OVERVIEW
Following a provincial general election on May 14, 2013,
re-elected BC Premier Christy Clark, announced a
new provincial cabinet on June 7, 2013, in a ceremony at the
Convention Centre in Vancouver. The new cabinet of 19 ministers is
larger than the 16-member ministry the Liberals had going into the
election. Consistent with the Liberals' election focus on the
development of natural gas, the new government retains has moved
senior minister Rich Coleman from Minister of
Energy, Mines and Natural Gas to be Minister Responsible for
Natural Gas, Minister Responsible for Housing, and Deputy Premier.
Bill Bennett takes over as Minister of Energy and
Mines, with the added responsibility of being Minister Responsible
for Core Review. Newcomer and former Vancouver councilor, and
Mayoralty candidate Suzanne Anton has been named
Attorney-General. Newly elected member from Vancouver Quilchena,
Andrew Wilkinson, a former partner at the law firm
McCarthy's, and a former deputy minister in the BC Government,
has been appointed to cabinet as Minister of Technology, Innovation
and Citizens' Services.
The new cabinet will be sworn in on June 10, 2013, by the
Lieutenant-Governor Judith Guichon at Government House in
Victoria.
THE NEW BRITISH COLUMBIA CABINET
New Members of the British Columbia Cabinet:
- John Rustad - Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation (Nechako Lakes)
- Amrik Virk - Minister of Advanced Education (Surrey-Tynehead)
- Pat Pimm - Minister of Agriculture (Peace River North)
- Coralee Oakes - Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development (Cariboo North)
- Peter Fassbender - Minister of Education (Surrey-Fleetwood)
- Teresa Wat - Minister of International Trade, Minister Responsible for Asia Pacific Strategy and Multiculturalism (Richmond Center)
- Suzanne Anton - Minister of Justice and Attorney General (Vancouver Fraserview)
- Andrew Wilkinson - Minister of Technology, Innovation and Citizens' Services (Vancouver-Quilchena
- Todd Stone - Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure and Deputy House Leader (Kamloops-South Thompson)
Ministers with new portfolios include:
- Rich Coleman - Minister of Natural Gas Development and Minister Responsible for Housing, Deputy Premier (Langley-Aldergrove)
- Bill Bennett - Minister of Energy and Mines and Minister Responsible for Core Review (Kootenay East)
- Mary Polak - Minister of Environment (Langley)
- Terry Lake - Minister of Health (Kamloops-North Thompson)
- Shirley Bond - Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Minister Responsible for Labour (Prince George-Valemount)
- Naomi Yamamoto - Minister of State for Tourism and Small Business (Vancouver-Lonsdale)
- Don McRae - Minister of Social Development and Social Innovation (Comox Valley)
Ministers retaining existing portfolios
include:
- Christy Clark – Premier
- Steve Thomson - Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations (Kelowna-Mission)
- Mike de Jong - Minister of Finance and Government House Leader (Abbotsford West)
- Stephanie Cadieux - Minister of Children and Family Development (Surrey-Cloverdale)
Premier Christy Clark, who did not win her constituency of Vancouver-Point Grey in the general election, has announced that she intends to run in a by-election expected to happen in July in the constituency of Westside-Kelowna. That seat is currently held by Liberal Ben Stewart, who won it by a margin of 6,197 votes over second-place NDP candidate Carole Gordon in the provincial general election.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
