Lorne Mayencourt

Who is Lorne Mayencourt?

Lorne Mayencourt is a Canadian politician, who formerly represented the electoral district of Vancouver-Burrard in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia as a member of the BC Liberal party.

Mayencourt was first elected in the 2001 provincial election, defeating New Democrat opponent Tim Stevenson.

He was previously the founder and, for its first five years, executive director of the Vancouver Friends for Life Society, which supports people living with AIDS, cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.

He is the founder of the BC New Hope Recovery Society and Baldy Hughes Therapeutic Community in North Central BC which supports addicts in a long-term recovery community.

In the 2005 election, conflicting results throughout the night had both Mayencourt and Stevenson declared the victor in Vancouver-Burrard, and the uncertainty continued for several weeks. In the final count of regular ballots, Stevenson was declared the winner by 17 votes; however, when absentee ballots were counted on May 30, Mayencourt was declared the winner by a margin of 18 votes. After a judicial recount, Mayencourt was declared the victor by 11 votes.

He is known for his Private Member's Bill called the Safe Streets Act, which aimed to deter aggressive panhandling. He chaired the provincial Safe Schools Task Force and introduced the Safe Schools Act to combat bullying in the school system based on racism, sexism and homophobia. He introduced the Apology Act to facilitate sincere and timely reconciliation between government, business and citizens.