1. Jenny Kwan was previously a member of the Legislative Assembly, representing Vancouver-Mount Pleasant from 1996 to 2015 with the British Columbia NDP, and together with Liberal MLA Ida Chong became the first Chinese-Canadian members of the BC legislature.
Jenny Kwan was the province's first Chinese-Canadian cabinet minister, serving from 1998 to 2001.
Jenny Kwan entered politics in 1993, when she was elected to the Vancouver City Council.
Jenny Kwan immigrated to Canada at age nine with her family from British Hong Kong.
Jenny Kwan graduated from Simon Fraser University in 1990 with a Bachelor of Arts in criminology, then started her career as a community legal advocate in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside before entering politics.
Jenny Kwan married Dan Small in 2001; they have two children together.
Jenny Kwan was the sole representative of the Coalition of Progressive Electors throughout her term on council.
Jenny Kwan succeeded Premier Mike Harcourt, who at the time had just resigned over a series of serious fundraising scandals, including Bingogate.
Jenny Kwan served as the government caucus deputy whip, parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Health, and member of the Select Standing Committee for Public Accounts in the 36th Parliament.
Jenny Kwan was named Minister of Municipal Affairs by Premier Glen Clark in February 1998, and was re-assigned as Minister of Women's Equality in July 1999.
Jenny Kwan served as a member of the Select Standing Committee on Education and chair of the Select Standing Committee on Public Accounts in the 37th Parliament.
Jenny Kwan was re-elected in 2005,2009, and 2013, continuing to serve as an opposition MLA.
In December 2010, Jenny Kwan released a statement to the media criticizing NDP leader Carole James, and calling for an immediate leadership convention, after party candidates suffered defeat in the 2009 election.
At the time of the trip, Jenny Kwan had still been married to Small and had participated in the trip with their children.
In January 2015, Jenny Kwan announced her plan to seek the NDP nomination in Vancouver East for the forthcoming federal election, after NDP MP Libby Davies, who had served since 1997, chose not to seek another term.
Supporters of Jenny Kwan's candidacy included Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs president Stewart Philip, Chinese Freemasons Association president Herbert Yiu, former British Columbia natural resources minister Robert Arthur Williams, and United Steelworkers official Steve Hunt.
Jenny Kwan was elected to the House of Commons in October 2015, defeating candidates Edward Wong and James Low by wide margins.
Jenny Kwan supported Jagmeet Singh in his successful campaign in the 2017 NDP leadership election.
Jenny Kwan was re-elected in the 2019,2021 and 2025 federal elections.