MAPLE RIDGE, B.C.: MLA for Maple Ridge East and Critic for Skills Training & International Credentials, Lawrence Mok, is expressing disappointment that the Province’s own feasibility study confirms a clear need for post-secondary education in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows, yet stops short of supporting the development of a new local campus.

The Ridge Meadows Post-Secondary Feasibility Study states that the region is one of the fastest-growing in Metro Vancouver, yet remains one of the few communities in the Lower Mainland without a public post-secondary campus offering a broad range of programs. The study identified an estimated unmet need of approximately 1,775 students and found that only 24% of local residents aged 18–29 are enrolled in post-secondary education, compared to the provincial average of 35%.

MLA Mok is making his own comments to detail his disappointment that, despite the need being clearly proven in the document, the report does not sufficiently support establishing a new post-secondary school centre due to fiscal and market constraints.

“As someone who has spent decades in post-secondary education, earning multiple degrees and teaching at the university level, I understand all too well how transformative accessible education can be,” said Mok. “When students face two-hour commutes or financial and logistical barriers, many simply don’t enrol. That limits opportunity, and it limits our local workforce.”

“At a time when youth unemployment is at all time highs, the need for accessible post-secondary education is black and white,” Mok added. “But the fiscal mismanagement and reckless spending by this NDP government is limiting opportunities for our next generation.”

Mok committed to continuing to advocate for meaningful post-secondary investment in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows.

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Media Contact:
Francesca Guetchev, Press Secretary
Francesca.Guetchev@leg.bc.ca
+1 (672) 922-0948