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List of premiers of British Columbia

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David Eby has been premier of British Columbia since 2022.

The premier of British Columbia is the first minister for the Canadian province of British Columbia. The province was a British crown colony governed by the governors of British Columbia[1] before joining Canadian Confederation in 1871.[2] Since then, it has had a unicameral Westminster-style parliamentary government, in which the premier is the leader of the party that controls the most seats in the legislative assembly. The premier is British Columbia's head of government, and the king of Canada is its head of state and is represented by the lieutenant governor of British Columbia. The premier picks a cabinet from the elected members to form the Executive Council of British Columbia and presides over that body.[3]

Members are first elected to the legislature during general elections. General elections must be conducted every four years from the date of the last election. An election may also take place if the governing party loses the confidence of the legislature by the defeat of a supply bill or tabling of a no-confidence motion.[3]

Before 1903, British Columbia did not use a party system; instead, premiers of British Columbia had no official party affiliation and were chosen by elected members of the legislative assembly from among themselves. Candidates ran as "Government", "Opposition", "Independent", or in formulations such as "Opposition independent", indicating their respective positions to the incumbent regime.

British Columbia has had 36 individuals serve as premier since joining Confederation, of which 14 individuals had no party affiliation, three were Conservatives, eight were Liberals, four were Socreds, and seven were New Democrats. The first premier was John Foster McCreight, who was inaugurated in 1871. Joseph Martin spent the shortest time in office, at 106 days. At over twenty years, W. A. C. Bennett spent the longest time in office and is the only premier to serve in more than five parliaments. The incumbent premier is David Eby, who was sworn in on November 18, 2022.

Premiers of British Columbia

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b Unlike other Canadian jurisdictions, British Columbia's legislative library follows the American convention of giving multiple ordinal numbers to premiers who serve non-consecutive terms. George Anthony Walkem is therefore both the third and fifth premier.
  2. ^ In the 1890 election, Robson also won the seat in the riding of Westminster but turned it down.
  3. ^ In the 1907 election, McBride also won the seat in the riding of Dewdney but turned it down.
  4. ^ In the 1909 election, McBride also won the seat in the riding of Yale but turned it down.
  5. ^ In the 1916 election, Brewster also won the seat in the riding of Alberni but turned it down.
  6. ^ In the 1920 election, Oliver also won the seat in the riding of Delta but turned it down.
  7. ^ Christy Clark lost her seat in the 2013 British Columbia general election and served as premier without a constituency for 56 days until elected in a by-election.
  8. ^ a b C. Clark's government remained in office after the 2017 election until defeated 44 to 42 on a confidence vote less than a week into the legislative session. The lieutenant governor asked Horgan to form a government on the strength of a confidence and supply agreement between the NDP and the Green Party. Horgan led a minority government for the remainder of the 41st Parliament until the 2020 election, when the NDP attained a majority.

References

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  1. ^ "History and Heritage of British Columbia". BritishColumbia.com. Archived from the original on November 2, 2008. Retrieved November 5, 2008.
  2. ^ "British Columbia – Canadian Confederation". Library and Archives Canada. August 9, 2006. Archived from the original on June 21, 2008. Retrieved November 5, 2008.
  3. ^ a b "The Office of the Lieutenant Governor and the Legislature – Province of British Columbia". Province of British Columbia. Retrieved November 5, 2008.

General

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