Josie Osborne is a Canadian politician who was elected to 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 ...

in the 2020 provincial election. She represents the electoral district of Mid Island-Pacific Rim as 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 ...

(BC NDP). She has served in the cabinet of

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, ...

since 2020, currently as Minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation. She previously served as mayor of

Tofino Tofino ( ) is a town of approximately 2,516 residents on the west coast of Vancouver Island in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The District of Tofino is located at the western terminus of Highway 4 on the tip of the Esowista Penins ...

, British Columbia from 2013 to 2020. When she was first elected, she was Canada's only

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...

-affiliated mayor.

Biography

Osborne studied

marine biology Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life, organisms in the sea. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies s ...

at 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 ...

, then pursued a master's degree in resource management at

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a public research university in British Columbia, Canada, with three campuses, all in Greater Vancouver: Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, and Vancouver. The main Burnaby campus on Burnaby Mountain, located from ...

. She moved to Tofino for a position as fisheries biologist for the

Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council The Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council is a First Nations Tribal Council in the Canadian province of British Columbia, located on the west coast of Vancouver Island. The organization is based in Port Alberni, British Columbia. History The Nuu-chah- ...

, and later joined Raincoast Education Society, a local environmental education non-profit organization. She ran as the mayor of Tofino unopposed as the

candidate in both a 2013

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

and the 2014 municipal election. She was re-elected in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

with 86.75% of the overall vote. Osborne supported the introduction of

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

in the 2018 British Columbia electoral reform referendum. In March 2019, Osborne spoke in favour of more

affordable housing Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household income at or below the median as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. Most of the literature on affo ...

Greater Vancouver Greater Vancouver, also known as Metro Vancouver, is the metropolitan area with its major urban centre being the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The term "Greater Vancouver" is roughly coterminous with the geographic area governed b ...

. In September 2020, Osborne announced her intention to seek the

BC NDP The New Democratic Party of British Columbia (BC NDP) is a social democracy, 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 feder ...

nomination for the riding of Mid Island-Pacific Rim in the next provincial election. Osborne was successful and was elected as Member of the Legislative Assembly at the October 2020 general election. Tofino is expected to elect a new mayor after Osborne's election to the provincial legislature. A mayoral by-election was held in February 2021. On November 26, 2020, Osborne was sworn in to 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 ...

as Minister of Municipal Affairs under

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 ...

John Horgan John Joseph Horgan (born August 7, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 36th premier of British Columbia from 2017 to 2022, and also as the leader of the British Columbia New Democratic Party from 2014 to 2022. Horgan has been the ...

; she was then appointed Minister of Land, Water, and Resource Stewardship and Minister Responsible for Fisheries in February 2022. She was subsequently named Minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation in the

Eby ministry The Eby ministry is the combined Cabinet (formally the Executive Council of British Columbia) that has governed British Columbia since November 18, 2022. It is chaired by the 37th premier of British Columbia, David Eby. The Cabinet is made up ...

on December 7, 2022.

Electoral record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Osborne, Josie Living people Green Party of Canada politicians Canadian women environmentalists Women mayors of places in British Columbia People from the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District Canadian marine biologists University of British Columbia alumni Simon Fraser University alumni British Columbia New Democratic Party MLAs Women MLAs in British Columbia 21st-century Canadian women politicians Women government ministers of Canada Members of the Executive Council of British Columbia Year of birth missing (living people)