Ep. 218: Her Majesty’s Representative in British Columbia
Guest: Janet Austin, Lieutenant Governor of BC
No matter which type of government you live under in 15 of the Commonwealth nations that recognize the Queen of England as their monarch, there is a Governor General nationally and a Lieutenant Governor regionally.
The role is that of de facto head of state – it’s primarily ceremonial until it isn’t.
In the 2017 British Columbia provincial election, you will recall the Liberals won 43 seats, the NDP won 41 and the Green Party won 3 seats. Here’s where the Lieutenant Governor transitioned from a ceremonial role to a formal one – one that determined the outcome of the election.
The LG at the time was Judith Guichon and she became the final vote in the 2017 election. Former Premier Christy Clark asked the LG to let her form a government with a party that was one seat short of the majority needed. Ms. Guichon turned down the request and offered Opposition Leader John Horgan, who in an alliance with the Green Party represented a majority, to form a government.
In March of 2018 Janet Austin, the former CEO of the YWCA was asked to take over the role: a position you cannot apply for, a demanding position that requires the LG’s presence on behalf of the government throughout the province. As LG, Ms Austin reports to the Queen.
We invited BC’s Lieutenant Governor Janet Austin to join us for a Conversation That Matters about the role of the Queen’s representative in British Columbia and the objectives she has set for her term.
