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George Abbott (politician)

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George Abbott
Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly
for Shuswap
In office
May 28, 1996 – May 14, 2013
Preceded byShannon O'Neill
Succeeded byGreg Kyllo
Minister of Community, Aboriginal and Women’s Services of British Columbia
In office
June 5, 2001 – January 26, 2004
PremierGordon Campbell
Preceded byJenny Kwan (Community Development, Cooperatives and Volunteers), David Zirnhelt (Aboriginal Affairs)
Succeeded byMurray Coell
Minister of Sustainable Resource Management of British Columbia
In office
January 26, 2004 – June 16, 2005
PremierGordon Campbell
Preceded byStan Hagen
Succeeded byPosition abolished
Minister of Health of British Columbia
Minister of Health Services (2008-2009)
In office
June 16, 2005 – June 10, 2009
PremierGordon Campbell
Preceded byShirley Bond
Succeeded byKevin Falcon
Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation of British Columbia
In office
June 10, 2009 – October 25, 2010
PremierGordon Campbell
Preceded byMichael de Jong
Succeeded byBarry Penner
Minister of Education of British Columbia
In office
October 25, 2010 – November 25, 2010
PremierGordon Campbell
Preceded byMargaret MacDiarmid
Succeeded byMargaret MacDiarmid
In office
March 14, 2011 – September 5, 2012
PremierChristy Clark
Preceded byMargaret MacDiarmid
Succeeded byDon McRae
Personal details
Born (1952-11-17) November 17, 1952 (age 71)[1]
Enderby, British Columbia
Political partyBC Liberal
SpouseLesley Abbott
Alma materUniversity of British Columbia
University of Victoria
Occupation
  • farmer
  • political science instructor

George Abbott (born November 17, 1952[1][2][3]) is a former politician and cabinet minister for the Canadian province of British Columbia. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, representing the riding of Shuswap from 1996 to 2013. As part of the British Columbia Liberal Party caucus, he served in several cabinet posts under premiers Gordon Campbell and Christy Clark, and ran for party leadership in 2011.

Early life and career

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Born in Enderby, Abbott grew up in the Shuswap community of Sicamous and attended the Okanagan College's Salmon Arm campus before transferring to the University of British Columbia, where he received his Bachelor of Arts.[1][3][4] He then enrolled as a graduate student at the University of Victoria (UVic), completed an intern program at the provincial legislature and graduated with a Master of Arts in political science in 1978.[3][4][5]

After graduation, he returned to Sicamous to help run the family berry farm.[3][4] He was also elected to the board of the Columbia-Shuswap Regional District in 1980, serving as its chair at one point, and returned to the Okanagan College's Salmon Arm campus to work as a political science instructor.[1][3][4]

He and his wife Lesley have three children;[1] he was also involved in coaching minor hockey.[4][6]

Provincial politics

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Opposition and Campbell ministry

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Abbott ran for the BC Liberals in the 1996 provincial election, and was elected member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Shuswap with less than 35% of the vote.[3] While the Liberals were in opposition, Abbott served as municipal affairs and forests critic and deputy house leader.[4]

He was re-elected in that riding in the 2001 election, and was appointed Minister of Community, Aboriginal and Women's Services that June.[7] As minister, Abbott worked with the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) to pass the Community Charter. He was later awarded a lifetime membership in UBCM for his work on the file.[8]

Abbott became Minister of Sustainable Resource Management on January 26, 2004.[7] In this role, he worked with industry, environmental, and First Nations groups to complete the Great Bear Rainforest agreement which included a move to ecosystem-based management. As a result of his work on this file, Abbott was the only BC Liberal Candidate endorsed by the Conservation Voters of BC in the 2005 election.[9]

After the 2005 election, Abbot was appointed Minister of Health.[7] He partnered with the BC Medical Association to introduce Electronic Health Records to BC.[10] Abbott enshrined the five principles of the Canada Health Act, plus a sixth – the principle of sustainability – in provincial law.[11] He also pushed for innovation in the health system and introduced the $100-million Health Innovation Fund, which funded pilot projects to reduce wait times in emergency rooms and for elective surgeries.[12]

Following the 2009 election, he became Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation[7] and government deputy house leader on June 10, 2009. As minister, Abbott worked with First Nations leaders to designate the Salish Sea[13] and Haida Gwaii,[14] and signed a final agreement with the Yale First Nation.[15] He served in these roles until October 25, 2010, when he was named Minister of Education.[7]

Campaign for Liberal leadership

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Main article: 2011 British Columbia Liberal Party leadership election

On November 25, 2010, George Abbott announced he was running for the leadership of the BC Liberal Party to succeed Gordon Campbell, and resigned his cabinet post.[16][17] During the campaign he stated he would move the date of the harmonized sales tax referendum from September 24, 2011 to no later than June 24 of that year, and increase the minimum wage.[18] He called for a review or the $6 million payment made for expenses incurred by convicted Liberal aides Robert Virk and David Basi in association with the BC Rail trial. However, he refused to call for a full public inquiry in the alleged scandal involving allegations of bribes to Liberal party insiders.[19] He placed third in the leadership election, which was won by Christy Clark.[20]

Clark ministry

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On March 14, 2011, Abbott was appointed minister of education, as a part of Clark's initial cabinet.[21][22]

On August 30, 2012, Abbott announced he would not be running in the 2013 election.[23] He remained education minister until September 5, 2012.[22][24]

Post-politics

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In 2013, Abbott re-enrolled at the University of Victoria, where he began writing a thesis on the impact of the federal–provincial division of powers on aboriginal policy.[25] On November 22, 2013, it was announced that Abbott would teach a course on BC's political economy at UVic.[26] He received his PhD in 2019.[5]

In 2015, Premier Clark and her cabinet vetoed the appointment of Abbott to be Chief Treaty Commissioner of BC Treaty Commission due to her government aiming to reform the treaty process. Abbott had been working on transition with the departing commission chief and his removal was criticized by First Nations.[27] In 2015, Abbott revealed that he had let his party membership lapse and considered himself non-partisan. He stressed that it was not a decision made by any "single thing", but several factors that lead him to be unhappy with the party.[28]

Election results

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BC General Election 2009: Shuswap
Party Candidate Votes % ± Expenditures
Liberal George Abbott 10,764 46.62% $92,432
  NDP Steve Gunner 7,051 30.54% $41,011
Green Michel Saab 2,539 11.00% – $7,149
  Conservative Beryl Ludwig 2,374 10.28% $9,378
Marijuana Chris Emery 361 1.56% $550
Total valid votes 23,089 100%
Total rejected ballots 79 0.34%
Turnout 23,168 56.82%
2005 British Columbia general election: Shuswap
Party Candidate Votes % Expenditures
Liberal George Abbott 11,024 46.96 $89,183
New Democratic Calvin Ross White 8,281 35.27 $60,432
Conservative Beryl Ludwig 2,330 9.92 $5,715
Green Barbara Westerman 1,394 5.94 $1,788
Marijuana Chris Emery 356 1.52 $100
Bloc Paddy Roberts 50 0.21 $897
Patriot Andrew Nicholas Hokhold 42 0.18 $100
Total valid votes 23,477 100.00
Total rejected ballots 93 0.40
Turnout 23,570 64.34
2001 British Columbia general election: Shuswap
Party Candidate Votes % Expenditures
Liberal George Abbott 12,950 56.27% $46,736
  NDP Wayne Fowler 3,788 16.46% $12,950
Unity Al Thiessen 2,857 12.41% $7,793
Green Larissa Lutjen 2,423 10.53% $892
Marijuana Paddy Roberts 835 3.63% $919
  No Affiliation Jeanette (N.O.) McLennan 119 0.52% $100
Central Scott Yee 41 0.18% $6
Total valid votes 23,013 100.00%
Total rejected ballots 65 0.28%
Turnout 23,078 72.01%
BC General Election 1996: Shuswap
Party Candidate Votes % ± Expenditures
Liberal George Abbott 8,596 34.55% $35,489
  NDP Calvin White 7,869 31.63% $37,552
Reform Colin Mayes 5,356 22.58% $21,375
Progressive Democrat Bev Torrens 1,325 5.33% – $4,193
  No Affiliation Gordon Campbell 810 3.26%
Green Paul Stephen De Felice 237 0.95% – $100
Social Credit Robert Goss 221 0.89% – $1,363
  Independent Merv Ritchie 204 0.82% $505
Total valid votes 24,879 100.00%
Total rejected ballots 200 0.80%
Turnout 25,079 72.79%

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Abbott, Hon. George, B.A., M.A. (Shuswap) Minister Of Sustainable Resource Management". Canadian Parliamentary Guide. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  2. ^ McCullough, J.J. (January 9, 2011). "The Race For Premier: George Abbott". Metro (Vancouver edition). Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved October 29, 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d e f McMartin, Will (February 11, 2011). "BC's Most Likely Next Premier? George Abbott". The Tyee. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "MLA: George Abbott". Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Class Notes" (PDF). UVic Torch Alumni Magazine. 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  6. ^ "George Abbott's Biography". georgeabbottmla.bc.ca. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
  7. ^ a b c d e "Campbell Cabinet: 37th Parliament 2001-2005, 38th Parliament 2005-2009, 39th Parliament 2009-2011" (PDF). Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  8. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 6, 2011. Retrieved December 12, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. ^ "CONSERVATION VOTERS ENDORSEES WIN 4 OF 5 RACES — Conservation Voters of BC". Archived from the original on September 23, 2008. Retrieved December 12, 2010.
  10. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on March 5, 2012. Retrieved December 12, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on March 5, 2012. Retrieved December 12, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on March 5, 2012. Retrieved December 12, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. ^ "B.C. waters officially renamed Salish Sea". CBC News. July 15, 2010. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  14. ^ "B.C., Haida celebrate Reconciliation Act, restored name" (Press release). B.C. Ministry of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation, Council of Haida Nation. April 29, 2010. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  15. ^ "Final agreement initialled by Yale First Nation, BC, Canada" (Press release). B.C. Ministry of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation, Yale First Nation, and Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. February 5, 2010. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  16. ^ Austin, Ian (November 25, 2010). "Abbott steps into leadership ring with support from several MLAs". The Province. Archived from the original on November 29, 2010. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
  17. ^ Wintonyk, Darcy (November 25, 2010). "Abbott enters race to become BC Liberal leader". CTV News. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  18. ^ Ward, Doug (November 25, 2010). "George Abbott vows to be collaborative' leader who would win back Liberal supporters". Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on November 29, 2010.
  19. ^ "Abbott and de Jong trade barbs over B.C. Rail as Liberal campaign heats up". Archived from the original on January 8, 2011.
  20. ^ "Christy Clark voted B.C. Liberal leader". CBC News. February 26, 2011. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  21. ^ "B.C. Premier Christy Clark sworn in, unveils cabinet". CTV News. March 14, 2011. Archived from the original on September 3, 2014. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
  22. ^ a b "Christy Clark Cabinet 2011-2017" (PDF). Legislative Library of British Columbia. January 24, 2018. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  23. ^ Steffenhagen, Janet (August 30, 2012). "George Abbott will leave B.C. politics, but not education". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  24. ^ Hunter, Justine (September 5, 2011). "Clark shuffles cabinet to 'set the foundation' ahead of 2013 election". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on September 8, 2012.
  25. ^ Bailey, Ian (October 17, 2012). "Veteran politician George Abbott hits the books". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  26. ^ Hawk, Vanessa (November 22, 2013). "MLA George Abbott to teach course on B.C. political economy this spring". Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  27. ^ Kines, Lindsay (March 26, 2015). "Premier: George Abbott out because B.C. treaty process needs reform". Victoria Times-Colonist. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
  28. ^ Macleod, Andrew (June 30, 2015). "George Abbott Quits Liberals He Sought to Lead". The Tyee. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
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