Christy Clark facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Christy Clark
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Clark in 2011
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| 35th Premier of British Columbia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office March 14, 2011 – July 18, 2017 |
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| Monarch | Elizabeth II | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lieutenant Governor |
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| Deputy |
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| Preceded by | Gordon Campbell | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | John Horgan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Leader of the Opposition in British Columbia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office July 18, 2017 – August 4, 2017 |
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| Preceded by | John Horgan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Rich Coleman | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Leader of the BC Liberal Party | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office February 26, 2011 – August 4, 2017 |
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| Preceded by | Gordon Campbell | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Rich Coleman (interim) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born |
Christina Joan Clark
October 29, 1965 Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada |
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| Political party | Liberal (federal) BC United (provincial) |
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| Other political affiliations |
Conservative (2022-2023) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse |
Mark Marissen
(m. 1996; div. 2009) |
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| Education | Simon Fraser University (no degree) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Christina Joan Clark (born October 29, 1965) is a Canadian politician. She served as the 35th premier of British Columbia from 2011 to 2017. The premier is the leader of the provincial government. Christy Clark was the second woman to become premier of British Columbia. She was also the first female premier in Canada to lead her party to win the most seats in two elections in a row.
Clark was a member of the British Columbia Liberal Party. She was a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from 1996 to 2005. An MLA is a person elected to the provincial legislature. She also served as Deputy Premier from 2001 to 2005. This was during the first term of Gordon Campbell's government. She left politics in 2005 and hosted a radio talk show. After Gordon Campbell resigned, Clark won the 2011 leadership election. This made her the new premier. She returned to the legislature after winning a special election in Vancouver-Point Grey. Her party, the Liberals, won the 2013 provincial election. This was a surprise victory. In the 2017 provincial election, the Liberals won 43 seats. This was one seat short of a majority. The New Democratic Party (NDP) and Green Party then formed an agreement. Clark's government was defeated in a vote. John Horgan, the NDP leader, became premier on July 18. Clark then announced she would resign as Liberal leader on August 4. She also said she would leave provincial politics.
Contents
Early Life and Family Background
Christy Clark was born on October 29, 1965, in Burnaby, British Columbia. Her parents were Mavis Audrey and Jim Clark. Her father was a teacher. He ran for the legislative assembly three times. Her mother was born in Glasgow, Scotland. She worked as a family therapist in Vancouver.
Clark went to Burnaby South Senior Secondary. She later studied at Simon Fraser University, the Sorbonne in France, and the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. She studied political science and religious studies. She did not complete a degree from any of these universities.
In 2001, Clark had her only child, Hamish Marissen-Clark. His father was her husband at the time, Mark Marissen. Clark was the second woman in Canadian history to have a child while serving as a government minister.
Starting Her Political Journey
As an Opposition Member
Clark was first elected to the legislative assembly in the 1996 election. She represented the area of Port Moody-Burnaby Mountain. For the next five years, she spoke for the Official Opposition. She focused on topics like the environment, children and families, and public service. She also helped lead the BC Liberals' campaign in the 2001 election. In that election, the party won 77 out of 79 seats.
Working in Government
After the BC Liberal Party won the 2001 election, Premier Gordon Campbell appointed Clark as Minister of Education. She also became Deputy Premier. As Education Minister, she introduced changes to improve accountability. She also aimed to give parents more say and choices in the school system. These changes were not popular with teachers and some others.
Clark was Deputy Premier when the BC Rail railway was sold. She was also a co-chair of the 2001 Liberal campaign. That campaign had promised not to sell BC Rail. In 2004, Clark became Minister of Children and Family Development. On September 17, 2004, Clark decided to leave provincial politics. She did not run for re-election in 2005. She said she wanted to spend more time with her young son.
Running for Mayor of Vancouver
On August 31, 2005, Clark announced she wanted to run for mayor of Vancouver. She sought the nomination from the Non-Partisan Association (NPA). On September 24, 2005, she lost the NPA's mayoral nomination to Sam Sullivan. Sullivan later became Mayor of Vancouver.
Radio Host and Columnist
Clark hosted The Christy Clark Show on CKNW 980 AM radio in Vancouver. The show aired on weekdays from August 27, 2007. She stopped hosting when she decided to run for the BC Liberal leadership in December 2010. Clark also wrote a weekly column for the Vancouver Province and the Vancouver Sun newspapers. She also worked as an election analyst for TV channels like Global BC and CTV News Channel.
Campaign to Lead the Party
On December 8, 2010, Clark officially announced she would seek to become the leader of the BC Liberal Party. Many people thought she might become the next premier. Clark said she wanted a "family-first agenda" for the province. She tried to present herself as an outsider. She said she was the only candidate who could bring the change voters wanted.
Her ideas included creating a provincial Family Day in February. She also suggested creating an office to check how local governments spend money. She wanted a more open government by holding regular town hall meetings. Regarding the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST), she first wanted to cancel a planned public vote. She later decided to continue with the vote.
At the leadership convention on February 26, 2011, Clark was elected leader of the BC Liberals. She won on the third round of voting. She received 52 percent of the votes, beating Kevin Falcon.
Premier of British Columbia (2011–2017)
Christy Clark became the Premier of British Columbia on March 14, 2011. She announced a new, smaller cabinet on the same day. At that time, she did not have a seat in the legislature. Clark ran in the riding of Vancouver-Point Grey. This seat was left empty by former Premier Gordon Campbell. She won the election, defeating NDP candidate David Eby. This was the first time in 30 years that a ruling party won a special election.
After Clark became premier, her party's support in polls went up. However, this increase was short-lived. Within months, the party's support dropped again.
In the summer of 2012, some important members of her party announced they would not run for re-election. This news caused some concern for her government.
Winning Re-election in 2013
As the 2013 election got closer, polls showed that Clark was not very popular. However, Clark ran a campaign focused on jobs, natural gas, and a "debt-free" BC. During a televised debate, Clark challenged NDP leader Adrian Dix.
Clark surprised many by leading her party to victory in the May 13, 2013, provincial election. This was her party's fourth win in a row, and her first as leader. However, she personally lost her own seat in Vancouver-Point Grey to NDP candidate David Eby. She was still allowed to be premier. But she needed to win a special election to be a member of the Legislative Assembly.
On June 4, Clark announced she would run in a special election for the seat of Westside-Kelowna. The current MLA, Ben Stewart, resigned to allow Clark to run there. Clark won the special election on July 10, 2013. She received over 60 percent of the votes.
Economic Plans
Under Clark, the party moved towards a more middle-ground approach. She immediately increased the minimum wage. She also created a province-wide Family Day in February. Clark became premier after a big economic downturn. She kept government spending under control. She introduced two budgets with deficits before presenting a balanced budget for 2013–14. This balanced budget included a tax increase for people with high incomes.
Energy Policies
Clark's government wanted to use British Columbia's natural gas reserves. She saw the natural gas industry as a big chance for economic growth. While her predecessor had strong environmental laws, Clark took a more balanced approach. She continued with BC's carbon tax. However, she promised to keep the rate the same during the 2013 election. Her plans for natural gas development seemed to go against earlier goals for reducing greenhouse gas. In 2012, she also said that any future pipeline crossing BC would need to meet five conditions. These included environmental rules and talking with Indigenous groups.
Relations with Indigenous Peoples
In October 2014, the British Columbia government officially cleared the names of First Nations leaders. These leaders had been sentenced to death during the Chilcotin War in 1864. Clark stated that these six Tsilhqot'in chiefs were fully cleared of any crime or wrongdoing.
2017 Election Campaign
The BC Liberals planned to build a bridge to replace the Massey Tunnel. The government also put taxes on property purchases by foreign buyers in Metro Vancouver. They also started a program of no-interest loans for first-time home buyers.
Clark campaigned on her government's economic success. However, her opponents criticized her for not doing enough about political fundraising rules. They said she was too close to big money interests. They also attacked the BC Liberals on issues like housing and transportation costs. Even though BC had strong economic growth, some argued that the province was becoming more unequal. This was due to tax cuts and changes to social support programs.
In the 2017 general election, the BC Liberals won the most seats (43). The NDP won 41 seats, and the Greens won 3. However, the Liberals were one seat short of forming a majority government.
Return to Opposition and Retirement
After the election, the Liberals talked with the Green Party. The Green Party held the deciding votes in the legislature. However, on May 29, 2017, the Greens made an agreement with the NDP instead. This allowed the NDP to form a minority government.
Clark's government did not give up power right away. Her new cabinet was sworn in on June 8. Clark then called the legislative assembly back to see if her government still had support. She gave a speech that included new funding and policies supported by the NDP and Greens. However, both the NDP and Green Party leaders said they would not support the Liberal government.
On June 29, Clark's government was defeated in a vote. Clark then asked the Lieutenant Governor, Judith Guichon, for a new election. Guichon did not agree and refused to dissolve the legislature. Clark then resigned as premier. Guichon invited John Horgan to form a minority government, which took office on July 18.
On July 28, Clark announced she would resign as Liberal Party Leader. She also said she would leave politics, effective August 4, 2017.
After Being Premier
Clark thought about running in the 2020 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election. However, she decided not to. She supported Jean Charest in the 2022 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election.
Considering Federal Liberal Leadership
On June 27, 2024, she suggested that Justin Trudeau should resign as Prime Minister. This was after the Conservative party won a special election. In September 2024, Clark gave a speech about how to run a winning campaign. In October 2024, she said she was interested in running for the leadership of the federal Liberal Party if Justin Trudeau resigned.
After Trudeau announced his resignation on January 6, 2025, Clark was seen as a possible candidate. She had been learning French. On January 10, she said she was seriously thinking about running. On January 14, 2025, she decided not to enter the race. She said it was because she was not fluent in French and the race was too short.
Images for kids
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BC Liberal Party leadership candidate Christy Clark at a Vancouver arts and community centre
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Clark's portrait at the British Columbia Legislative Buildings
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Premier Christy Clark at a 2011 World Economic Forum meeting in India
