More than a month after the BC NDP won the biggest victory in its history, Premier John Horgan today unveiled his new cabinet. With the province facing severe Covid-19-induced health and economic challenges, Horgan’s picks aim to fulfill the promise of stability and competence that grounded his election-winning offer.
To that end, many of the government’s most senior cabinet ministers stay in place. Adrian Dix remains Minister of Health. David Eby stays as Attorney General. Mike Farnworth continues as Solicitor General, Bruce Ralston maintains oversight of energy, and George Heyman keeps the environment portfolio.
At the same, Mr. Horgan has shuffled a few key ministers and elevated a number of new faces to portfolios that round out a cabinet that is among the most diverse in Canada, including being evenly split between women and men. Where the Premier did make changes and inject new blood, the picks were, by and large, unsurprising. Selina Robinson takes over from Carole James (who retired before the election) in Finance, Rob Fleming moves from Education to Transportation and Infrastructure, Ravi Kahlon is promoted to Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation, and newly-elected MLA Murray Rankin is posted to Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation.
Of note for a government determined to bridge the rural-urban divide, veteran Kootenay West MLA Katrine Conroy is BC’s new forest minister and senior representative at the cabinet table from rural BC. And with the NDP winning seats in non-traditional areas in last month’s election, the Premier has appointed Boundary Similkameen’s Roly Russel, Richmond’s Kelly Greene, Chilliwack’s Dan Coulter and Langley’s Andrew Mercier as Parliamentary Secretaries to provide increased responsibility to these NDP MLAs who have just won seats in what have been historically BC Liberal strongholds.
Taken together, Horgan’s picks ads up to a cabinet that will – to paraphrase former New York Governor, Mario Cuomo – govern in prose, not poetry. The front bench is dominated by experienced and steady hands charged with confronting the biggest economic and social challenges that BC has faced in living memory.
The cabinet and parliamentary secretaries are as follows:
Premier: John Horgan
Attorney General (and Minister Responsible for Housing): David Eby
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- Parliamentary Secretary – Anti-Racism Initiatives: Rachna Singh
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Advanced Education and Skills Training: Anne Kang
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- Parliamentary Secretary – Skills Training: Andrew Mercier
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Agriculture, Food and Fisheries: Lana Popham
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- Parliamentary Secretary – Fisheries and Aquaculture: Fin Donnelly
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Citizens’ Services: Lisa Beare
Children and Family Development: Mitzi Dean
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- Minister of State for Child Care: Katrina Chen
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Education: Jennifer Whiteside
Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation (and Minister Responsible for the Consular Corps of British Columbia): Bruce Ralston
Environment and Climate Change Strategy (and Minister Responsible for Translink): George Heyman
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- Parliamentary Secretary – Environment: Kelly Greene
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Finance: Selina Robinson
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- Parliamentary Secretary – Gender Equity: Grace Lore
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Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development: Katrine Conroy
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- Minister of State for Lands, Natural Resource Operations: Nathan Cullen
- Parliamentary Secretary – Rural Development: Roly Russell
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Health (and Minister Responsible for Francophone Affairs): Adrian Dix
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- Parliamentary Secretary – Seniors Services and Long Term Care: Mable Elmore
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Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation: Murray Rankin
Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation: Ravi Kahlon
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- Minister of State for Trade: George Chow
- Parliamentary Secretary – Technology and Innovation: Brenda Bailey
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Labour: Harry Bains
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- Parliamentary Secretary – New Economy: Adam Walker
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Mental Health and Addictions: Sheila Malcolmson
Municipal Affairs: Josie Osborne
Public Safety and Solicitor General: Mike Farnworth
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- Parliamentary Secretary – Emergency Preparedness: Jennifer Rice
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Social Development and Poverty Reduction: Nicholas Simons
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- Parliamentary Secretary – Community Development and Non-Profits: Niki Sharma
- Parliamentary Secretary – Accessibility: Dan Coulter
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Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport: Melanie Mark
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- Parliamentary Secretary – Arts and Film: Bob D’Eith
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Transportation and Infrastructure: Rob Fleming
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- Minister of State for Infrastructure: Bowinn Ma
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