The Johnston ministry was the combined

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 ...

(formally the

Executive Council of British Columbia The Executive Council of British Columbia (the Cabinet) is the Cabinet of the Canadian province of British Columbia. Almost always composed of members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, the Cabinet is similar in structure and rol ...

) that governed

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, ...

from April 2, 1991, to November 5, 1991. It was led by

Rita Johnston Rita Margaret Johnston (born April 22, 1935; née Leichert) is a Canadian politician in British Columbia. Johnston became the first female premier in Canadian history when she succeeded Bill Vander Zalm in 1991 to become the 29th premier of Bri ...

, the 29th

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 ...

, and consisted of members of the Social Credit Party. The Johnston ministry was in office for the last seven months of the 34th Parliament of British Columbia. Johnston was

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 ...

in the preceding

Vander Zalm ministry The Vander Zalm ministry was the combined Cabinet (formally the Executive Council of British Columbia) that governed British Columbia from August 6, 1986, to April 2, 1991. It was led by Bill Vander Zalm, the 28th premier of British Columbia, an ...

; following

Bill Vander Zalm William Nicholas Vander Zalm (born Wilhelmus Nicholaas Theodore Marie van der Zalm; May 29, 1934) is a politician and entrepreneur in British Columbia, Canada. He was the 28th premier of British Columbia from 1986 to 1991. Early life Wilhelmus Ni ...

's resignation, caucus selected her to be the interim leader (and thus premier) while the party could organize a leadership convention. Johnston successfully stood for the permanent leadership. She was the first female first minister in Canada. Following the 1991 election, which the Social Credit Party lost, the ministry was replaced by the

Harcourt ministry The Harcourt ministry was the combined Cabinet (formally the Executive Council of British Columbia) that governed British Columbia from November 5, 1991, to February 22, 1996. It was led by Mike Harcourt, the 30th premier of British Columbia, an ...

List of ministers

Cabinet shuffles

On April 8, Johnston reappointed

Mel Couvelier Melville Bertram Couvelier (January 20, 1931 – May 30, 2011) was a businessman and political figure in British Columbia. He represented Saanich and the Islands from 1986 to 1991 in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia as a Socia ...

as finance minister. Couvelier had previously been finance minister under Vander Zalm, but had resigned on March 6 as a protest against Vander Zalm's conflict-of-interest investigation.

Elwood Veitch Elwood Neal Veitch (July 21, 1929 – September 18, 1993) was a financial administrator and political figure in British Columbia. He represented Burnaby-Willingdon in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1975 to 1978 and from 1 ...

, who had taken over the finance ministry after Couvelier's resignation, remained in cabinet as minister of international business and immigration. Johnston shuffled her cabinet on April 15. Three new members joined:

Graham Bruce Graham Preston Bruce is a former Canadian politician. After serving as Mayor of North Cowichan, Bruce was elected as a Social Credit Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1986 to 1991 in the electoral district of Cowichan- ...

, Larry Chalmers and

David Mercier David Maurice Mercier (July 20, 1939 – April 12, 2021) was a Canadian politician. He served in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1986 to 1991, as a Social Credit member for the constituency of Burnaby-Edmonds. He was a chartered ...

. Notably, Bruce and Mercier were two of the four MLAs who had quit the party caucus in 1989 in protest of Vander Zalm's leadership. Meanwhile, four ministers left cabinet:

Harry de Jong Hans De Jong (March 25, 1932 – February 6, 2014) was a Canadian politician. He served in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1986 to 1994, as a Social Credit member for the constituencies of Central Fraser Valley and Abbotsford. ...

Cliff Michael Clifford C. Michael (born October 5, 1933) was a Canadian politician. He served in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1983 to 1991, as a Social Credit Social credit is a distributive philosophy of political economy develope ...

, Cliff Serwa and

Bud Smith Robert Allan "Bud" Smith (born October 23, 1979) is an American retired baseball pitcher. Smith was active at the major league level in 2001 and 2002, playing for the St. Louis Cardinals. Minor leagues In 2000, Smith led the minor league Cardin ...

. Several portfolios were reconfigured or merged to accommodate the slightly-smaller cabinet. The new Ministry of Lands and Parks was created by joining the Ministry of Parks and Ministry of Crown Lands; the tourism and international business portfolios were combined as the new Ministry of Development, Trade and Tourism; and the remaining immigration portfolio was expanded to include multiculturalism. On May 7, Johnston fired Couvelier from cabinet for allegedly breaching the confidentiality provisions of the Financial Institutions Act. Couvelier's departure caused a mini-shuffle: John Jansen was named the new finance minister,

Bruce Strachan William Bruce Strachan (Bruce Strachan) (born July 22, 1941) is a former politician in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Strachan was a school trustee and board chair, a regional district director, as well as a three-term MLA and cabine ...

moved into Jansen's old role as health minister, and

Stan Hagen Stanley Hagen (March 11, 1940 – January 20, 2009) was a Canadians, Canadian politician. He served as Member of the Legislative Assembly for the Comox Valley (provincial electoral district), Comox Valley electoral district (Canada), riding i ...

took over Strachan's old portfolio of advanced education (while still remaining education minister). On May 29,

Peter Albert Dueck Peter Albert Dueck (July 5, 1923 – February 19, 2015) was a politician and cabinet minister in the Canadian province of British Columbia. He was an elected Member of the Legislative Assembly from 1986 to 1993 for the ridings of Central Fra ...

was appointed Minister of Advanced Education. Dueck had previously been in Vander Zalm's cabinet until being forced to resign in May 1990 over an expenses scandal; after an RCMP investigation cleared him of any wrongdoing, Johnston invited him back to cabinet.

Notes

References

Citations

Sources

{{British Columbia politics Politics of British Columbia Executive Council of British Columbia 1991 establishments in British Columbia Cabinets established in 1991 1991 disestablishments in British Columbia Cabinets disestablished in 1991