David Zirnhelt (born 1947) 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 A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

, businessman and rancher from

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, ...

. A member 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 ...

, he was a

Member of the Legislative Assembly A member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to a legislative assembly. Most often, the term refers to a subnational assembly such as that of a state, province, or territory of a country. S ...

(MLA) for

Cariboo The Cariboo is an intermontane region of British Columbia, Canada, centered on a plateau stretching from Fraser Canyon to the Cariboo Mountains. The name is a reference to the caribou that were once abundant in the region. The Cariboo was the ...

and

Cariboo South Cariboo South was a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada from 1991 to 2009. Demographics Member of Legislative Assembly Its last MLA was Charlie Wyse, a former city councillor for Williams ...

from 1989 to 2001.

Early life and career

Zirnhelt was born in

Williams Lake, British Columbia Williams Lake is a city in the Central Interior of British Columbia, in the central part of a region known as the Cariboo. Williams Lake is the second largest city, by population of metropolitan area, in the Cariboo after neighbouring Quesnel. ...

, located in the

region of the province's central interior. He obtained undergraduate and graduate degrees from the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

and

public administration 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 establ ...

, returning to the Williams Lake area, where he became a

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

rancher and a practitioner of

horse logging Horse logging is the use of horses or mules in forestry. In the modern industrialized world, it is often part of sustainable forest management. Horses may be used for skidding and other tasks. Net net and gross production rates using horse log ...

. He was also active as a consultant in various federal, provincial and

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 ...

projects related to public policy and economic development. After graduating from university, Zirnhelt worked as a civil servant in the government of

Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada The prime mini ...

as a member of the cabinet secretariat, and later became the British Columbia head of Opportunities for Youth.

Politics

Zirnhelt's first entry into politics was in the

1969 British Columbia general election The 1969 British Columbia general election was the 29th general election in the Province of British Columbia, Canada. It was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. The election was called on July 21, 1969, and held ...

, where he stood as a candidate for the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

in the riding of

. He was unsuccessful in his run, placing third against victor Alex Fraser. Fraser's widow later recalled that despite his resounding victory, Fraser was impressed with Zirnhelt and that "if he was older emight have given him some trouble." He was a director of the

Cariboo Regional District {{Infobox settlement , name = Cariboo , official_name = Cariboo Regional District , other_name = , native_name = , native_name_lang = , nickname = , sett ...

from 1974 to 1977. In 1987, he was elected as a trustee of the Cariboo-Chilcotin School District. In 1989, following the death of Alex Fraser, Zirnhelt stood in the resulting by-election for Cariboo, this time as a member of the

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 ...

New Democratic Party. In a shock upset, Zirnhelt won the election; the riding had, until then, been a stronghold of the

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

British Columbia Social Credit Party The British Columbia Social Credit Party, whose members are known as Socreds, was the governing provincial political party of British Columbia, Canada, for all but three years between the 1952 provincial election and the 1991 election. For fou ...

for 37-years. Zirnhelt went on to be re-elected in 1991 and 1996 in the riding of

(the old Cariboo riding was abolished with the 1991 election). With the election of a New Democratic government in 1991, Premier

Mike Harcourt Michael Franklin Harcourt, OC (born January 6, 1943) served as the 30th premier of British Columbia from 1991 to 1996, and before that as the 34th mayor of Vancouver, BC's largest city, from 1980 to 1986. Early life and education Harcourt was ...

appointed Zirnhelt minister of economic development, small business and trade. He was later minister of agriculture, fisheries and food. Following Harcourt's resignation, Premier

Glen Clark Glen David Clark (born November 22, 1957) is a Canadian business executive and former politician who served as the 31st premier of British Columbia from 1996 to 1999. Early life and education Clark attended independent Roman Catholic schools, n ...

appointed Zirnhelt minister of forests — a powerful portfolio in a province where

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. Th ...

is a major economic sector. In that position, Zirnhelt initiated an intensive review of the province's forest practices, as concerns mounted over the logging of

old growth forest An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological featur ...

s and the insufficient restocking of logged areas by timber companies. Zirnhelt failed in his attempt at re-election in 2001.

References

External links

Biography from the Legislative Assembly of British ColumbiaZirnhelt Ranch
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zirnhelt, David 1947 births Living people British Columbia New Democratic Party MLAs British Columbia school board members Canadian ranchers Canadian people of German descent Cariboo people Members of the Executive Council of British Columbia 20th-century Canadian legislators 21st-century Canadian legislators