The finance minister of British Columbia has announced she will not run in the next provincial election after almost two decades in the legislature.
Katrine Conroy stated that it will be difficult to leave the people she has worked with for many years, but at 66, it is time to step back and spend time with her family.
Conroy has held various positions under the New Democrat government and mentioned it is difficult to choose a “greatest accomplishment,” but she is particularly proud of her work to exempt post-secondary tuition fees for former youth in care.
She has also served as forests minister and expressed gratitude to Premier David Eby and his predecessor, John Horgan, during the announcement on Friday, saying they “had the courage to appoint this rural woman to cabinet.”
Conroy was first elected in 2005 to represent West Kootenay-Boundary, then re-elected in 2009, 2013, 2017, and 2020.
She mentioned that one of her sons reminded her that a Conroy had been on ballots in the region since 1986. That’s when her late husband Ed Conroy first ran as a school board trustee before he too served as an MLA between 1992 and 2001.
“That’s 38 years of our family supporting both of us in public service to our communities,” Conroy said at an announcement in Castlegar in the southern Interior, her voice faltering with emotion.
“I have been here as an elected official since (2005) and vicariously through my husband when he was an MLA for 10 years.”
In addition to finance, Conroy currently serves as minister responsible for the Columbia Basin Trust, Columbia Power Corporation, and the Columbia River Treaty.
She mentioned that her work will continue until someone is elected to replace her.
While the NDP were in opposition before the 2017 election, Conroy was the critic for seniors and Interior economic development, among other roles.
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