Josie Osborne is a Canadian politician who was elected to 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 ...

in the 2020 provincial election. She represents the electoral district of Mid Island-Pacific Rim as 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 ...

(BC NDP). She has served in the cabinet of

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 ...

since 2020, currently as Minister of Health. She previously served as mayor of

Tofino Tofino ( , Nuu-chah-nulth language, Nuu-chah-nulth: ''Načiks'') is a town of approximately 2,516 residents on the west coast of Vancouver Island in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia. The District ...

from 2013 to 2020. When she was first elected, she was Canada's only

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

-affiliated mayor.

Biography

Osborne studied

marine biology Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life, organisms that inhabit the sea. Given that in biology many scientific classification, phyla, family (biology), families and genera have some species that live in the sea and ...

at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

, then pursued a master's degree in resource management at

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a Public university, public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It maintains three campuses in Greater Vancouver, respectively located in Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, British Columbia, Surrey, and ...

. She moved to Tofino for a position as fisheries biologist for the

Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council The Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council is a First Nations Tribal Council in the Canadian province of British Columbia, located on the west coast of Vancouver Island. The organization is based in Port Alberni, British Columbia. History The differe ...

, and later joined Raincoast Education Society, a local environmental education non-profit organization. She ran as the mayor of Tofino unopposed as the

candidate in both a 2013

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

and the 2014 municipal election. She was re-elected in

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

with 86.75% of the overall vote. Osborne supported the introduction of

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...

in the

2018 British Columbia electoral reform referendum A referendum on electoral reform took place by mail-in ballot between October 22 and December 7, 2018, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. 61.3 percent of voters supported maintaining the first-past-the-post voting system rather than ...

. In March 2019, Osborne spoke in favour of more

affordable housing Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household income at or below the median, as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. Most of the literature on ...

Greater Vancouver Greater Vancouver, also known as Metro Vancouver, is the metropolitan area with its major urban centre being the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The term ''Greater Vancouver'' describes an area that is roughly coterminous with the r ...

. In September 2020, Osborne announced her intention to seek the

BC NDP 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 ...

nomination for the riding of Mid Island-Pacific Rim in the next provincial election. Osborne was successful and was elected as Member of the Legislative Assembly at the October 2020 general election. A mayoral by-election was held in Tofino in February 2021 to replace Osborne. On November 26, 2020, Osborne was sworn in to the

Executive Council of British Columbia The Executive Council of British Columbia (the Cabinet) is the Cabinet of the Canadian province of British Columbia. Almost always composed of members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, the Cabinet is similar in structure and rol ...

as Minister of Municipal Affairs under

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

John Horgan John Joseph Horgan (August 7, 1959 – November 12, 2024) was a Canadian politician and diplomat who served as the 36th premier of British Columbia from 2017 to 2022 and the ambassador of Canada to Germany from 2023 to 2024. He led the Briti ...

; she was then appointed Minister of Land, Water and Resource Stewardship and Minister responsible for Fisheries in February 2022. She was subsequently named Minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation in the

Eby ministry The Eby ministry is the combined Cabinet (formally the Executive Council of British Columbia) that has governed British Columbia since November 18, 2022. It is chaired by the 37th premier of British Columbia, David Eby. The Cabinet is made up ...

on December 7, 2022. In April 2024, an investigation was initiated by Osborne into

MNP LLP MNP (previously known as Meyers Norris Penny) is one of the largest full-service chartered professional accountancy and business advisory firms in Canada. MNP's head office is in Calgary, Alberta, and has offices from Vancouver Island to St. Joh ...

's administration of two grant programs funded through the provincial carbon tax. The allegation was that one of MNP's teams working in the province acted in the capacity as both the administrator and grant application consultant on the CleanBC grant program. After the 2024 election, Osborne was named Minister of Health.

Electoral record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Osborne, Josie Living people Green Party of Canada politicians Canadian women environmentalists Women mayors of places in British Columbia People from the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District Canadian marine biologists University of British Columbia alumni Simon Fraser University alumni British Columbia New Democratic Party MLAs Women MLAs in British Columbia 21st-century Canadian women politicians Women government ministers of Canada Members of the Executive Council of British Columbia Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia 21st-century mayors of places in British Columbia