The British Columbia Liberal Party is a centre-right provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada. The party currently forms the Official Opposition. The leader of the Liberal Party, and Leader of the Official Opposition of British Columbia, is Andrew Wilkinson. Subsequent to the 2020 British Columbia general election, Wilkinson announced his resignation as party leader on October 26, 2020 but remained as interim leader until Shirley Bond was chosen as the new interim leader on November 23; the party will begin the process of organizing a leadership convention.
Fort St. John is a city located in northeastern British Columbia, Canada. The most populous municipality in the Peace River Regional District, the city encompasses a total area of about 22 square kilometres (8.5 sq mi) with 20,155 residents recorded in the 2016 Census. Located at Mile 47 of the Alaska Highway, it is one of the largest cities between Dawson Creek, British Columbia and Delta Junction, Alaska. Established in 1794 as a trading post, Fort St. John is the oldest European-established settlement in present-day British Columbia. The city is served by the Fort St. John Airport. The municipal slogan is Fort St. John: The Energetic City.
Dawson Creek is a city in northeastern British Columbia, Canada. The municipality of 24.37 square kilometres (9.41 sq mi) had a population of 12,978 in 2016. Dawson Creek derives its name from the creek of the same name that runs through the community. The creek was named after George Mercer Dawson by a member of his land survey team when they passed through the area in August 1879. Once a small farming community, Dawson Creek became a regional centre after the western terminus of the Northern Alberta Railways was extended there in 1932. The community grew rapidly in 1942 as the US Army used the rail terminus as a transshipment point during construction of the Alaska Highway. In the 1950s, the city was connected to the interior of British Columbia via a highway and a railway through the Rocky Mountains. Since the 1960s, growth has slowed, but the area population has increased.
The District of Taylor is a district municipality in northeastern British Columbia, Canada, located on mile 36 of the Alaska Highway. Taylor, a member municipality of the Peace River Regional District, covers an area of about 17.09 km² with 1,373 residents. As it is just south of the much larger city of Fort St. John, there is a sizable amount of commuting and interaction between the two.
John Les is a Canadian politician and former member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for British Columbia. He has served as Parliamentary Secretary for Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) information, Minister of Small Business and Economic Development and Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor-General for the Provincial Government.
Chetwynd is a district municipality located on the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in northeastern British Columbia, Canada. Situated on an ancient floodplain, it is the first town eastbound travellers encounter after emerging from the Rockies along Highway 97 and acts as the gateway to the Peace River Country. The town developed during the construction of infrastructure through the Rocky Mountains in the 1950s, and was used as a transshipment point during the construction of hydroelectric dams in the 1960s and 1970s and the new town of Tumbler Ridge in the early 1980s. Home to approximately 2,600 residents, the population has increased little if at all since the 1980s but is significantly younger than the provincial average.
Claire Felicity Trevena is a Canadian politician, who represented the North Island electoral district Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 2005 to 2020. Since July 2017, during the 41st Parliament, she served as 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.
John Joseph Horgan is a Canadian politician who has served as the 36th and current premier of British Columbia since 2017. He has been leader of the British Columbia New Democratic Party since 2014 and the member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for the constituency of Langford-Juan de Fuca and its predecessors since 2005.
John Yap is a Canadian politician and former banker. He was elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia to represent the riding of Richmond-Steveston in the 2005 provincial election. He was subsequently re-elected in the 2009 election and 2013 election. As a member of the BC Liberal Party, he served as the Minister of Advanced Education, Innovation, and Technology and as Minister Responsible for Multiculturalism, as well as Minister of State for Climate Action.
Blair Lekstrom is a Canadian politician, formerly a member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. He represented the riding of Peace River South having been first elected in the 2001 election. Reelected in 2005 and 2009, he did not run in the 2013 provincial election. He worked as an advisor and spokesperson for HD Mining International, Ltd. and was elected as city councillor in Dawson Creek in 2008. In February, 2020, Lekstrom resigned as councillor to take on the roll of Chief Administrative Officer for the city of Dawson Creek.
The 39th Parliament of British Columbia sat from 2009 to 2013, replacing the 38th parliament and being succeeded by the 40th parliament. It was composed of two elements: the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, as elected by the general election of May 12, 2009, and The Queen represented by the Lieutenant-Governor. That election resulted in a majority government for the BC Liberal Party led by Gordon Campbell, and a BC New Democratic Party official opposition.
Eric Bailey Foster was a Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada. He currently is a member of the BC Liberal Party. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly from the riding of Vernon-Monashee in the 2009 provincial election. In the 39th Parliament of British Columbia, Foster was not named to Premier Gordon Campbell's cabinet, but he was appointed deputy whip. As a member of the Select Standing Committee on Legislative Initiatives which he voted to initiate province-wide referendum concerning the Harmonized Sales Tax. He was also a member of the Special Committee to Review the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, and the Select Standing Committee on Parliamentary Reform, Ethical Conduct, Standing Orders and Private Bills. Prior to his involvement with provincial politics, Foster served 12 years as municipal councillor and 3 years as mayor of Lumby, British Columbia.
Benjamin Richard Stewart is a Canadian politician, who has represented the riding of Kelowna West in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia since 2018 as a member of the British Columbia Liberal Party. He previously represented the riding of Westside-Kelowna from 2009 to 2013.
Doug Donaldson is a Canadian politician, who was the Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, and Rural Development in British Columbia, a member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia and a member of the British Columbia New Democratic Party. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly from the riding of Stikine in the 2009 provincial election and re-elected in the 2013 and 2017 elections. With the New Democratic Party assuming Government as of July 18, 2017, he opened the 41st Parliament of British Columbia under Premier John Horgan on September 11, 2017.
Naomi Yamamoto is a Canadian politician who was elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2009 provincial election. She was elected as a member of the BC Liberal Party in the riding of North Vancouver-Lonsdale. Yamamoto's party formed a majority government in the 39th Parliament and Premier Gordon Campbell included her in his cabinet, between June 2009 and October 2010, as Minister of State for Intergovernmental Relations, and then as Minister of State for Building Code Renewal between October 2010 and March 2011. Following the 2011 BC Liberal leadership election, in which Yamamoto endorsed George Abbott, the new Premier, Christy Clark, promoted Yamamoto to Minister of Advanced Education.
The 2013 British Columbia general election took place on May 14, 2013, to elect the 85 members of the 40th Parliament of British Columbia to the Legislative Assembly in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The British Columbia Liberal Party formed the government during the 39th Parliament prior to this general election, initially under the leadership of Premier Gordon Campbell then after his resignation, Christy Clark. The British Columbia New Democratic Party under the leadership of Carole James, and then Adrian Dix, formed the Official Opposition. The BC Green Party under the leadership of Jane Sterk and the BC Conservative Party under John Cummins were also included in polling, although neither party had representation at the end of the 39th Parliament.
Terry Lake is a former Canadian politician, at the municipal and provincial levels, and veterinarian.
The British Columbia Liberal Party leadership election of 2011 was prompted by Gordon Campbell's announcement on November 3, 2010 that he would be resigning as Premier of British Columbia and had asked the BC Liberal Party to hold a leadership convention "at the earliest possible date." The convention elected Christy Clark as the new leader of the party on February 26, 2011.
The 40th Parliament of British Columbia was in session from June 26, 2013, to April 11, 2017. It consisted of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, as elected by the general election of May 14, 2013, and the Queen represented by the Lieutenant-Governor Judith Guichon. That election unexpectedly returned the BC Liberal Party to another absolute majority government, their fourth consecutive government since 2001, this time with Christy Clark who had been premier since 2011. The BC New Democratic Party formed the official opposition under Adrian Dix and John Horgan who replaced Dix in the 2014 leadership election. The first member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from the Green Party of BC, Andrew J. Weaver served in this parliament, along with independent Vicki Huntington. Three MLAs resigned: Jenny Kwan and Douglas Horne who resigned to stand in a federal election, as well as Ben Stewart who resigned for the purpose of providing the Premier, who had lost her seat in the general election, with another opportunity to gain a seat. The by-elections to replace the resigned members Clark won Stewart's Kelowna riding, while Melanie Mark and Jodie Wickens replaced Kwan and Horne, respectively. The only members to leave their party, Marc Dalton briefly left the BC Liberals as he unsuccessfully sought the Conservative Party nomination in the federal election, and Pat Pimm left the BC Liberal Party just prior to being arrested.
Dan Davies is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the 41st Parliament of British Columbia in the 2017 provincial election. He represents the riding of Peace River North as a member of the British Columbia Liberal Party caucus.
