Jim Doyle (born October 28, 1943) is a politician in

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 ...

, Canada. Doyle held public office for 30 years; five years as a councillor; fifteen as mayor of

Golden, British Columbia Golden is a town in southeastern British Columbia, Canada, west of Calgary, Alberta, and east of Vancouver. History In 1807, David Thompsonrenowned fur trader, surveyor, and map makerwas tasked by the North West Company to open a trading rou ...

, and ten years as a member of the legislative assembly and cabinet minister. Doyle is the longest serving mayor in Golden's history.

Early life

Doyle was born in

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 552,261. It borders County Antrim to the ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. His passion for politics was sparked while working in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

before emigrating to Canada in 1967.

Local government

Doyle was elected as a municipal councillor in Golden in 1976 and subsequently re-elected in 1978 and 1980. He went on to serve as mayor from 1981 to 1990.

Legislative Assembly

Following a 24-year career with the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

Doyle was elected to the legislative assembly for 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 ...

in 1991 for the riding of Columbia River-Revelstoke. He was subsequently re-elected in 1996 and, during his second term as an MLA, held various offices within the provincial government, first as parliamentary secretary to the minister of municipal affairs. With the exception of a short period between February and November 2000 when Doyle was minister of forestsm he served as minister of municipal affairs from July 1999 until nearly the full caucus defeat of the party less two members in the election of May 2001.

Subsequent career

The 2001 legislative election saw all but two of incumbent NDP's candidates, including Doyle, defeated. In 2002 he successfully campaigned for re-election mayor of Golden and was handily re-elected. Doyle stepped down as mayor in December 2008 and was followed by councillor Aman Virk.

References

External links

Biography at the British Columbia Legislative Assembly
1943 births British Columbia municipal councillors British Columbia New Democratic Party MLAs Canadian Pacific Railway people Irish emigrants to Canada Living people Members of the Executive Council of British Columbia People from the Columbia-Shuswap Regional District Politicians from County Down 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia 20th-century mayors of places in British Columbia 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia 21st-century mayors of places in British Columbia {{BritishColumbia-mayor-stub