Randene Neill

Born in Vernon, British Columbia,^[3] Neill studied at the University of British Columbia, graduating in 1991 with a Bachelor of Arts,^[4] and at the British Columbia Institute of Technology, graduating in 1996.^[5] She joined BCTV in 1998 as a news writer and reporter,^[5][6] and was appointed noon news anchor when the station rebranded as Global BC in 2001. In 2011, she became the station's late-night news anchor, later moving to the morning news.^[7] Neill left Global in 2016 to work as a communications director with Anthem Properties.^{[8][9][10][11]} In 2021, she returned to broadcasting as the morning co-anchor for all-news radio station CKWX,^[11] leaving in 2022 after a ten-month stint.^[12]

A video of Neill during an animal adoption segment at Global BC went viral when a shelter dog jumped on her and licked her face, while another dog ran around.^[13][14]

Neill currently resides in Pender Harbour, having moved there in 2020.^[1]

After incumbent MLA Nicholas Simons announced he would not seek re-election, Neill successfully ran for the British Columbia New Democratic Party nomination for the riding of Powell River-Sunshine Coast.^[15] She ran against 5 other candidates, and after 4 rounds of counting she secured the nomination on June 8, 2024.^[6][16] She was elected as MLA in the 2024 British Columbia general election,^[17] and was appointed Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship by Premier David Eby on November 18, 2024.^[18][19]

Neill has expressed support for a proposed name change of the City of Powell River, which was requested by the Tla’amin Nation due to the assimilationist policies of Israel Powell, B.C.'s superintendent of Indian affairs from 1872 to 1889.^[20]