Leader of the Opposition (British Columbia)

The Leader of the Opposition (French: Chef de l'Opposition) in British Columbia is the MLA in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia who leads the political party recognized as the Official Opposition. This status generally goes to the leader of the second largest party in the Legislative Assembly.

# Leader[1] Party Took Office Left Office
    1. James Alexander MacDonald Liberal 1903 1909
    2. Harlan Carey Brewster[2] Liberal 1911 1912
    – Harlan Carey Brewster Liberal 1916 1916
    3. William John Bowser Conservative 1916 1924
    – Robert Henry Pooley unofficial[3] Conservative 1924 1928
    4. Thomas Dufferin Pattullo Liberal 1929 1933
    5. Robert Connell CCF 1933 1936
 ... Robert Connell[4] Social Reconstructive 1936 1937
    6. Frank Porter Patterson Conservative 1937 1938
    7. Royal Lethington Maitland Conservative 1938 1941
    8. Harold Winch CCF 1941 1952
    9. Herbert Anscomb[5] Progressive Conservative 1952 1952
    – Harold Winch CCF 1952 1953
    10. Arnold Webster CCF 1953 1956
    11. Robert Strachan[6] CCF 1956 1961
    – Robert Strachan NDP 1961 1969
    12. Thomas Berger NDP 1969 1969
    13. Dave Barrett NDP 1969 1972
 14. W.A.C. Bennett Social Credit 1972 1973
 15. William R. Bennett Social Credit 1973 1975
    16. William Stewart King NDP 1975 1976
    – Dave Barrett[7] NDP 1976 1984
    17. Robert Skelly NDP 1984 1987
    18. Michael Harcourt NDP 1987 1991
    19. Gordon Wilson Liberal 1991 1993
    20. Fred Gingell Liberal 1993 1994
    21. Gordon Campbell Liberal 1994 2001
    22. Joy MacPhail[8] NDP 2001 2005
    23. Carole James NDP 2005 2011
    24. Dawn Black NDP 2011 2011
    25. Adrian Dix NDP 2011 2014
    26. John Horgan NDP 2014 present

References

  1. ↑ Legislative Library of British Columbia, Party Leaders in British Columbia 1900-, 2000, updated 2005
  2. ↑ Lost his seat in the 1912 general election that wiped out the Liberals. No Opposition leader until Brewster won a by-election in 1916.
  3. ↑ Pooley was the Conservative Party's House Leader due to the defeat of William John Bowser. In 1926 Simon Fraser Tolmie was elected Conservative leader but he did not seek a seat in the legislature until the 1928 provincial election which his party won
  4. ↑ Connell was exeplled from the CCF in 1936 for opposing party policy. He and three other CCF MLAs formed the "Social Reconstructive" party. With a total of 4 MLAs compared to 3 remaining in the CCF, Connell's new party was the second largest in the legislature allowing him to retain the title of Leader of the Official Opposition
  5. ↑ Anscomb's Conservatives had been part of a coalition government with the Liberals until late 1951 when the Liberals decided to terminate the arrangement and Premier John Hart dropped his Conservative ministers from Cabinet. The Tories moved to the opposition benches and displaced the CCF to form the Official Opposition from February 1952 until the June 1952 provincial election
  6. ↑ The CCF became the NDP in 1961 as a result of the creation of the federal New Democratic Party
  7. ↑ Barrett lost his seat in the December 1975 general election and re-entered the legislature through a June 1976 by-election. William Stewart King acted as Leader of the Opposition in the house in the interim. Barrett continued as leader of the party during this period
  8. ↑ Although Premier Campbell refused to recognize the NDP as an official party since it lacked the number of seats required for official party status, the Speaker recognized MacPhail as Opposition Leader and ensured the NDP received the resources and funding due to it as an opposition.
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