Even before election to New Westminster City Council in 2014, Patrick Johnstone has focused on leading conversations about what this City can be and about the challenges and opportunities ahead. He has done this by listening to the community, engaging in discussions, doing his research, and helping residents understand the role of City Hall in shaping our neighbourhoods.

Patrick was born in the Kootenays on unceded lands of the Ktunaxa peoples. When he found his home in New Westminster, he found a community of engaged people working to build a stronger city. He was excited to join this engagement, serving on the boards of the Royal City Curling Club and the New Westminster Environmental Partners, while actively supporting the Brow of the Hill Residents Association. 

In 2010, Patrick began to write about New Westminster, about his passion for environmental action, and the politics of both. He went to council meetings, served on City advisory committees, and used his voice as a resident to call on the City to be more proactive on active transportation, green waste recycling, and climate. Not tearing the city down, but building the community up. In 2013, he was named New Westminster’s Citizen of the Year for his volunteer work and activism.

As Mayor, Patrick has continued to find creative ways to engage the community. From blogging every council meeting for more than a decade to operating an "Ask Pat!" booth at community events, he has taken the lessons he learned as a community activist and used them to assure he is accessible to residents, businesses, and everyone in the community interested in building a better city. The importance of learning from the people you are elected to represent is at the core of his vision for accountable leadership. And that learning never stops.

Patrick has served in various roles with the Lower Mainland Local Government Association, and was awarded a Lifetime Membership in that organization in 2021. He has also served as Chair of the Community Energy Association, where he worked on climate solutions with municipalities across British Columbia and Yukon. During his time on Council, he has served on several Metro Vancouver and TransLink Committees, from Planning to Finance and Environment, and he continues to serve in the New Westminster Electrical Utility Commission.

Patrick is a Professional Geoscientist whose career in geology ranged from geologic mapping around British Columbia to environmental geoscience, where he worked to protect soil and groundwater from pollution, on remediation of contamination, and on environmental assessments of major infrastructure projects. He is the former Chair of the Environmental Managers Association of British Columbia and served as the Union of BC Municipalities representative to the Contaminated Sites Approved Professionals Society.

Patrick lives in the Brow of the Hill neighbourhood with his long-time partner Antigone and at least one too many bicycles.