New West Progressives
The New West Progressives are a citizen-led, non-partisan municipal association that contests municipal elections in the city of New Westminster, British Columbia. The party does not have any formal affiliations with other political parties at the municipal, provincial, or federal level. They were the first municipal political party to be formed in New Westminster.
History
The New West Progressives were founded in 2017 as the New Westminster Progressive Electors Coalition, in preparation for the 2018 British Columbia municipal elections. The party was formed in response to a perceived lack of ideological diversity in city council, as the mayor and every councillor elected for the 2014–2018 term shared similar beliefs, and were all endorsed by the New Westminster and District Labour Council, an affiliate of the Canadian Labour Congress.In the party's first election, they did not nominate a candidate for the mayoral election, and instead focused on the city council and school board elections. In their first election, their top candidate for city council, Daniel Fontaine, received 5,297 votes, but ultimately finished seventh and was not elected. Danielle Connelly, a NWP candidate for the school board, placed sixth in the election after receiving 5,626 votes, and became the first member of the party to hold an elected position in New Westminster.
Prior to the 2022 general election, the party began a stronger campaign and nominated a mayoral candidate, Ken Armstrong, for the first time. The New West Progressives were ultimately unsuccessful in the mayoral election, with Armstrong losing to Patrick Johnstone by 1,449 votes. However, they were able to elect two candidates as city councillors, with Paul Minhas and Daniel Fontaine placing fifth and sixth respectively. Fontaine's electoral victory made him the first known Métis and Indigenous member of the New Westminster City Council. Connelly retained her seat as the sole NWP party member on the school board.
On September 18, 2025, the party nominated Daniel Fontaine as their mayoral candidate for the upcoming 2026 British Columbia municipal elections.