After 18 years, John Horgan finishes his last day in politics

CHEK

More than a month after announcing he’d step down, former B.C. Premier John Horgan officially resigned as MLA for Langford-Juan de Fuca.

He was met with cheers and hugs, surrounded by friends and colleagues at the Sooke School District administration office ahead of an education announcement.

READ MORE: Former premier John Horgan bids farewell, to step down as MLA in March

He was the province’s 36th premier, elected back in 2017. Throughout his years, Horgan was consistently ranked as one of the top premiers across Canada.

He’s made headlines and changes throughout the years — both good and bad.

In 2017, he banded the BC Greens and the NDP together to form a new government.

One of his most notable moves was in May 2022, when he announced that the province would spend $789 million to replace the Royal BC Museum. That move was rescinded the next month following a wave of public backlash.

During the press conference on Friday, Sooke School District Board Chair Ravi Parmar thanked him for his years of hard work as both premier and his former role as an education critic.

B.C. Education Minister Rachna Singh said that if it wasn’t for Horgan, she wouldn’t have considered taking on the role.

“I am standing here today because of John,” said Rachna.

“Women, when they are asked to run, their first response is ‘no, we are not going to do it’, that’s what my first response was when I was first asked…his faith in me, his support for me is what made me take this big step,” she added.

His constituency office has already removed his title as MLA, but on his last day he continued his work serving his community making an appearance at Starlight Stadium for a Rugby Canada announcement.

Not all hope is lost for a political return, however.

“The prime minister has been very kind to me,” he said last month. “If there is something that he needs me to do, I’d certainly consider that, but I’m not ruling out anything.”

When asked what the biggest highlight of his political career, Horgan said it was being able to work with multiple politicians to improve B.C.

“What I’d like to hope is that when people look back at my time, they will say I was fair-minded,” he said.

He admits that although he wants to remain accountable and serve his community post-retirement, he’s looking forward to being able to say “no comment” when asked to speak.

However, as a long-time Star Trek fan, he had one final statement to his people:

“Live long and prosper.”

After nearly 20 years of holding the title of premier and MLA, John Horgan is looking forward to reflecting back on his years of work and going back to where it all began:

Where he’ll just be John, from Langford.

Oli Herrera

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