The Ministry of Health is a department of the Government of British Columbia which oversees the provincial health care system. It manages services including the Medical Services Plan, HealthLinkBC, PharmaCare, and the BC Vital Statistics Agency.
The majority of health services are delivered through partnerships with health authorities, physicians and other health professionals. The ministry works with five regional health authorities (Fraser Health, Interior Health, Island Health, Northern Health and Vancouver Coastal Health) and one province-wide health authority, the Provincial Health Services Authority, which is responsible for specialized health services. It also supports the role of the Provincial Health Officer, whose office is housed within the ministry.
Ravi Kahlon is the Minister of Health since 2026.
As of 2025, the Deputy Minister of Health is Cynthia Johansen. The Associate Deputy Ministers are Tiffany Ma and Diana Clarke. An earlier acting appointment of Alexandra Faye (Ally) Butler as Associate Deputy Minister was rescinded in April 2025.
History On February 21, 1946, the government announced plans to establish a separate department for health; until then, health policy had been the purview of the provincial secretary. The Department of Health and Welfare was formally established on October 1, 1946, with George Pearson as the inaugural minister.
During the first term of the Gordon Campbell government, a separate Ministry of Health Planning was created (led by Sindi Hawkins) but that ministry was later merged back into the main ministry. During the same period, there were also two ministers of state: one for seniors and another for mental health and addictions.
Under John Horgan, a separate Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions was established. Following the 2024 provincial election, Premier David Eby’s administration ended the stand-alone ministry and folded it back into the Ministry of Health. The 2025/26 Estimates show the "Mental Health and Addictions (Disestablished)" vote with funds transferred to Health in November 2024.
COVID-19 and public health On April 30, 2020, the Ministry published guidance alongside the BC Centre for Disease Control on interpreting PCR test results for COVID-19. On Sept. 12, 2024 the Provincial Health Officer rescinded the COVID-19 public-health emergency orders. On March 28, 2025 the PHO declared the end of the 2024–25 respiratory illness season and lifted temporary measures in health-care settings.
Professional regulation modernization On October 19, 2022, Minister Adrian Dix introduced the Health Professions and Occupations Act (HPOA), which received Royal Assent on Nov. 24, 2022. Specific sections came into force on Oct. 18, 2023 to establish the Health Professions and Occupations Regulatory Oversight Office, headed by a Superintendent appointed in June 2024. As part of ongoing amalgamations under the modernization initiative, several health regulatory colleges were amalgamated effective June 28, 2024. The HPOA is scheduled to come into force on April 1, 2026, replacing the Health Professions Act.
List of ministers + List of ministers Minister Term start Term end Political party Cabinet Minister of Health and Welfare George Sharratt Pearson October 1, 1946 December 29, 1947 Hart December 29, 1947 May 3, 1950 Johnson Alexander Douglas Turnbull May 3, 1950 August 1, 1952 Eric Martin August 1, 1952 March 20, 1959 W. A. C. Bennett Minister of Health Services and Hospital Insurance Eric Martin March 20, 1959 December 12, 1966 W. A. C. Bennett Wesley Black December 12, 1966 May 24, 1968 Ralph Loffmark May 24, 1968 September 15, 1972 Dennis Cocke September 15, 1972 November 7, 1973 Barrett Minister of Health Dennis Cocke November 7, 1973 December 22, 1975 Barrett Robert McClelland December 22, 1975 November 24, 1979 B. Bennett Rafe Mair November 24, 1979 January 6, 1981 Jim Nielsen January 6, 1981 February 11, 1986 Stephen Rogers February 11, 1986 April 3, 1986 Jim Nielsen April 3, 1986 August 6, 1986 August 6, 1986 November 6, 1986 Vander Zalm Peter Dueck November 6, 1986 November 1, 1989 John Jansen November 1, 1989 April 2, 1991 April 2, 1991 May 7, 1991 Johnston Bruce Strachan May 7, 1991 November 5, 1991 Elizabeth Cull November 5, 1991 September 15, 1993 Harcourt Paul Ramsey September 15, 1993 February 28, 1996 Andrew Petter February 28, 1996 June 17, 1996 G. Clark Joy MacPhail June 17, 1996 February 18, 1998 Penny Priddy February 18, 1998 August 25, 1999 August 25, 1999 February 24, 2000 Miller Mike Farnworth February 29, 2000 November 1, 2000 Dosanjh Corky Evans November 1, 2000 June 5, 2001 Minister of Health Services Colin Hansen June 5, 2001 December 15, 2004 Campbell Shirley Bond December 15, 2004 June 16, 2005 Minister of Health George Abbott June 16, 2005 June 23, 2008 Campbell Minister of Health Services George Abbott June 23, 2008 June 10, 2009 Campbell Kevin Falcon June 10, 2009 November 30, 2010 Colin Hansen November 30, 2010 March 14, 2011 Minister of Health Mike de Jong March 14, 2011 September 5, 2012 C. Clark Margaret MacDiarmid September 5, 2012 June 10, 2013 Terry Lake June 10, 2013 June 12, 2017 Mary Polak June 12, 2017 July 18, 2017 Adrian Dix July 18, 2017 November 18, 2022 Horgan November 18, 2022 November 18, 2024 Eby Josie Osborne November 18, 2024 August 14, 2026 Ravi Kahlon August 14, 2026
See also E-Comm, 9-1-1 call and dispatch centre for Southwestern BC
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