The First Premier

Irish-born Victoria lawyer John Foster McCreight was selected by Lieutenant-Governor Trutch to be British Columbia's first premier. Entering the Executive Council in July 1871, he laid the legislative base for the new province from November 1871 until defeated on a confidence vote in December 1872. Leaving politics in 1875, he was appointed to the Provincial Supreme Court in 1880 and retired in 1897.

From BC's Stops of Interest