Katrine Conroy (' Thor-Larsen; born 1957 or 1958) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

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 2005 provincial election. She represents the electoral district of

Kootenay West Kootenay West was a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1917 to 1988. This riding was created in 1914 from parts of Kootenay riding. It was abolished in 1987 when ...

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 2017, currently as Minister of Finance.

Background

Conroy was born to Ben and Ingeborg Thor-Larsen, who were Danish immigrants to Canada. The family settled in the

West Kootenays The Kootenays or Kootenay ( ) is a region of southeastern British Columbia. It takes its name from the Kootenay River, which in turn was named for the Kutenai First Nations people. Boundaries The Kootenays are more or less defined by the Kootenay ...

in 1962, with Katrine graduating from Castlegar's

Stanley Humphries Secondary School Stanley Humphries Secondary, also known as "SHSS", is a public high school in Castlegar, British Columbia part of School District 20 Kootenay-Columbia School District No. 20 (Kootenay-Columbia) is a school district in southeastern British Col ...

in 1975, before finding work as a power engineer at the local pulp mill. She completed the early childhood education program at

Selkirk College Campuses Selkirk College has eight campuses and learning centres across the West Kootenay and Kootenay Boundary Regional District, Kootenay Boundary regions: * Castlegar Campus * Grand Forks Campus * Kaslo Learning Centre * Nakusp Learning Cen ...

, then worked at local daycares before eventually becoming executive director of the Kootenay Columbia Childcare Society. In 1997 she returned to Selkirk College as a part-time instructor. She was married to Ed Conroy, a former

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) for the district of

Rossland-Trail Rossland-Trail was the name of a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia centred on the towns of Rossland and Trail, in the West Kootenay. The riding first appeared in the 1924 election as the result of a redistr ...

, from March 1981 until his death on June 26, 2020, at the age of 73. She has 4 children.

Political career

Conroy ran as the NDP candidate for the riding of

West Kootenay-Boundary West Kootenay-Boundary was a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada from 2001 to 2009. The seat combined the Rossland/Trail/Castlegar area (the putative ''West Kootenay'' component) that had prev ...

in the 2005 provincial election, winning the seat by 7,138 votes. She was subsequently named

caucus whip A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to a meeting ...

for the NDP in June 2005. In the 2009 election she ran in the riding of

, winning by a margin of 8,054 votes; she was re-elected in that riding in the

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

and

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

elections. While the NDP was in opposition, Conroy served as critic in several portfolios, including Seniors, Interior Economic Development, and Labour. Following NDP leader

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 ...

's dismissal of MLA Bob Simpson from party caucus, Conroy resigned from her position as opposition caucus whip on November 19, 2010. With the NDP coming to power as a minority government following the 2017 election, Conroy was appointed Minister of Children and Family Development 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 ...

. Following her re-election in

, she was appointed Minister of Forests in the

Horgan ministry The Horgan ministry is the combined Cabinet (government), Cabinet (formally the Executive Council of British Columbia) that governed British Columbia from July 18, 2017, to November 18, 2022. It was chaired by the 36th premier of British Columb ...

. On December 7, 2022 she was appointed Minister of Finance by Premier

David Eby David Robert Patrick Eby (born July 21, 1976) is a Canadian politician and lawyer who has been serving as the 37th and current premier of British Columbia since November 18, 2022, and has been serving as the leader of the British Columbia New De ...

Electoral record

References

External links

Katrine Conroy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conroy, Katrine British Columbia New Democratic Party MLAs Canadian ranchers Women government ministers of Canada Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Members of the Executive Council of British Columbia Canadian people of Danish descent Women MLAs in British Columbia 21st-century Canadian politicians 21st-century Canadian women politicians Spouses of Canadian politicians