Josie Osborne

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British Columbia Legislative Assembly
for Mid Island-Pacific Rim
Assumed office
October 24, 2020
Preceded byScott Fraser
Mayor of Tofino
In office
2013–2020
Preceded byPerry Schmunk
Succeeded byDan Law
Personal details
Born1971 or 1972 (age 51–52)[1]
Political partyBritish Columbia New Democratic Party (since 2020)
Other political
affiliations		Green Party of Canada (until 2020)
SpouseGeorge Patterson
Residence(s)Tofino, British Columbia
Alma materUniversity of British Columbia
Simon Fraser University

Josie Osborne is a Canadian politician who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2020 provincial election.[2] She represents the electoral district of Mid Island-Pacific Rim as a member of the British Columbia New Democratic Party (BC NDP). She has served in the cabinet of British Columbia since 2020, currently as Minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation.

She previously served as mayor of Tofino, British Columbia from 2013 to 2020.[3] When she was first elected, she was Canada's only Green Party-affiliated mayor.[4][5]

Biography

Osborne studied marine biology at the University of British Columbia, then pursued a master's degree in resource management at Simon Fraser University.[6][1] She moved to Tofino for a position as fisheries biologist for the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council, and later joined Raincoast Education Society, a local environmental education non-profit organization.[1][7]

She ran as the mayor of Tofino unopposed as the Green Party candidate in both a 2013 by-election and the 2014 municipal election.[8] She was re-elected in 2018[9] with 86.75% of the overall vote.[8]

Osborne supported the introduction of proportional representation in the 2018 British Columbia electoral reform referendum.[citation needed]

In March 2019, Osborne spoke in favour of more affordable housing in Greater Vancouver.[10]

In September 2020, Osborne announced her intention to seek the BC NDP nomination for the riding of Mid Island-Pacific Rim in the next provincial election.[11] Osborne was successful and was elected as Member of the Legislative Assembly at the October 2020 general election.[12][13] Tofino is expected to elect a new mayor after Osborne's election to the provincial legislature.[14] A mayoral by-election was held in February 2021.[15]

On November 26, 2020, Osborne was sworn in to the Executive Council of British Columbia as Minister of Municipal Affairs under Premier John Horgan;[16] she was then appointed Minister of Land, Water, and Resource Stewardship and Minister Responsible for Fisheries in February 2022.[17] She was subsequently named Minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation in the Eby ministry on December 7, 2022.[18]

In April 2024, an investigation was initiated by Osborne into

provincial carbon tax.[19] The allegation was that one of MNP's teams working in the province acted in the capacity as both the administrator and grant application consultant on the CleanBC grant program.[20]

Electoral record

2020 British Columbia general election: Mid Island-Pacific Rim
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
New Democratic Josie Osborne 14,298 58.22 +9.17 $26,111.41
Green Evan Jolicoeur 4,991 20.32 −0.02 $8,752.80
Liberal
 Helen Poon 4,291 17.47 −8.22 $25,201.50
Independent Graham Hughes 610 2.48 – $0.00
Libertarian Robert Alexander Clarke 370 1.51 +0.36 $884.41
Total valid votes 24,560 100.00 –
Total rejected ballots    
Turnout    
Registered voters
Source: Elections BC[21][22]

References

  1. ^ a b c Gill, Ian (2014-11-12). "No Contest in Tofino, This Mayor's a Winner". The Tyee. Retrieved 2019-12-15.
  2. ^ "BC NDP Josie Osborne wins Mid-Island Pacific Rim riding". CHEK-DT, October 25, 2020.
  3. ^ "Tofino Has New, Green Mayor". www.webcitation.org. Green Party of Canada. January 15, 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-01-22. Retrieved 2022-04-15.
  4. ^ "Green Party notables win office in municipal elections in Canada". Global Greens. 2014-11-03. Archived from the original on 2019-12-17. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  5. ^ "Tofino Has New, Green Mayor". Green Party of Canada. Retrieved 30 May 2021. "I am so pleased that the new Mayor of Tofino, Josie Osborne, is a Green Party member. I know she will, as I have tried to do federally, put constituents first and party last. While party affiliations are not raised in most municipalities, the Green Party is nevertheless pleased and proud that one of our own has become mayor. This is a first in Canada," said May.
  6. ^ Mckenzie, Kevin Hinton & Ryan. "BCBusiness". BCBusiness. Retrieved 2019-12-15.
  7. ^ "MLA: Hon. Josie Osborne". Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. Retrieved 2022-12-14.
  8. ^ a b "Tofino mayor Josie Osborne re-elected". Vancouver Island Free Daily. 2018-10-20. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  9. ^ "UPDATED: Tofino mayor Josie Osborne re-elected". Tofino-Ucluelet Westerly News. 2018-10-20. Retrieved 2019-12-15.
  10. ^ "Tofino housing crunch hits hospital". Vancouver Island. 2019-03-22. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  11. ^ "Tofino mayor Josie Osborne seeks B.C. NDP nomination for Mid Island-Pacific Rim". Tofino-Ucluelet Westerly News. 2020-09-15. Retrieved 2020-10-25.
  12. ^ "Popular Tofino Mayor Josie Osborne elected MLA for Mid Island-Pacific Rim". Vancouver Island. 2020-10-24. Retrieved 2020-10-25.
  13. ^ "BC VOTES 2020: NDP Josie Osborne declared the winner in Mid Island-Pacific Rim riding". Port Alberni Valley News. 2020-10-24. Retrieved 2020-10-25.
  14. ^ "Tofino expected to wait to elect new mayor after Josie Osborne wins MLA seat". Vancouver Island Free Daily. 2020-10-26. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  15. ^ Kloster, Darron. "Tofino, Campbell River residents head to polls in byelections". Times Colonist. Retrieved 2021-02-28.
  16. ^ Lindsay, Bethany (2020-11-26). "New faces join B.C.'s new cabinet, while stalwarts stay on in key roles". CBC News. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
  17. ^ "New ministers appointed for land stewardship, municipal affairs | BC Gov News". news.gov.bc.ca. Office of the Premier of British Columbia. 2022-02-25. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  18. ^ "New cabinet ready to take action on cost of living, health care, housing, climate" (Press release). Office of the Premier of British Columbia. 2022-12-07. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  19. ^ "B.C. energy minister responds to criticism that grant process lacks transparency". CBC News. 10 April 2024.
  20. ^ "B.C. government orders investigation into carbon tax grant process". The Abbotsford News. April 8, 2024. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
  21. ^ "2020 Provincial General Election Final Voting Results". electionsbcenr.blob.core.windows.net. Retrieved 2021-01-06.
  22. ^ "Election Financing Reports". Elections BC. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
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