John Hart (March 31, 1879 – April 7, 1957) was the 23rd

premier of British Columbia Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

, Canada, from December 9, 1941, to December 29, 1947.

Biography

John Hart was born in

Mohill Mohill (, meaning "Soft Ground") is a town in County Leitrim, Ireland. The town of Carrick-on-Shannon is approximately 16 km (10 miles) away. History The Justinian plague of Mohill devastated the local population in the 6th centur ...

, County Leitrim, Ireland, the son of an Irish farmer who was also named John Hart. He came to Victoria in 1898. Hart worked in the finance industry and founded his own firm in 1909. In 1908, he married Harriet McKay. He entered politics in the 1916 election, elected to the provincial legislature as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

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from Victoria City. He served as minister of finance from 1917 to 1924, and from 1933 to 1947. Hart retired from politics to attend to his business from 1924 to 1933. Hart became

premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

following the 1941 election when Pattullo's Liberals failed to win a majority. Unlike Pattullo, Hart was willing to form a

coalition government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...

with the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

. This allowed the Liberal-Conservative coalition to govern with a majority in order to block the

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

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from forming the government. From 1941 to 1945, Hart governed at a time of wartime scarcity, when all major government projects were postponed. Hart's coalition government was re-elected in the 1945 election by a decisive margin. In that contest, Liberals and Conservatives ran under the same banner for the first time in BC history. After 1945, Hart undertook an ambitious program of

rural electrification Rural electrification is the process of bringing electrical power to rural and remote areas. Rural communities are suffering from colossal market failures as the national grids fall short of their demand for electricity. As of 2017, over 1 billion ...

, hydroelectric and highway construction. Hart's most significant projects were the construction of Highway 97 to northern British Columbia (which is named in his honour) and the re-launch of the

Bridge River Power Project The Bridge River Power Project is a hydroelectric power development in the Canadian province of British Columbia, located in the Lillooet Country between Whistler and Lillooet. It harnesses the power of the Bridge River, a tributary of the Frase ...

, which was the first major hydroelectric development in British Columbia. He established the BC Power Commission, a forerunner of

BC Hydro The British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority, operating as BC Hydro, is a Canadian electric utility in the province of British Columbia. It is the main electricity distributor, serving more than 4 million customers in most areas, with the excep ...

, to provide power to smaller communities that were not serviced by private utilities. In December 1947, he retired as both finance minister and premier. Hart was named

speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

for the assembly in 1948. He did not seek reelection in 1949 and returned to business. Hart was one of the few BC premiers who left office neither defeated nor under a cloud. He died in Victoria in 1957, aged 78 years, having led a distinguished life of public service. He is interred in the Royal Oak Burial Park in Saanich. The 405 km John Hart Highway between Prince George and

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 ...

is named for him, as is the Hart Highlands neighbourhood of Prince George and the John Hart Dam (Hydroelectric) in Campbell River.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hart, John 1879 births 1957 deaths British Columbia Liberal Party MLAs Premiers of British Columbia Speakers of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia Leaders of the British Columbia Liberal Party Irish emigrants to Canada (before 1923) Politicians from County Leitrim People from County Leitrim