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| Premier of British Columbia | |
|---|---|
| Premier ministre de la Colombie-Britannique | |
 | |
 | |
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| Office of the Premier | |
| Style |
|
| Status | Head of Government |
| Member of | |
| Reports to | |
| Seat | Victoria |
| Appointer | Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia (with theconfidence of the British Columbia Legislature) |
| Term length | At His Majesty's pleasure (contingent on the premier's ability tocommand confidence in the Legislative Assembly) |
| Formation | November 13, 1871 |
| First holder | John Foster McCreight |
| Deputy | Deputy premier of British Columbia |
| Salary | $218,587.27[1] |
| Website | Office of the Premier |
Thepremier of British Columbia is thefirst minister andhead of government for theCanadian province ofBritish Columbia. Until the early 1970s, the titleprime minister of British Columbia was often used. The wordpremier is derived from the French word of the same spelling, meaning "first"; and ultimately from the Latin wordprimarius, meaning "primary".[2]
Although the premier is the day-to-day leader of the provincial government, they receive the authority to govern fromthe Crown (represented in British Columbia by the province'slieutenant governor). Formally, theexecutive branch of government in British Columbia is said to be vested in thelieutenant governor acting by and with the advice and consent of the executive council.
The position of premier is not described in Canadian constitutional statutes. By convention, the leader of thepolitical party that has the support of a majority of members of theLegislative Assembly is usually invited by the lieutenant governor to form the government.
The responsibilities of the premier usually include:
Generally, the premier selects MLAs from their party to be appointed ministers of the Crown by the Lieutenant Governor. Cabinet appointees are designated ministers in charge of government ministries; they are responsible for the day-to-day activities of individual government ministries such as the Ministry of Forests, and for proposing new laws or changing existing ones. The premier may also choose an individual who is not an MLA to be a cabinet minister, although on the rare occasion that this does happen, the practice is that the minister proceeds to obtain a seat in the House. The appointment of an MLA to Cabinet is based on their ability and expertise and is also influenced by political considerations such as geography, gender and ethnicity.
A minister remains in office solely at the pleasure of the premier. The resignation of the premier also triggers the resignation of the other members of Cabinet.[3]