Candidate profile: Kallee Lins (NDP) – Columbia-Kootenay-Southern Rockies

This is a candidate profile for the April 28, 2025 federal election.

All candidates have been asked the same four questions, and were given a 600-word limit.

Some responses may be edited for grammar and spelling, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Rewind Radio News and Pattison Media.

Advance voting days are April 18, 19, 20 and 21. More info here.

1) Why are you running to be a Member of Parliament?

I grew up in the Kootenays, so I know how critical it is to have representatives from our communities making decisions in Ottawa. This is a critical time for our region. Not only are our industries threatened by American tariffs, but we’re facing challenges to the sovereignty of our river systems, we’re experiencing unprecedented changes to our natural environment every year, and families continue to struggle with housing affordability and healthcare access.

We need MPs who are committed to long-term thinking, collaboration, and distinctly Kootenay-based solutions to the challenges our communities face. 

2) Why should people vote for you, and what skills do you have that make you suitable for this role?

I have a proven track record of providing benefits to communities here in the Kootenays as well as advocating for legislative and bureaucratic change in Ottawa. Taken together, I know I’m equipped to navigate the federal system to get results for our riding.

Historically, my work in the non-profit sector has focused on federal policy development and advocacy. While at Imagine Canada, my team and I were instrumental in shaping support programs during COVID to ensure that nonprofits were eligible, and I have spent more than a decade lobbying Ottawa on behalf of the cultural sector. I know how to work with federal departments and ministries to make change.

Locally, through my work as Executive Director of the West Kootenay Regional Arts Council, I am responsible for distributing more than half a million dollars annually to support cultural activity in communities across the Columbia Basin.

3) What will you advocate for; and do you intend to fully toe the party line?

I’m hearing from residents that they need me to advocate for greater housing stock and affordability, better access to healthcare professionals, stronger supports to mitigate the community impacts of rising homelessness, and investments in municipal infrastructure.

I am proud of the legacy of NDP MPs in this area; both Wayne Stetski and Alex Atamanenko were not afraid to vote in line with the needs of their communities, even if it meant breaking with the party line. I fully intend to continue demonstrating that level of independence as an MP.

4) How do you believe Canada’s federal government should tackle its current predicament with the United States, and where do you sit on Canadian sovereignty? 

It makes me proud to see Canada standing up to Trump’s threats and economic bullying. I am supportive of retaliatory measures, but I am also committed to working with the federal government to ensure there are no disproportionate impacts on our key industries here in the Kootenays.

Canada is an independent, sovereign nation that will never be a “state” of any country. I know there is concern about the Columbia River Treaty negotiations in the context of America’s threats to our sovereignty. Let me be unequivocal that I will stand up and defend our river. Let me be unequivocal that control of our water ways will never be ceded to the US, nor will our water be used as a bargaining chip to bail out the auto industry or any industry elsewhere in the country. Our water is the lifeline of the Kootenays.