Joy Kathryn MacPhail CM OBC (born March 6, 1952) is a Canadian former politician in British Columbia.^[1] A longtime member of the British Columbia New Democratic Party, she served as a member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from 1991 to 2005 and as a Minister of the Crown from 1993 to 1999, and 2000–2001.

Background

MacPhail was born in Hamilton, Ontario.^[2] After studying economics at the University of Western Ontario, MacPhail earned a [diploma] in Labour Studies at the London School of Economics.^[3]

Prior to her election, MacPhail was a spokesperson for the B.C. Federation of Labour and an executive assistant to the Federation's then-president, Ken Georgetti.^[4][5]

Political career

MLA and Minister

MacPhail was first elected to the British Columbia Legislature in 1991 as the MLA for Vancouver-Hastings, and served in the cabinets of three NDP premiers.

Under Premier Mike Harcourt, she served as Minister of Social Services from 1993 to 1996. Under Premier Glen Clark, she briefly remained Minister of Social Services, before a cabinet shuffle moved MacPhail into the position of Minister of Health from 1996 to 1998. MacPhail's final cabinet position in the Clark government was as Minister of Finance from 1998 to her departure in 1999, leaving Clark's cabinet at a time when it was suffering from increasing dissent and scandal.

As Finance Minister, MacPhail was tasked with delivering a deficit budget in the aftermath of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, which caused a brief recession in British Columbia. MacPhail and the NDP opted for a Keynesian approach to the recession, investing in major construction projects like the Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre and investment in the SkyTrain network, all of which were criticized by then-opposition leader Gordon Campbell.^[6]

Bid for party leadership

Upon Clark's resignation at NDP leader, MacPhail ran for the party's leadership. MacPhail was characterized in the media as a centrist, promising a Tony Blair-style move to the Third Way and a focus on tax cuts and balanced budgets.^[7]

As fellow contender Ujjal Dosanjh consolidated more support, MacPhail withdrew from the race, throwing her support behind Dosanjh to prevent a victory by the Clark-endorsed Gordon Wilson, who was serving as Minister of Education at the time. Wilson, who had jumped from the British Columbia Liberals to the Progressive Democratic Alliance before joining the NDP, would eventually withdraw from the race and endorse Agriculture Minister Corky Evans, who would lose to Dosanjh on the first ballot.^[8] Under Dosanjh, she was the Deputy Premier and served as Minister of Labour and, later, Minister of Education.

Final term

The NDP suffered a massive electoral blow in the May 16, 2001, provincial election. Only MacPhail and then-Minister of the Environment, Jenny Kwan, retained their seats. MacPhail held onto her seat by 409 votes. Media noted that MacPhail's campaign was benefited by controversy surrounding her Green opponent, Ian Gregson, who had written an explicit article for Hustler Magazine in 1997.^[9]

Exactly one month after the election, MacPhail was appointed as the party's interim leader. She was a harsh critic of the new BC Liberal premier Gordon Campbell. Although the NDP was the only other party in the legislature, it was four seats short of official party status. Despite this, Assembly speaker Claude Richmond ensured that the NDP was resourced as an opposition party and MacPhail was recognized by the speaker as the leader of the Opposition.

MacPhail stepped down as leader in 2003 and was succeeded by Carole James. She remained as parliamentary leader of the NDP until her retirement from politics after the 2005 election.

In a profile written regarding MacPhail's retirement in 2005, the Canadian Press erroneously reported that MacPhail is the great-granddaughter of Agnes Macphail, the first woman elected to Canada's Parliament and a founder of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, when, in fact, the two have no familial relation.^[10]

Post-politics

Two months after her retirement from politics, MacPhail married film and television producer James Shavick in California and became a partner in his production firm Shavick Entertainment.^[11]

In 2006, MacPhail and Shavick purchased OutTV, a Canadian cable television station focused on programming for the LGBTQ+ community. MacPhail, a long-time advocate for the community, expressed interest in producing or starring in some of the network's programming, stating: "It's exciting, I must tell you. This is very nice next step for me!"^[12]

During the 2012 NDP Leadership race, MacPhail endorsed Brian Topp.^[13]

In July 2017, once the BC NDP formed the provincial government, MacPhail replaced Barry Penner as chair of Insurance Corporation of British Columbia.^[14]

On 29 June 2022 she became chair of the board of directors at BC Ferries.^[15]

She received membership in the Order of Canada on 29 December 2021^[16] and was given the Order of British Columbia on 1 August 2022.^[17]