The Executive Council

Executive Council (Commonwealth countries)

An Executive Council in Commonwealth constitutional practice based on the Westminster system is a constitutional organ which exercises executive power and advises the governor or governor-general. Executive Councils often make decisions via Orders in Council.Executive Councillors are informally...

 of British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

(informally and more commonly, the Cabinet of British Columbia) is the cabinet

Cabinet (government)

A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...

 of that Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 province.

Almost always made up of members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia

The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is one of two components of the Parliament of British Columbia, the provincial parliament ....

 the Cabinet is similar in structure and role to the Cabinet of Canada

Cabinet of Canada

The Cabinet of Canada is a body of ministers of the Crown that, along with the Canadian monarch, and within the tenets of the Westminster system, forms the government of Canada...

 while being smaller in size. As federal and provincial responsibilities differ there are a number of different portfolios between the federal and provincial governments.

The Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia

Lieutenant-Governors of British Columbia

The following is a list of the Lieutenant Governors of British Columbia. Though the present day office of the lieutenant governor in British Columbia came into being only upon the province's entry into Canadian Confederation in 1871, the post is a continuation from the first governorship of...

, as representative of the Queen in Right of British Columbia

Monarchy in British Columbia

By the arrangements of the Canadian federation, Canada's monarchy operates in British Columbia as the core of the province's Westminster-style parliamentary democracy. As such, the Crown within British Columbia's jurisdiction is referred to as the Crown in Right of British Columbia, Her Majesty in...

, heads the council, and is referred to as the Lieutenant Governor in Council

Queen-in-Council

The Queen-in-Council is, in each of the Commonwealth realms, the technical term of constitutional law that refers to the exercise of executive authority, denoting the monarch acting by and with the advice and consent of his or her privy council or executive council The Queen-in-Council (during...

. Other members of the Cabinet, who advise, or minister

Minister (government)

A minister is a politician who holds significant public office in a national or regional government. Senior ministers are members of the cabinet....

, the vice-regal, are selected by the Premier of British Columbia

Premier of British Columbia

The Premier of British Columbia is the first minister, head of government, and de facto chief executive for the Canadian province of British Columbia. Until the early 1970s the title Prime Minister of British Columbia was often used...

 and appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor. Most cabinet ministers are the head of a ministry

Ministry (government department)

A ministry is a specialised organisation responsible for a sector of government public administration, sometimes led by a minister or a senior public servant, that can have responsibility for one or more departments, agencies, bureaus, commissions or other smaller executive, advisory, managerial or...

, but this is not always the case.

As at the federal level the most important Cabinet post after that of the leader is Minister of Finance, although notably during the regimes of Premiers WAC Bennett and Dave Barrett

Dave Barrett

David Barrett, OC , commonly known as Dave Barrett, is a retired politician and social worker in British Columbia, Canada...

 that position was conjoint with that of the Premier. Today the next most powerful positions are the Forestry and Health portfolios which have huge budgets and are of central political importance. Other powerful portfolios include Education, Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources.

In the crown colonies

Crown colony

A Crown colony, also known in the 17th century as royal colony, was a type of colonial administration of the English and later British Empire....

 of British Columbia

Colony of British Columbia

The Colony of British Columbia was a crown colony in British North America from 1858 until 1866. At its creation, it physically constituted approximately half the present day Canadian province of British Columbia, since it did not include the Colony of Vancouver Island, the vast and still largely...

 and Vancouver Island

Colony of Vancouver Island

The Colony of Vancouver Island , was a crown colony of British North America from 1849 to 1866, after which it was united with British Columbia. The united colony joined the Dominion of Canada through Confederation in 1871...

, the Executive Councils were largely appointed by the Governor and included military and judicial officials, their role that of the Governor's cabinet, similar to the present except that the Governor took part in cabinet meetings and political decisions, which a Lieutenant-Governor does not. The colonial Legislative Assemblies

Legislative Assembly

Legislative Assembly is the name given in some countries to either a legislature, or to one of its branch.The name is used by a number of member-states of the Commonwealth of Nations, as well as a number of Latin American countries....

 were subordinate to the Governor and the Council and served more as a sounding-board than a legislative body.

Current Cabinet

The current ministry has been in place since the Christy Clark

Christy Clark

Christina Joan "Christy" Clark, MLA is a Canadian politician, the 35th and current Premier of British Columbia, Canada...

 was sworn into office on March 14, 2011 , with a shuffle on September 26, 2011 .








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Lieutenant-Governor
His Honour The Honourable Steven Point Steven Point Steven Lewis Point, is the 28th and current Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia.From 1975 to 1999, Steven Point served as Chief of the Skowkale First Nation...	(2007–)
Portfolio	Minister
Premier of British Columbia Premier of British Columbia The Premier of British Columbia is the first minister, head of government, and de facto chief executive for the Canadian province of British Columbia. Until the early 1970s the title Prime Minister of British Columbia was often used...	(List)	Christy Clark Christy Clark Christina Joan "Christy" Clark, MLA is a Canadian politician, the 35th and current Premier of British Columbia, Canada...	(2011–)
Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation		Mary Polak Mary Polak Mary Polak is a Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia for the riding of Langley and currently serves as Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation...	(2011–)
Minister of Advanced Education		Naomi Yamamoto Naomi Yamamoto Naomi Yamamoto is a Canadian politician, who was elected as a Liberal Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2009 provincial election, representing the riding of North Vancouver-Lonsdale....	(2011–)
Minister of Agriculture		Don McRae Don McRae (politician) Don McRae is a Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia and a member of the BC Liberal Party. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly from the riding of Comox Valley in the 2009 provincial election. After serving nearly 2 years on the backbenches he was appointed Minister of...	(2011–)
Attorney General of British Columbia Attorney General of British Columbia The Ministry of the Attorney General of British Columbia is a provincial government department responsible for the oversight of the justice system within the province of British Columbia, Canada...		Shirley Bond Shirley Bond Shirley Bond is currently serving as the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General and interim Attorney General of British Columbia, previously as Minister of Transportation and Minister of Education and Minister responsible for Early Learning and Literacy in the Executive Council of British...	(2011–)
Minister of Children and Family Development		Mary McNeil Mary McNeil Mary McNeil is a Canadian politician, who was elected as a Liberal Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2009 provincial election, representing the riding of Vancouver-False Creek....	(2011–)
Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development		Ida Chong Ida Chong Ida Chong is British Columbia's Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development and was Minister Responsible for the Asia-Pacific Initiative as well as Minister of Technology, Trade, and Economic Development. She has served in this position since June 2008...	(2011–)
Minister of Education		George Abbott George Abbott (politician) George Abbott is a BC Liberal Party Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada. He represents the riding of Shuswap, which he has held since 1996...	(2011–)
Minister of Energy and Mines       and Minister responsible for Housing       and Government House Leader		Rich Coleman Rich Coleman Rich Coleman is British Columbia's Minister of Energy and Mines, minister responsible for Housing and MLA for the riding of Fort Langley-Aldergrove...	(2011–)
Minister of Environment       and Deputy Government House Leader		Terry Lake Terry Lake Terry Lake is a Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia and a member of the BC Liberal Party. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly from the riding of Kamloops-North Thompson in the 2009 provincial election...	(2011–)
Minister of Finance       and Deputy Premier		Kevin Falcon Kevin Falcon Kevin Falcon is a Canadian politician and is the current Deputy Premier of British Columbia, Canada. He is a Member of the Legislative Assembly for the district of Surrey-Cloverdale and is a member of the BC Liberals...	(2011–)
Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations		Steve Thomson Steve Thomson (politician) Steve Thomson is a Canadian politician, who was elected as a BC Liberal Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2009 provincial election, representing the riding of Kelowna-Mission.- References :...	(2011–)
Minister of Health Ministry of Health (British Columbia) The Ministry of Health is a provincial government department responsible for British Columbia's health system, with a mandate to guide and enhance the province's health services to ensure British Columbians are supported in their efforts to maintain and improve their health.Its annual budget is...		Mike de Jong Mike de Jong Mike de Jong, Q.C. is a politician from British Columbia, Canada.-Politics and career:He was appointed Minister of Health Mike de Jong on March 14, 2011. He has previously held the post of Attorney General and Government House Leader, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General and Minister of...	(2011–)
Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation		Pat Bell Pat Bell Pat Bell is British Columbia's Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation. He is the British Columbia Liberal Party MLA for the riding of Prince George North. Bell also serves as member of the Cabinet Priorities and Planning Committee....	(2011–)
Minister of Labour, Citizens’ Services and Open Government		Margaret MacDiarmid Margaret MacDiarmid Margaret MacDiarmid is a Canadian politician, currently serving Minister of Labour, Citizens' Services and Open Government. She was elected as a Liberal Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2009 provincial election, representing the riding of Vancouver-Fairview...	(2011–)
Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General		Shirley Bond Shirley Bond Shirley Bond is currently serving as the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General and interim Attorney General of British Columbia, previously as Minister of Transportation and Minister of Education and Minister responsible for Early Learning and Literacy in the Executive Council of British...	(2011–)
Minister of Social Development		Stephanie Cadieux Stephanie Cadieux Stephanie Cadieux is a Canadian politician, who was elected as a BC Liberal Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2009 provincial election, representing the riding of Surrey-Panorama...	(2011–)
Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure British Columbia Ministry of Transportation The British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure is the British Columbia government ministry responsible for transport infrastructure and law in the Canadian province of British Columbia...		Blair Lekstrom Blair Lekstrom Blair Lekstrom is a Canadian politician, currently a member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. He has represented the riding of Peace River South since the 2001 election....	(2011–)