Carole Alison James (born December 22, 1957) is a Canadian politician and former

public administrator Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment ( public governance), management of non-profit estab ...

, who represented

Victoria-Beacon Hill Victoria-Beacon Hill is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada. Demographics Geography The riding comprises most of the City of Victoria, the provincial capital. It is bounded by the coa ...

in the MLA from 2005 to 2020. She is the former

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

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, ...

and former leader of 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 ...

(NDP), a

social democratic Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soci ...

political party. She announced her intention to resign as leader on December 6, 2010 and was officially replaced by interim leader

Dawn Black Dawn Black (born April 1, 1943) is a politician in British Columbia, Canada. Born ''Dawn Whitty'', Black became involved in politics from a young age, she became an assistant to New Democratic Party Member of Parliament Pauline Jewett. Member ...

on January 20, 2011. James served as the 14th

deputy premier of British Columbia The deputy premier of British Columbia is the representative of the premier of British Columbia in the Canadian province of British Columbia when the current premier is unable to attend functions executed by the premier. Mike Farnworth has been th ...

and minister of Finance under

John Horgan John Joseph Horgan (born August 7, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 36th premier of British Columbia from 2017 to 2022, and also as the leader of the British Columbia New Democratic Party from 2014 to 2022. Horgan has been the ...

, from 2017 to 2020.

Background

James was born in Dukinfield,

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

, England, and raised 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 in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. After graduating from high school, James and her first husband worked in institutions for the

developmentally disabled Developmental disability is a diverse group of chronic conditions, comprising mental or physical impairments that arise before adulthood. Developmental disabilities cause individuals living with them many difficulties in certain areas of life, espe ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

and British Columbia. As a mother of young children, Alison and Evan, she became involved in a parents' group in Victoria, which led to her first foray into politics. James self-identifies as part

Métis The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United States. They have a shared history and culture which derives ...

, and in 2004 married her long-time partner, Albert Gerow, a

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

artist and former Burns Lake municipal councillor and

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...

officer. Gerow was the chief of the Ts'il Kaz Koh First Nation in Burns Lake. James has been a foster parent for over twenty years. On July 13, 2006, James announced publicly that she had been diagnosed with localized uterine endometrial cancer. She underwent surgery and radiation treatment and her prognosis is considered to be excellent. In March 2020, James announced that she was diagnosed with

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

and did not run in the 2020 British Columbia general election.

Early career

James served on the

Greater Victoria Greater Victoria (also known as the Greater Victoria Region) is located in British Columbia, Canada, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island. It is usually defined as the thirteen municipalities of the Capital Regional District (CRD) ...

School Board from 1990 to 2001, including seven terms as chair, and gained a province-wide profile in her unprecedented five terms as president of the BC School Trustees Association. She also served at the national level as vice-president of the Canadian School Boards Association. From 1999 to 2001, James held the position of director of child care policy for the British Columbia government. In addition, she served on several local and provincial panels and committees. In 2001, James ran unsuccessfully for the NDP in the riding of

only losing by 35 Votes to

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 ...

candidate Jeff Bray. She subsequently moved to

Prince George, British Columbia Prince George is the largest city in northern British Columbia, Canada, with a population of 74,004 in the metropolitan area. It is often called the province's "northern capital" or sometimes the "spruce capital" because it is the hub city for ...

to serve as the director of child and family services for Carrier

Sekani Sekani or Tse’khene are a First Nations people of the Athabaskan-speaking ethnolinguistic group in the Northern Interior of British Columbia. Their territory includes the Finlay and Parsnip River drainages of the Rocky Mountain Trench. The ne ...

Family Services, and later as co-ordinator of the Northern Aboriginal Authority for Families.

Political career

BC NDP leadership

James was elected leader of the provincial

NDP NDP may stand for: Computing * Neighbor Discovery Protocol, an Internet protocol * Nortel Discovery Protocol, a layer two Internet protocol, also called SONMP * Nondeterministic programming, a type of computer language Government * National ...

on November 23, 2003. At the time of her election the party was suffering low morale in the wake of the 2001 provincial election, which had reduced the NDP to only two seats in the Legislative Assembly. During her campaign to win the party leadership, James pledged to modernize the NDP's ideology and internal structures and build a broader base of support for the party, a move which alienated some traditional supporters. During the 2005 provincial election, James campaigned heavily on her name and image. On election night James and the NDP surprised many supporters and critics alike with a very strong electoral showing; the party winning 41.52 per cent of the popular vote (a 19.96 per cent increase from the 2001 election result) and 33 out of 79 seats in the Legislative Assembly. James won her seat in the riding of

with 57.01 per cent of the vote, defeating the incumbent BC Liberal MLA Jeff Bray by an almost 2-1 margin. She was re-elected in 2009, 2013, and 2017.

Leadership controversy and resignation

On December 1, 2010,

Jenny Kwan Jenny Wai Ching Kwan (born 1967) is a Canadian politician who is the member of Parliament (MP) for Vancouver East. A member of the New Democratic Party (NDP), Kwan was elected to the House of Commons in 2015. She she was previously a member o ...

, a prominent party member, released a statement to the media criticizing James' leadership of the

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * t ...

, and calling for an immediate leadership convention. In response to Kwan's statement, James called an emergency caucus session to address opposition to her continued leadership. While the session was meant to take place on December 5, it was later postponed so that private discussions could take place with a group of thirteen caucus members opposed to James' continued leadership. On short notice on December 6, James announced she would resign the party's leadership. She continued in the position, however, until

was chosen to act as Interim Leader. James served as opposition Critic for Children and Family Development under her successor, Adrian Dix. She was promoted to the Finance portfolio under

, and was also named deputy leader of the BC NDP and hence Deputy Leader of the Opposition.

In government

When the BC NDP won a minority government in 2017, James became deputy premier and Finance minister. She resigned from both positions in 2020, shortly after leaving the provincial legislature.

Notes

References

External links

Official Biography, BC Legislative AssemblyBiography, Personal Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Carole 1957 births Living people British Columbia New Democratic Party MLAs Canadian people of Métis descent Deputy premiers of British Columbia English emigrants to Canada Female Canadian political party leaders Finance ministers of British Columbia Leaders of the British Columbia CCF/NDP Members of the Executive Council of British Columbia People from Dukinfield Politicians from Victoria, British Columbia Female finance ministers Women government ministers of Canada Women MLAs in British Columbia 21st-century Canadian politicians 21st-century Canadian women politicians Métis politicians Canadian expatriates in England