John Horgan is no stranger to many HEU members. He’s delivered powerful speeches to two HEU conventions with his signature style – landing jokes and bringing members to their feet with his pledge to create a better B.C.
And he may have the record for most selfies taken with members. At the 2016 convention he spent two hours talking with members one-on-one and hearing their stories.
“I have a deep respect for the work HEU members do across the health care system,” says Horgan. “And I’ve gained a deep understanding of the challenges they face on the job.”
His approach to politics is down-to-earth and genuine.
Raised by a single mother – his father died when he was a baby – he and his three siblings grew up in a family struggling to make ends meet.
Having taken on many jobs from driving delivery trucks to working in a pulp mill, Horgan is used to hard work. He put himself through university where, as luck would have it, on the second day of classes he met his future wife Ellie. Together, they made a family and built a life around their two sons Nate and Evan.
In fact in 2005, it was one of Nate’s friends who heard Horgan yelling at the TV about something the BC Liberals had done. He put him on the spot and asked him what he was going to do about it?
Horgan rose to the challenge. That year, he won the race to become MLA for the riding of Malahat-Juan de Fuca. And in 2014, he became the leader of the BC New Democratic Party.
As leader of the opposition, he has a reputation for fighting hard on issues that matter to people – housing affordability, the opioid crisis, child care, school cuts and closures, seniors’ care, strong public services, and more.
Horgan is particularly passionate about protecting health care. “We need to fix public health care in B.C. and I want HEU members to know that we’re in this together. I stand with all HEU members in our fight for strong public health care, social justice and workers’ rights.”
And he is unequivocal about the BC Liberals’ Bill 29, which facilitated widespread contracting out and contract-flipping in health care. “Under my leadership, an NDP government will scrap the rest of Bill 29 and restore successor rights for health care workers,” he says.
Horgan wants a better life for working people and families. It isn’t fair that people earning minimum wage have to struggle to keep their heads above water, he says.
“B.C. has one of the lowest minimum wages in Canada. It keeps low-wage earners in poverty and it pushes down wages for everyone,” says Horgan. “In my first term, we’re going to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour.”
Horgan says he wants to lead a government that puts the interests of all British Columbians on the table and puts people back at the centre of politics.
In his view, it’s time to fix what is broken in this province.
“Governing is about choices and I want to restore people’s faith in the ability of government to make life better.
“I want to lead a government that rejects inequality and fights for equity, because I believe government needs to make life better for people – not harder.”