The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia () is the deliberative assembly of the Legislature of British Columbia, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The legislature also includes the lieutenant governor of British Columbia. The assembly has 93 elected members and meets in Victoria. Members are elected from provincial ridings and are referred to as members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs). Bills passed by the assembly are given royal assent by the lieutenant governor in the name of the King of Canada.

The current legislature is the 43rd Parliament. The most recent general election was held on October 19, 2024. Proceedings of the Legislative Assembly are broadcast by Hansard Broadcasting Services.

Location From 1856 to 1860, the Legislature of the Colony of Vancouver Island met at Bachelor's Hall at Fort Victoria.Duffus, Maureen. "Vancouver Island First Legislature" . Vancouver Island History. Accessed September 1, 2022. From 1860 to 1898 it was housed in the first permanent building at Legislative Hall or Legislative Council Court, a two-storey wooden building along with four other buildings (Land Office, Colonial Office, Supreme Court, and Treasury) known colloquially as "The Birdcages" because of their shape (burned 1957).Harberer, E. (April 8, 1876). "Victoria B.C. -The Provincial Public Buildings" . Canadian Illustrated News. via University of Victoria. Accessed September 1, 2022. Since 1898, the legislature has been located in the British Columbia Parliament Buildings, which features a , central dome, two end pavilions, and a gilded statue of George Vancouver.

Parliaments ParliamentPeriodGovernmentOppositionStartEndPartyNamePartyName 1st 1871 1875 None None None 2nd 1876 1878 None None None 3rd 1878 1882 None None None 4th 1883 1886 None None None 5th 1887 1890 None None None 6th 1891 1894 None None None 7th 1894 1898 None None None 8th 1899 1900 None None None 9th 1900 1903 None None None 10th 1903 1906 Conservative Richard McBride Liberal James Alexander MacDonald 11th 1907 1909 Conservative Richard McBride Liberal James Alexander MacDonald12th19101912ConservativeRichard McBride Socialist James Hawthornthwaite Liberal Harlan Carey Brewster13th19131916Conservative Socialist Parker Williams Liberal Harlan Carey Brewster 14th 1917 1920 Liberal Conservative William John Bowser 15th 1921 1924 Liberal John Oliver Conservative William John Bowser 16th 1924 1928 Liberal Conservative Robert Henry Pooley 17th 1929 1933 Conservative Simon Fraser Tolmie Liberal Duff Pattullo18th19341937LiberalDuff Pattullo CCFRobert Connell Social Constructive 19th 1937 1941 Liberal Duff Pattullo Conservative 20th 1941 1945 Liberal–Conservative coalition John Hart CCF Harold Winch 21st 1946 1949 Liberal–Progressive Conservative coalition CCF Harold Winch22nd19501952 Liberal–Progressive Conservative coalitionBoss Johnson CCF Harold Winch Liberal Progressive Conservative Herbert Anscomb 23rd 1953 1953 W. A. C. Bennett CCF Harold Winch 24th 1953 1956 W. A. C. Bennett CCF Arnold Webster 25th 1957 1960 W. A. C. Bennett CCF Robert Strachan 26th 1961 1963 W. A. C. Bennett CCF Robert Strachan 27th 1964 1966 W. A. C. Bennett NDP Robert Strachan 28th 1967 1969 W. A. C. Bennett NDP Robert Strachan 29th 1970 1972 W. A. C. Bennett NDP Dave Barrett 30th 1972 1975 Dave Barrett Social Credit 31st 1976 1979 Bill Bennett NDP 32nd 1979 1983 Bill Bennett NDP Dave Barrett 33rd 1983 1986 NDP 34th 1987 1991 NDP 35th 1991 1996 36th 1996 2001 Gordon Campbell 37th 2001 2005 Gordon Campbell NDP Joy MacPhail 38th 2005 2009 Gordon Campbell NDP Carole James 39th 2009 2013 NDP 40th 2013 2017 Christy Clark NDP 41st20172020 Christy Clark NDP John Horgan John Horgan 42nd20202024 Liberal Shirley Bond United Kevin Falcon 43rd 2025 2026 David Eby Conservative

Officeholders :

Speaker Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia: Raj Chouhan (New Democratic)

Other chair occupants Deputy speaker; chair, Committee of the Whole: Mable Elmore (New Democratic) Assistant deputy speaker: vacant

Leaders Premier of British Columbia: David Eby (New Democratic) Leader of the Opposition: Lorne Doerkson (Conservative) Third party leader: Jeremy Valeriote (Green; parliamentary)

House leaders Government House leader: Mike Farnworth (New Democratic) Opposition House leader: Sheldon Clare (Conservative) Third party House leader: Rob Botterell (Green)

Whips Chief government whip: Janet Routledge (New Democratic) Official Opposition whip: Macklin McCall (Conservative)

Hansard TV

Hansard TV (also known as Hansard Broadcasting Services) is the official television network of the assembly. It is available on the vast majority of cable systems province-wide, nationally on satellite services, and on the Legislative Assembly's website and its YouTube channel. The brand name of "Hansard" refers to printed transcripts of parliamentary debates in the Westminster system government. Hansard TV also manages the operation of the Saskatchewan Legislative Network, the broadcaster for the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan. Hansard TV's broadcasts are available with closed captioning, with live sessions available with Canadian Sign Language interpretation on-screen.

History Premier Bill Vander Zalm had promised to introduce television cameras into the BC Legislature in 1986, but high costs had delayed the implementation of such a service. As a result, the plans were redrawn to cut the costs from $6 million to $2 million. Even though that system was not yet in service, temporary manual-operated coverage debuted on March 11, 1991, with five camera positions, when the legislature was recalled. The permanent facility was completed by March 1992, for the opening of the 35th Parliament. The broadcasts were uplinked to the Anik E2 satellite for distribution by cable television companies throughout the province.

Gallery

See also Executive Council of British Columbia Legislative Council of British Columbia List of British Columbia provincial electoral districts (2001–2009) British Columbia Legislature raids

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