Executive Council of British Columbia

The Executive Council of British Columbia (informally and more commonly, the Cabinet of British Columbia) is the cabinet of that Canadian province.

Almost always made up of members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia the Cabinet is similar in structure and role to the Cabinet 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, as representative of the Queen in Right of British Columbia, heads the council, and is referred to as the Lieutenant Governor in Council. Other members of the Cabinet, who advise, or minister, the vice-regal, are selected by the Premier of British Columbia and appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor. Most cabinet ministers are the head of a ministry, 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 W.A.C. Bennett and Dave Barrett 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, Health, and Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources.

In the crown colonies of British Columbia and Vancouver Island, 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 were subordinate to the Governor and the Council and served more as a sounding-board than a legislative body.

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