Longtime labour advocate and MLA Harry Bains has been appointed the next Chancellor of Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU).
Bains, who served for 19 years as MLA for the Surrey-Newton riding where KPU has a campus, took over as the university’s ceremonial head this month. The duties of the Chancellor include presiding over convocation, where credentials are conferred on graduating students.
“I’m excited to serve an institution that I have great regard for having served the community all these years,” says Bains, who stepped down as MLA in 2024. “I have long admired KPU’s role in preparing future leaders and contributors to building a successful British Columbia.”
Bains moved to Canada from India in 1971. While working at a sawmill in Vancouver he became committed to improving conditions and making workplaces safer by participating in his union. He was elected an officer of Steelworkers-IWA Canada Local 2171, going on to serve in leadership positions in the union for 15 years.
During the 1990s, Bains served on the KPU Board of Governors for six years, including three years as vice-chair. After moving into provincial politics in 2005, he served as opposition critic for the Ministry of Olympics and Sport, the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, and the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations.
Bains became Labour Minister when the NDP formed a minority government in 2017. He took B.C.’s minimum wage from one of the lowest in Canada to the highest of all provinces. Bains also ensured most workers would have access to five paid sick days a year and removed roadblocks for workers to join unions. He made improvements to the Workers Compensation Act and prioritized the rights of injured workers, improved safety for those performing asbestos abatement work and tightened rules around employer successorship.
“Harry Bains has been a friend of KPU for decades and we’re delighted to welcome him as the next Chancellor of KPU,” says Dr. Diane Purvey, President and Vice-Chancellor pro tem. “He has been steadfast in his engagement with and support for KPU through his service on the board, his time as MLA for the riding hosting our busiest campus, and his continued attendance at convocation and campus events after his departure from politics.”
Bains, who received an honorary Doctor of Laws from KPU in 2025, will be the institution’s fourth Chancellor since it became a polytechnic university in 2008. He succeeds Kwuntiltunaat Kim Baird, a former elected Chief of the Tsawwassen First Nation, who began the first of her two terms in October 2020.
