B.C. premier asks for prayers for MLA Joan Phillip, saying she is 'very ill'

Vancouver-Strathcona B.C. New Democrat MLA Joan Phillip, right, and her husband, Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, celebrate while watching results come in on election night in Vancouver, on Saturday, October 19, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

VICTORIA — British Columbia Premier David Eby says New Democrat member of the legislature Joan Phillip is “very ill” and her colleagues are “all praying for her.”

Eby told reporters at the legislature that Phillip is an “incredible fighter,” but he was asking others to join in the prayers and send best wishes for her “quick recovery.”

He says Phillip is a “hugely respected member of many communities” and a “loved and valued” colleague of those in the legislature from across party lines.

Phillip, a respected Indigenous leader, was first elected in Vancouver in a 2023 byelection, and won again in B.C.’s general election the following year.

Eby’s governing NDP has 47 members, constituting a one-seat majority in the 93-seat legislature, while the Opposition Conservatives hold 38 seats, the Greens have two MLAs, and there are six Independents.

Phillip has been voting virtually in recent months, but she was not present to vote when the Conservatives introduced a bill to repeal B.C.’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act on Wednesday.

The motion failed with 47 opposing votes and 44 in favour.

The legislation that was passed in late 2019 has been controversial, with Eby announcing Monday that he was backing down from a plan to temporarily suspend parts of it and instead focus on “moving forward together” with First Nations.

Eby’s government had been proposing a confidence vote on suspending the law, raising the threat of a provincial election call, but his government backed off when the premier said Philip told him she could not bring herself to vote for the suspension.

Phillip is married to Grand Chief Stewart Phillip of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs.

Her profile on the B.C. legislature website says the couple has five surviving children, 15 grandchildren and one great grandchild.

The New Democrat caucus had announced in early December that Phillip was dealing with an illness that required additional testing.

Eby did not share further details during his brief remarks Wednesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 22, 2026.