Michael Lee (Canadian politician)

Born in Vancouver, Lee is the son of immigrants from Hong Kong.^[1][3] His mother and father worked as a nurse and a pharmacist respectively.^[4] He attended the University of British Columbia, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in biology in 1986, Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in political science in 1989, and Master of Arts in political science with a focus on environmental regulations in 1992.^[5] He subsequently attained a law degree from the University of Victoria Faculty of Law, then practised business law in the resource sector, eventually becoming partner at Lawson Lundell LLP.^[1][3]

Lee is married with three young adult children.^[3]

Lee worked as an assistant to former prime minister Kim Campbell during her time as Minister of Justice and Minister of National Defence,^[3][6] and was a youth organizer for the Progressive Conservatives.^[7] He also assisted in Tung Chan's successful campaign for Vancouver City Council in the 1990 municipal election.^[7]

He joined the British Columbia Liberal Party in 2002,^[4][8] serving as its membership chair at one point.^[7] He then ran for the Liberals in the 2017 provincial election, in which he was elected member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Vancouver-Langara for the first time.^[9] He was re-elected MLA in the 2020 provincial election.^[10] During his time in the legislature, Lee has served as the Official Opposition Critic for Transportation, Infrastructure and TransLink; Official Opposition Critic for Justice; and Official Opposition Co-Critic for Indigenous Relations.^[3]

In September 2017, Lee announced he would run for the leadership of the BC Liberals.^[4][11][12] Despite winning the most votes over the first four rounds, he finished in third place behind winner Andrew Wilkinson and runner-up Dianne Watts.^[13]

On June 9, 2021, Lee announced he was running again for the leadership of the BC Liberals.^[14][15] This time he finished third behind winner Kevin Falcon and runner-up Ellis Ross on the fifth ballot.^[16]

On July 11, 2024, Lee announced that he would not be seeking re-election and instead be returning to the private sector at the end of his current term in office.^[17]

Lee has served as the past chair of the board of directors of Arts Umbrella, and Alumni UBC, the University of British Columbia alumni organization. He has also served as a past vice-chair and board member of Science World British Columbia, S.U.C.C.E.S.S., and Leadership Vancouver. Lee is a past board member of the YMCA of Greater Vancouver Foundation, the Justice Education Society of BC, Sustainable Cities International, and the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association.^[3]