Close X
Friday, November 15, 2024
ADVT 
National

Former B.C. premier John Horgan passes away at 65

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 12 Nov, 2024 12:28 PM
  • Former B.C. premier John Horgan passes away at 65

Ambassador to Germany and former British Columbia premier John Horgan has died at the age of 65, after his third bout with cancer.

Horgan served as B.C.'s New Democrat premier for five years before stepping down in 2022, then was appointed ambassador last year.

But in June, Horgan announced he was on leave after being diagnosed with thyroid cancer, and a government source has confirmed his death. 

Horgan, who served five terms as a member of the provincial legislature, resigned his suburban Victoria seat in March 2023, citing health reasons after he received more than 30 radiation treatments to battle throat cancer.

Premier David Eby issued a statement saying the news of Horgan's passing leaves him with a heavy heart.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was saddened to learn of Horgan's passing, a man who "tirelessly advocated for workers."

Horgan’s retirement from political life didn’t last long as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau named him Canada’s ambassador to Germany in November 2023.

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh spoke to their incredible friendship and a special bond they shared.

Political scientist Hamish Telford, who teaches at the University of the Fraser Valley says Horgan accomplished a rarity in politics: he left office more popular than when he was first elected.

But just six months into his ambassadorial appointment, Horgan announced he had been diagnosed with thyroid cancer after a routine checkup in Berlin for his previous throat cancer.

Horgan had been successfully treated for bladder cancer in 2008.

"I am on leave from my position at the embassy and in hospital receiving immunotherapy to treat this new thyroid cancer," Horgan said in a statement. "It is the third instance of cancer I have had but I remain confident and hopeful that I will again live long and prosper."

The "live long and prosper" comment revealed the former premier's sense of humour was intact, as was his love of science fiction and the TV series "Star Trek."

Former BC Premier Christy Clark spoke to the legacy that Horgan has left behind.

Horgan will be remembered as a leader whose eight years at the helm of the B.C. New Democrats managed to elevate the party to a pragmatic and steady political force that voters could support after almost 20 years in opposition, said Telford.

“Against the odds, he succeeded and governed for five years and if it wasn’t for his health I’m sure he could have kept on governing,” Telford said. “He went out more popular than when he came in. That is an extraordinary feat for any politician.”

Horgan, known before becoming premier as a take-no-prisoners, often angry opposition politician, transformed into a compassionate, big-hearted, easygoing leader who would say being in government put a spring in his step as opposed to the drudgery of opposition.

“I would say his chief political legacy has been really cementing the NDP for the decade as the party of government,” Telford said. “The NDP had only sort of snuck into office previously where there was vote splitting on the right. John Horgan overcame that image of the NDP and planted them very firmly in the middle of the spectrum.”

Mayor of Vancouver Ken Sim spoke to his commitment as a politician.

Longtime B.C. New Democrat Mike Farnworth, who knew Horgan as a political colleague and personal friend for more than 30 years, said the former premier convinced voters, and New Democrats themselves, that the party could lead and govern.

“He shattered myths that had often been perpetuated about New Democrats,” said Farnworth in an interview before Horgan's death. “They couldn’t govern. They couldn’t get back-to-back majorities with the same leader. He showed that we could be a governing party and not an opposition party. He showed that we could manage the economy, could govern and we could be a stable majority government.”

Farnworth said he viewed Horgan’s political legacy as the progress his governments made on reconciliation with First Nations, making history in 2019 when the B.C. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act became law, and when he helped to steer the province through the COVID-19 pandemic.

But his true legacy was the personal approach he brought to politics, he said.

“His legacy is you can be a decent, genuine individual and you can succeed in politics,” Farnworth said. “He’s genuine. What you see is what you get and I think that was the secret of his success.”

Former BC United house leader Todd Stone had paid tribute to Horgan in the legislature as he left provincial politics, poking fun at the former premier’s frequent use of the term "level best."

“John from Langford: all British Columbians thank you for your love of our province, your commitment to serving its people best and thank you for always doing your level best,” he said to thunderous applause and laughter.

Horgan, a huge sports fan who kept a lacrosse stick and ball in his office and was a regular, jersey-wearing fan at Victoria Shamrocks lacrosse games, said his love of playing and watching team sports helped him in the political arena.

He was known for taking a team approach to developing government programs and he used skills honed on the basketball court to forge ties with political friends and foes.

The final details of the agreement that produced the NDP minority government in 2017 were agreed upon while Horgan and former Green leader Andrew Weaver sat beside each other at a rugby game in Langford.

Horgan also said he learned to lean on Conservative premiers Doug Ford and Jason Kenney for advice on approaching the federal government on national issues at Council of the Federation gatherings.

He said personal struggles related to his father’s death from a brain aneurysm, when Horgan was 18 months old, and his mother’s efforts to raise four children opened his heart, especially to society’s underdogs.

There were times when his family received food hampers and he was heading down a wrong path as a teenager, Horgan said. 

He credited a high school teacher who took him aside and told him to concentrate on sports and academics with turning his life around.

Horgan, known early in his political career for a quick temper, also displayed a sharp sense of humour while premier.

In 2017, during his first visit to Ottawa as premier amid tense confrontations with the federal government over the TMX pipeline from Alberta to B.C., Horgan accidentally knocked over a glass of water at a news conference.

Immediately, he said, “Spills happen.” 

Trudeau replied, “We’ll clean that up."

Horgan said: “Yes you will, it’s a federal responsibility.” 

MORE National ARTICLES

Gruelling days and gratitude for Canadian line workers helping with hurricane outages

Gruelling days and gratitude for Canadian line workers helping with hurricane outages
They are some of the hundreds — possibly thousands — of Canadian line workers who have been called into service to help rebuild power grids after Helene and now Hurricane Milton have left millions of Americans in the dark.

Gruelling days and gratitude for Canadian line workers helping with hurricane outages

B.C. Muslim Association wants Conservative candidate removed for 'time bomb' post

B.C. Muslim Association wants Conservative candidate removed for 'time bomb' post
In a letter to the party and Surrey South candidate Brent Chapman, the association says a statement like the one he posted on Facebook nine years ago "promotes division and hate" and it's imperative he be asked to step down.

B.C. Muslim Association wants Conservative candidate removed for 'time bomb' post

No jail time after fatal 2020 stabbing at Vancouver's former Biltmore Hotel

No jail time after fatal 2020 stabbing at Vancouver's former Biltmore Hotel
The sentencing decision by B.C. provincial court Judge Reginald Harris says 31-year-old Anthony Woods must instead continue to live at a recovery home in the Interior for the first year of his two-year conditional sentence. 

No jail time after fatal 2020 stabbing at Vancouver's former Biltmore Hotel

B.C. billionaire posts third large sign criticizing NDP ahead of the election

B.C. billionaire posts third large sign criticizing NDP ahead of the election
British Columbia billionaire Chip Wilson has put up yet another billboard message to voters, his third post outside his multimillion-dollar mansion in NDP Leader David Eby's own riding.  The latest sign outside the Lululemon co-founder's home says that if Eby and his party can't balance B.C.'s budget then “what right does he have to tell us how to live our lives?”

B.C. billionaire posts third large sign criticizing NDP ahead of the election

Trudeau repeats call for Lebanon ceasefire after third Canadian killed in conflict

Trudeau repeats call for Lebanon ceasefire after third Canadian killed in conflict
The prime minister offered condolences today to the family of a Canadian who was killed in the ongoing fighting in Lebanon. Justin Trudeau reiterated Canada's call for a ceasefire in Lebanon and in Gaza when he spoke with reporters at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit in Laos.

Trudeau repeats call for Lebanon ceasefire after third Canadian killed in conflict

As ASEAN Summit wraps, Trudeau says Canada needs to keep showing up in Southeast Asia

As ASEAN Summit wraps, Trudeau says Canada needs to keep showing up in Southeast Asia
Canada needs to keep up its presence in Southeast Asia if it wants to benefit from the region's economic boom, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday as he wrapped up his visit to Laos. Trudeau participated in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit this week, marking the third consecutive time he's attended the annual meeting.

As ASEAN Summit wraps, Trudeau says Canada needs to keep showing up in Southeast Asia