The lieutenant governor of British Columbia is appointed in the same manner as the other provincial viceroys in Canada and is similarly tasked with carrying out most of the monarch's constitutional and ceremonial duties.[1] The present, and 30th, lieutenant governor of British Columbia is Janet Austin, who has served in the role since 24 April 2018.
The viceroy is also expected to undertake various ceremonial roles. The lieutenant governor, him or herself a member and Chancellor of the order,[2] will induct deserving individuals into the Order of British Columbia and, upon installation, automatically becomes a Knight or Dame of Justice and the Vice-Prior in British Columbia of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem.[3] The viceroy further presents other provincial honours and decorations, as well as various awards that are named for and presented by the lieutenant governor; these are generally created in partnership with another government or charitable organization and linked specifically to their cause.[4] These honours are presented at official ceremonies, which count amongst hundreds of other engagements the lieutenant governor partakes in each year, either as host or guest of honour; the lieutenant governor of British Columbia undertook 350 engagements in 2006 and 390 in 2007.[5]
The original Colony of British Columbia was amalgamated with the Colony of Vancouver Island in 1866. That larger jurisdiction was succeeded by the present-day province of British Columbia, following the territory's entry into Canadian Confederation in 1871, when the present office of the lieutenant governor of British Columbia came into being.[7]
Since 1871, 28 lieutenant governors have served the province, including firsts such as David Lam—the first Asian-Canadian lieutenant governor in Canada—and Iona Campagnolo—the first female lieutenant governor of British Columbia. The shortest mandate by a lieutenant governor of British Columbia was Edward Gawler Prior, from 1919 to his death in 1920, while the longest was George Pearkes, from October 1960 to July 1968.
Standard of the lieutenant governor of British Columbia from 1906 to 1982Standard of the lieutenant governor of British Columbia from 1871 to 1906
In 1903, before political parties were a part of British Columbia politics, Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière was the last lieutenant governor in Canada to dismiss an incumbent premier, Edward Gawler Prior, from office. Prior had been found to have given an important construction contract to his own hardware business;[8] though, he was later appointed as lieutenant governor himself. In 1952, without a clear majority in the legislative assembly following the general election, Lieutenant Governor Clarence Wallace was required to exercise his personal judgement in selecting the province's premier. Though the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; now the New Democratic Party) held one fewer seat than the Social Credit Party (Socred), Wallace was under pressure to call on the CCF leader to form a government.[9] Wallace, however, went with Socred leader W.A.C. Bennett, which resulted in the start of a 20-year dynasty for the latter.
The provincial election in 2017 resulted in neither the incumbent Liberals, nor the opposition New Democrats (NDP), winning a majority. The balance rested with the Green Party, which eventually agreed to support an NDP minority government with NDP leader John Horgan as premier.[10] Still, Premier Christy Clark refused to resign until she could test the legislative assembly's confidence in her.[11] As the vote on the Speech from the Throne is automatically a confidence vote and the speech was voted down, Clark's government fell.[12] She advised Lieutenant Governor Judith Guichon to call a new elections, contending that the NDP would be unable to provide a stable government due to the need for one of its members to act as speaker, likely resulting in frequent tied votes that could be broken only by the speaker. Guichon disagreed and refused to dissolve the legislature. Clark then resigned and Guichon invited Horgan to form a government,[13] which was sworn in by Guichon on 18 July.[14]
During Guichon's time serving as lieutenant governor, she put a strong focus on the interaction of the Crown in British Columbia with the Indigenous peoples in the province, which she said needed to be defined by "respect, relationships, and responsibility", stating that the Canadian monarchy was central to the treaty relationship.[15]