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.

Lieutenant-Governor
Her Honour the Honourable Judith Guichon			(2012–)
Portfolio	Minister
Premier of British Columbia	(List)	Christy Clark	(2011–)
Deputy Premier of British Columbia       and Minister of Natural Gas Development and Minister Responsible for Housing		Rich Coleman	(2013–)
Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation		John Rustad	(2013–)
Minister of Advanced Education		Andrew Wilkinson	(2013–)
Minister of Agriculture		Norm Letnick	(2014–)
Minister of Children and Family Development		Stephanie Cadieux	(2012–)
Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development       and Minister Responsible for TransLink		Peter Fassbender	(2013–)
Minister of Education		Mike Bernier	(2013–)
Minister of Energy, Mines       and Minister Responsible for Core Review		Bill Bennett	(2013–)
Minister of Environment		Mary Polak	(2013–)
Minister of Finance       and Government House Leader		Mike de Jong	(2012–)
Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations		Steve Thomson	(2011–)
Minister of Health		Terry Lake	(2013–)
Minister of International Trade       and Minister Responsible for Asia Pacific Strategy and Multiculturalism		Teresa Wat	(2013–)
Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training       and Minister Responsible for Labour		Shirley Bond	(2013–)
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of British Columbia		Suzanne Anton	(2013–)
Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General		Mike Morris	(2015–)
Minister of Small Business, Red Tape Reduction       and Minister Responsible for the Liquor Distribution Branch		Coralee Oakes	(2015–)
Minister of Social Development and Social Innovation		Michelle Stilwell	(2015–)
Minister of State for Emergency Preparedness		Naomi Yamamoto	(2015–)
Minister of Technology, Innovation and Citizens' Services		Amrik Virk	(2013–)
Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure       and Deputy House Leader		Todd Stone	(2013–)

References