Byron Ingemar "Boss" Johnson (born Björn Ingimar Jónsson; December 10, 1890 – January 12, 1964), served as the 24th

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 ...

, from 1947 to 1952. To his contemporaries he was often referred to by his nickname, ''Boss Johnson'', which had nothing to do with his personality, but was an

anglicization Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English languag ...

of the Icelandic "Bjossi", which is a diminutive form of his birth-name of Bjorn, which was adapted into English as Byron.

Early years

Johnson was born and raised in

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

. After overseas service in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he and his brothers opened a building supplies business in Victoria, which proved to be successful. Johnson was first elected as one of four

members of the Legislative Assembly A Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected to sit in a legislative assembly. The term most commonly refers to members of the legislature of a federated state or an autonomous region, but is also used for several nationa ...

from

Victoria City Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

to the

BC Legislature The Legislature of British Columbia is made of two elements: the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, lieutenant governor (representing the King of Canada), and the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia (which meets at the British Columbi ...

as a Liberal in the 1933 election. He served four years in the

caucus A caucus is a group or meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to ...

of Premier

Duff Pattullo Thomas Dufferin "Duff" Pattullo (January 19, 1873 – March 30, 1956) was a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd premier of British Columbia from 1933 to 1941 as a member of the Liberal Party and served as the member of the Legislative ...

before being defeated in the 1937 election. Johnson returned to his business and in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

was put in charge of constructing

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...

facilities throughout the province. In a 1945 provincial byelection, he returned to the legislature, this time as the member for New Westminster. Following John Hart's resignation in 1947, Johnson succeeded him as Liberal leader and as the leader of the Coalition, and therefore also as Premier - becoming the first Premier of British Columbia born after confederation in the province.

Johnson as Premier

Johnson's government introduced compulsory

health insurance Health insurance or medical insurance (also known as medical aid in South Africa) is a type of insurance that covers the whole or a part of the risk of a person incurring medical expenses. As with other types of insurance, risk is shared among ma ...

, and a 3% provincial

sales tax A sales tax is a tax paid to a governing body for the sales of certain goods and services. Usually laws allow the seller to collect funds for the tax from the consumer at the point of purchase. When a tax on goods or services is paid to a govern ...

to pay for it. It expanded the

highway system A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...

, extended the

Pacific Great Eastern The British Columbia Railway Company , commonly known as BC Rail, is a railway in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Chartered as a private company in 1912 as the Pacific Great Eastern Railway (PGE), it was acquired by the provincial ...

Railway, and negotiated the

Alcan Alcan was a Canadian mining company and aluminum manufacturer. It was founded in 1902 as the Northern Aluminum Company, renamed Aluminum Company of Canada in 1925, and Alcan Aluminum in 1966. It took the name Alcan Incorporated in 2001. During ...

Agreement, which facilitated construction of the

Kenney Dam The Kenney Dam is a rock-fill embankment dam on the Nechako River in northwestern British Columbia, built in the early 1950s. The impoundment of water behind the dam forms the Nechako Reservoir, which is also commonly known as the Ootsa Lake Reserv ...

, the first major

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

project in the province. The government also coped with the devastating 1948 flooding of the

Fraser River The Fraser River () is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Blackrock Mountain (Canada), Blackrock Mountain in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia just south of the City of V ...

, declaring a

state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state before, during, o ...

and beginning a programme of diking the river's banks through the

Fraser Valley The Fraser Valley is a geographical region in southwestern British Columbia, Canada and northwestern Washington State. It starts just west of Hope in a narrow valley encompassing the Fraser River and ends at the Pacific Ocean stretching from th ...

. Johnson is also noted for appointing

Nancy Hodges Nancy Hodges (October 28, 1888 – December 15, 1969) was a Canadian journalist and politician. Over her career, she served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, as the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of British Colum ...

as the second female

Speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

in the

British Commonwealth The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an international association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire The B ...

Mary Ellen Smith Mary Ellen Spear Smith (October 11, 1863 – May 3, 1933) was a politician in British Columbia, Canada. She was the first female Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia,British Columbia Provincial Police The British Columbia Provincial Police (BCPP) was the provincial police service of British Columbia, Canada, between 1858 and 1950. One of the first law enforcement agencies in North America, the British Columbia Provincial Police was formed to ...

were disbanded and replaced by the R.C.M.P. The Liberal-Conservative Coalition government, with the Liberals led by Johnson and the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

led by Herbert Anscomb, won a landslide victory in the 1949 election—at 61% the greatest percentage of the popular vote in BC history. Although Maitland's caucus was crucial to the government's parliamentary mandate, the larger Liberal caucus earned Johnson the Premier's job. After the Conservatives withdrew from the coalition in 1952, Johnson's government collapsed. In the subsequent 1952 election, the Liberals were defeated by W.A.C. Bennett's Social Credit Party, and Johnson lost his own seat to

Rae Eddie John McRae (Rae) Eddie (August 23, 1900 – February 6, 1977) was a Canadian politician, who served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1952 to 1969, representing the riding of New Westminster. He was a member of ...

of the

Cooperative Commonwealth Federation The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; , FCC) was a federal democratic socialistThe following sources describe the CCF as a democratic socialist political party: * * * * * * and social-democraticThese sources describe the CCF as ...

. With the defeat, a new era of a two-party system (CCF/

New Democratic Party of Canada The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...

versus Social Credit) emerged. Johnson returned to private life, and died in Victoria in 1964, aged 73 years. He is interred in the city's

Ross Bay Cemetery Ross Bay Cemetery is located at 1516 Fairfield Road in Victoria, British Columbia, on Vancouver Island, Canada. Many historical figures from the early days of the province and colony of British Columbia are buried at Ross Bay. History The cemet ...

Lacrosse goaltender

Boss Johnson played parts of three seasons of professional lacrosse as a goalkeeper for the Vancouver Lacrosse Club. Prior to his pro career, he played lacrosse for various teams at the scholastic level; he then turned senior with Victoria Capitals in the Pacific Coast Amateur Lacrosse Association before then making the jump to the professional ranks in 1913. He signed with the Vancouver Lacrosse Club late in the 1913 season as a replacement for future hall-of-famer Cory Hess. He then signed with the Vancouver Athletic Club when they joined as a replacement for the defunct Vancouver Lacrosse Club in 1914 - playing in all 6 of VAC's matches. But during the 1915 season, back again with the revived Vancouver Lacrosse Club, he found himself replaced in late June 1915 by Dave Gibbons. Johnson's final game for Vancouver, on June 26, 1915, ended on a sour note as he was ejected from the game during the second quarter with 50 minutes accumulated in penalties.

References

External links

''Professional Field Lacrosse in British Columbia 1908-1924''‘Boss’ Johnson's lacrosse bio at ''Old School Lacrosse''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Byron Ingemar 1890 births 1964 deaths BC United MLAs Canadian people of Icelandic descent Canadian military personnel of World War I Leaders of BC United Members of the United Church of Canada Politicians from Victoria, British Columbia Premiers of British Columbia Canadian military personnel from British Columbia Canadian Army soldiers 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia Lacrosse goaltenders Lacrosse people from British Columbia Sportspeople from Victoria, British Columbia