First woman who uses a wheelchair elected to the Legislative Assembly (2009) and the first woman who uses a wheelchair to serve in Cabinet (2010)
Stephanie Cadieux was first elected MLA for Surrey-Panorama in 2009, and elected MLA for Surrey-Coverdale in 2013 and elected as MLA for Surrey South in 2017 and 2020. She served as the Official Opposition Caucus Chair and Critic for Gender Equity, Accessibility and Inclusion from 2000 to 2002. Stephanie became the first woman elected to the Assembly who uses a wheelchair in 2009.
She served as the Official Opposition Critic for ICBC and as critic for Finance and Advanced Education. She was also a member of the Select Standing Committees on Crown Corporations and Finance and Government Services.
Stephanie was the first woman who uses a wheelchair as a member of Cabinet, where she served as Minister of Children and Family Development, Minister of Social Development, Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development, and Minister of Labour, Citizens' Services and Open Government.
She was a member of the Treasury Board and served as vice-chair of the Cabinet Committee on Secure Tomorrow and has sat on the Cabinet Committee on Open Government and Engagement, the Cabinet Committee on Families First, and the Cabinet Working Group on Core Review. She has also served as Chair of the Special Committee to Appoint an Information and Privacy Commissioner, and as a member of the Select Standing Committees on Health and on Children and Youth, and of the Special Committee to Review the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
Stephanie worked with the BC Paraplegic Association (now SCI-BC) as director of marketing and development and was manager of accessibility for 2010 Legacies Now. She has been an active community volunteer and was the president of Realwheels Society, a member of the advisory panel with International Collaboration On Repair Discoveries (ICORD), and a mentor with the Y.W.C.A.