Brian Ray Douglas Smith (born July 7, 1934) is a

Canadian Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and

business executive A business executive is a person responsible for running an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. Executives run companies or government agencies. They create plans to help their organizations gr ...

. He served for a decade on

Oak Bay Oak Bay is a municipality incorporated in 1906 that is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is one of thirteen member municipalities of the Capital Regional District, and is bordered ...

municipal council and was mayor of Oak Bay from 1974 to 1979. Smith was first elected to the

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia () is the deliberative assembly of the Legislature of British Columbia, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The other component of the Legislature is the lieutenant governor of British Columbi ...

in the 1979 election to represent the riding of

Oak Bay-Gordon Head Oak Bay-Gordon Head is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada. Demographics Geography After restructuring prior to the 2017 election, Oak Bay-Gordon Head consists of the entirety of Oak B ...

for the Social Credit Party. He was re-elected in the

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

and 1986 election.

Life and career

In the

Bill Bennett William Richards Bennett, (April 14, 1932 – December 3, 2015) was a Canadian politician who was the 27th premier of British Columbia from 1975 to 1986. Early life Bennett was the son of Annie Elizabeth May (Richards) and former premier W. ...

government, he served as Minister of Education and then Minister of Energy, Mines, and Petroleum Resources, and was appointed to the post of

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

on May 26, 1983. In 1986, after Bennett's decision to step down, Smith was a candidate for the leadership of the Social Credit Party. In a field of twelve candidates, he finished second to

Bill Vander Zalm William Nicholas Vander Zalm (born Wilhelmus Nicholaas Theodore Marie van der Zalm; May 29, 1934) is a Dutch-born Canadian businessman and politician who served as the 28th premier of British Columbia and leader of the British Columbia Social ...

, losing on the fourth ballot. When Vander Zalm appointed a new cabinet, Smith was retained as Attorney General. On June 28, 1988, Smith resigned as Attorney General in dramatic fashion, during a speech to the Legislature. Smith charged that Vander Zalm did not adequately "appreciate the unique independence of the attorney general's ministry", citing the Toigo affair and abortion as instances of interference. He also disapproved of Vander Zalm's planned split of his ministry, believing it would weaken the ministry's independence and allow it to further fall under the control of the premier's office. Smith later told reporters that his resignation should not be seen as a challenge to Vander Zalm's leadership, and he remained a member of caucus. It was the first time an attorney general had resigned over differences from the premier since 1901, when

Richard McBride Sir Richard McBride, (December 15, 1870 – August 6, 1917) was a British Columbia politician and is often considered the founder of the British Columbia Conservative Party. McBride was first elected to the provincial legislature in the 1898 ...

resigned from

James Dunsmuir James Dunsmuir (July 8, 1851 – June 6, 1920) was a Canadian industrialist and politician in British Columbia. He served as the 14th premier of British Columbia from 1900 to 1902 and the eighth lieutenant governor of British Columbia from 1 ...

's government; Smith made reference to McBride's resignation in his speech. When the ministry was indeed split a week later, creating the Ministry of Solicitor General, Smith further criticized the move as one that would slow decision-making and hamper the ability to fight crime. On October 19, 1989, he announced that he was resigning his seat, effective November 15, 1989, and became

chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

CN Rail The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue an ...

until 1994. He was the Chairman of

BC Hydro The British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority, trade name, 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, wi ...

from 1996 to 2001. In 2016, Smith was appointed to the Order of BC as a "long-serving elected official who led social innovations in the arena of sports, education, law and business".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Brian 1934 births Living people Attorneys general of British Columbia British Columbia municipal councillors British Columbia Social Credit Party MLAs Canadian National Railway executives Canadian King's Counsel Canadian corporate directors Lawyers in British Columbia 20th-century mayors of places in British Columbia Members of the Executive Council of British Columbia Members of the Order of British Columbia Politicians from Victoria, British Columbia 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia