Thirteen-year-old North Vancouver boy leads multi-issue recall drive against Bowinn Ma

PENTICTON — A 13-year-old North Vancouver resident is leading a formal recall campaign against Infrastructure Minister Bowinn Ma, arguing the effort rests on a broad set of local and provincial grievances rather than any single policy dispute..Daniel Thiele, who first developed the idea at age 12, organized a rally outside Ma’s constituency office earlier this month and has built a campaign website calling for her removal. In detailed written responses to the Western Standard, Thiele laid out the case he is taking to voters in North Vancouver–Lonsdale.“Ultimately, my argument isn’t that Bowinn Ma should be recalled because I disagree with her on one issue,” he wrote. “It’s Bill 15. It’s the government’s approach to Bills 44 and 47. It’s housing and affordability. It’s the wastewater treatment plant. It’s transportation and infrastructure. It’s disagreements over DRIPA and provincial decision-making. It’s education policies such as SOGI. And, above all, it’s whether residents believe their MLA has represented them strongly enough on these issues.”Thiele emphasized that the final decision belongs to local voters. “I understand that many people will completely disagree with my positions, and that’s okay. That’s democracy. Recall is an extraordinary democratic mechanism, and the decision isn’t mine alone. Our job is to make our case to the people of North Vancouver–Lonsdale. Ultimately, the voters themselves decide whether that case is strong enough.”British Columbia’s Recall and Initiative Act sets a high bar. After an MLA has served 18 months, a registered voter in the riding may apply to Elections BC. If the application is approved, the proponent has 60 days to collect signatures from more than 40% of the voters who were registered in the electoral district on the day the MLA was elected and who remain registered. No MLA has ever been successfully recalled since the law took effect in 1995. The most recent major attempt, against Vancouver-Quilchena MLA Dallas Brodie, failed in July after organizers submitted only 3,663 signatures against a requirement of more than 15,000..North Vancouver–Lonsdale had 44,034 registered voters in the 2024 election, putting the threshold near 17,600 signatures. As of mid-August, Elections BC had not listed an issued petition for the riding, leaving Thiele’s effort in the organizing and public-pressure stage.Ma, a professional engineer and the Canadian-born daughter of Taiwanese immigrants, has held the seat since 2017. She previously served as parliamentary secretary for TransLink, Minister of State for Infrastructure, and the province’s first Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness before becoming Infrastructure Minister in November 2024.Thiele said one of the hardest parts of the campaign has been the reaction to his age. “Probably one of the hardest things has been getting some people to look past my age. Because I’m 13, there are people who immediately assume that I don’t understand politics or that an adult must be telling me what to believe.”He described learning the practical demands of organizing volunteers, planning events, understanding the recall rules and handling public criticism. Some of that criticism has been personal. “I’ve been called things like a ‘fascist’ and ‘transphobic,’ and people have claimed that I hate LGBTQ people. I don’t believe that’s true. I believe every person deserves to be treated with dignity and respect regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.”.At the same time, Thiele said he holds firm disagreements with certain government policies.On education, he opposes aspects of SOGI-related materials in public schools, focusing on what is taught to children about sexuality and gender identity and the role of parents.On DRIPA, he voiced strong concerns about private property rights, land ownership and decision-making authority. “I strongly oppose what I view as a movement toward transferring or restricting control over land without sufficient consent from, or accountability to, the broader public.”Affordability and infrastructure also feature prominently in his critique.Families on the North Shore face extremely high housing costs, he said, leaving young people uncertain whether they will ever be able to live in the community where they grew up. Transportation networks are easily overwhelmed, and infrastructure has not kept pace with population growth and development.“If thousands of people become more engaged with what’s happening in their community, if residents start asking tougher questions of their elected representatives, and if other young Canadians see that they don’t have to wait until they’re 18 to participate in democracy, then I believe we’ve accomplished something meaningful.”

Thirteen-year-old North Vancouver boy leads multi-issue recall drive against Bowinn Ma

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