List of premiers of British Columbia by time in office

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This is a list of premiers of the province of British Columbia in order of time served in office as premiers as of March 1, 2022. The preceding premier retains the office during an election campaign, and that time is included in the total. Mandates listed below are defined as election victories for a given premier, with zero mandates listed for premiers appointed during the course of a parliament, but either failing to win the subsequent election or resign before the parliament dissolves.

   No party affiliation (15)
  British Columbia Liberal Party (8)
  British Columbia New Democratic Party (6)
  British Columbia Social Credit Party (4)
  British Columbia Conservative Party (3)
Rank Name Time in office Dates in power Mandates
1 W. A. C. Bennett 20 years, 45 days 1952–1972 7
2 Richard McBride 12 years, 197 days 1903–1915 4
3 Bill Bennett 10 years, 227 days 1975–1986 3
4 Gordon Campbell 9 years, 282 days 2001–2011 3
5 John Oliver[a] 9 years, 164 days 1918–1927 2
6 Thomas Dufferin Pattullo 8 years, 24 days 1933–1941 2
7 Christy Clark 6 years, 126 days 2011–2017 2[b]
8 John Hart 6 years, 20 days 1941–1947 2
9 George Anthony Walkem 5 years, 331 days[c] 1874–1876
1878–1882 		N/A[d]
10 Simon Fraser Tolmie 5 years, 86 days 1928–1933 1
11 Bill Vander Zalm 4 years, 239 days 1986–1991 1
12 John Horgan (incumbent) 4 years, 226 days 2017–present 2[b]
13 Boss Johnson 4 years, 216 days 1947–1952 1
14 Mike Harcourt 4 years, 109 days 1991–1996 1
15 William Smithe[a] 4 years, 58 days 1883–1887 N/A[d]
16 Glen Clark 3 years, 184 days 1996–1999 1
17 John Herbert Turner 3 years, 157 days 1895–1898 N/A[d]
18 Dave Barrett 3 years, 98 days 1972–1975 1
19 John Robson[a] 2 years, 332 days 1889–1892 N/A[d]
20 Theodore Davie 2 years, 243 days 1892–1895 N/A[d]
21 James Dunsmuir 2 years, 159 days 1900–1902 N/A[d]
22 Andrew Charles Elliott 2 years, 144 days 1876–1878 N/A[d]
23 A. E. B. Davie[a] 2 years, 122 days 1887–1889 N/A[d]
24 Charles Augustus Semlin 1 year, 196 days 1898–1900 N/A[d]
25 Ujjal Dosanjh 1 year, 101 days 2000–2001 0
26 Harlan Carey Brewster[a] 1 year, 98 days 1916–1918 1
27 Amor De Cosmos 1 year, 48 days 1872–1874 N/A[d]
28 John Foster McCreight 1 year, 39 days 1871–1872 N/A[d]
29 John Duncan MacLean 1 year, 0 days 1927–1928 0
30 William John Bowser 344 days 1915–1916 0
31 Robert Beaven 230 days 1882–1883 N/A[d]
32 Rita Johnston 217 days 1991 0
33 Edward Gawler Prior 192 days 1902–1903 N/A[d]
34 Dan Miller 183 days 1999–2000 0
35 Joseph Martin 106 days 1900 N/A[d]

Notes[]

  1. ^ a b c d e Died in office
  2. ^ a b Christy Clark's Liberal government won a plurality of seats in the 2017 provincial election, but the resulting 41st Parliament of British Columbia passed a motion of no confidence against her government less than two months into her mandate. With the Opposition NDP and Green Party having made a confidence and supply agreement, the lieutenant-governor invited NDP leader John Horgan to form a government. This table counts the 2017 election as a win for both Clark and Horgan.
  3. ^ In two blocks: 1 year, 350 days & 3 years, 346 days.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Prior to 1903, British Columbia operated without political parties. As governments were formed by and from elected non-partisan legislators, no premier from this period was elected with an explicit mandate to govern. However, informal pro- and anti-government alliances did exist.
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