected to the

Federation of Canadian Municipalities The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM, ''Fédération canadienne des municipalités'') is an advocacy group representing over 2000 Canadian municipalities. It is an organization with no formal power but significant ability to influence ...

(FCM) where she participated in the Rural Forum successfully advocating for improvements to the infrastructure formula for rural communities across Canada. She also became the Vice-Chair of Transportation and Infrastructure for FCM where she oversaw airport-related matters. As Vice-Chair she also joined the Rail Safety Committee which addressed rail safety issues across Canadian communities, and the Environment Committee which explored technological solutions. In addition to her involvement in UBCM and FCM, she has sat on the Northern Health Board for almost eight years, and has served as the chair of the North West Regional Hospital District improving healthcare delivery by initiating the Northern Health Connections Bus program to provide transportation for medical appointments, and oversaw the construction of a new hospital in Masset. Hartwell also founded Team BC, a program celebrating small and rural communities. This program became a success with 82 participating communities, who had their unique attributes highlighted and celebrated.

Provincial politics

Hartwell first ran provincially in the

1996 British Columbia general election The 1996 British Columbia general election was the 36th provincial election in the Province of British Columbia, Canada. It was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. The election was called on April 30, 1996, and ...

as a member of the

Progressive Democratic Alliance The Progressive Democratic Alliance (PDA) was a centrist political party in British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific ...

for the riding of Bulkley Valley-Stikine. Hartwell ran once again in the 2013 British Columbia general election as the

BC Liberal BC United (BCU), known from 1903 until 2023 as the British Columbia Liberal Party or BC Liberals, is a provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada. The party has been described as conservative, neoliberal, and occupying a centre-right ...

candidate for the Bulkley Valley-Stikine riding. She lost to NDP incumbent

Doug Donaldson Doug Donaldson (born January 20, 1957) is a Canadian politician, who represented the Stikine electoral district Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 2009 to 2020. He is a member of the British Columbia New Democratic Party and was firs ...

. In November 2023, Hartwell was nominated as the Conservative Party of BC's candidate for Bulkley Valley-Stikine in the

. She went on to receive over fifty per cent of the vote, winning a seat in the BC Legislative Assembly, and upsetting NDP incumbent and cabinet minister

Nathan Cullen Nathan Paul Cullen (born July 13, 1972) is a Canadian politician who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia (MLA) representing the riding of Stikine (provincial electoral district), Stikine from 2020 to 2024 as a memb ...

. Hartwell currently sits in the official opposition's shadow cabinet as the Critic for Rural Communities and Rural Development.

Political controversies

Hartwell called for

Bonnie Henry Bonnie J. Fraser Henry (born ) is a Canadian epidemiologist, physician, and public servant who has been the provincial health officer at the British Columbia Ministry of Health since 2014. Henry is also a clinical associate professor at the Unive ...

's firing as BC's provincial health officer for her actions during the

COVID-19 pandemic in British Columbia The COVID-19 pandemic in British Columbia formed part of an ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a novel infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2 ...

such as supporting the

COVID-19 vaccine A COVID19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 ( COVID19). Knowledge about the structure and fun ...

. In 2024, Hartwell was criticized for describing

Tamara Lich Tamara Lich is a Canadian activist who has organised for the right-wing Maverick Party, the far-right Yellow vests protests#Canada, Yellow Vest protests, and the Canada convoy protest in Ottawa. Lich was among the organizers of Yellow vests ...

and

Chris Barber Donald Christopher Barber (17 April 1930 – 2 March 2021) was an English jazz musician, best known as a bandleader and Trombone, trombonist. He helped many musicians with their careers and had a UK top twenty trad jazz hit with "Petite Fleur ...

, organizers of the Freedom Convoy, as "an inspiration". In February 2024, Hartwell replied "Yes" to a

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

post asking if " Democrats cheated and that President Donald Trump won the last election?" Furthermore, she has endorsed Canada's withdrawal from the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

and the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Electoral record

References

External links

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Legislative Assembly of British Columbia website
Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) Living people British Columbia Conservative Party MLAs 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia 20th-century Canadian women politicians 21st-century Canadian women politicians Women MLAs in British Columbia Women mayors of places in British Columbia People from the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako 20th-century mayors of places in British Columbia 21st-century mayors of places in British Columbia {{Conservative-BritishColumbia-MLA-stub