Jim Doyle (born October 28, 1943) is a politician in

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, ...

, Canada. Doyle held public office for 30 years; five years as a councillor; fifteen as Golden’s Mayor, and ten years as a Member of the Legislative Assembly and Cabinet Minister. Doyle is Golden’s longest serving Mayor.

Early life

Doyle was born in

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. His passion for politics was sparked while working in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

before emigrating to Canada in 1967.

Local government

Doyle was elected as a municipal councillor in Golden in 1976 and subsequently re-elected in 1978 and 1980. He went on to serve as mayor from 1981 to 1990.

Legislative Assembly

Following a 24-year career with the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

Doyle was elected to the legislative assembly for 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 ...

in 1991 for the riding of

Columbia River-Revelstoke Columbia River-Revelstoke is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada. Geography As of the 2020 provincial election, Columbia River-Revelstoke comprises the eastern portion of the Columbia-Shusw ...

. He was subsequently re-elected in 1996 and, during his second term as an MLA, held various offices within the provincial government, first as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Municipal Affairs. With the exception of a short period between February and November 2000 when Doyle was Minister of

Forests A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

he served as Minister of Municipal Affairs from July 1999 until nearly the full caucus defeat of the party less two members in the election of May 2001.

Subsequent career

The 2001 legislative election saw all but two of incumbent NDP's candidates, including Doyle, defeated. In 2002 he successfully campaigned for election as Mayor of Golden. In October 2007, Doyle left the NDP and joined 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 ...

.
/ref> Doyle stepped down as Mayor in December 2008 and was followed by councillor Aman Virk.

References

External links

Biography at the British Columbia Legislative Assembly
1943 births British Columbia municipal councillors British Columbia New Democratic Party MLAs Canadian Pacific Railway people Irish emigrants to Canada Living people Mayors of places in British Columbia Members of the Executive Council of British Columbia People from the Columbia-Shuswap Regional District People from County Down 20th-century Canadian politicians 21st-century Canadian politicians {{BritishColumbia-mayor-stub