Joy Kathryn MacPhail (born March 6, 1952) is a Canadian former 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, ...
. A longtime 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 ...
, she served as a
member of the Legislative Assembly
A member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to a legislative assembly. Most often, the term refers to a subnational assembly such as that of a state, province, or territory of a country. S ...
(MLA) from 1991 to 2005 and as a Minister of the Crown from 1993 to 1999, and 2000–2001.
Background
MacPhail was born in
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of T ...
. After studying economics at the
University of Western Ontario
The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by resident ...
, MacPhail earned a
PhD in
Labour Studies
Industrial relations or employment relations is the multidisciplinary academic field that studies the employment relationship; that is, the complex interrelations between employers and employees, labor/trade
unions, employer organizations, ...
at the
London School of Economics
, mottoeng = To understand the causes of things
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £240.8 million (2021)
, budget = £391.1 millio ...
.
Prior to her election, MacPhail was a spokesperson for the
B.C. Federation of Labour and an executive assistant to the Federation's then-president,
Ken Georgetti
Kenneth V. Georgetti (born 1952) is a Canadian labour leader. Georgetti served as president of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) from 1999 to 2014. Prior to this, Georgetti served as president of the British Columbia Federation of Labour, and w ...
.
Political career
MLA and Minister
MacPhail was first elected to the British Columbia Legislature in
1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...
as the
MLA for
Vancouver-Hastings
Vancouver-Hastings is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada.
Geography
History
This riding has elected the following Members of Legislative Assembly:
Member of Legislative A ...
, and served in the cabinets of three NDP
premiers
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 ...
.
Under Premier
Mike Harcourt
Michael Franklin Harcourt, OC (born January 6, 1943) served as the 30th premier of British Columbia from 1991 to 1996, and before that as the 34th mayor of Vancouver, BC's largest city, from 1980 to 1986.
Early life and education
Harcourt was ...
, she served as Minister of Social Services from 1993 to 1996. Under Premier
Glen Clark
Glen David Clark (born November 22, 1957) is a Canadian business executive and former politician who served as the 31st premier of British Columbia from 1996 to 1999.
Early life and education
Clark attended independent Roman Catholic schools, n ...
, she briefly remained Minister of Social Services, before a cabinet shuffle moved MacPhail into the position of Minister of Health from 1996 to 1998. MacPhail's final cabinet position in the Clark government was as Minister of Finance from 1998 to her departure in 1999, leaving Clark's cabinet at a time when it was suffering from increasing dissent and scandal.
As Finance Minister, MacPhail was tasked with delivering a deficit budget in the aftermath of the
1997 Asian financial crisis
The Asian financial crisis was a period of financial crisis that gripped much of East Asia and Southeast Asia beginning in July 1997 and raised fears of a worldwide economic meltdown due to financial contagion. However, the recovery in 1998–1 ...
, which caused a brief recession in British Columbia. MacPhail and the NDP opted for a
Keynesian approach to the recession, investing in major construction projects like the
Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre and investment in the
SkyTrain network, all of which were criticized by then-opposition leader Gordon Campbell.
Bid for party leadership
Upon Clark's resignation at NDP leader, MacPhail
ran for the party's leadership. MacPhail was characterized in the media as a centrist, promising a
Tony Blair
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...
-style move to the
Third Way
The Third Way is a centrist political position that attempts to reconcile right-wing and left-wing politics by advocating a varying synthesis of centre-right economic policies with centre-left social policies. The Third Way was born from a ...
and a focus on tax cuts and balanced budgets.
As fellow contender
Ujjal Dosanjh
Ujjal Dev Dosanjh ( pa, ਉੱਜਲ ਦੇਵ ਦੁਸਾਂਝ) (), (born September 9, 1947) is a Canadian lawyer and politician. He served as the 33rd premier of British Columbia from 2000 to 2001 and as a Liberal Party of Canada member of ...
consolidated more support, MacPhail withdrew from the race, throwing her support behind Dosanjh to prevent a victory by the Clark-endorsed
Gordon Wilson, who was serving as Minister of Education at the time. Wilson, who had jumped from the
British Columbia Liberals to the
Progressive Democratic Alliance
The Progressive Democratic Alliance (PDA) was a centrist political party in British Columbia, Canada founded by Gordon Wilson (British Columbia politician), Gordon Wilson, Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Powell River—Sunshine Co ...
before joining the NDP, would eventually withdraw from the race and endorse Agriculture Minister
Corky Evans
Corky Evans (born January 2, 1948) is a Canadian former provincial politician in British Columbia, Canada. He twice ran for the leadership of the New Democratic Party of British Columbia, placing second both times. In both cases, the party form ...
, who would lose to Dosanjh on the first ballot. Under Dosanjh, she was the
Deputy Premier
A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...
and served as Minister of Labour and, later, Minister of Education.
Final term
The NDP suffered a massive electoral blow in the
May 16, 2001, provincial election. Only MacPhail and then-Minister of the Environment,
Jenny Kwan
Jenny Wai Ching Kwan (born 1967) is a Canadian politician who is the member of Parliament (MP) for Vancouver East. A member of the New Democratic Party (NDP), Kwan was elected to the House of Commons in 2015.
She she was previously a member o ...
, retained their seats. MacPhail held onto her seat by 409 votes. Media noted that MacPhail's campaign was benefited by controversy surrounding her
Green
Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 Nanometre, nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by ...
opponent, Ian Gregson, who had written an explicit article for
Hustler Magazine
''Hustler'' is a monthly pornographic magazine published by Larry Flynt Publications (LFP) in the United States. Introduced in 1974, it was a step forward from the '' Hustler Newsletter'', originally conceived by founder Larry Flynt as cheap a ...
in 1997.
Exactly one month after the election, MacPhail was appointed as the party's
interim leader. She was a harsh critic of the new
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 ...
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 ...
. Although the NDP was the only other party in the legislature, it was four seats short of
official party status
Official party status refers to the Westminster practice which is officially used in the Parliament of Canada and the provincial legislatures of recognizing parliamentary caucuses of political parties. In official documents, this is sometimes re ...
. Despite this, Assembly speaker
Claude Richmond
Claude Harry Richmond (born August 3, 1935) is a former Liberal Party of British Columbia, BC Liberal Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Legislative Assembly in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of ...
ensured that the NDP was resourced as an opposition party and MacPhail was recognized by the speaker as the leader of the Opposition.
MacPhail stepped down as leader in 2003 and was succeeded by
Carole James
Carole Alison James (born December 22, 1957) is a Canadian politician and former public administrator, who represented Victoria-Beacon Hill in the MLA from 2005 to 2020. She is the former Leader of the Opposition in British Columbia and former ...
. She remained as parliamentary leader of the NDP until her retirement from politics after the
2005 election.
In a profile written regarding MacPhail's retirement in 2005, the
Canadian Press
The Canadian Press (CP; french: La Presse canadienne, ) is a Canadian national news agency headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Established in 1917 as a vehicle for the time's Canadian newspapers to exchange news and information, The Canadian Pre ...
erroneously reported that MacPhail is the great-granddaughter of
Agnes Macphail, the first woman elected to Canada's Parliament and a founder of the
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; french: Fédération du Commonwealth Coopératif, FCC); from 1955 the Social Democratic Party of Canada (''french: Parti social démocratique du Canada''), was a federal democratic socialism, democra ...
, when, in fact, the two have no familial relation.
Post-politics
Two months after her retirement from politics, MacPhail married film and television producer
James Shavick
James Shavick (born 1950) is a Canadian film and television producer, currently the CEO of Shavick Entertainment.
His films include '' Two of Hearts'' and '' Two Solitudes'', while his television series have included ''The New Addams Family'' an ...
in
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
and became a partner in his production firm
Shavick Entertainment
Shavick Entertainment is a Canadian film and television production company,"Producer James Shavick rides highs and lows of film scene". ''Vancouver Sun'', April 12, 2004. owned and operated in Vancouver, British Columbia by James Shavick and his ...
.
In 2006, MacPhail and Shavick purchased
OutTV
OutTV (stylized OUTtv) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English language specialty channel that was launched in September 2001. It broadcasts general entertainment and lifestyle programming aimed at the LGBT community.
The network is owned b ...
, a Canadian cable television station focused on programming for the
LGBTQ+ community. MacPhail, a long-time advocate for the community, expressed interest in producing or starring in some of the network's programming, stating: "It's exciting, I must tell you. This is very nice next step for me!"
During the
2012 NDP Leadership race, MacPhail endorsed
Brian Topp
Brian Topp (born July 4, 1960) is a Canadian political strategist, union leader, and writer and was formerly chief of staff to former Alberta Premier Rachel Notley. He was the runner-up for the federal leadership of the New Democratic Party dur ...
.
In July 2017, once the BC NDP formed the provincial government, MacPhail replaced
Barry Penner
Barry Penner, is a Canadian licensed lawyer and former politician in the province of British Columbia. He served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia (MLA) for Chilliwack-Hope for 16 years. He also served as Attorney Gen ...
as chair of
Insurance Corporation of British Columbia
The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) is a provincial Crown corporation in British Columbia providing insurance. ICBC was created in 1973 by the NDP government of Premier Dave Barrett.
By law, any vehicle registered and driven o ...
.
On 29 June 2022 she became chair of the board of directors at
BC Ferries
British Columbia Ferry Services Inc., operating as BC Ferries (BCF), is a former provincial Crown corporation, now operating as an independently managed, publicly owned Canadian company. BC Ferries provides all major passenger and vehicle ferry ...
.
She received membership in the
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit.
To coincide with the ...
on 29 December 2021 and was given the
Order of British Columbia
The Order of British Columbia (french: Ordre de la Colombie-Britannique) is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Instituted in 1989 by Lieutenant Governor David Lam, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier B ...
on 1 August 2022.
References
External links
Profile on BC Legislature2005 archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macphail, Joy
Alumni of the London School of Economics
Deputy premiers of British Columbia
Finance ministers of British Columbia
Female Canadian political party leaders
Leaders of the British Columbia CCF/NDP
Living people
Members of the Executive Council of British Columbia
Politicians from Hamilton, Ontario
Politicians from Vancouver
University of Western Ontario alumni
Women MLAs in British Columbia
1952 births
Education ministers of British Columbia
Health ministers of British Columbia
Canadian film producers
Canadian television producers
Canadian women film producers
Women government ministers of Canada
21st-century Canadian politicians
21st-century Canadian women politicians
Canadian women television producers
Members of the Order of Canada