Ministry overview | |
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Jurisdiction | British Columbia |
Headquarters | Victoria, British Columbia |
Minister responsible |
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Ministry executives |
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Website | Official website |
The Ministry of Health is a department of the Government of British Columbia which oversees the provincial healthcare system. It manages services including the Medical Services Plan, HealthLinkBC, and the PharmaCare program. [1]
The majority of health services are delivered through partnerships with health authorities, physicians and other health professionals. The ministry works with five regional health authorities (Fraser Health, Interior Health, Island Health, Northern Health and Vancouver Coastal Health) and one province-wide health authority (the Provincial Health Services Authority), which is responsible for specialized health services. [2] It also supports the role of the Provincial Health Officer, whose office is housed within the ministry. [3]
Josie Osbourne is the Minister of Health, appointed on Nov. 18, 2024. [4]
On February 21, 1946, the government announced plans to establish a separate department for health; until then, health policy had been the purview of the provincial secretary. [5] The Department of Health and Welfare was formally established on October 1, 1946, with George Pearson as the inaugural minister. [6]
During the first term of the Gordon Campbell government, a separate Ministry of Health Planning was created (led by Sindi Hawkins) but that ministry was later merged back into the main ministry. [7] During the same period, there were also two ministers of state: one for seniors and another for mental health and addictions. [8]
Under John Horgan, a separate Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions was established. [9] The administration of Premier David Eby ended the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions and folded it back into the Ministry of Health on Nov. 18, 2024.
On April 30, 2020, the Ministry published guidance alongside the BC Centre for Disease Control on interpreting the results of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests for detection of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. [10]
On October 19, 2022, Minister Adrian Dix introduced legislation to replace the Health Professions Act, the provincial law governing British Columbia's regulatory colleges, with the Health Professions and Occupations Act. [11] A primary function of the act is to amalgamate the colleges from 15 down to 6, under the authority of a new oversight body. [12] In July 2023, Minister Dix appointed Allan Seckel to oversee the amalgamation process. [13] Preparations for the amalgamation are required to be complete by June 28, 2024, the designated date on which the amalgamation will officially occur. [14] [13]
Minister | Term start | Term end | Political party | Premier |
---|---|---|---|---|
Minister of Health and Welfare | ||||
George Sharratt Pearson | October 1, 1946 | December 29, 1947 | █ Liberal | Hart |
December 29, 1947 | May 3, 1950 | Johnson | ||
Alexander Douglas Turnbull | May 3, 1950 | August 1, 1952 | █ Liberal | |
Eric Martin | August 1, 1952 | March 20, 1959 | █ Social Credit | W. A. C. Bennett |
Minister of Health Services and Hospital Insurance | ||||
Eric Martin | March 20, 1959 | December 12, 1966 | █ Social Credit | W. A. C. Bennett |
Wesley Black | December 12, 1966 | May 24, 1968 | █ Social Credit | |
Ralph Loffmark | May 24, 1968 | September 15, 1972 | █ Social Credit | |
Dennis Cocke | September 15, 1972 | November 7, 1973 | █ New Democratic | Barrett |
Minister of Health | ||||
Dennis Cocke | November 7, 1973 | December 22, 1975 | █ New Democratic | Barrett |
Robert McClelland | December 22, 1975 | November 24, 1979 | █ Social Credit | B. Bennett |
Rafe Mair | November 24, 1979 | January 6, 1981 | █ Social Credit | |
Jim Nielsen | January 6, 1981 | February 11, 1986 | █ Social Credit | |
Stephen Rogers | February 11, 1986 | April 3, 1986 | █ Social Credit | |
Jim Nielsen | April 3, 1986 | August 6, 1986 | █ Social Credit | |
August 6, 1986 | November 6, 1986 | Vander Zalm | ||
Peter Dueck | November 6, 1986 | November 1, 1989 | █ Social Credit | |
John Jansen | November 1, 1989 | April 2, 1991 | █ Social Credit | |
April 2, 1991 | May 7, 1991 | Johnston | ||
Bruce Strachan | May 7, 1991 | November 5, 1991 | █ Social Credit | |
Elizabeth Cull | November 5, 1991 | September 15, 1993 | █ New Democratic | Harcourt |
Paul Ramsey | September 15, 1993 | February 28, 1996 | █ New Democratic | |
Andrew Petter | February 28, 1996 | June 17, 1996 | █ New Democratic | G. Clark |
Joy MacPhail | June 17, 1996 | February 18, 1998 | █ New Democratic | |
Penny Priddy | February 18, 1998 | August 25, 1999 | █ New Democratic | |
August 25, 1999 | February 24, 2000 | Miller | ||
Mike Farnworth | February 29, 2000 | November 1, 2000 | █ New Democratic | Dosanjh |
Corky Evans | November 1, 2000 | June 5, 2001 | █ New Democratic | |
Minister of Health Services | ||||
Colin Hansen | June 5, 2001 | December 15, 2004 | █ Liberal | Campbell |
Shirley Bond | December 15, 2004 | June 16, 2005 | █ Liberal | |
Minister of Health | ||||
George Abbott | June 16, 2005 | June 23, 2008 | █ Liberal | Campbell |
Minister of Health Services | ||||
George Abbott | June 23, 2008 | June 10, 2009 | █ Liberal | Campbell |
Kevin Falcon | June 10, 2009 | November 30, 2010 | █ Liberal | |
Colin Hansen | November 30, 2010 | March 14, 2011 | █ Liberal | |
Minister of Health | ||||
Mike de Jong | March 14, 2011 | September 5, 2012 | █ Liberal | C. Clark |
Margaret MacDiarmid | September 5, 2012 | June 10, 2013 | █ Liberal | |
Terry Lake | June 10, 2013 | June 12, 2017 | █ Liberal | |
Mary Polak | June 12, 2017 | July 18, 2017 | █ Liberal | |
Adrian Dix | July 18, 2017 | November 18, 2022 | █ New Democratic | Horgan |
November 18, 2022 | Incumbent | Eby |
The New Democratic Party of British Columbia is a social democratic political party in British Columbia, Canada. The party sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum and is one of the two major parties in British Columbia; since the 1990s, its rival was the centre-right BC United until the Conservative Party of British Columbia reconstituted itself for the 2024 British Columbia general election, with BC United withdrawing its candidates and endorsing the Conservatives. The party is formally affiliated with the federal New Democratic Party and serves as its provincial branch.
Highway 7, known for most of its length as the Lougheed Highway and Broadway, is an alternative route to Highway 1 through the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. Whereas the controlled-access Highway 1 follows the southern bank of the Fraser River, Highway 7 follows the northern bank.
Adrian Dix is a Canadian politician who is the current Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Vancouver-Kingsway in British Columbia. A member of the British Columbia New Democratic Party, he was the party's leader and Leader of the Opposition in British Columbia from 2011 to 2014, resigning after losing the 2013 provincial election in an upset. Since 2024, he is the Minister of Energy and Climate Solutions, and has been Minister responsible for Francophone Affairs since 2017. Previously, he was Minister of Health under premiers John Horgan and David Eby.
Bruce Ralston is a Canadian politician. He was a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) of British Columbia, representing the riding of Surrey-Whalley from 2005 until 2024. A member of the New Democratic Party (NDP), he has served in the cabinets of Premiers John Horgan and David Eby.
Nicholas Simons is a Canadian politician. He was the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) of British Columbia, representing the riding of Powell River-Sunshine Coast from 2005 until 2024, as a member of the New Democratic Party.
Claire Felicity Trevena is a Canadian politician, who represented the North Island electoral district Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 2005 to 2020. During the 41st Parliament (2017-2020) she was appointed to the Executive Council to be the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure. She is a member of the British Columbia New Democratic Party and was first elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly in the 2005 election and re-elected in the 2009, 2013 and 2017 elections. In the 38th Parliament of British Columbia, she sat on the Special Committee on Sustainable Aquaculture and the Select Standing Committee on Public Accounts, as well as serving as the opposition critic on the Employment and Income Assistance ministry, followed by the critic on child care, early childhood development, and women's issues. In the 39th Parliament she acted as a deputy speaker before returning to her role as critic on the children and family development portfolio. In the 40th Parliament, she was the critic on transportation and BC Ferries and, in that role, produced a report comparing the BC Ferries system with the Washington State Ferries system and introduced the Provincial Shipbuilding Act in both 2014 and 2015 seeking to have future ferries constructed in Canada.
Katrine Conroy is a Canadian politician who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2005 provincial election and served until 2024. She represented the electoral district of Kootenay West as a member of the British Columbia New Democratic Party. She served in the cabinet of British Columbia from 2017 until 2024, most recently as Minister of Finance.
John Joseph Horgan was a Canadian politician and diplomat who served as the 36th premier of British Columbia (BC) from 2017 to 2022 and the Canadian ambassador to Germany from 2023 to 2024. He was elected as a member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in 2005, representing Langford-Juan de Fuca and its predecessors until 2023. Horgan served as leader of the BC New Democratic Party (NDP) from 2014 to 2022.
Higher education in British Columbia is delivered by 25 publicly funded institutions that are composed of eleven universities, eleven colleges, and three institutes. This is in addition to three private universities, five private colleges, and six theological colleges. There are also an extensive number of private career institutes and colleges. Over 297,000 students were enrolled in post-secondary institutions in British Columbia in the 2019-2020 academic year.
David Robert Patrick Eby is a Canadian politician and lawyer who has served as the 37th premier of British Columbia since November 18, 2022. A member of the British Columbia New Democratic Party, he has represented the electoral district of Vancouver-Point Grey in the Legislative Assembly since 2013.
Melanie Joy Mark, also known by her Nisga'a name Hli Haykwhl Ẃii Xsgaak, is a Canadian politician in the province of British Columbia. A member of the New Democratic Party (NDP), she served as the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Vancouver-Mount Pleasant from 2016 to 2023. From 2017 to 2020, she served as Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Training; from 2020 to 2022, she served as Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport. Mark is the first First Nations woman elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, and the first First Nations woman to serve in the Cabinet of British Columbia. On February 22, 2023, Mark announced her intention to resign as MLA and cabinet minister, her resignation took effect April 14 of the same year.
British Columbia (B.C.) is the third largest Canadian province by population and fourth largest provincial economy. Like other provinces in the Canadian federation, B.C. consists of both private and public institutions. However, as Canada's westernmost province, located between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, B.C. has unique economic characteristics that distinguish it from much of the rest of Canada.
Josie Osborne is a Canadian politician who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2020 provincial election. She represents the electoral district of Mid Island-Pacific Rim as a member of the British Columbia New Democratic Party. She has served in the cabinet of British Columbia since 2020, currently as Minister of Health.
The COVID-19 pandemic in British Columbia formed part of an ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a novel infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). On January 28, 2020, British Columbia became the second province to confirm a case of COVID-19 in Canada. The first case of infection involved a patient who had recently returned from Wuhan, Hubei, China. The first case of community transmission in Canada was confirmed in British Columbia on March 5, 2020.
The 42nd Parliament of British Columbia was chosen in the 2020 British Columbia general election. All 87 seats were up for election.
Education in British Columbia comprises public and private primary and secondary schools throughout the province. Like most other provinces in Canada, education is compulsory from ages 6–16, although the vast majority of students remain in school until they graduate from high school at the age of 18. In 2020, 86% of students in British Columbia graduated from high school within six years of entering grade 8. It is also common for children to attend kindergarten at the age of 5, it is increasingly common for even younger children to attend pre-school or early learning programs before their formal school age years.
The Hart ministry, also known as the Hart–Maitland coalition (1941–1946) and Hart–Anscomb coalition (1946–1947), was the combined Cabinet that governed British Columbia from December 9, 1941, to December 29, 1947. It was led by John Hart, the 23rd premier of British Columbia, and was a coalition government that comprised members of both the Liberal Party and Conservative Party.
Immediately after taking office, His Honor officiated at the swearing-in of Provincial Secretary George Pearson as minister of health and welfare, a post created by the lesgislation passed at the 1946 session.