Executive Council of British Columbia

The Executive Council of British Columbia (informally and more commonly, the Cabinet of British Columbia) is the cabinet of that Canadian province.

Almost always made up of members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia the Cabinet is similar in structure and role to the Cabinet of Canada while being smaller in size. As federal and provincial responsibilities differ there are a number of different portfolios between the federal and provincial governments.

The Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia, as representative of the Queen in Right of British Columbia, heads the council, and is referred to as the Lieutenant Governor in Council. Other members of the Cabinet, who advise, or minister, the vice-regal, are selected by the Premier of British Columbia and appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor. Most cabinet ministers are the head of a ministry, but this is not always the case.

As at the federal level the most important Cabinet post after that of the leader is Minister of Finance, although notably during the regimes of Premiers W.A.C. Bennett and Dave Barrett that position was conjoint with that of the Premier. Today the next most powerful positions are the Forestry and Health portfolios which have huge budgets and are of central political importance. Other powerful portfolios include Education, Health, and Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources.

In the crown colonies of British Columbia and Vancouver Island, the Executive Councils were largely appointed by the Governor and included military and judicial officials, their role that of the Governor's cabinet, similar to the present except that the Governor took part in cabinet meetings and political decisions, which a Lieutenant-Governor does not. The colonial Legislative Assemblies were subordinate to the Governor and the Council and served more as a sounding-board than a legislative body.

Current cabinet

The current ministry has been in place after the 2013 provincial elections. The cabinet was sworn into office on June 7, 2013.

References

Politics of British Columbia Lieutenant-Governor Judith Guichon Former lieutenant-governors Premier Christy Clark Former Premiers By time in office Opposition Leader John Horgan Former Opposition Leaders Speaker of the Assembly Linda Reid Legislature Current Parliament Former Parliaments Cabinet Political parties Conservatives Greens Liberals New Democrats Social Credit Elections 2013 general election 2009 general election Past elections By-elections Electoral districts Other Canadian politics Federal BC AB SK MB ON QC NB NS PEI NL YT NT NU

Canadian executive councils Queen's Privy Council for Canada Federal Cabinet Executive Councils of the Provinces and Territories British Columbia Alberta Saskatchewan Manitoba Ontario Quebec New Brunswick Nova Scotia Prince Edward Island Newfoundland & Labrador Yukon Northwest Territories Nunavut