List of premiers of British Columbia

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

[edit]

No.  | Portrait  | Name
(Birth–Death) | Term of office  | Electoral mandates (Assembly)  | Political party  | Riding  | Cabinet  | Ref.

|
|
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|
|
|
|
|

1 |  | John Foster McCreight
(1827–1913) | 14 November
1871  | 23 December
1872  | Title created (caretaker government)⁠

* * *

1871 election (1st Leg.)

|  | Non-partisan | MLA for Victoria City | McCreight ministry |
2 |  | Amor De Cosmos
(1825–1897) | 23 December
1872  | 11 February
1874  | Appointment (1st Leg.)  |  | Non-partisan | MLA for Victoria | De Cosmos ministry |
3[a]
(1 of 2) |  | George Anthony Walkem
(1834–1908) | 11 February
1874  | 1 February
1876  | Appointment (1st Leg.)⁠

* * *

1875 election (2nd Leg.)

|  | Non-partisan | MLA for Cariboo | 1st Walkem ministry |
4 |  | Andrew Charles Elliott
(1829–1889) | 1 February
1876  | 25 June
1878  | Appointment (2nd Leg.)  |  | Non-partisan | MLA for Victoria City | Elliott ministry |
5[a]
(2 of 2) |  | George Anthony Walkem
(1834–1908) | 25 June
1878  | 13 June
1882  | 1878 election (3rd Leg.)  |  | Non-partisan | MLA for Cariboo | 2nd Walkem ministry |
6 |  | Robert Beaven
(1836–1920) | 13 June
1882  | 29 January
1883  | Appointment (3rd Leg.)⁠

* * *

1882 election (4th Leg.)

|  | Non-partisan | MLA for Victoria City | Beaven ministry |
7 |  | William Smithe
(1842–1887) | 29 January
1883  | 28 March
1887  | Appointment (4th Leg.)⁠

* * *

1886 election (5th Leg.)

|  | Non-partisan | MLA for Cowichan | Smithe ministry |
8 |  | Alexander Edmund Batson Davie
(1847–1889) | 1 April
1887  | 1 August
1889  | Appointment (5th Leg.)  |  | Non-partisan | MLA for Lillooet | A. E. B. Davie ministry |
9 |  | John Robson
(1824–1892) | 2 August
1889  | 29 June
1892  | Appointment (5th Leg.)⁠

* * *

1890 election (6th Leg.)

|  | Non-partisan | MLA for New Westminster
(1889–1890)

* * *

MLA for Cariboo[b]
(1890–1892)

| Robson ministry |
10 |  | Theodore Davie
(1852–1898) | 2 July
1892  | 4 March
1895  | Appointment (6th Leg.)⁠

* * *

1894 election (7th Leg.)

|  | Non-partisan | MLA for Cowichan-Alberni | T. Davie ministry |
11 |  | John Herbert Turner
(1834–1923) | 4 March
1895  | 15 August
1898  | Appointment (7th Leg.)  |  | Non-partisan | MLA for Victoria City | Turner ministry |
12 |  | Charles Augustus Semlin
(1836–1927) | 15 August
1898  | 28 February
1900  | 1898 election (8th Leg.)  |  | Non-partisan | MLA for Yale-West | Semlin ministry |
13 |  | Joseph Martin
(1852–1923) | 28 February
1900  | 15 June
1900  | Appointment (8th Leg.)  |  | Non-partisan | MLA for Vancouver City | Martin ministry |
Immediately lost a confidence vote 28 to 1 upon being appointed but formed a cabinet and governed for another three months anyway
14 |  | James Dunsmuir
(1851–1920) | 15 June
1900  | 21 November
1902  | 1900 election (9th Leg.)  |  | Non-partisan | MLA for South Nanaimo | Dunsmuir ministry |
15 |  | Edward Gawler Prior
(1853–1920) | 21 November
1902  | 1 June
1903  | Appointment (9th Leg.)  |  | Non-partisan | MLA for Victoria City | Prior ministry |
16 |  | Richard McBride
(1870–1917) | 1 June
1903  | 15 December
1915  | Appointment (9th Leg.)⁠

* * *

1903 election (10th Leg.)⁠

* * *

1907 election (11th Leg.)⁠

* * *

1909 election (12th Leg.)⁠

* * *

1912 election (13th Leg.)

|  | Conservative
(Ldr. 1903) | MLA for Westminster-Dewdney
(1903)

* * *

MLA for Dewdney
(1903–1907)

* * *

MLA for Victoria City[c][d]
(1907–1915)

| McBride ministry |
Led first partisan administration. During First World War, the provincial government purchased and took possession of two submarines to defend the province from the threat of German attack; quickly transferred by order of the federal government to the Royal Canadian Navy in August 1914. Created the province's first university, the University of British Columbia.
17 |  | William John Bowser
(1867–1933) | 15 December
1915  | 23 November
1916  | Appointment (13th Leg.)  |  | Conservative
(Ldr. 1915) | MLA for Vancouver City | Bowser ministry |
18 |  | Harlan Carey Brewster
(1870–1918) | 23 November
1916  | 1 March
1918  | 1916 election (14th Leg.)  |  | Liberal
(Ldr. 1912) | MLA for Victoria City[e] | Brewster ministry |
Brought in women's suffrage, instituted prohibition, and combatted political corruption
19 |  | John Oliver
(1856–1927) | 6 March
1918  | 17 August
1927  | Appointment (14th Leg.)⁠

* * *

1920 election (15th Leg.)⁠

* * *

1924 election (16th Leg.)

|  | Liberal
(Ldr. 1918) | MLA for Dewdney
(1918–1920)

* * *

MLA for Victoria City[f]
(1920–1924)

* * *

MLA for Nelson
(1924–1927)

| Oliver ministry |
Developed the produce industry in the Okanagan Valley, and tried to persuade the federal government to lower the freight rate for rail transport. In 1923, hosted the visit of Warren Harding to Vancouver, the first ever visit of a sitting United States President to Canada.
20 |  | John Duncan MacLean
(1873–1948) | 20 August
1927  | 21 August
1928  | Appointment (16th Leg.)  |  | Liberal
(Ldr. 1927) | MLA for Yale | MacLean ministry |
21 |  | Simon Fraser Tolmie
(1867–1937) | 21 August
1928  | 15 November
1933  | 1928 election (17th Leg.)  |  | Conservative
(Ldr. 1926) | MLA for Saanich | Tolmie ministry |
Attempted to apply "business principles to the business of government" during the Great Depression hit. Unemployment reached 28% – the highest in Canada. Set up relief camps. The Kidd Report recommended such sharp cuts to social services that the Conservative Party split and decided to run no candidates in the 1933 election. Local riding associations that supported Tolmie ran "Unionist" candidates while those supporting former premier Bowser stood "non-partisan" candidates and others ran as Independent Conservatives, resulting in electoral collapse and only 2 Conservative MLAs (one pro-Bowser, one pro-Tolmie) being returned and Tolmie losing his own seat.
22 |  | Thomas Dufferin Pattullo
(1873–1956) | 15 November
1933  | 9 December
1941  | 1933 election (18th Leg.)⁠

* * *

1937 election (19th Leg.)⁠

* * *

1941 election (20th Leg.)

|  | Liberal
(Ldr. 1929) | MLA for Prince Rupert | Pattullo ministry |
Attempted to extend government services and relief to the unemployed during the Great Depression. Re-elected in 1937 using the slogan "socialized capitalism". Failed to win a majority in 1941 and removed as leader by his party when he was unwilling to form a coalition government with the Conservative Party to keep the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation out of power.
23 |  | John Hart
(1879–1957) | 9 December
1941  | 29 December
1947  | Appointment (20th Leg.)⁠

* * *

1945 election (21st Leg.)

|  | Liberal
(Ldr. 1941) | MLA for Victoria City | Hart ministry | [Co.]
Became Liberal leader and premier in order to form a coalition government with the Conservatives, which his predecessor had refused to do, in order to keep the socialist CCF out of power. Undertook an ambitious program of rural electrification, hydroelectric and highway construction. Built Highway 97 to northern British Columbia and relaunched the Bridge River Power Project, which was the province's first major hydroelectric development. Established the BC Power Commission to provide power to smaller communities that were not serviced by private utilities.
24 |  | Boss Johnson
(1890–1964) | 29 December
1947  | 1 August
1952  | Appointment (21st Leg.)⁠

* * *

1949 election (22nd Leg.)

|  | Liberal
(Ldr. 1947) | MLA for New Westminster | Johnson ministry | [Co.]
Introduced compulsory health insurance, and a 3% provincial sales tax to pay for it, expanded the highway system, extended the Pacific Great Eastern Railway, and negotiated the Alcan Agreement, which facilitated construction of the Kenney Dam. Coalition government collapsed when Conservatives left to form the Official Opposition in January 1952, leaving Johnson to lead a straight Liberal government until its defeat in that year's general election.
25 |  | W. A. C. Bennett
(1900–1979) | 1 August
1952  | 15 September
1972  | 1952 election (23rd Leg.)⁠

* * *

1953 election (24th Leg.)⁠

* * *

1956 election (25th Leg.)⁠

* * *

1960 election (26th Leg.)⁠

* * *

1963 election (27th Leg.)⁠

* * *

1966 election (28th Leg.)⁠

* * *

1969 election (29th Leg.)

|  | Social Credit | MLA for South Okanagan | W. A. C. Bennett ministry |
Longest-serving premier. Oversaw rapid expansion of the province's highway system and BC Rail, creation of BC Ferries, BC Hydro, and the Bank of British Columbia, hydro-electric dam-building projects on the Columbia and Peace Rivers and the creation of the University of Victoria and Simon Fraser University.
26 |  | Dave Barrett
(1930–2018) | 15 September
1972  | 22 December
1975  | 1972 election (30th Leg.)  |  | New Democratic
(Ldr. 1970) | MLA for Coquitlam | Barrett ministry |
Reformed the welfare system, established the province's Labour Relations Board, and expanded the public sector. Reformed Legislative Assembly by introducing question period and full Hansard transcripts of legislative proceedings. Brought in the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) to protect the supply of farm land and Insurance Corporation of British Columbia to provide public car insurance.
27 |  | Bill Bennett
(1932–2015) | 22 December
1975  | 6 August
1986  | 1975 election (31st Leg.)⁠

* * *

1979 election (32nd Leg.)⁠

* * *

1983 election (33rd Leg.)

|  | Social Credit
(Ldr. 1973) | MLA for South Okanagan
(1975–1979)

* * *

MLA for Okanagan South
(1979–1986)

| B. Bennett ministry |
Implemented significant cuts to social services and education and repealed labour laws, resulting in a general strike. Spent hundreds of millions of dollars on Expo 86 and the construction of BC Place, Vancouver's SkyTrain rapid transit system, and the Vancouver Convention Centre. Built the Coquihalla Highway.
28 |  | Bill Vander Zalm
(b. 1934) | 6 August
1986  | 2 April
1991  | Appointment (33rd Leg.)⁠

* * *

1986 election (34th Leg.)

|  | Social Credit
(Ldr. 1986) | MLA for Richmond | Vander Zalm ministry |
Granted five community colleges authority to grant baccalaureate degrees (Cariboo, Fraser Valley, Kwantlen, Malaspina, and Okanagan). Built Phase 3 of the Coquihalla Highway. Forced to resign due to Fantasy Gardens conflict of interest controversy.
29 |  | Rita Johnston
(b. 1935) | 2 April
1991  | 5 November
1991  | Appointment (34th Leg.)  |  | Social Credit
(Ldr. 1991) | MLA for Surrey-Newton | Johnston ministry |
30 |  | Mike Harcourt
(b. 1943) | 5 November
1991  | 22 February
1996  | 1991 election (35th Leg.)  |  | New Democratic
(Ldr. 1987) | MLA for Vancouver-Mount Pleasant | Harcourt ministry |
Reformed the welfare system. Resigned due to Bingogate.
31 |  | Glen Clark
(b. 1957) | 22 February
1996  | 25 August
1999  | Appointment (35th Leg.)⁠

* * *

1996 election (36th Leg.)

|  | New Democratic
(Ldr. 1996) | MLA for Vancouver-Kingsway | G. Clark ministry |
Signed the Nisga'a Final Agreement, continued welfare reform. Resigned due to the Fast Ferry Scandal and Casinogate.
32 |  | Dan Miller
(b. 1944) | 25 August
1999  | 24 February
2000  | Appointment (36th Leg.)  |  | New Democratic
(Ldr. 1999) | MLA for North Coast | Miller ministry |
33 |  | Ujjal Dosanjh
(b. 1947) | 24 February
2000  | 5 June
2001  | Appointment (36th Leg.)  |  | New Democratic
(Ldr. 2000) | MLA for Vancouver-Kensington | Dosanjh ministry |
Created the Sex Offenders Registry
34 |  | Gordon Campbell
(b. 1948) | 5 June
2001  | 14 March
2011  | 2001 election (37th Leg.)⁠

* * *

2005 election (38th Leg.)⁠

* * *

2009 election (39th Leg.)

|  | Liberal
(Ldr. 1993) | MLA for Vancouver-Point Grey | Campbell ministry |
Privatized BC Rail, hosted the 2010 Winter Olympics, oversaw the launch of the Canada Line, introduced the provincial carbon tax, oversaw the completion of Golden Ears Bridge, resigned in HST controversy
35 |  | Christy Clark
(b. 1965) | 14 March
2011  | 18 July
2017  | Appointment (39th Leg.)⁠

* * *

2013 election (40th Leg.)⁠

* * *

2017 election (41st Leg.)

|  | Liberal
(Ldr. 2011) | MLA for Vancouver-Point Grey
(2011–2013)

* * *

MLA for N/A[g]
(2013)

* * *

MLA for Westside-Kelowna
(2013–2017)

* * *

MLA for Kelowna West
(2017)

| C. Clark ministry | [h]
Increased minimum wage from $8.00/hr to $10.25/hr, oversaw completion of the Gateway Program, introduced Family Day statutory holiday, oversaw completion of Evergreen Extension. Resigned after she lost the confidence of the Assembly.
36 |  | John Horgan
(1959–2024) | 18 July
2017  | 18 November
2022  | Appointment (41st Leg.)⁠

* * *

2020 election (42nd Leg.)

|  | New Democratic
(Ldr. 2014) | MLA for Langford-Juan de Fuca | Horgan ministry | [h]
Continued construction of Site C dam, replaced medical service plan fee with payroll tax, increased minimum wage from $10.25/hr to $15.65/hr, indexed minimum wage to inflation.
37 |  | David Eby
(b. 1976) | 18 November
2022  | incumbent | Appointment (42nd Leg.)⁠

* * *

2024 election (43rd Leg.)

|  | New Democratic
(Ldr. 2022) | MLA for Vancouver-Point Grey | Eby ministry |

Min. Led a minority government
Co. Led a coalition government

## See also

[edit]

* Canada portal

* List of British Columbian ministries
* Leader of the Opposition (British Columbia)

## Notes

[edit]

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

[edit]

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

[edit]

* "Premiers of British Columbia, 1871–today". Province of British Columbia. Archived from the original on June 4, 2013. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
* "British Columbia". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved October 8, 2019.

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