1. John Joseph Horgan 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.
58 Facts About John Horgan
1. 2.
John Horgan led the British Columbia New Democratic Party from 2014 to 2022, guiding the party to government after 16 years in opposition.
3.
John Horgan attended Reynolds Secondary School in Saanich, before moving to Peterborough, Ontario, to attend Trent University, where he met his wife, Ellie, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1983.
4.
John Horgan was elected to the BC Legislative Assembly in 2005.
5.
John Horgan was acclaimed to the position on May 1,2014, and was officially inaugurated as party leader on May 5,2014.
6.
Subsequently, John Horgan succeeded Clark as the premier of British Columbia.
7.
John Horgan was the province's first NDP premier since Ujjal Dosanjh in 2001.
8.
On September 21,2020, John Horgan called a snap election that was held on October 24.
9.
On June 28,2022, John Horgan announced that he would be stepping down as premier and NDP leader once a new leader had been chosen.
10.
John Horgan was succeeded by David Eby on November 18,2022.
11.
On November 1,2023, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that John Horgan would be appointed Canada's ambassador to Germany.
12.
John Horgan served in the position until his death from cancer in November 2024.
13.
John Horgan was born on August 7,1959, in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, the son of Alice May and Pat John Horgan.
14.
John Horgan was 18 months old when his father died, and he and his three siblings were raised by their mother.
15.
John Horgan worked multiple jobs to save money for university, including at a pulp mill in Ocean Falls.
16.
John Horgan met his wife Ellie John Horgan in 1979 while studying at Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario.
17.
In 1983, John Horgan earned a Bachelor of Arts from Trent.
18.
John Horgan waited tables at the Keg in Victoria before earning his master's degree in history from the University of Sydney in 1986.
19.
John Horgan returned to Victoria in 1991 and became ministerial assistant to Dave Zirnhelt.
20.
In 2008, John Horgan was diagnosed with bladder cancer; he was eventually declared cancer free after surgery and treatment.
21.
The incumbent MLA Brian Kerr was not seeking re-election, so in the general election John Horgan faced BC Liberal Cathy Basskin of Cowichan Bay, Democratic Reform BC party leader Tom Morino, Green Party candidate Steven Hurdle, and Western Canada Concept candidate Pattie O'Brien.
22.
John Horgan was named to the NDP front bench as its education critic.
23.
John Horgan criticized the government's 2005 Teachers' Collective Agreement Act which legislated teachers into a new contract, after several months of unsuccessful collective bargaining, as "[inflaming] an already volatile situation".
24.
In June 2006, John Horgan was named energy and mines critic.
25.
John Horgan called for the BC Oil and Gas Commission to provide more transparent reporting after it was reported that its annual 97 percent compliance rating was near-perfect, despite 2,500 known infractions, the majority of which were rated major or serious.
26.
In January 2007, John Horgan accused Premier Gordon Campbell of conflict-of-interest due to his owning of shares of Alcan while signing an order-in-council approving an agreement between Alcan and BC Hydro which was overturned by the Utilities Commission as being not in the public interest.
27.
John Horgan subsequently introduced this recommendation as the private member bill Members' Conflict of Interest Amendment Act in the third and fourth sessions and a similar but more comprehensive bill, in line with the Federal Accountability Act, but they were not advanced beyond first reading.
28.
John Horgan was acclaimed as the NDP candidate for the 2009 election in the Juan de Fuca riding.
29.
John Horgan was critical of the government overturning the BC Utilities Commission's decision on obtaining electricity from independent power producers and exempting the Site C dam and the northwest transmission line projects from Utilities Commission review, arguing that the projects were not in the public interest.
30.
John Horgan linked the government's imposition of private IPP electricity purchasing agreements on BC Hydro and the exemption of BC Utilities Commission review of major public projects to increases in BC Hydro rates.
31.
John Horgan responded to the government's energy plan with an editorial to which Minister Blair Lekstrom responded.
32.
John Horgan presented to the legislature a declaration of opposition to the Site C project, as signed by Peace River area residents and First Nations.
33.
John Horgan campaigned on policy platforms including a comprehensive review of taxation under a Fair Tax Commission, expanding the carbon tax to include the exempted large industrial emitters, getting the Evergreen Line and light rail to the Western Communities built, implementing the recommendations of the Select Standing Committee on Aquaculture, continuing the ban on North Coast tanker traffic and offshore oil exploration, and introducing the Endangered Species Act.
34.
John Horgan was endorsed by Robin Austin, Gary Coons, Kathy Corrigan, Scott Fraser, Maurine Karagianis, Bill Routley, Shane Simpson, and Claire Trevena, as well as Harry Lali and Nicholas Simons after they dropped out of the race.
35.
The NDP were favoured to win the general election but, while John Horgan won his riding, the party again formed the Official Opposition with John Horgan returning to his role as critic for the energy portfolio in the 40th Parliament.
36.
John Horgan appointed Farnsworth as opposition house leader, with Mungall as his deputy and critic of social development, and split his old position of critic position into three parts divided between Norm Macdonald as critic of energy and mines, Bruce Ralston on natural gas, Dix on BC Hydro, as well as charging the younger MLAs with significant portfolios, like Rob Fleming with education, Spencer Chandra Herbert with environment, and David Eby with eight specific critic responsibilities.
37.
Just prior to becoming leader, the parliament's second session, John Horgan introduced two private member bills, the Standing Committee Reform Act, 2014 that would have expanded the scope of their terms of reference and required they be appointed at the beginning of each parliament with membership in proportion to party standings, and the Parliamentary Calendar Act, 2014 that would have legislated that the parliament must convene in the Spring and Fall of each year.
38.
John Horgan's opponents included BC Liberal candidate Cathy Noel, BC Green candidate Brendan Ralfs, as well as Scott Burton of the BC Libertarian Party and Willie Nelson of the newly formed Vancouver Island Party.
39.
John Horgan engaged in debates with the BC Liberal and BC Green leaders, namely Christy Clark and Andrew Weaver.
40.
John Horgan argued that the NDP could not provide stable government because it needed to appoint one of its members as Speaker, and that person would have to frequently use their vote to break 43 to 43 ties.
41.
The John Horgan ministry was duly sworn in on July 18,2017.
42.
The 41st Parliament would convene for five sessions of variable lengths between June 22,2017, and September 21,2020, before John Horgan called a snap election.
43.
On December 7,2017, John Horgan announced that, following a review and despite his earlier opposition, the NDP government had decided to continue with construction of the Site C hydroelectric power plant.
44.
John Horgan cited the review conducted by the BC Utilities Commission, which found that the cost to taxpayers of continuing with the project would be less than that of cancelling the project.
45.
John Horgan emphasized that the NDP would not have chosen to start the project.
46.
On September 21,2020, John Horgan asked Lieutenant Governor Janet Austin for an early election, ending the NDP-Green confidence and supply agreement that had allowed the NDP-Green coalition to form government following the 2017 election.
47.
On March 3,2021, John Horgan introduced Bill 9, the Local Elections Statutes Amendment Act 2021, a piece of legislation that regulated municipal elections in the province with regard to campaign financing and spending.
48.
On October 28,2021, it was announced that John Horgan had discovered a growth in his throat that required surgery.
49.
Six days later, John Horgan announced that the growth was malignant.
50.
John Horgan said that he would require radiation treatment, and that he anticipated "a full recovery".
51.
John Horgan said he planned to continue on as premier, and that he would take part in meetings virtually, but that Farnworth or other ministers might attend in-person at events on his behalf.
52.
On June 28,2022, John Horgan announced that he would be stepping down as premier and NDP party leader once a new leader had been chosen to replace him for health reasons.
53.
John Horgan had been diagnosed with throat cancer in 2021.
54.
On February 9,2023, John Horgan announced that he would resign as an MLA that March and retire from politics.
55.
John Horgan was appointed by Justin Trudeau to be the next ambassador to Germany on November 1,2023.
56.
John Horgan went on leave from the position in June 2024 after being diagnosed with cancer for a third time.
57.
John Horgan was married to Ellie, and they had two sons.
58.
John Horgan died from thyroid cancer at the Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria, on November 12,2024, at the age of 65.