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 position generally goes to the leader of the largest party in the Legislative Assembly that is not in government.

No.[lower-alpha 1] Leader[1] Party Took office Left office
1James Alexander MacDonald Liberal19031909
2John Oliver[lower-alpha 2] Liberal19091910
3James Hurst Hawthornthwaite[lower-alpha 3] Socialist19101910
4aHarlan Carey Brewster[lower-alpha 3] Liberal19111912
5Parker Williams[lower-alpha 4] Socialist19131915
4bHarlan Carey Brewster[lower-alpha 5] Liberal19161916
6William John Bowser Conservative19171923
7Robert Henry Pooley[lower-alpha 6] Conservative19241928
8Thomas Dufferin Pattullo Liberal19291933
9Robert Connell CCF19341936
 Social Reconstructive[lower-alpha 7]19361936
10Frank Porter Patterson Conservative19371937
11Royal Lethington Maitland Conservative19381940
12aHarold Winch CCF19411951
13Herbert Anscomb[lower-alpha 8] Progressive Conservative19521952
12bHarold Winch CCF19531953
14Arnold Webster CCF19531956
15Robert Strachan CCF19571961
 NDP[lower-alpha 9]19611969
16Thomas Berger[lower-alpha 2] NDP19691970
17aDave Barrett NDP19701972
18W.A.C. Bennett Social Credit19721973
19Frank Richter Social Credit19731973
20William R. Bennett Social Credit19741975
21William Stewart King[lower-alpha 10] NDP19761976
17bDave Barrett NDP19761984
22Robert Skelly NDP19841987
23Michael Harcourt NDP19871991
24Gordon Wilson Liberal19911993
25Fred Gingell Liberal19931994
26Gordon Campbell Liberal19942001
27Joy MacPhail[lower-alpha 11] NDP20012005
28Carole James NDP20052011
29Dawn Black NDP20112011
30Adrian Dix NDP20112014
31John Horgan NDP20142017
32Christy Clark Liberal20172017
33Rich Coleman Liberal20172018
34Andrew Wilkinson Liberal20182020
35Shirley Bond Liberal2020N/A (incumbent)
Leader of the Opposition of British Columbia
Incumbent
Shirley Bond
since November 23, 2020
Inaugural holderJames Alexander MacDonald


Notes
  1. Ordinal number based on first term served by each unique person. Letter suffixes indicate first and second terms of those serving more than once.
  2. Did not sit in the Legislature as leader of the Official Opposition
  3. The 1909 election saw four opposition members, two Liberals and two Socialists, elected. As seats were assigned by alphabetical order, Hawthornthwaite physically occupied the seat typical of the Opposition leader. Hawthornthwaite initially rejected the idea of being leader, but was later reported to have "assumed the functions of Opposition leader". However, by the next session, Brewster was being referred to as Opposition leader.[2]
  4. Declined to be named Opposition leader, but was referred to as such by the media and received the appropriate salary.[2]
  5. Became Opposition leader mid-legislature after by-election victories.[2]
  6. After party leader William John Bowser lost his seat in the 1924 election, house leader Robert Henry Pooley became leader of the Opposition. 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.
  7. 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".
  8. 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.
  9. The CCF became the NDP in 1961 as a result of the creation of the federal New Democratic Party.
  10. 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.
  11. Although Premier Gordon 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.

References
  1. "Leaders of the Official Opposition of British Columbia" (PDF). Legislative Library of British Columbia. 21 December 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  2. "Leaders of the Opposition in British Columbia 1903-" (PDF). Legislative Library of British Columbia. 25 January 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 February 2011. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
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