Nicholas Simons was first elected as MLA for Powell River-Sunshine Coast on May 17, 2005.

Nicholas has spent over fifteen years working in the areas of health, justice, social services and child welfare.

Nicholas serves as Opposition Critic for community living and deputy critic for social development and housing.

He served as the Executive Director of Health and Social Development for the Sechelt Nation from 1997 until his election in 2005. In this role he oversaw Health, Child Welfare, Alcohol and Drugs, Financial Assistance, and Justice Programs. He negotiated funding for innovative preventative health and social services which led to a dramatic reduction in adversarial child welfare intervention, and improvements in health outcomes in all age groups.

Prior to his employment with the Sechelt Nation, he worked as a child-protection social worker for the Ministry for Children and Family Development, as a Financial Assistance Worker, and as the Crime Prevention Coordinator for the Northwest Territories. He has been a consultant for the Federal, Northwest Territories, and First Nations governments in areas including law reform, child welfare, and legal.

He has lectured in Criminology at Simon Fraser University (SFU), in which he has a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Ottawa (1986) and a Master's degree from SFU (1993). He has taught child-protection social work to social workers working in First Nations communities. His controversial review of the death of a Port Alberni toddler led to the Hughes Report and significant changes in the child welfare system in British Columbia.