John Horgan

John Joseph Horgan MLA (born August 7, 1959) 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 and the member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for the constituency of Langford-Juan de Fuca and its predecessors since 2005. Horgan was born and raised in Victoria, British Columbia. 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, having previously served as the Official Opposition critic for the Ministry of Education. In January 2011, he announced his candidacy for leadership of the BC NDP in the 2011 leadership election, finishing third. Following the leadership election, he was appointed the Official Opposition critic for Energy, and Opposition house leader. He was replaced by Bruce Ralston as Opposition house leader following his entry into the 2014 leadership election. On March 17, 2014, he announced his candidacy in the 2014 leadership election, with the slogan "Real Leadership. For All BC". During the campaign he talked at length about the necessity of balancing the need for jobs and resource development, while protecting BC's natural environment. Horgan 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 May 29, 2017, it was announced that the NDP and Green Party of British Columbia had reached a confidence and supply agreement in which the Greens would support an NDP minority government for four years. Clark recalled the legislature in the coming weeks to seek its confidence in a Liberal government. Following a non-confidence motion on June 29, 2017, which was won (44–42) by the combined votes of the NDP and Green members, Lieutenant Governor Judith Guichon turned down Clark's request for a snap election and invited the NDP to form a minority government. Subsequently, Horgan succeeded Clark as the premier of British Columbia. Horgan is the first NDP premier of the province since Ujjal Dosanjh in 2001. On September 21, 2020, Horgan called a snap election that was held on October 24. 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. The election result made Horgan British Columbia's first two-term NDP premier.