The Executive Council of British Columbia (the Cabinet) is the Cabinet of the Canadian province of

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. Almost always composed of members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, the Cabinet is similar in structure and role as the federal Cabinet of Canada is to the

Canadian House of Commons The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicam ...

. Executive power is vested in the Crown; the

lieutenant governor of British Columbia The lieutenant governor of British Columbia () is the viceregal representative of the , in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The office of lieutenant governor is an office of the Crown and serves as a representative of the monarchy in ...

, as representative of

the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

, exercises executive power on behalf of the Cabinet, acting as the

lieutenant governor in Council The King-in-Council or the Queen-in-Council, depending on the gender of the reigning monarch, is a constitutional term in a number of states. In a general sense, it would mean the monarch exercising executive authority, usually in the form of ap ...

. Members of the Cabinet are selected by the

premier of British Columbia Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

, who chairs the Cabinet.

History

Prior to their union in 1866, the Executive Councils of the separate

crown colonies A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony administered by The Crown within the British Empire. There was usually a Governor, appointed by the British monarch on the advice of the UK Government, with or without the assistance of a local Council ...

and

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest by ...

were largely appointed by the governor and included military and judicial officials, their role that of the governor's cabinet, similar to the present except that the governor took part in cabinet meetings and political decisions, whereas the modern-day lieutenant governor does not. The colonial Legislative Assemblies were subordinate to the governor and the Council and served more as a sounding-board than a legislative body.

Cabinet

The current Cabinet consists of members of the Legislative Assembly representing the province's governing party, the

British Columbia New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party of British Columbia (BC NDP) is a social-democratic provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada. As of 2017, it governs the province. It is the British Columbia provincial arm of the federal New Democrati ...

David Eby David Robert Patrick Eby (born July 21, 1976) is a Canadian politician and lawyer who has been serving as the 37th and current premier of British Columbia since November 18, 2022, and has been serving as the leader of the British Columbia New De ...

was sworn in as

by Lieutenant Governor

Janet Austin Janet Edna Merivale Austin (born ) is a Canadian former nonprofit sector executive and public servant who is the 30th lieutenant governor of British Columbia, having served since 2018. She is the List of viceregal representatives of Elizabeth ...

on November 18, 2022. His initial cabinet was sworn in on December 7, 2022.

List of historical cabinets

Vander Zalm ministry The Vander Zalm ministry was the combined Cabinet (formally the Executive Council of British Columbia) that governed British Columbia from August 6, 1986, to April 2, 1991. It was led by Bill Vander Zalm, the 28th premier of British Columbia, an ...

(1986–1991) *

Johnston ministry The Johnston ministry was the combined Cabinet (formally the Executive Council of British Columbia) that governed British Columbia from April 2, 1991, to November 5, 1991. It was led by Rita Johnston, the 29th premier of British Columbia, and c ...

(1991) *

Harcourt ministry The Harcourt ministry was the combined Cabinet (formally the Executive Council of British Columbia) that governed British Columbia from November 5, 1991, to February 22, 1996. It was led by Mike Harcourt, the 30th premier of British Columbia, an ...

(1991–1996) *

Glen Clark ministry The Glen Clark ministry was the combined Cabinet (formally the Executive Council of British Columbia) that governed British Columbia from February 22, 1996 to August 25, 1999. It was led by Glen Clark, the 31st premier of British Columbia, and c ...

(1996–1999) * Miller ministry (1999–2000) * Dosanjh ministry (2000–2001) * Campbell ministry (2001–2011) *

Christy Clark ministry The Christy Clark ministry was the combined Cabinet (formally the Executive Council of British Columbia) that governed British Columbia from March 14, 2011, to July 18, 2017. It was led by Christy Clark, the 35th premier of British Columbia, a ...

(2011–2017) *

Horgan ministry The Horgan ministry is the combined Cabinet (formally the Executive Council of British Columbia) that governed British Columbia from July 18, 2017, to November 18, 2022. It was chaired by the 36th premier of British Columbia, John Horgan. The C ...

(2017–2022)

References

{{Executive Councils of Canada