Lana Popham was first elected as the MLA for Saanich South in 2009. She is the Minister of Agriculture and Food.

Lana previously served as Minister of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, and Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport.

Lana previously served as the official opposition spokesperson for a variety of files, including agriculture and food, small business, and tourism, arts and culture.

Lana was raised on Quadra Island in a do-it-yourself community, where growing food, raising animals and harvesting from the sea was a way of life. Her interest in urban planning led her to UBC where she graduated with a degree in geography.

In 1996, Lana made her home in Saanich South. She co-founded and operated Barking Dog Vineyard, the first certified organic vineyard on Vancouver Island. She also managed a crew of vineyard workers who took care of many vineyards on the Saanich Peninsula.

Lana served on the District of Saanich’s Planning, Transportation and Economic Development Committee and on the Peninsula Agricultural Commission. She was also president of the Vancouver Island Grape Growers Association, chair of the Certification Committee for the Islands Organic Producers Association, and a member of the Investment Agriculture Board.

Ken Coates is distinguished fellow and was director of Indigenous affairs at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and former Program Chair Indigenous Governance, Yukon University.  He also chaired the Yukon Arctic Security Advisory Council.  And his roles have included that of Canada Research Chair in Regional Innovation.

He is the President of Coates Holroyd Consulting, a research firm, and a Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Saskatchewan.

J.P. oversees FCC’s nationwide agricultural producer lending portfolio and customer experience, ensuring farm operations have access to capital solutions and tailored support through all economic cycles. J.P. joined FCC in 2010 as Chief Economist and previously led the deployment of FCC’s strategy to strengthen investment, innovation and sustainability while driving higher productivity and competitiveness for the Canadian agriculture and food industry.

Prior to joining FCC, J.P. was a professor of agricultural economics at North Carolina State University and Laval University. J.P. is a Fellow of the Canadian Agricultural Economics Society. He obtained his PhD in economics from Iowa State University in 1999.

Named one of Canada’s top 100 most influential people in Canadian politics by The Hill Times, David Coletto is one of Canada’s most recognizable pollsters and commentators on politics, consumer behaviour, and the workplace.

He is Chair, CEO and founder of Abacus Data, a full-service market research and strategy firm based in Ottawa, Toronto and Halifax. With almost two decades of experience in the industry, David and his partners founded Abacus 15 years ago and since then it has grown into one of Canada’s most respected market research firms.

He earned a PhD in Political Science from the University of Calgary in 2010 is an adjunct professor at Carleton University in the Clayton H. Riddell Master of Political Management program. He is the host and producer of inFocus with David Coletto a podcast that explores the intersection of public opinion, politics, public policy, and consumer behaviour. He is also the official pollster for the Toronto Star and The Logic.

Keith Baldrey is highly regarded as one of BC’s best known political commentators.

He currently serves as the chief political correspondent and legislative bureau chief for Global BC where he provides insightful coverage and analysis on the latest developments in BC’s political landscape. In 2021, Baldrey was named Broadcast Performer of the Year by the BC Association of Broadcasters for his coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Baldrey’s work is also seen in his weekly syndicated column on B.C. politics for a variety of Lower Mainland papers, including the North Shore News and the Now newspapers, and appears regularly on News Talk 980 CKNW.

He has a long history of understanding and commenting on BC politics – Baldrey joined The Vancouver Sun in 1984 and moved to the The Sun’s legislature bureau in 1986, eventually becoming its bureau chief in 1989. In 1995, he joined Global BC where over the course of his career, has covered 10 premiers, 10 provincial elections, and 12 federal elections.

He has covered nine premiers and the 2017 election was the ninth B.C. election campaign he has covered (along with numerous federal campaigns and party leadership races).

He makes public speaking appearances on B.C. politics, has written numerous magazine articles, and co-authored a book on former premier Bill Vander Zalm and his Social Credit government.

He lives in Victoria with his wife and fellow journalist, Anne Mullens, their two daughters, and their Shiba Inu dog, Teddy.

Vaughn Palmer’s hard-hitting columns have seen him cover the feats and follies of B.C.’s premiers for almost 40 years. An award-winning journalist, Palmer is the Vancouver Sun’s provincial political columnist, based in Victoria. Palmer is a regular commentator on radio station CKNW in Vancouver.

Palmer is the recipient of the Bruce Hutchison Lifetime Achievement Award from the Jack Webster foundation, a co-winner of the Jack Webster award for reporting, and a recipient of the Hyman Solomon award for excellence in public policy journalism from the Canadian Public Policy Forum. Since 1984, Palmer has examined an extensive range of issues, personalities and scandals that have come to define B.C.’s political scene.

Scott Ross is the Executive Director of CFA, having taking on this role in 2022. Scott joined the CFA team in 2012, first serving as CFA’s Director of BRM and Farm Policy for six years before becoming Assistant Executive Director for four years. Scott’s policy work has given him a unique insight on how to develop and implement policy, while balancing a diversity of stakeholder interests. Scott has extensive experience in collaborating across the agri-food sector to achieve ambitious goals. This collaborative approach has included co-founding the Agriculture Carbon Alliance, a coalition of 15 national farm associations advocating on behalf of farmers with regard to carbon pricing and environmental policies, while more recently spearheading a number of industry coalitions focused on seizing agriculture’s economic potential since the 2025 Federal Election. Prior to his role at the CFA, Scott worked with the Economic Developers Council of Ontario and the University of Waterloo researching how municipal and regional governments can raise the profile of agriculture as an economic development priority.

Chris Bodnar is an Assistant Professor of Agribusiness at the University of the Fraser Valley’s Agriculture program. For the previous 18 years, he was a vegetable farmer operating Close to Home Organics with his wife, Paige, at Glen Valley Organic Farm in Abbotsford. Chris has a PhD in Communication from Carleton University and is a Limited License Agrologist, focused on supporting farms in business planning through developing business strategy and production economics. He is also an appeal board member with Agriculture Canada’s Farm Debt Mediation Service. Throughout his time in agriculture, Chris has focused on developing resources to support new entrants to the sector and development of organic production.

Matt is a Partner in KPMG’s Enterprise practice with a focus on Food, Agriculture and Agri-Business. Matt’s clients include primary producers, processors and other enterprises directly involved in the production and sale of agricultural products. Matt is a leader of KPMG’s Agricultural practice in B.C., and serves clients throughout Canada. Matt is a current board member with B.C. Ag in the Classroom, a former board member of the BC Young Farmers and a past member of the Agriculture Committee of the Surrey Board of Trade.