John Horgan to announce he will step down as B.C. premier

Nearly five years after forming a government in British Columbia, John Horgan is set to announce at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday that he plans to step down as premier.

This follows weeks of speculation around his health and political future.

The 62-year-old was officially sworn in as premier on July 18, 2017, following a confidence vote in the legislature.

The BC NDP and the BC Greens had voted together to defeat premier Christy Clark following a close general election, after Lt.-Gov Judith Guichon asked Horgan to govern with the support of the Greens.

The new premier will serve until the next provincial election, currently scheduled for the fall of 2024.

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Horgan came into office with a focus on addressing affordability.

The NDP immediately dropped tolls on the Port Mann Bridge and the Golden Ears Bridge and created a multi-point plan to address the high cost of housing.

His government has overhauled ICBC, pushed forward with both liquefied natural gas and the Site C dam, and increased payments for people on disability assistance.

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He also was summoned to Ottawa in 2018 over his government’s opposition to the Trans Mountain Pipeline, with B.C.’s position ultimately leading to Ottawa buying the pipeline from Kinder Morgan.

Horgan won re-election in 2020 in the largest electoral victory for an NDP premier, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In recent months, his political future has been a focus of chatter in political circles.

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In November, he announced he had throat cancer and went on to receive dozens of radiation treatments.

Just last week, he spoke about being cancer-free.

He has also faced some political controversy of late, announcing he will scrap the $789-million Royal BC Museum redevelopment and taking responsibility for pushing ahead the controversial and expensive project without public consultation.