Mike Farnworth | |
|---|---|
 Farnworth in 2017 | |
| Minister of Transportation and Transit ofBritish Columbia | |
| Assumed office November 18, 2024 | |
| Premier | David Eby |
| Preceded by | Rob Fleming |
| Deputy Premier of British Columbia | |
| In office October 28, 2021 – November 18, 2024 | |
| Premier | |
| Preceded by | Carole James[a] |
| Succeeded by | Niki Sharma |
| Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General ofBritish Columbia | |
| In office July 18, 2017 – November 18, 2024 | |
| Premier | |
| Preceded by | Mike Morris |
| Succeeded by | Garry Begg |
| Minister of Social Development and Economic Security ofBritish Columbia | |
| In office November 1, 2000 – June 5, 2001 | |
| Premier | Ujjal Dosanjh |
| Preceded by | Jan Pullinger |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Minister of Health & Minister Responsible for Seniors ofBritish Columbia | |
| In office February 29, 2000 – November 1, 2000 | |
| Premier | Ujjal Dosanjh |
| Preceded by | Penny Priddy |
| Succeeded by | Corky Evans |
| Minister of Employment and Investment & Minister Responsible for Housing ofBritish Columbia | |
| In office February 18, 1998 – February 24, 2000 | |
| Premier | |
| Preceded by | Dan Miller |
| Succeeded by | Gordon Wilson |
| Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing ofBritish Columbia | |
| In office January 6, 1997 – February 18, 1998 | |
| Premier | Glen Clark |
| Preceded by | Dan Miller |
| Succeeded by | Jenny Kwan |
| Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia forPort Coquitlam (Port Coquitlam-Burke Mountain; 2005–2009) | |
| Assumed office May 17, 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Karn Manhas |
| In office October 17, 1991 – May 16, 2001 | |
| Preceded by | Riding established |
| Succeeded by | Karn Manhas |
| Dean of theLegislative Assembly of British Columbia | |
| Assumed office October 24, 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Linda Reid |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1959-07-23)July 23, 1959 (age 65) Bebington, England[1] |
| Political party | BC NDP |
| Residence(s) | Port Coquitlam,British Columbia, Canada |
| Alma mater | Simon Fraser University |
| Occupation | Politician |
Michael C. FarnworthMLA (born July 23, 1959) is a Canadian politician who has served as British Columbia's Minister of Transportation and Transit since 2024. A member of theBritish Columbia New Democratic Party (BC NDP), Farnworth represents the riding ofPort Coquitlam in theLegislative Assembly of British Columbia, where he is the NDP'shouse leader, and thedean of the Legislative Assembly.
Born inBebington, England,[1] Farnworth was raised inPort Coquitlam,British Columbia.[2] He attendedSimon Fraser University, earning a bachelor's degree in geography.[2] Prior to entering elected office, Farnworth worked atCP Rail,Gulf Oil, andMount Isa Mines.[3]
Farnworth has publicly acknowledged that he is gay. He has had a relationship with his partner, Doug, for over twenty five years.[4]
After serving three terms on Port Coquitlam City Council[5] and working forPort Moody—CoquitlamMember of ParliamentIan Waddell,[3] Farnworth ran for the BC NDP in the1991 provincial election, in which he was first electedMember of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) forPort Coquitlam.[2]
He was re-elected in1996,[6] and was appointed Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing byPremierGlen Clark in January 1997,[7] before becoming Minister of Employment and Investment and Minister Responsible for Housing in 1998.[8] Under PremierUjjal Dosanjh, Farnworth was named Minister of Health and Minister Responsible for Seniors in February 2000, before becoming Minister of Social Development and Economic Security in November that year.[8]
He ran in the redistributed riding ofPort Coquitlam-Burke Mountain in2001, but lost his seat amidst the party's province-wide wipeout.[9] Following the election, Farnworth worked in the Balkans and Iraq for the U.S.-basedNational Democratic Institute.[2][8]
In the2005 B.C. general election, Farnworth sought to take back his old seat, defeating the one-term Liberal Party incumbent Karn Manhas, and winning the riding with 11,844 votes (48.14% of valid votes).[10] In2009, he was re-elected to his fourth term in the recreated riding of Port Coquitlam with 54.71% of valid votes.[11] He then ran in the2011 NDP leadership election to replace outgoing leaderCarole James;[12] he lost toAdrian Dix after three rounds of voting.[13]
Farnworth was returned to the legislature in the2013 B.C. general election with more than half of the riding's popular vote,[14] but the BC NDP lost the election despite favourable opinion polls leading up to the vote. Following Dix's resignation as party leader in September 2013,[15] both Farnworth andJohn Horgan formally announced their candidacies for the post in March 2014.[8] With a significant number of NDP MLAs backing Horgan[16] (includingDawn Black,Joe Trasolini, andFin Donnelly, all figures from Farnworth's ownTri-Cities area[17]), Farnworth withdrew from the leadership race in April, leaving Horgan the sole candidate.[18] After the deadline for nominations passed on May 1, Horgan was acclaimed leader of the BC NDP, and appointed Farnworth as opposition house leader.[19]
Farnworth was re-elected MLA in the2017 B.C. general election with more than 55% of the vote.[20] In the subsequent NDP minority government, Farnworth was appointed Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General.[21] He retained the same cabinet posts in the NDP majority government following his re-election in2020.[22]
On October 28, 2021, Farnworth was appointedDeputy Premier of British Columbia by PremierJohn Horgan, in the wake of an announcement that Horgan was to undergo throat surgery on October 29.[23] When Horgan stepped down as premier and was succeeded byDavid Eby, Farnworth retained his portfolios in Eby's cabinet.[24]
While in Eby's cabinet, Farnworth has attempted to pass Bill 34, theRestricting Public Consumption Act. It is currently facing aCharter challenge from the Harm Reduction Nurses Association (HRNA).[25] Farnworth has stated, “We recognize that vulnerable and/or unhoused people often do not have many reasonable options for places to consume drugs, particularly in places that do not yet have adequate overdose prevention services, and our government is exploring how the regulations may address the impact of the legislation on this population,”[26] but the BC NDP attempted unsuccessfully to appeal the legal challenge regardless[27]
| 2024 British Columbia general election:Port Coquitlam | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| New Democratic | Mike Farnworth | 13,843 | 53.9% | -10.24 | ||||
| Conservative | Keenan Adams | 9,967 | 38.8% | |||||
| Green | Adam Bremner-Akins | 1,644 | 6.4% | -6.21 | ||||
| Libertarian | Lewis Dahlby | 244 | 0.9% | -1.45 | ||||
| Total valid votes | 25,698 | – | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | ||||||||
| Turnout | ||||||||
| Registered voters | ||||||||
| Source:Elections BC[28] | ||||||||
| 2020 British Columbia general election:Port Coquitlam | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| New Democratic | Mike Farnworth | 15,370 | 64.14 | +8.35 | $9,774.62 | |||
| Liberal | Mehran Zargham | 5,009 | 20.90 | −9.15 | $4,583.11 | |||
| Green | Erik Minty | 3,023 | 12.61 | −0.22 | $2,051.19 | |||
| Libertarian | Lewis Clarke Dahlby | 563 | 2.35 | +1.37 | $0.00 | |||
| Total valid votes | 23,965 | 100.00 | – | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | ||||||||
| Turnout | ||||||||
| Registered voters | ||||||||
| Source:Elections BC[29][30] | ||||||||
| 2017 British Columbia general election:Port Coquitlam | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| New Democratic | Mike Farnworth | 14,079 | 55.79 | +2.85 | $52,164 | |||
| Liberal | Susan Chambers | 7,582 | 30.05 | −6.52 | $26,734 | |||
| Green | Jason Hanley | 3,237 | 12.83 | – | $1,177 | |||
| Libertarian | Lewis Clarke Dahlby | 248 | 0.98 | −0.63 | $89 | |||
| Cascadia | Billy Gibbons | 88 | 0.35 | – | $1,973 | |||
| Total valid votes | 25,234 | 100.00 | – | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 131 | 0.52 | −0.20 | |||||
| Turnout | 25,365 | 62.44 | +5.18 | |||||
| Registered voters | 40,621 | |||||||
| Source:Elections BC[31][32] | ||||||||
| 2013 British Columbia general election:Port Coquitlam | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| New Democratic | Mike Farnworth | 11,755 | 52.94 | −1.77 | $86,221 | |||
| Liberal | Barbara Lu | 8,120 | 36.57 | −2.28 | $23,507 | |||
| Conservative | Ryan Hague | 1,525 | 6.87 | – | $3,928 | |||
| Your Political Party | Brent Williams | 447 | 2.01 | +1.34 | $610 | |||
| Libertarian | Jogender Dahiya | 358 | 1.61 | +0.73 | $872 | |||
| Total valid votes | 22,205 | 100.00 | – | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 160 | 0.72 | +0.20 | |||||
| Turnout | 22,365 | 57.26 | +2.05 | |||||
| Registered voters | 39,059 | |||||||
| Source:Elections BC[33] | ||||||||
{{cite web}}:Missing or empty|title= (help)| British Columbia provincial government ofJohn Horgan | ||
| Cabinet post (1) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Predecessor | Office | Successor |
| Mike Morris | Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General July 18, 2017– | Incumbent |
