Michelle Kirby

Whether protecting our environmental and community heritage, or dealing with the pressures facing seniors and young families who make Oak Bay home, Michelle is optimistic that Oak Bay can meet those challenges.

That’s why she’s led the call for legalizing secondary suites, preserving our environment and heritage neighbourhoods, through conservation and better environmental standards.

Through her advocacy for child care, local bike lanes, or working with others to introduce a pocket produce market, Michelle has become a fixture at council meetings. As both participant and observer of municipal government, Michelle has learned first hand that good government only works if citizens are engaged and willing to work together.

Michelle has attended most Council and Committee of the Whole meetings in 2008, and enjoyed helping with efforts to get a pocket produce market in Oak Bay, supporting the amendment of the bylaw for keeping honey bees on smaller lots, and supported bike lanes in Oak Bay.

Michelle grew up in the small town of Windermere, BC in the beautiful Columbia Valley. Michelle was a Rotary Youth Exchange Student in Belgium for a year where she became fluent in French, and expanded her horizons. Her travels inspired her BA in International Relations from UBC Okanagan.

Michelle began her professional career in Victoria, working for the Youth Employment Project: a place where youth-at-risk can access assistance in gaining life skills and employment. From there, she moved to Canada Revenue Agency, where she worked for five years before taking a leave of absence to care for her two children.

The challenges of finding child care in Victoria led Michelle to co-found Parents for Child Care, a web based advocacy group to further the goal of quality, affordable, accessible child care. As a stay-at-home mother, Michelle has found advocacy work a fulfilling and flexible way to contribute to the community.