41st Parliament of British Columbia

41st Parliament of British Columbia
Minority parliament
June 22, 2017 – present
Parliament leaders
Premier	Hon. Christy Clark March 14, 2011 – July 18, 2017
	Hon. John Horgan July 18, 2017 – present
Leader of the Opposition	John Horgan May 4, 2014 – July 18, 2017
	Christy Clark July 18, 2017 – August 4, 2017
	Rich Coleman August 4, 2017 – present
Party caucuses
Government	Liberal Party
	New Democratic Party The Liberal Party briefly formed government but was defeated in a confidence vote on June 29, 2017.
Opposition	New Democratic Party
	Liberal Party
Third party	Green Party* Does not hold official party status. Providing confidence and supply for NDP government.
Legislative Assembly
Seating arrangements of the Legislative Assembly
Speaker of the Assembly	Hon. Steve Thomson June 22, 2017 – June 29, 2017
Government House Leader	Hon. Mike de Jong May 4, 2014 – July 18, 2017
	Hon. Mike Farnworth July 18, 2017 – present
Opposition House Leader	Mike Farnworth May 4, 2014 – July 18, 2017
Members	87 MLA seats
Sovereign
Monarch	HM Elizabeth II 6 February 1952 – present
Lieutenant Governor	HH Hon. Judith Guichon 2 November 2012 – present
Sessions
1st Session June 22, 2017 –
<40th 42nd>

The 41st Parliament of British Columbia consists of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, as elected by the general election of May 9, 2017, and the Queen represented by the Lieutenant-Governor Judith Guichon. Immediately following the election Christy Clark, the incumbent premier, asked the Lieutenant-Governor to remain governing until the final votes were counted and it would be known if there would be a majority or minority government.^[1] After the final vote confirmed the BC Liberal Party had won the most seats the Lieutenant-Governor asked Clark to form the government. Clark agreed and appointed a cabinet of 21 ministers and 13 parliamentary secretaries and convened the legislature on June 22, 2017. The government's first test of whether or not it has the confidence of the legislature will be when the legislature votes on the Speech from the Throne.

Although the BC Liberals under Premier Christy Clark are the largest party, the BC New Democratic Party under leader John Horgan prospectively will lead a minority mandate, with confidence and supply provided by the BC Greens under Andrew Weaver. This election also saw an increase in the size of the legislature from 85 to 87 seats.

Clark convened the legislature on June 22, 2017 before losing a vote of confidence on June 29.^[2]

Party Standings

Election and appointments

The members of the legislative assembly were elected in the 41st general election, held on May 9, 2017. The election returned 43 BC Liberals, 41 BC NDP members, and 3 BC Greens. As the leader of the largest party, Christy Clark was offered, by Lieutenant Governor Judith Guichon, the first opportunity to form a government, though the BC Green Party had announced they would support the BC NDP.^[4] Clark accepted and appointed 21 members to her Executive Council^[5] and 13 parliamentary secretaries.^[6] After the government lost a confidence vote, the Lieutenant Governor refused Premier Clark's request to call an election and offered the second largest party, The BC NDP, the opportunity to form a government. BC NDP leader John Horgan agreed and appointed an Executive Council of 22 members and 6 parliamentary secretaries, including Carole James as deputy premier and Minister of Finance, Adrian Dix as Minister of Health, David Eby as Attorney General, Rob Fleming as Minister of Education, and Michelle Mungall as Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources.^[7]

Officeholders

Speaker

• Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia:
  • Hon. Steve Thomson (June 22, 2017 – June 29, 2017)
  • Vacant (June 29, 2017 – present)

Other Chair occupants

• Deputy Speaker: Greg Kyllo
• Assistant Deputy Speaker: Raj Chouhan
• Deputy Chair, Committee of the Whole: Simon Gibson

Leaders

• Premier of British Columbia:
  • Hon. Christy Clark, Liberal (March 14, 2017 — July 18, 2017)
  • Hon. John Horgan, NDP^[8] (July 18, 2017 — present)
• Leader of the Opposition:
  • John Horgan, NDP (March 14, 2017 — July 18, 2017)
  • Christy Clark, Liberal (July 18, 2017 — August 4, 2017)
  • Rich Coleman, Liberal (August 4, 2017 — present)
• Green Party Leader: Andrew J. Weaver

House leaders

• Government House Leader:
  • Hon. Mike de Jong, Liberal (March 14, 2017 — July 18, 2017)
  • Hon. Mike Farnworth, NDP (July 18, 2017 — present)

• Opposition House Leader:
  • Mike Farnworth, NDP (March 14, 2017 — July 18, 2017)
  • Mike de Jong, Liberal (July 18, 2017 — present)

Members of the 41st Parliament

References