The Executive Council of British Columbia (the Cabinet) is the Cabinet of the

Canadian province Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. Almost always composed of members of the

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia () is the deliberative assembly of the Legislature of British Columbia, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The other component of the Legislature is the lieutenant governor of British Columbi ...

, the Cabinet is similar in structure and role as the federal

Cabinet of Canada The Canadian Ministry (Canadian French, French: ''Conseil des ministres''), colloquially referred to as the Cabinet of Canada (), is a body of Minister of the Crown, ministers of the Crown that, along with the Canadian monarch, and within the t ...

is to the

Canadian House of Commons The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body who ...

. Executive power is vested in the Crown; the

lieutenant governor of British Columbia The lieutenant governor of British Columbia () is the representative of the monarch in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The office of lieutenant governor is an office of the Crown and serves as a representative of the monarchy in the p ...

, as representative of

the Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

, exercises executive power on behalf of the Cabinet, acting as the

lieutenant governor in Council The King-in-Council or the Queen-in-Council, depending on the gender of the reigning monarch, is a constitutional term in a number of states. In a general sense, it refers to the monarch exercising executive authority, usually in the form of app ...

. Members of the Cabinet are selected by the

premier of British Columbia The premier of British Columbia is the first minister and head of government for the Canadian province of British Columbia. Until the early 1970s, the title ''prime minister of British Columbia'' was often used. The word ''premier'' is derived ...

, who chairs the Cabinet.

History

Prior to their union in 1866, the Executive Councils of the separate crown colonies of

and

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest ...

were largely appointed by the governor and included military and judicial officials, their role that of the governor's cabinet, similar to the present except that the governor took part in cabinet meetings and political decisions, whereas the modern-day lieutenant governor does not. The colonial Legislative Assemblies were subordinate to the governor and the Council and served more as a sounding-board than a legislative body.

Cabinet

The current Cabinet consists of members of the Legislative Assembly representing the province's governing party, the

British Columbia New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party of British Columbia (BC NDP) is a social democratic political party in British Columbia, Canada. The party sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum and is one of the two major parties in British Columbia; since ...

David Eby David Robert Patrick Eby (; born July 21, 1976) is a Canadian politician and lawyer who has served as the 37th and current premier of British Columbia since November 18, 2022. Eby is a member of the British Columbia New Democratic Party (NDP) a ...

was sworn in as

by Lieutenant Governor

Janet Austin Janet Edna Merivale Austin (born ) is a Canadian former nonprofit sector executive and public servant who was the 30th lieutenant governor of British Columbia, having served from 2018 to 2025. She was the viceregal representative of Queen ...

on November 13, 2024. His cabinet was sworn in on November 18, 2024.

List of historical cabinets

References

{{Executive Councils of Canada 1871 establishments in British Columbia