The death of former premier John Horgan on Tuesday triggered a wave of grief, and of memories, for many British Columbians.
Horgan’s kind is rare in political circles, and almost unheard of in the top jobs. Many people, of all political stripes, considered him a friend as much as a leader.
Horgan, who succumbed to thyroid cancer, was 65. This was his third battle with cancer, after bladder cancer in 2008 and throat cancer in 2021.
Thyroid cancer is usually curable. But his doctors in Germany, where he was serving as Canadian ambassador, advised against radiation therapy since he had already been treated with radiation for his throat cancer.
He died in Royal Jubilee Hospital with his family by his bedside.
Horgan grew up in Victoria, working blue-collar jobs to pay his way through university.
He joined the B.C. government as a political aide in 1991, and later as an assistant to then-premier Glen Clark.
He was known for his boisterous sense of humour, playing Scottish comedian Billy Connolly tapes at high volume in his office. Connolly, of course, was known for his prolific use of colourful language, and it may be that this was Horgan’s way of letting off steam.
Elected MLA for Malahat-Juan de Fuca in 2005, Horgan became leader of the NDP by acclamation in 2014. It might have been one of the smartest moves his party ever made.
In 2017 Horgan rose to be premier of a minority government, propped up by Andrew Weaver’s Green Party. It was a tempestuous period.
Almost immediately, he had to decide the fate of the Site C hydroelectric plant. Although many in his party were resolutely opposed to continuing the project, Horgan told friends that halting the construction made no sense.
B.C. Liberal premier Christy Clark’s government had already spent $5 billion or $6 billion digging a channel. If the NDP spent an equivalent sum filling it in, with nothing to show for it, there would be widespread ridicule.
What got Horgan through that challenge, and many more to come, was his buoyant personality and genuine likability.
His ever-present smile and self-effacing manner changed the face of politics in B.C. Indeed he went on to become one of the most popular premiers in Canada.
It was a mark of his popularity that after he resigned the premiership in 2022 and his seat in 2023, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed him ambassador to Germany, one of Canada’s leading diplomatic posts.
Sadly he had to step down after only eight months, upon being diagnosed with thyroid cancer.
More than anything, Horgan remade our notion of leadership. He led with clarity, decency and common sense. There was nothing of the divisiveness that defines our current politics in his character.
His death is a great loss to our province, and to the country.
