Filipino-Canadian nurse, trustee Lailani Tumaneng takes public service bid to North Vancouver council

Floyd Brenz., Philippine Canadian Inquirer
October 09, 2026

Photo Courtesy: Reyfort Media

NORTH VANCOUVER, British Columbia – For more than three decades, Lailani Tumaneng has built her life in North Vancouver, first as an immigrant starting over in Canada, then as a registered nurse, labour advocate, community volunteer and eventually an elected school trustee.

Now, the Filipino-Canadian public servant is seeking a seat on City of North Vancouver Council in the October 17, 2026 local election.

Tumaneng is running as an independent candidate for one of six councillor positions. City voters will elect a mayor, six councillors and three school trustees for four-year terms.

Her campaign represents the latest step in a public-service journey that began long before she entered elected office.

Tumaneng immigrated from the Philippines in 1994 after earning a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Mary Chiles College. Before becoming licensed as a registered nurse in Canada, she worked as a companion caring for seniors in their homes, preparing meals and helping with everyday needs.

She passed her Canadian nursing licensure examination in 1996 and went on to build a career in long-term care. Tumaneng has spent 26 years as a registered nurse with Vancouver Coastal Health, according to her published profile, with much of that work based in North Vancouver.

Her nursing career also drew her into workplace advocacy.

Tumaneng has served as a British Columbia Nurses’ Union steward since 2016 and previously represented workers on the Joint Occupational Health and Safety committee at Evergreen House. She was acclaimed to a Coastal Mountain lobbyist position in 2020 and later took on responsibilities as interim chair for the region.

Those experiences form part of the leadership background she is bringing into her council campaign, which emphasizes listening to residents, working across differing perspectives and approaching decisions collaboratively.

North Vancouver has been Tumaneng’s home for 32 years, and her connection to the community extends beyond her professional work.

Over the years, she has volunteered in schools, churches, Filipino organizations, community programs, and local events. Her involvement in schools has included serving as a crossing guard, helping with hot lunches and library activities, driving students to sports events and supporting school fundraisers.

She is also involved with the Diversity and Inclusion Support Group of B.C., where the Philippine Consulate General in Vancouver’s Filipino community organization directory identifies her as a board director.

From nursing to the school board

Tumaneng entered elected public service in October 2022, winning one of three City of North Vancouver seats on the North Vancouver Board of Education.

She received 4,531 votes, finishing second among the elected trustee candidates.

Her election also marked a milestone for Filipino-Canadian political representation in the region. In the British Columbia legislature following the 2022 municipal elections, MLA Mable Elmore identified Tumaneng as the first elected official of Filipino heritage on the North Shore.

Tumaneng continues to serve as a City trustee on the seven-member North Vancouver Board of Education. Her current assignments include the Audit Committee, Education Week Planning Committee and School Calendar Committee, while she also represents the school district on the City of North Vancouver Advisory Planning Commission.

In November 2025, she was also selected as the board’s representative to the BC School Trustees Association Provincial Council.

Tumaneng has described her time on the school board as an experience in collaborative decision-making, working within a governing body where members may not always agree but must ultimately make decisions collectively.

She is now seeking to apply that experience to the wider responsibilities of municipal government.

Five priorities for City Council

Tumaneng’s council campaign identifies community safety, health and well-being, climate action and sustainability, affordable housing, and equitable governance as its main areas of focus.

On community safety, she has framed her approach around the well-being of residents and creating communities where families can feel secure.

Health and well-being also draw directly from her decades in nursing and frontline care, connecting her professional experience with broader questions about healthy communities.

Her campaign places climate action and sustainability among its municipal priorities, calling for a greener and more livable North Vancouver.

Affordable housing is another focus. Tumaneng has highlighted the pressures faced by families, seniors and younger residents trying to remain in the city as housing costs challenge their ability to find or maintain a home.

Her fifth priority, equitable governance, centers on ensuring that municipal decision-making reflects North Vancouver’s diverse population.

Another campaign graphic expands that message around four themes: putting the community first, building a sustainable and livable city, maintaining fiscal responsibility, and working toward a safe, inclusive and vibrant future for families.

Tumaneng has also made transparency and accountability recurring themes of her campaign.

“I am proud to stand for transparency, accountability, and service,” she said in her campaign material.

Her broader campaign message is summarized in three words: “Listen. Collaborate. Lead.”

Building on Filipino-Canadian representation

Tumaneng remains visible in British Columbia’s Filipino-Canadian community.

The Philippine Consulate General in Vancouver has recognized her among elected officials of Filipino heritage in British Columbia, and in June 2026 she joined Filipino community leaders and government officials during Philippine Heritage Month activities in Vancouver.

Her move from school trustee to council candidate puts her before City of North Vancouver voters for a second time, four years after her first election victory.

If elected to council, Tumaneng would shift from governance focused primarily on public education to municipal decisions involving services, budgets, planning and other citywide issues. City councillors collectively set policy and make decisions concerning municipal services, bylaws, budgets and long-term planning.

General voting day is Saturday, October 17, with advance voting running between October 7 and October 15.

For Tumaneng, the council campaign brings together the different chapters of her North Vancouver story – immigrant, nurse, union advocate, mother, volunteer and elected trustee as she seeks a broader role in the city she has called home for 32 years.