| Background Color: |
|
| Government Name: | Government of British Columbia |
| Border: | provincial |
| State: | British Columbia |
| Country: | Canada |
| Leader Title: | Premier |
| Appointed: | Lieutenant Governor |
| Main Organ: | Executive Council |
| Responsible: | Legislative Assembly |
| Address: | Victoria |
The Government of British Columbia (French: Gouvernement de la Colombie-Britannique) is the body responsible for the administration of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The term Government of British Columbia can refer to either the collective set of all three institutions, or more specifically to the executive—ministers of the Crown (the Executive Council) of the day, and the non-political staff within each provincial department or agency, i.e. the civil services, whom the ministers direct—which corporately brands itself as the Government of British Columbia, or more formally, Majesty's Government (French: Gouvernement de Sa Majesté|links=no).[1]
The current construct was established when the province joined Confederation in 1871. British Columbia is a secondary jurisdiction of Canada, a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy in the Westminster tradition; a premier—David Eby of the New Democratic Party since 2022—is the head of government and is invited by the Crown to form a government after securing the confidence of the Legislative Assembly, typically determined through the election of enough members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) of a single political party in an election to provide a majority of seats, forming a governing party or coalition.[2] The sovereign is, Canada's head of state, who is represented provincially in British Columbia by the lieutenant governor, Janet Austin since 2018.
See main article: Monarchy of Canada and Monarchy in British Columbia.
See also: Monarchy in the Canadian provinces., as sovereign, is also the in Right of British Columbia. As a Commonwealth realm, the Canadian monarch is shared with 14 other independent countries within the Commonwealth of Nations. Within Canada, the monarch exercises power individually on behalf of the federal government and the ten provinces.
The powers of the Crown are vested in the monarch and are exercised by the lieutenant governor. The advice of the premier and Executive Council is typically binding; the Constitution Act, 1867 requires executive power to be exercised only "by and with the advice of the Executive Council".[3]
See main article: Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia. The lieutenant governor is appointed by the governor general, on the advice of the prime minister of Canada. Thus, it is typically the lieutenant governor whom the premier and ministers advise, exercising much of the royal prerogative and granting royal assent.
The executive power is vested in the Crown and exercised in-Council, meaning on the advice of the Executive Council; conventionally, this is the Cabinet, which is chaired by the premier and comprises ministers of the Crown.
The term Government of British Columbia, or more formally Majesty's Government, refers to the activities of the -in-Council. The day-to-day operation and activities of the Government of British Columbia are performed by the provincial departments and agencies, staffed by the non-partisan public service and directed by the elected government.
See main article: Premier of British Columbia.
See also: Executive Council of British Columbia. The premier of British Columbia is the primary minister of the Crown. The premier acts as the head of government for the province, chairs and selects the membership of the Cabinet, and advises the Crown on the exercise of executive power and much of the royal prerogative. As premiers hold office by virtue of their ability to command the confidence of the elected Legislative Assembly, they typically sit as a MLA and lead the largest party or a coalition in the Assembly. Once sworn in, the premier holds office until either they resign or they are removed by the lieutenant governor after either a motion of no confidence or defeat in a general election.
David Eby has been premier since November 18, 2022, after winning the NDP leadership election. He succeeded John Horgan, who led the New Democratic Party to a majority government in the 2020 British Columbia general election.[4] [5]