William King (Canadian politician)

William 'Bill' King (born September 15, 1930) is a former British Columbia politician from Revelstoke. King was a member of Dave Barrett's 1972 BC NDP provincial government, serving in the post of Minister of Labour.[1]

William King
Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
In office
March 17, 1976 – June 14, 1976
PremierBill Bennett
Preceded byDave Barrett
Succeeded byDave Barrett
Minister of Labour
In office
September 15, 1972 – December 22, 1975
PremierDave Barrett
Preceded byJack Heinrich
Succeeded byLouis Allan Williams
Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly
for Shuswap-Revelstoke
Revelstoke-Slocan (1968-1969, 1972-1979)
In office
August 30, 1972 – May 5, 1983
Preceded byBurton Peter Campbell
Succeeded byCliff Michael
In office
July 15, 1968 – August 27, 1969
Preceded byRandolph Harding
Succeeded byBurton Peter Campbell
Personal details
Born (1930-09-15) September 15, 1930
Tisdale, Saskatchewan
Political partyNew Democratic Party of British Columbia

King was born in Tisdale, Saskatchewan to Irish immigrants Patrick and Minnie King. He married Audrey Lennard on October 10, 1953, with whom he had two children, Linda and William Jr. He attended Nelson High School in Nelson, BC and the Labour College of Canada at the University of Montreal in 1967.

He entered politics as a teenager in 1943, when he acted as a runner between polling stations and the campaign headquarters of Herbert Herridge, CCF MLA for Rossland-Trail. After moving to Revelstoke in 1952, he became an organizer for the CCF at the constituency level and worked on Vincent Segur's campaign in the 1952 provincial election. In 1960 King served as campaign manager for George Hobbs, who won the Revelstoke-Slocan seat for the CCF.

King was first elected to the BC provincial legislature in the Revelstoke-Slocan constituency on July 15, 1968 in a by-election, but was defeated in the 1969 General Election.

He was re-elected in 1972, when the New Democratic Party became the government. Premier Dave Barrett appointed King Minister of Labour.[2] During his time as Minister of Labour, King introduced BC's first Labour Code and Human Rights legislation, and was the first to appoint women to key civil service positions in BC.

In the general election of 1975, NDP leader Dave Barrett lost his seat in the Legislature. King served as Leader of the Opposition[3] until Barrett returned to the House upon winning a by-election in June 1976.

King was elected as the first MLA for the new riding of Shuswap-Revelstoke in the 1979 general election.

References
  1. http://www.worksafebc.com/about_us/history/abt_20_10_30.asp. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. "Cabinet problems for Barrett". Calgary Herald. September 20, 1972. p. 5.
  3. "Speech disappointing to opposition". The Phoenix. Saskatoon. March 18, 1976. p. 13.


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