British Columbia Premier David Eby has sworn in his new cabinet following his razor-thin victory in the October provincial election. B.C. Conservatives say the new government is a continuation of Eby’s “radical” left-wing policies.
The cabinet was sworn in on Monday, with veteran MLAs and some fresh faces filling its ranks.
One of the most notable changes to the structure of Eby’s inner circle was Adrian Dix who was shuffled to the Ministry of Energy and Climate Solutions, leaving behind his post as the former Minister of Health.
Dix, who oversaw British Columbia’s COVID-19 response, left the department plagued with several issues, including staffing shortages, long wait times and high volumes of drug-related hospital visits.
According to pollsters, healthcare was among the top issues for B.C. voters in the last election, along with housing prices, affordability, inflation and rising interest rates.
“Dix in Energy doesn’t exactly build confidence for investment in our province,” Angelo Isidorou, the Conservative Party of British Columbia’s executive director, told True North. “He failed as health minister and will fail as energy minister.”
Dix switched roles with former Energy Minister Josie Osborne, who will now be B.C.’s Health Minister.
As environment minister, Dix will head the CleanBC project, with the mandate to lower “climate-changing emissions” by 40% by 2030.
Isidorou pointed to rookie MLA Christine Boyle, a former Vancouver city councillor and reported friend of the Eby family, among others, as a source of future issues for the province.
Boyle is the B.C. NDP’s new Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation Minister. The new minister will likely be kept busy, including with relations with the Haida Gwai Indigenous community, to which the government has agreed to grant land titles over Crown-owned land.
“David Eby’s cabinet is a sign he is going to continue down this radical path,” Isidorou said.
“Promoting people like Christine Boyle, who publicly called for the police to be defunded, is incredibly irresponsible. British Columbians deserve better.”
Boyle was among five Vancouver city councillors who called for the Vancouver Police Department’s budget to be cut by 1% in 2020 amid pressure from the Black Lives Matter movement. The move resulted in a $5.7 million loss in taxpayer funding for the VPD.
Other rookie MLAs found themselves jobs in Eby’s cabinet, too. The newly elected NDP MLA Tamara Davidson was appointed Environment and Parks Minister, and Diana Gibson is the new Minister of Jobs, Economic Development, and Innovation, which is another key file.
BC NDP MLA Niki Sharma will remain as Attorney General but will now also serve as B.C.’s deputy premier, taking over for Mike Farnworth, who won his seat in Port Coquitlam.
Brena Bailey, the former Jobs Minister, has been shuffled in as B.C.’s new Finance Minister. Bailey will inherit a massive budget deficit of over $60 billion. When Eby took office, the late Premier John Horgan handed him a $704 million surplus, which he flipped into one of the worst deficits in the province’s history.
According to the B.C. government, the annual deficit spending for the fiscal year 2024 / 2025 is slated to be $9 billion. By 2026 / 2027 that deficit is projected to be $126.8 billion.
As the former Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions will now be under the purview of the Ministry of Health, its former minister, Jennifer Whiteside, has been given the leadership over the Ministry of Labour. Whiteside previously served as the head of the Health Employees Union.
A former RCMP officer, Garry Begg, will be the new Public Safety and Solicitor General of B.C. Begg’s riding of Surrey–Guildford narrowly stayed NDP by only 22 votes.
In addition to a historically high number of ministers, 27, Eby appointed 14 parliamentary secretary positions.
“The expansion of his cabinet to include 27 ministers, along with the appointment of 14 parliamentary secretaries, raises significant concerns about the size of the government and fiscal responsibility,” Rustad said on X. “This isn’t just government expansion; it’s a blatant misuse of taxpayer dollars — more salaries, administrative costs, and increased public funds being diverted from essential services.”
A house speaker has yet to be chosen, as BC Conservative Leader John Rustad has stated that he isn’t offering any BC Conservative MLAs for the role.
If one of Eby’s MLAs chooses to apply for the role and is accepted, the BC NDP will lose its majority status and be forced to ally with either the Green Party, who won two seats or find common ground with the BC Conservatives to get anything done.
