From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Executive Council of British Columbia (informally and more commonly, the Cabinet of British Columbia) is the cabinet of that Canadian province.

Almost always made up of members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia the Cabinet is similar in structure and role to the Cabinet of Canada while being smaller in size. As federal and provincial responsibilities differ there are a number of different portfolios between the federal and provincial governments.

The Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia, as representative of the Queen in Right of British Columbia, heads the council, and is referred to as the Governor-in-Council. Other members of the Cabinet, who advise, or minister, the vice-regal, are selected by the Premier of British Columbia and appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor. Most cabinet ministers are the head of a ministry, but this is not always the case.

As at the federal level the most important Cabinet post after that of the leader is Minister of Finance. Today the next most powerful position is certainly the health portfolio which has a vast budget and is of central political import. Other powerful portfolios include Education and Energy.

In colonial British Columbia and Vancouver Island, the Executive Councils were largely appointed by the Governor and included military and judicial officials, their role that of the Governor's cabinet, similar to the present. The colonial Legislative Assemblies were subordinate to the Governor and the Council and served more as a sounding-board than a legislative body.

The current ministry has been in place since June 16, 2005, with the formation of a government by the BC Liberals after the 2005 BC election. This last cabinet shuffle occurred in January, 2007, to reflect the resignation of Bill Bennett as Minister of State for Mining.

v • d • e Politics of British Columbia
Lieutenant-Governor	Steven Point • Former lieutenant-governors
Premier (List)	Gordon Campbell
Opposition Leader	Carole James • Former Opposition Leaders
Speaker of the Assembly	Bill Barisoff
Legislature	Current assembly • Former legislatures • Cabinet
Political parties	Greens • Liberals • New Democrats
Elections	2005 general election • Past elections • Electoral districts
Current issues	Equalization payments • Same-sex marriage
Other Canadian politics	Federal • BC • AB • SK • MB • ON • QC • NB • NS • PEI • NL • YU • NT • NU

v • d • e  Canadian Executive Bodies
Queen's Privy Council for Canada • Federal Cabinet
Executive Councils of the Provinces and Territories:
British Columbia | Alberta | Saskatchewan | Manitoba | Ontario | Quebec | New Brunswick | Nova Scotia | Prince Edward Island | Newfoundland & Labrador | Yukon | Northwest Territories | Nunavut