Katrine Conroy (' Thor-Larsen; born 1957) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

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 2005 provincial election and served until 2024. She represented the electoral district of

Kootenay West Kootenay West was a federal electoral district (Canada), electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1917 to 1988. This Riding (division), riding was created in 1914 from parts o ...

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 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 ...

from 2017 until 2024, most recently as Minister of Finance.

Background

Conroy was born to Ben and Ingeborg Thor-Larsen, who were Danish immigrants to Canada. The family settled in the

West Kootenay The Kootenays or Kootenay ( ) is a region of southeastern British Columbia. It takes its name from the Kootenay River, which in turn was named for the Kutenai First Nations people. Boundaries The Kootenays are more or less defined by the Kootena ...

in 1962, with Katrine graduating from Castlegar's Stanley Humphries Secondary School in 1975, before finding work as a power engineer at the local pulp mill. She completed the early childhood education program at

Selkirk College Selkirk College is a public college founded in 1966 with its main campus in Castlegar, British Columbia, Canada. The college has student housing at its Castlegar and Nelson campuses. Students frequently struggle to find accommodation. The col ...

, then worked at local daycares before eventually becoming executive director of the Kootenay Columbia Childcare Society. In 1997 she returned to Selkirk College as a part-time instructor. She was married to Ed Conroy, a former

Member 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 nation ...

(MLA) for the district of

Rossland-Trail Rossland-Trail was the name of a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia centred on the towns of Rossland and Trail, in the West Kootenay. The riding first appeared in the 1924 election as the result of a redistr ...

, from March 1981 until his death on June 26, 2020, at the age of 73. She has 4 children.

Political career

Conroy ran as the NDP candidate for the riding of

West Kootenay-Boundary West Kootenay-Boundary was a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada from 2001 to 2009. The seat combined the Rossland/Trail/Castlegar area (the putative ''West Kootenay'' component) that had previo ...

in the 2005 provincial election, winning the seat by 7,138 votes. She was subsequently named caucus whip for the NDP in June 2005. In the 2009 election she ran in the riding of

, winning by a margin of 8,054 votes; she was re-elected in that riding in the

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

and

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

elections. While the NDP was in opposition, Conroy served as critic in several portfolios, including Seniors, Interior Economic Development, and Labour. Following NDP leader Carole James's dismissal of MLA Bob Simpson from party caucus, Conroy resigned from her position as opposition caucus whip on November 19, 2010. With the NDP coming to power as a minority government following the 2017 election, Conroy was appointed Minister of Children and Family Development 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. Following her re-election in

, she was appointed Minister of Forests in the Horgan ministry. On December 7, 2022 she was appointed Minister of Finance by Premier

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 ...

. On May 10, 2024, she announced she would not be seeking reelection to the Legislature.

Electoral record

References

External links

Katrine Conroy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conroy, Katrine British Columbia New Democratic Party MLAs Canadian ranchers Female finance ministers Women government ministers of Canada Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Members of the Executive Council of British Columbia Canadian people of Danish descent Women MLAs in British Columbia 21st-century Canadian women politicians Spouses of Canadian politicians 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia