Jenny Wai Ching Kwan was appointed Minister of Community Development, Cooperatives and Volunteers on February 29, 2000. She is also responsible for the Vancouver Agreement with the federal and municipal governments to promote and support sustainable economic, social and community development.

After graduating from the criminology department of Simon Fraser University, Ms. Kwan worked as a community activist in the Downtown Eastside. She became the youngest person elected to Vancouver City Council in 1993, and served on council for three years.

At 30, Ms. Kwan became one of the first Chinese-Canadian women to sit in the Legislative Assembly when she was elected in 1996 to represent the constituency of Vancouver-Mount Pleasant. Ms. Kwan served as Deputy Whip to the Government Caucus for two years and was Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health. She was also a member of the Select Standing Committee for Public Accounts and the Special Committee on the Response to the Gove Report.

Ms. Kwan became the first Chinese-Canadian cabinet minister in B.C. history in February 1998 when she was appointed Minister of Municipal Affairs While Minister of Municipal Affairs, she worked in four key advocacy areas: anti-poverty, affordable housing, human rights and immigration. She also served as Minister of Women's Equality from July 1999 to February 2000.