Blair Lekstrom (born 1961) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

politician, formerly a member of the

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is the deliberative assembly of the Parliament of British Columbia, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The Legislative Assembly meets in Victoria, British Columbia, Victoria. Members ar ...

. He represented the riding of

Peace River South Peace River South is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada. It was created under the name South Peace River by the ''Constitution Amendment Act, 1955'', which split the old riding of Peace River ...

having been first elected in the 2001 election. Re-elected 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 Dawson Creek is a city in northeastern British Columbia, Canada. The municipality of 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 ...

in 2008. In February, 2020, Lekstrom resigned as councillor to take on the role of Chief Administrative Officer for the city of Dawson Creek.

Early life and education

He was born in 1961 in

North Battleford North Battleford is a city in west-central Saskatchewan, Canada. It is the seventh largest city in the province and is directly across the North Saskatchewan River from the Town of Battleford. Together, the two communities are known as "The Batt ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

and moved to

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, ...

later that year. He graduated from the

South Peace Secondary School Dawson Creek Secondary (or DCSS) is a public high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lowe ...

, and worked with

BC Tel British Columbia Telephone Company and later BC Tel was the legal operating name for the telephone company operating throughout the province of British Columbia, Canada. For most of its history, BC Tel served as one of several regional monopolies ...

starting in 1979 as an installer-repairman until his election in 2001.

Political career

Prior to provincial politics, he served as mayor of Dawson Creek for two terms, and was a city councillor for three years prior. Lekstrom was the president of the North Central Municipal Association for the 1999–2000 term. He formerly served as the Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Products in the government of

Gordon Campbell Gordon Muir Campbell, (born January 12, 1948) is a retired Canadian diplomat and politician who was the 35th mayor of Vancouver from 1986 to 1993 and the 34th premier of British Columbia from 2001 to 2011. He was the leader of the British Co ...

, before resigning from the

BC Liberal The British Columbia Liberal Party, often shortened to the BC Liberals, is a centre-right provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada. The party currently forms the Official Opposition. Subsequent to the 2020 British Columbia general ...

caucus over the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) on June 11, 2010, a policy that Lekstrom had previously endorsed. Following the election of

Christy Clark Christina Joan Clark (born October 29, 1965) is a former Canadian politician who was the 35th premier of British Columbia (BC), from 2011 to 2017. Clark was the second woman to be premier of BC, after Rita Johnston in 1991, and the first female ...

as the party's new leader in the 2011 leadership election, Lekstrom rejoined the Liberals on March 3, 2011. Lekstrom announced in September 2012 that he would not run for office in the 2013 provincial election. In September 2013, he was hired by HD Mining International, Ltd."Former B.C. mines minister Blair Lekstrom takes job with controversial coal firm"
''

Canadian Press The Canadian Press (CP; french: La Presse canadienne, ) is a Canadian national news agency headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Established in 1917 as a vehicle for the time's Canadian newspapers to exchange news and information, The Canadian Pre ...

'', September 25, 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lekstrom, Blair British Columbia Liberal Party MLAs 1961 births Living people Mayors of places in British Columbia Members of the Executive Council of British Columbia People from Dawson Creek People from North Battleford Independent MLAs in British Columbia 21st-century Canadian politicians British Columbia municipal councillors