Leader of the Opposition (British Columbia)

Leader of the Opposition
Chef de l'Opposition
Incumbent John Rustad since November 12, 2024
Official Opposition Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
Member of	Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
Seat	British Columbia Parliament Buildings
Term length	While leader of the largest party not in government
Inaugural holder	James Mackenzie McDonald
Formation	November 7, 1871;153 years ago (1871-11-07) [1]
Salary	CA$59,766.37 (2024) [a] [2]

The leader of the Opposition (French : chef de l'Opposition) is the member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia who leads the political party recognized as the Official Opposition. This position generally goes to the leader of the largest party in the Legislative Assembly that is not in government.

History

Prior to the 1903 election, British Columbia politics operated as a non-partisan democracy. Members often declared themselves to be supporters of the government or of the opposition, but the labels were informal and the lines often shifted. The most prominent member of the Opposition was often called the "leader of the Opposition", but the position was not officially recognized until the introduction of formalized party politics. ^{[3] [4]}

List of leaders of the Opposition

Portrait	Name [3] Electoral district (Birth–Death)	Term of office	Party
	James Alexander MacDonald MLA for Rossland City (1858–1939)	1903–1909		Liberal
	John Oliver [b] (1856–1927)	1909–1910		Liberal
	James Hurst Hawthornthwaite [c] MLA for Nanaimo City (1863–1926)	1910		Socialist
	Harlan Carey Brewster [c] MLA for Alberni (1870–1918)	1911–1912		Liberal
	Parker Williams [d] MLA for Newcastle (1872–1958)	1913–1915		Socialist
	Harlan Carey Brewster [e] MLA for Victoria City (1870–1918)	1916		Liberal
	William John Bowser MLA for Vancouver City (1867–1933)	1917–1923		Conservative
	Robert Henry Pooley [f] MLA for Esquimalt (1878–1954)	1924–1928		Conservative
	Duff Pattullo MLA for Prince Rupert (1873–1956)	1929–1933		Liberal
	Robert Connell MLA for Victoria City (1871–1957)	1933–1937		Co-operative Commonwealth
				Social Reconstructive [g]
	Frank Porter Patterson MLA for Dewdney (1876–1938)	1937–1938		Conservative
	Royal Maitland MLA for Vancouver-Point Grey (1889–1946)	1938–1940		Conservative
	Harold Winch MLA for Vancouver East (1907–1993)	1941–1951		Co-operative Commonwealth
	Herbert Anscomb [h] MLA for Oak Bay (1892–1972)	1952		Progressive Conservative
	Harold Winch MLA for Vancouver East (1907–1993)	1953		Co-operative Commonwealth
	Arnold Webster MLA for Vancouver East (1899–1979)	1953–1956		Co-operative Commonwealth
	Robert Strachan [i] MLA for Cowichan-Newcastle (until 1966) MLA for Cowichan-Malahat (from 1966) (1913–1981)	1957–1969		Co-operative Commonwealth
				New Democratic
	Thomas R. Berger [b] (1933–2021)	1969–1970		New Democratic
	Dave Barrett MLA for Coquitlam (1930–2018)	1970–1972		New Democratic
	W. A. C. Bennett MLA for South Okanagan (1900–1979)	1972–1973		Social Credit
	Frank Richter Jr. MLA for Boundary-Similkameen (1910–1977)	1973		Social Credit
	Bill Bennett MLA for South Okanagan (1932–2015)	1974–1975		Social Credit
	William King [j] MLA for Revelstoke-Slocan (1930–2020)	1976		New Democratic
	Dave Barrett MLA for Vancouver East (1930–2018)	1976–1984		New Democratic
	Bob Skelly MLA for Alberni (1943–2022)	1984–1987		New Democratic
	Mike Harcourt MLA for Vancouver Centre (born 1943)	1987–1991		New Democratic
	Gordon Wilson MLA for Powell River-Sunshine Coast (born 1949)	1991–1993		Liberal
	Fred Gingell MLA for Delta South (1930–1999)	1993–1994		Liberal
	Gordon Campbell MLA for Vancouver-Quilchena (until 1996) MLA for Vancouver-Point Grey (from 1996) (born 1948)	1994–2001		Liberal
	Joy MacPhail [k] MLA for Vancouver-Hastings (born 1952)	2001–2005		New Democratic
	Carole James MLA for Victoria-Beacon Hill (born 1957)	2005–2011		New Democratic
	Dawn Black MLA for New Westminster (born 1943)	2011		New Democratic
	Adrian Dix MLA for Vancouver-Kingsway (born 1964)	2011–2014		New Democratic
	John Horgan MLA for Juan de Fuca (1959–2024)	2014–2017		New Democratic
	Christy Clark MLA for Kelowna West (born 1965)	2017		Liberal
	Rich Coleman MLA for Langley East (born 1956)	2017–2018		Liberal
	Andrew Wilkinson MLA for Vancouver-Quilchena (born 1958)	2018–2020		Liberal
	Shirley Bond MLA for Prince George-Valemount (born 1956 or 1957)	2020–2022		Liberal
	Kevin Falcon MLA for Vancouver-Quilchena (born 1963)	2022–2024		Liberal
				United [l]
	John Rustad MLA for Nechako Lakes (born 1961)	2024–present		Conservative

Notes

1. This number does not include the base salary received by all BC MLAs.
2. Did not sit in the Legislature as leader of the Official Opposition
3. The 1909 election saw four opposition members, two Liberals and two Socialists, elected. As seats were assigned by alphabetical order, Hawthornthwaite physically occupied the seat typical of the Opposition leader. Hawthornthwaite initially rejected the idea of being leader, but was later reported to have "assumed the functions of Opposition leader". However, by the next session, Brewster was being referred to as Opposition leader. ^[5]
4. Declined to be named Opposition leader, but was referred to as such by the media and received the appropriate salary. ^[5]
5. Became Opposition leader mid-legislature after by-election victories. ^[5]
6. After party leader William John Bowser lost his seat in the 1924 election, house leader Robert Henry Pooley became leader of the Opposition. In 1926 Simon Fraser Tolmie was elected Conservative leader but he did not seek a seat in the legislature until the 1928 provincial election, which his party won.
7. Connell was exeplled from the CCF in 1936 for opposing party policy. He and three other CCF MLAs formed the "Social Reconstructive" party. With a total of 4 MLAs compared to 3 remaining in the CCF, Connell's new party was the second largest in the legislature allowing him to retain the title of "leader of the Official Opposition".
8. Anscomb's Conservatives had been part of a coalition government with the Liberals until late 1951 when the Liberals decided to terminate the arrangement and Premier John Hart dropped his Conservative ministers from Cabinet. The Tories moved to the opposition benches and displaced the CCF to form the Official Opposition from February 1952 until the June 1952 provincial election.
9. The CCF became the NDP in 1961 as a result of the creation of the federal New Democratic Party.
10. Barrett lost his seat in the December 1975 general election and re-entered the legislature through a June 1976 by-election. William Stewart King acted as leader of the Opposition in the house in the interim. Barrett continued as leader of the party during this period.
11. Although Gordon Campbell refused to recognize the NDP as an official party since it lacked the number of seats required for official party status, the Speaker recognized MacPhail as Opposition leader and ensured the NDP received the resources and funding due to the party's status as the Official Opposition.
12. The BC Liberal Party changed its name to BC United on April 12, 2023.

References

1. "BC Archives".
2. "MLA Remuneration and Expenses | Legislative Assembly of BC". www.leg.bc.ca.
3. "Leaders of the Official Opposition of British Columbia" (PDF). Legislative Library of British Columbia. December 21, 2018. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
4. "Electoral History of British Columbia 1871–1986" (PDF). Legislative Library of British Columbia. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
5. "Leaders of the Opposition in British Columbia 1903–" (PDF). Legislative Library of British Columbia. January 25, 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 20, 2011. Retrieved August 16, 2020.