Sustainable,
Collaborative,
Purposeful,
Public Education.
Mattie McMillan is running for Trustee in SD62 Belmont Zone
Colwood | Highlands | Langford | Metchosin | View Royal
meet Mattie
Mattie McMillan is a policy scientist, educator, and proud Trans-Canadian born in Calgary, raised across the West, now proudly living in Metchosin and serving the South Island.
Their work is rooted in listening, collaboration, and action: from connecting cabinet ministers to industry, citizens to services, and young adults to their potential in music, the cadet program, policy development, and elsewhere.
Mattie brings professional experience in governance, advocacy, workforce development, and of course, youth development & mentorship. They also bring the deeper passion for empowering communities that rely on diversity and those who invest in reconciliation.
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Mattie brings two decades of experience in governance, youth development, and policy science.
She is the founder of Cupola Policy & Strategy and has helped organisations, campaigns, and community leaders build stronger relationships through understanding interests and building long-term shared solutions. She supported regulatory developments and legislative overhauls in Canada’s real estate and energy industries as well as the advancement of reconciliation, diversity, and Canadian principles.
Mattie previously served as a reserve officer within Canada’s Cadet Instructor Cadre, rising to posts such as Director of Music aboard HMCS QUADRA and as Commanding Officer of RCSCC UNDAUNTED, two cornerstone institutions within the Canadian Cadet Movement. She retired in 2020 at the rank of Lieutenant(N) and has remained active as a lecturer and program bolsterer.
She holds a Master of Science in Public Administration from SOAS, University of London, and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Calgary.
Mattie’s recent successes include playing a part securing $7M for Metchosin’s Firehall Project, supporting Otipemisiwak burgeoning leaders, and undergraduate mentorship projects supporting health equity and better governance genres using standing relationships with Western Canadian post-secondary institutions.
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Mattie’s first visits to the Island were for family decades ago. School holidays meant time with grandparents and great grandparents while parents worked. From Witty’s Lagoon to Hatley Castle, those early visits helped establish her connection.
Her love of the Island deepened as one keener-of-a- Sea Cadet, and later as a reservist serving the Cadet program through Esquimalt, Albert Head, and Comox DND facilities.
When she came out & transitioned, she set her sights on something better and found her way to the Island’s Westshore where she celebrates her new life through connecting with community, nature, and ways to help sustain both.
When SD62 Retirees in her community and found family around her nudged her to help some of the many things the District has to celebrate, Mattie’s run to empower and entrench the goodness of SD62 began.
Mattie’s priorities are…
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Sustainable
Board decisions need to be sustainable; from budget allocations & sourcing to the availability & health of human resources like EAs, Teachers, and other staff, Mattie’s economic background will help ground governance.
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Collaborative
Formal partnerships with municipalities and other groups will let SD62 leverage resources for our bottom line, grow cooperative opportunities for students, and guide long term decision making in the Western Communities.
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Purposeful
Education needs to matter to students, it must look towards outcomes for the economy but also outcomes for life. Purposeful education is a direct input into the future of the Western Communities, how we work, and how we treat each other.
Volunteer Alongside Mattie