Former B.C. premier John Horgan, who connected with people, dies at 65

VICTORIA — John Horgan would often say he believed most people in British Columbia were New Democrats deep down but they just didn’t know it yet.

Horgan, Canada’s ambassador to Germany and a former NDP premier who formed a minority government in 2017, winning a majority three years later with a snap election call at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, died on Tuesday after his third bout with cancer.

He was 65 years old.

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

But in June, Horgan announced he was on leave from his diplomatic post after being diagnosed with thyroid cancer.

His family issued a statement on social media saying he died peacefully Tuesday at Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria.

“The well-being of British Columbia and everyone in it was everything to him. He was surrounded by family and friends and love in his final days.”

Horgan is survived by his wife Ellie, and sons Evan and Nate.

Premier David Eby said Horgan brought the party from the “political wilderness” and 16 years in opposition to the government for the first time in a generation.

“I think for many British Columbians, he made them think differently about politics and about politicians. He was accessible. He was fun and funny and, he was called “Premier Dad,” and rightly so for myself, he was a coach and a mentor. He was an inspiration to me,” Eby told reporters at the legislature. “He had advice when I needed it.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement that he was saddened to learn of the death of Horgan, a man who “tirelessly advocated for workers.”

“John was a firm believer in the ideals of public service. He saw it as a privilege, as a way to help others and make our country better. At every opportunity he was given, he served Canadians with a tenacity, passion and dedication that very few could match,” Trudeau said in the statement.

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

Just six months into his appointment as ambassador, 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.”

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

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.”

The grief of his loss was evident in the hallways of the legislature on Tuesday.

Ravi Kahlon first worked as a staff member for Horgan and then in his cabinet.

“People appreciated John, they appreciated the way he handled being premier, the way he handled fighting for issues in communities and that’s going to be,” he said, pausing as his voice cracked with emotion. “It’s a sad day.”

Solicitor General Mike Farnworth worked with Horgan for more than three decades, and said he left office while he was “incredibly popular” right across the political spectrum, respected by his colleagues and his fellow premiers.

“I think of someone who really loved this province and really loved the people of this province and was a wonderful friend,” Farnworth said.

“Whether you agreed with his politics or didn’t agree with his politics, he just had this ability to connect with people.”

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.”

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 similar to his movements on the basketball court to forge ties with political friends and foes.

Horgan 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 he 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 Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project, 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.”

Eby said in a statement that the flag at the B.C. legislature would be lowered to half-mast in honour of Horgan.

“Opportunities for British Columbians to offer their condolences will be shared with the public,” the statement said. “We will be working with John’s family and the office of protocol to announce the timing of services to mark the passing of John Horgan.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Nov. 12, 2024.

Dirk Meissner, The Canadian Press