Eric Bailey Foster (born 1949) was 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 ...
, Canada. He currently is a member of the
BC Liberal Party
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 ...
. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly from the riding of
Vernon-Monashee
Vernon-Monashee (name in effect from April 2009 onwards, previously Okanagan-Vernon from 1991 to 2009) is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada.
Demographics
Geography
As of the 2020 prov ...
in the
2009 provincial election. In the
39th Parliament of British Columbia
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 el ...
, Foster was not named to Premier
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 ...
's
cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filing ...
, 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
Lumby is a small community of 1,731 people, located near the edge of the Monashee Mountains. It is mainly a logging, manufacturing and agriculture community.
The village is home to a network of trails along the creek beds, known collectively as ...
.
Background
Originally from
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Dartmouth ( ) is an urban community and former city located in the Halifax Regional Municipality of Nova Scotia, Canada. Dartmouth is located on the eastern shore of Halifax Harbour. Dartmouth has been nicknamed the City of Lakes, after the larg ...
, Eric Foster moved to British Columbia and worked in the forestry industry. With his wife and son, Foster moved to Lumby, from
Vernon, working at a Lumby lumber mill. In the 1990s he became an educational assistant helping to develop the forestry program at
Charles Bloom Secondary School. He became a municipal councilor in Lumby in 1990 and was re-elected until 2002 when he ran for mayor but lost. He filed his nomination papers to run for mayor again in 2005 but, with no other person being nominated, he was
acclaimed
An acclamation is a form of election that does not use a ballot. It derives from the ancient Roman word ''acclamatio'', a kind of ritual greeting and expression of approval towards imperial officials in certain social contexts.
Voting Voice vot ...
mayor. At the time, he noted downtown revitalization and building a road to connect the village with Silver Star Mountain resort as priorities. He represented Lumby on the
Regional District of North Okanagan
The Regional District of North Okanagan (RDNO) is a regional district in the Canadian province of British Columbia, Canada. The Canada 2011 Census population was 81,237. The land area is 7,512.58 km² (2,900.62 sq mi). The regional distr ...
board of directors during his tenure as mayor. He fought the
School Board
A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution.
The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...
who tried to close Charles Bloom Secondary School, in favour of busing student to the expanded secondary school in Vernon, as well as fought the proposed closure of Whitevale Elementary in rural Lumby. He resented what he saw as provincial downloading of responsibilities, like riparian area regulations and police funding. He supported Lumby participating in a new Regional District
economic development
In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and o ...
function, but opted out of a Regional District emergency service function (opting to contract the service out to the City of Vernon). In 2008, he was again acclaimed as mayor, as no one else sought the position. In January 2009 he was acclaimed chair of the Regional District board of directors, however, as MLA
Tom Christensen announced his retirement in the same month, Foster announced his intention to seek 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 ...
nomination in up-coming provincial election.
Provincial politics
In nomination election was held in March and with over 800 BC Liberal Party members voting, Foster defeated four other candidates: Lumby councilor Deb Leroux, morning radio host Betty Selin,
Coldstream
Coldstream ( gd, An Sruthan Fuar , sco, Caustrim) is a town and civil parish in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. A former burgh, Coldstream is the home of the Coldstream Guards, a regiment in the British Army.
Description
Coldstream l ...
businessman Michael Tindall, and lawyer Andrew Powell. He took a leave of absence from his job as mayor to campaign for the
provincial election where he faced school-bus driver Mark Olsen for the New Democratic Party, computer analyst Huguette Allen for the BC Green Party, salesman Dean Skoreyko for the BC Conservative Party, retired Coldstream resident RJ Busch for the BC Refederation Party, and Armstrong butcher Gordon Campbell (non-affiliated). Premier and BC Liberal Party leader
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 ...
campaigned with Foster in Vernon but was involved in what was perceived as an offense joke at the expense of striking
paramedics
A paramedic is a registered healthcare professional who works autonomously across a range of health and care settings and may specialise in clinical practice, as well as in education, leadership, and research.
Not all ambulance personnel are p ...
. Foster won the riding, with his BC Liberals winning all Okanagan-Shuswap ridings. The BC Liberals were re-elected to form another majority government. Beginning the
39th Parliament, Premier Campbell did not include Foster in his cabinet but he was named deputy whip for the Liberal caucus. Foster was also a member of the Select Standing Committee on Parliamentary Reform, Ethical Conduct, Standing Orders and Private Bills in the first two sessions, and which met only once in each session. Foster was a member of the Special Committee to Review the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act which presented its report and recommendations in May 2010.
Foster developed a feud with
Nelson-Creston
Nelson-Creston is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada. It made its first appearance on the hustings in the general election of 1933 following a redistribution of the earlier Nelson riding.
...
MLA
Michelle Mungall
Michelle Mungall is a Canadian politician, who represented the Nelson-Creston electoral district Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 2009 to 2020. She is a member of the British Columbia New Democratic Party (BC NDP) and was first ele ...
who accused Foster of deceiving voters and of speaking very little in the legislature. He defended the introduction of the
Harmonized Sales Tax but became a target for recall when an Anti-HST petition gathered more signature in the
Vernon-Monashee
Vernon-Monashee (name in effect from April 2009 onwards, previously Okanagan-Vernon from 1991 to 2009) is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada.
Demographics
Geography
As of the 2020 prov ...
riding than votes that elected him. He was member of the Select Standing Committee on Legislative Initiatives which was forced to deal with the Anti-HST petition. Along party lines, Foster and the BC Liberals in favour of initiating a
province-wide referendum. Foster was among 13 BC Liberals left out during a late-October cabinet (and parliamentary secretary) shuffle by Premier Campbell. During the
BC Liberal leadership election, following the resignation of Campbell, Foster endorsed
George Abbott
George Francis Abbott (June 25, 1887 – January 31, 1995) was an American theatre producer, director, playwright, screenwriter, film director and producer whose career spanned eight decades.
Early years
Abbott was born in Forestville, New Yo ...
citing his profile as an
Interior
Interior may refer to:
Arts and media
* ''Interior'' (Degas) (also known as ''The Rape''), painting by Edgar Degas
* ''Interior'' (play), 1895 play by Belgian playwright Maurice Maeterlinck
* ''The Interior'' (novel), by Lisa See
* Interior de ...
MLA, his team-building skills, and analytical decision-making.
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 ...
eventually won and, thus, became premier. She kept Foster as the deputy whip until September 2012 when he was promoted to government whip.
Meanwhile, as the FightHST group continued to investigate a recall campaign against Foster, he accused the group of trying to "overthrow the government". On local issues, Foster lobbied in favour of locating a new regional correctional facility in Lumby, building a large new sports facility at
Okanagan College
Okanagan College is a public, post-secondary institution with over 120 certificates, diplomas, degrees and programs including apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship trades programs. Its largest campus is located in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada ...
, and was in favour of resolving overcrowding at the Vernon Jubilee Hospital.
Election history
,
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 Deve ...
, Mark Olsen
, align="right", 7,698
, align="right", 32%
, align="center", n/a
, align="right", $42,427
, Non-affiliated
, Gordon Campbell
, align="right", 1,397
, align="right", 6%
, align="center", n/a
, align="right", $250
, - style="background:white;"
! style="text-align:right;" colspan="3", Total Valid Votes
!align="right", 24,187
!align="right", 100%
, - style="background:white;"
! style="text-align:right;" colspan="3", Total Rejected Ballots
!align="right", 213
!align="right", 0.9%
, - style="background:white;"
! style="text-align:right;" colspan="3", Turnout
!align="right", 24,400
!align="right", 54%
References
External links
Legislative Assembly of British Columbia- Eric Foster
Member of the Legislative Assembly- Eric Foster (Vernon-Monashee)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Eric
1949 births
British Columbia Liberal Party MLAs
Living people
Mayors of places in British Columbia
People from the Regional District of North Okanagan
21st-century Canadian politicians