Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West credits community pressure for school reconstruction

Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West, centre, flanked by District of North Vancouver Mayor Mike Little, left, and City of Pitt Meadows Mayor Nicole MacDonald looks on during a news conference in Vancouver, B.C., Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns

VICTORIA — Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West says community pressure is responsible for the provincial government’s decision to speed up the reconstruction of an elementary school destroyed by fire almost two years ago.

Hazel Trembath Elementary burned down on Oct. 14, 2023, under suspicious circumstances, and the provincial government Friday released its plans to build a brand-new school for 240 students at a cost of nearly $39 million with fast-tracked timelines.

The announcement comes after local politicians and school board officials repeatedly raised concerns about the process and pace of reconstruction, with West writing five separate letters to the province, including his latest dated Oct. 8, 2025.

West says it would be speculative to draw any link between that last letter and Friday’s announcement, adding that the credit for the government’s decision belongs to the community at large and parents with children at the school.

While West says he’s happy and proud to have supported them, he wishes they didn’t have to fight so hard to get government to fulfill its basic responsibilities.

West says rebuilding an elementary school is not “like trying to send someone to the moon,” but nonetheless he welcomes the provincial announcement because it shows what can happen if a community keeps fighting.

A statement from the Ministry of Infrastructure says the school will be rebuilt at its original site with construction anticipated to start in July 2026 and occupancy scheduled for December 2027.

Transportation Minister Mike Farnworth, who is also the MLA for Port Coquitlam, says government knows that the reconstruction of the school cannot happen fast enough.

Farnworth says government is “working urgently to deliver a new school that will welcome students back as soon as possible.”

West says he hopes government will find ways to shorten “these long, meandering processes,” when asked what lessons can be drawn from this experience.

This report by Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press, was first published Oct. 18, 2025.