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Leader of the Opposition (British Columbia)

Position in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia

Summary

Position in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia

Field	Value
post	Leader
body	the Opposition
native_name	Chef de l'Opposition
incumbent	Trevor Halford
incumbentsince	December 4, 2025
department	{{plainlist
member_of	Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
seat	British Columbia Parliament Buildings
termlength	While leader of the largest party not in government
inaugural	James Mackenzie McDonald
formation
salary	(2024)

Official Opposition
Legislative Assembly of British Columbia The leader of the Opposition () is the member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia who leads the political party recognized as the Official Opposition. This position generally goes to the leader of the largest party in the Legislative Assembly that is not in government.

History

Prior to the 1903 election, British Columbia politics operated as a non-partisan democracy. Members often declared themselves to be supporters of the government or of the opposition, but the labels were informal and the lines often shifted. The most prominent member of the Opposition was often called the "leader of the Opposition", but the position was not officially recognized until the introduction of formalized party politics.

List of leaders of the Opposition

Portrait	Opposition leader	Constituency	Term of office	Party
	James Alexander MacDonald
(1858–1939)	Rossland City	October 19, 1903 – October 10, 1909	BC	Liberal}}; "
	John Oliver
(1856–1927)	Delta	October 10, 1909 – November 25, 1909	BC	Liberal}}; "
	vacant		November 25, 1909 – January 1910	BC	Liberal}}; "
[[File:James Hurst Hawthornthwaite.png	103x103px]]	James Hurst Hawthornthwaite
(1863–1926)	Nanaimo City	January 1910 – March 1910	BC	Socialist}}; "
[[File:Harlan Carey Brewster.jpg	127x127px]]	Harlan Carey Brewster
(1870–1918)	Alberni	January 1910 – March 28, 1912	BC	Liberal}}; "
	Parker Williams
(1872–1958)	Newcastle	March 1912 – March 1, 1916	BC	Socialist}}; "
[[File:Harlan Carey Brewster.jpg	127x127px]]	Harlan Carey Brewster
(1870–1918)	Victoria City	March 1, 1916 – November 23, 1916	BC	Liberal}}; "
[[File:William John Bowser (cropped).jpg	107x107px]]	William John Bowser
(1867–1933)	Vancouver City	November 23, 1916 – June 20, 1924	BC	PC}}; "
[[File:Robert Henry Pooley.png	99x99px]]	Robert Henry Pooley
(1878–1954)	Esquimalt	August 1924 – July 18, 1928	BC	PC}}; "
[[File:Thomas Dufferin Pattullo (cropped).jpg	121x121px]]	Duff Pattullo
(1873–1956)	Prince Rupert	January 1929 – November 15, 1933	BC	Liberal}}; "
	Robert Connell
(1871–1957)	Victoria City	November 15, 1933 – June 1, 1937	BC	CCF}}; "
BC	Social Constructive}}; "		Social Reconstructive
	Frank Porter Patterson
(1876–1938)	Dewdney	June 1, 1937 – February 10, 1938	BC	PC}}; "
	vacant		February 10, 1938 – September 1938	BC	PC}}; "
[[File:Royal Lethington Maitland.png	97x97px]]	Royal Maitland
(1889–1946)	Vancouver-Point Grey	September 1938 – October 21, 1941	BC	PC}}; "
[[File:Harold Winch.jpg	97x97px]]	Harold Winch
(1907–1993)	Vancouver East	October 21, 1941 – January 19, 1952	BC	CCF}}; "
	Herbert Anscomb
(1892–1972)	Oak Bay	January 19, 1952 – June 12, 1952	BC	PC}}; "
[[File:Harold Winch.jpg	97x97px]]	Harold Winch
(1907–1993)	Vancouver East	June 12, 1952 – April 10, 1953	BC	CCF}}; "
	Arnold Webster
(1899–1979)	Vancouver East	April 10, 1953 – April 6, 1956	BC	CCF}}; "
	Robert Strachan
(1913–1981)	Cowichan-Newcastle
(until 1966)Cowichan-Malahat
(from 1966)	April 6, 1956 – April 12, 1969	BC	CCF}}; "
BC	NDP}}; "		New Democratic
	vacant		April 12, 1969 – September 1969	BC	NDP}}; "
[[File:Dave Barrett, 1975.jpg	104x104px]]	Dave Barrett
(1930–2018)	Coquitlam	September 1969 – September 15, 1972	BC	NDP}}; "
[[File:WAC Bennett - 1942.jpg	106x106px]]	W. A. C. Bennett
(1900–1979)	South Okanagan	September 15, 1972 – June 5, 1973	BC	Social Credit}}; "
	Frank Richter Jr.
(1910–1977)	Boundary-Similkameen	June 5, 1973 – November 24, 1973	BC	Social Credit}}; "
[[File:Bill Bennett (cropped).jpg	106x106px]]	Bill Bennett
(1932–2015)	South Okanagan	November 24, 1973 – December 22, 1975	BC	Social Credit}}; "
[[File:William King, 1972.jpg	106x106px]]	William King
(1930–2020)	Revelstoke-Slocan	December 22, 1975 – June 3, 1976	BC	NDP}}; "
[[File:Dave Barrett, 1975.jpg	106x106px]]	Dave Barrett
(1930–2018)	Vancouver East	June 3, 1976 – May 20, 1984	BC	NDP}}; "
[[File:Bob Skelly, 1985.jpg	106x106px]]	Bob Skelly
(1943–2022)	Alberni	May 20, 1984 – April 12, 1987	BC	NDP}}; "
[[File:Mike Harcourt.jpg	117x117px]]	Mike Harcourt
(born 1943)	Vancouver Centre	April 12, 1987 – November 5, 1991	BC	NDP}}; "
	Gordon Wilson
(born 1949)	Powell River-Sunshine Coast	November 5, 1991 – February 1993	BC	Liberal}}; "
	Fred Gingell
(1930–1999)	Delta South	February 1993 – February 17, 1994	BC	Liberal}}; "
[[File:Gordon Campbell.jpg	104x104px]]	Gordon Campbell
(born 1948)	Vancouver-Quilchena
(until 1996)Vancouver-Point Grey
(from 1996)	February 17, 1994 – June 5, 2001	BC	Liberal}}; "
[[File:Joy MacPhail, 1994.jpg	104x104px]]	Joy MacPhail
(born 1952)	Vancouver-Hastings	June 5, 2001 – May 17, 2005	BC	NDP}}; "
[[File:Carole James 2011 (cropped).jpg	107x107px]]	Carole James
(born 1957)	Victoria-Beacon Hill	May 17, 2005 – January 20, 2011	BC	NDP}}; "
[[File:DawnBlack2011.PNG	126x126px]]	Dawn Black
(born 1943)	New Westminster	January 20, 2011 – April 17, 2011	BC	NDP}}; "
[[File:Adrian Dix 2016.jpg	98x98px]]	Adrian Dix
(born 1964)	Vancouver-Kingsway	April 17, 2011 – May 4, 2014	BC	NDP}}; "
[[File:Anne Marie Sam and John Horgan (33923774170) (cropped).jpg	98x98px]]	John Horgan
(1959–2024)	Juan de Fuca	May 4, 2014 – July 18, 2017	BC	NDP}}; "
[[File:Christy Clark by Kris Krug 01 (cropped).jpg	99x99px]]	Christy Clark
(born 1965)	Kelowna West	July 18, 2017 – August 4, 2017	BC	Liberal}}; "
[[File:Rich Coleman 2016.jpg	115x115px]]	Rich Coleman
(born 1956)	Langley East	August 4, 2017 – February 3, 2018	BC	Liberal}}; "
[[File:Andrew Wilkinson 2015.jpg	105x105px]]	Andrew Wilkinson
(born 1958)	Vancouver-Quilchena	February 3, 2018 – November 21, 2020	BC	Liberal}}; "
[[File:ShirleyBond.jpg	102x102px]]	Shirley Bond
(born 1956 or 1957)	Prince George-Valemount	November 23, 2020 – April 30, 2022	BC	Liberal}}; "
[[File:Kevin Falcon (cropped).jpg	102x102px]]	Kevin Falcon
(born 1963)	Vancouver-Quilchena	April 30, 2022 – October 19, 2024	BC	Liberal}}; "
BC	BCU}}; "		BC United
[[File:John Rustad 2016.jpg	106x106px]]	John Rustad
(born 1961)	Nechako Lakes	October 19, 2024 – December 4, 2025	BC	Conservative}}; "
	Trevor Halford
(born ?)	Surrey-White Rock	December 4, 2025 – present	BC	Conservative}}; "

Notes

References

"BC Archives".
"MLA Remuneration and Expenses {{!}} Legislative Assembly of BC".
(21 December 2018). "Leaders of the Official Opposition of British Columbia". Legislative Library of British Columbia.
"Electoral History of British Columbia 1871–1986".
(25 January 2011). "Leaders of the Opposition in British Columbia 1903–". Legislative Library of British Columbia.

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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