Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Provincial Politics
In the BC legislature, the lieutenant governor is at the top of the ladder. Under him are
the members of the
Legislative Assembly
(MLAs). Assembly members are elected for a
period of up to five years, though an election for a new assembly can be called at any time
bythelieutenantgovernororontheadviceofthepremier.IntheLegislative Assemblyare
the premier, the cabinet ministers and backbenchers, the leader of the official opposition,
other parties, and independent members. All Canadian citizens and BC residents 19 years
old and over can vote, providing they've lived in the province for at least six months.
Provincial politics in British Columbia has traditionally been a two-party struggle. The
province was the first in Canada to hold elections on a fixed date, with the next election
scheduled for 2013. In the most recent election (May 14, 2013), the Liberals defeated the
New Democrats (NDP) for the fourth time in a row. The NDP first came to prominence in
the late 1960s as the official opposition to the
Social Credit Party
(the Socreds, who had
ruled the province for two decades), advocating free enterprise and government restraint.
The laws of British Columbia are administered by the cabinet, premier, and lieutenant
governor; they are interpreted by a
judiciary
made up of the Supreme Court of BC, Court
of Appeal, and County or Provincial Courts.
For information on the provincial government, its ministries, and current issues, visit
The economies of Vancouver and Victoria are no different than those of major cities
around the world, although the lack of manufacturing in Victoria makes the capital more
reliant on tourism. Much of the industry that is located in the two cities revolves around
the resource-based economy of the province. In addition to timber and wildlife, British
Columbia holds rich reserves of minerals, petroleum, natural gas, and coal, and its water
for hydroelectric power is plentiful.
Forestry
Almost two-thirds of British Columbia—some 60 million hectares (148 million acres)—is
forested, primarily in coniferous softwood (fir, hemlock, spruce, and pine). These forests
provideabouthalfthecountry'smarketablewoodandabout25percentoftheNorthAmer-
ican inventory. On Vancouver Island, the hemlock species is dominant. Douglas fir, bal-
sam, and western red cedar are other valuable commercial trees in the region. The pro-
vincial government owns 94 percent of the forestland, private companies own 5 percent,
