John Horgan

John Horgan

John Joseph Horgan is a Canadian politician who has served as the 36th and current premier of British Columbia since 2017. He has been leader of the British Columbia New Democratic Party since 2014. He is the first NDP premier of the province since Ujjal Dosanjh in 2001.

About John Horgan in brief

Summary John HorganJohn Joseph Horgan is a Canadian politician who has served as the 36th and current premier of British Columbia since 2017. He has been leader of the British Columbia New Democratic Party since 2014. He is the first NDP premier of the province since Ujjal Dosanjh in 2001. Horgan’s father died when he was 18 months old, leaving his mother to raise him along with his three siblings. He worked multiple jobs to save money for university, including at a pulp mill in Ocean Falls. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from Trent University in 1983 and married Ellie in 1984; the couple has two sons. In June 2006, he was appointed the Official Opposition critic for the Ministry of Energy and Mines in New Democrat leader Carole James’ shadow cabinet. In January 2011, he announced his candidacy for leadership of the BC NDP in the 2011 leadership election, finishing third. He was acclaimed to the position on May 1, 2014 and was officially inaugurated as party leader on May 5, 2014. In the 2017 provincial election held on May 9, 2017, Premier Christy Clark’s BC Liberal government was reduced to 43 seats, one seat short of a majority. On November 8, with the final vote count completed, the NDP won a record 57 seats with the highest share of the popular vote in the party’s history and formed a majority government for the first time since the 1996 general election. On September 21, 2020, Horgan called a snap election that was held on October 24. The election result made Horgan British Columbia’s first two-term NDP premier.

His last job in 2001 created a small business company that focused on policy management, research and government liaison. In 2003, he formed a consulting company called IdeaWorks, along with former NDP caucus members Nancy Thompson, Mary O’Donoghue and John Heaney. IdeaWorks was credited with developing a sophisticated campaign in 2003 by which they were successful in convincing Vancouver City Council to lift a moratorium on slot machines. In 2005, he won the provincial election of Langford-Juan de Fuca, aged 45, against the NDP nomination of Julie Thomas Lake. In 2009, he became the Official opposition critic for Energy, and Opposition house leader. In 2010, he replaced Bruce Ralston as opposition house leader following his entry into the 2014 leadership election. In 2012, he resigned from the Opposition houseleader position to become the Opposition Opposition critic of the Energy Ministry. In 2013, he took up the role of Official Opposition Critic of the Education Ministry, having previously served as opposition critic of Education. In 2014, he joined the Opposition House of Representatives as a backbencher, and was elected as the Opposition Leader of the House of Commons. In March 2015, he lost his seat in a by-election in the riding of Surrey-Langford, where he has been a member of the Legislative Assembly since 2005. In November 2015, Horman was re-elected as an MP for the constituency of Lang Ford.