Carole Alison James (born December 22, 1957) is a Canadian politician and former public administrator, who represented Victoria-Beacon Hill in 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 ...

from 2005 to 2020. A member of 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 ...

(NDP), she was the party's leader and

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...

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 ...

from 2005 to 2011. Following her resignation as leader, she stayed in politics and served as the 14th deputy premier of British Columbia and minister of finance under John Horgan, from 2017 to 2020.

Background

James was born in Dukinfield,

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

, England, and raised in

North Battleford North Battleford is a city in west-central Saskatchewan, Canada. It is the seventh largest city in the province and is directly across the North Saskatchewan River from the town of Battleford. Together, the two communities are known as "The B ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

, and in Victoria,

. Her birth father was

Métis The Métis ( , , , ) are a mixed-race Indigenous people whose historical homelands include Canada's three Prairie Provinces extending into parts of Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and the northwest United States. They ha ...

but she grew up without him and did not learn about her Indigenous heritage until after completing high school. After graduating from high school, James and her first husband worked in institutions for the developmentally disabled in

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

and British Columbia. As a mother of young children, Alison and Evan, she became involved in a parents' group in Victoria, which led to her first foray into politics. In 2004, James married her long-time partner, Albert Gerow, a

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

artist and former Burns Lake municipal councillor and

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...

officer. Gerow was the chief of the Ts'il Kaz Koh First Nation in Burns Lake. James has been a foster parent for over twenty years. On July 13, 2006, James announced publicly that she had been diagnosed with localized uterine endometrial cancer. She underwent surgery and radiation treatment and her prognosis is considered to be excellent. In March 2020, James announced that she was diagnosed with

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

and did not run in the

2020 British Columbia general election The 2020 British Columbia general election was held on October 24, 2020, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Legislative Assembly to serve in the 42nd Parliament of British Columbia, 42nd parliament of the Canadian ...

Early career

James served on the Greater Victoria School Board from 1990 to 2001, including seven terms as chair, and gained a province-wide profile in her unprecedented five terms as president of the BC School Trustees Association. She also served at the national level as vice-president of the Canadian School Boards Association. From 1999 to 2001, James held the position of director of child care policy for the British Columbia government. In addition, she served on several local and provincial panels and committees. In 2001, James ran unsuccessfully for the NDP in the riding of Victoria-Beacon Hill only losing by 35 votes to BC Liberal candidate Jeff Bray. She subsequently moved to

Prince George, British Columbia Prince George is a city in British Columbia, Canada, situated at the confluence of the Fraser River, Fraser and Nechako River, Nechako rivers. The city itself has a population of 76,708; the metro census agglomeration has a population of 89,490 ...

, to serve as the director of child and family services for Carrier

Sekani Sekani or Tse’khene are a First Nations people of the Athabaskan-speaking ethnolinguistic group in the northern interior of British Columbia. Their territory includes the Finlay and Parsnip River drainages of the Rocky Mountain Trench. The n ...

Family Services, and later as co-ordinator of the Northern Aboriginal Authority for Families.

Political career

BC NDP leadership

James was elected leader of the provincial NDP on November 23, 2003. At the time of her election the party was suffering low morale in the wake of the 2001 provincial election, which had reduced the NDP to only two seats in the Legislative Assembly. During her campaign to win the party leadership, James pledged to modernize the NDP's ideology and internal structures and build a broader base of support for the party, a move which alienated some traditional supporters. During the 2005 provincial election, James campaigned heavily on her name and image. On election night James and the NDP surprised many supporters and critics alike with a very strong electoral showing; the party winning 41.52 per cent of the popular vote (a 19.96 per cent increase from the 2001 election result) and 33 out of 79 seats in the Legislative Assembly. James won her seat in the riding of Victoria-Beacon Hill with 57.01 per cent of the vote, defeating the incumbent BC Liberal MLA Jeff Bray by an almost 2-1 margin. She was re-elected in 2009, 2013, and 2017.

Leadership controversy and resignation

On December 1, 2010, Jenny Kwan, a prominent party member, released a statement to the media criticizing James's leadership of the

New Democratic Party 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 ...

, and calling for an immediate leadership convention. In response to Kwan's statement, James called an emergency caucus session to address opposition to her continued leadership. While the session was meant to take place on December 5, it was later postponed so that private discussions could take place with a group of thirteen caucus members opposed to James' continued leadership. On short notice on December 6, James announced she would resign the party's leadership. She continued in the position, however, until Dawn Black was chosen to act as Interim Leader. James served as opposition Critic for Children and Family Development under her successor, Adrian Dix. She was promoted to the Finance portfolio under John Horgan, and was also named deputy leader of the BC NDP and hence Deputy Leader of the Opposition.

In government

When the BC NDP won a minority government in 2017, James became deputy premier and Finance minister. She resigned from both positions in 2020, shortly after leaving the provincial legislature.

Notes

References

External links

Official Biography, BC Legislative AssemblyBiography, Personal Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Carole 1957 births Living people British Columbia New Democratic Party MLAs Deputy premiers of British Columbia English emigrants to Canada Female Canadian political party leaders Ministers of finance of British Columbia Leaders of the British Columbia CCF/NDP Leaders of the opposition (British Columbia) Members of the Executive Council of British Columbia People with Parkinson's disease People from Dukinfield Politicians from Victoria, British Columbia Female finance ministers Women government ministers of Canada Women MLAs in British Columbia 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia 21st-century Canadian women politicians Canadian expatriates in England Women opposition leaders British Columbia school board members Métis politicians Métis women in politics