View source for Mike Harcourt

{{short description|Premier of British Columbia from 1991 to 1996}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|image         = Mike Harcourt.jpg
|name          = Mike Harcourt
|birth_name    = Michael Franklin Harcourt
|caption       = 
|order         = 30th [[Premier of British Columbia]]
|term_start    = November 5, 1991
|term_end      = February 22, 1996
|predecessor   = [[Rita Johnston]]
|successor     = [[Glen Clark]]
|monarch       = [[Elizabeth II]]
|lieutenant_governor = [[David Lam (real estate entrepreneur)|David Lam]]<br />[[Garde Gardom]]
| office1               = [[Leader of the Opposition (British Columbia)|Leader of the Opposition in British Columbia]]
| term_start1           = April 12, 1987
| term_end1             = November 5, 1991
| preceded1             = [[Bob Skelly]]
| succeeded1            = [[Gordon Wilson (British Columbia politician)|Gordon Wilson]]
| office2             = Leader of the [[British Columbia New Democratic Party]]
| term_start2         = April 12, 1987
| term_end2           = February 22, 1996
| predecessor2        = [[Bob Skelly]]
| successor2          = [[Glen Clark]]
|alongside3    = [[Emery Barnes]] <small>(1986-1991)</small>
|constituency_AM3 = [[Vancouver-Mount Pleasant]]<br /><small>[[Vancouver Centre (provincial electoral district)|Vancouver Centre]] (1986-1991)</small>
|assembly3        = British Columbia Legislative
|term_start3   = October 22, 1986
|term_end3     = May 28, 1996
|predecessor3  = [[Gary Lauk]]<br />[[Emery Barnes]]
|successor3    = [[Jenny Kwan]]
|office4       = 34th [[Mayor of Vancouver]]
|term_start4   = January 1, 1981
|term_end4     = December 8, 1986
|predecessor4  = [[Jack Volrich]]
|successor4    = [[Gordon Campbell (Canadian politician)|Gordon Campbell]]
|birth_date    = {{birth date and age|1943|1|6}}
|birth_place   = [[Edmonton|Edmonton, Alberta]]
|party         = [[The Electors' Action Movement]] (municipal; until 1976) <br> Civic Independents (municipal; 1984–1986)<ref>{{cite news|title=Harcourt zaps Zalm|date=November 18, 1984|page=3|newspaper=The Province|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-province/168358703/|accessdate=March 19, 2025}}</ref> <br/> [[British Columbia New Democratic Party|New Democratic]]
|spouse        = Becky Harcourt
| occupation = Politician
| profession = Lawyer
| education = [[University of British Columbia]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]] & [[LLB]])
}}

'''Michael Franklin Harcourt''' [[Officer of the Order of Canada|OC]] (born January 6, 1943) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 30th [[premier of British Columbia]] from 1991 to 1996, and before that as the 34th [[List of mayors of Vancouver|mayor of Vancouver]], British Columbia's largest city, from 1980 to 1986.

== Early life and education ==
Harcourt was student council president at [[Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School (Vancouver)|Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School]] and studied at the [[University of British Columbia]], where he graduated [[Bachelor of Arts|BA]] and [[Bachelor of Laws|LLB]]. He founded and became the first director (1969–1971) of the Vancouver Community Legal Assistance Society, reputedly Canada's first community law office.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mike Harcourt|url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/mike-harcourt/|access-date=September 7, 2015}}</ref>

== Municipal politics ==
Harcourt served as a [[Vancouver]] alderman from 1973 to 1980. He was first elected as a member of [[the Electors' Action Movement]] (TEAM).<ref>"Landslide by TEAM buries NPA" ''The Vancouver Sun''  1972 December 14, p. 1</ref> He left the party in 1976 after he lost the party's nomination for mayor to [[Jack Volrich]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Volrich wins, Harcort walks|date=September 18, 1976|page=1|newspaper=Vancouver Sun|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-vancouver-sun/168419231/|accessdate=March 20, 2025}}</ref> He was [[List of mayors of Vancouver|Mayor of Vancouver]] from 1980 to 1986. As mayor, his term in office was dominated by planning for [[Expo 86]], an event that saw many new developments come to the city, and an event he adamantly opposed coming to the city in the first place.{{Cn|date=January 2025}}

Mayor Michael Harcourt was the very first Mayor in any city to declare an Animal Rights Day (Proclamation at lifeforcefoundation.org) It was August 3, 1983 and hereafter as requested by Peter Hamilton, Lifeforce Foundation.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

== Provincial politics and premiership ==
He was first elected to the [[Legislature of British Columbia|British Columbia Legislature]] in the [[1986 British Columbia general election|1986 British Columbia election]]. He became the leader of the [[British Columbia New Democratic Party]] (NDP) and the leader of the [[Official Opposition]] in the following year. He was considered to be a moderate within the ranks of his [[social democracy|social democratic]] party.

In the [[1991 British Columbia general election|1991 provincial election]], Harcourt led the NDP back to power, defeating the [[Social Credit Party of British Columbia|Social Credit]] party led by [[Rita Johnston]]. That marked the second time that the NDP had ever been in power in [[British Columbia]] (BC) and the first since 1975.

On taking office, Harcourt's government increased the basic rate of monthly social assistance by 5%, from $500 to $525.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=http://rogerannis.com/vancouver-sun-recalls-bc-ndp-record-on-welfare-rate-cuts/|title=Vancouver Sun recalls BC NDP record on welfare rate cuts|last=Palmer|first=Vaughn|date=2011-12-06|work=A Socialist in Canada|access-date=2017-06-16|language=en-US}}</ref> By 1993, it had reached $535 per month, coupled with increases in other rates and a relaxation of [[means testing]] of applicants. As [[Ralph Klein]] introduced severe spending cuts in neighbouring [[Alberta]], Harcourt accused him in December 1993 of driving Albertan welfare recipients into British Columbia.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/flashback-15-years-ago-25-years-ago/article17976888/|title=FLASHBACK // 15 YEARS AGO // 25 YEARS AGO|last=Clarke|first=Brennan|date=2008-12-26|access-date=2017-06-16|language=en-ca}}</ref> An increase in out-of-province applications for income assistance and surge in welfare rolls and spending (''[[The Vancouver Sun]]'' noted in 1993 that almost 10% of the population were claiming social assistance),<ref name=":0" /> coupled with a shift towards an intolerant view of [[welfare fraud]] in [[Canadian politics]],<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HBALEwrAT2YC&q=mike+harcourt+welfare&pg=PA83|title=Poverty: Rights, Social Citizenship, and Legal Activism|last1=Young|first1=Margot|last2=Boyd|first2=Susan|last3=Brodsky|first3=Gwen|last4=Day|first4=Shelagh|date=2011-11-01|publisher=UBC Press|isbn=9780774840835|pages=82–83|language=en}}</ref> affected the government's standing. A controversial news story about welfare fraud among British Columbia's [[Somali Canadians|Somali Canadian]] community, after the government had denied that system abuse was taking place, further hurt its standing.<ref name=":1" />

Harcourt reacted by abandoning his social democratic policy and moving to the right on welfare. He fired [[Joan Smallwood]] as Minister of Social Services, replaced her with [[Joy MacPhail]], reduced welfare rates, and made it more difficult for families to claim assistance.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c598qbT6gBMC&q=mike+harcourt+welfare&pg=PA43|title=People, Politics, and Child Welfare in British Columbia|last1=Foster|first1=Leslie T.|last2=Wharf|first2=Brian|date=2011-11-01|publisher=UBC Press|isbn=9780774840972|pages=44|language=en}}</ref> Announcing the policy shift in September 1993, he infamously described it as a crackdown on "cheats, deadbeats and varmints".<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /> He later expressed regret for those comments by blaming a "relentless" coverage of welfare fraud causes by the media for the action.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /> The resulting BC Benefits welfare reform package, which included budget cuts, new restrictions, and a reduction in the basic rate to $500 per month, the same it had been when Harcourt took office, proved hard to accept for the NDP<ref name=":0" /> and had a lasting effect on its reputation by hampering its attempts to condemn later governments for undertaking similar welfare crackdowns.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/ndp-attacks-b-c-welfare-crackdown-1.923201|title=NDP attacks B.C. welfare crackdown|work=CBC News|access-date=2017-06-16|language=en}}</ref>

The NDP government under Harcourt entered into a contract with Carrier Lumber to build roads and construct new mills to handle an increased volume of wood because of the infestation of the mountain pine beetle. On May 13, 1992, Harcourt ignored the contract between his government and Carrier Lumber and promised several First Nations that no timber would be harvested and that no roads would be built without their agreement. Phillip Halkett, deputy minister of forests, testified at trial, "The Premier had no authority to make that promise." The courts awarded Carrier Lumber $156 million and ruled that there had been a deliberate attempt to destroy the company and that government officials had conspired to withhold 2,000 pages of documents in an attempt to defeat Carrier's damage suit. Justice Glenn Parrett of the [[Supreme Court of British Columbia]] in his reasons stated of the NDP government, "It is difficult to conceive of a more compelling and cynical example of duplicity and bad faith."<ref>{{cite CanLII|litigants=Carrier Lumber Ltd. v. British Columbia|year=1999|court=bcsc|num=6979|format=canlii|pinpoint=para. 400|date=19990729|courtname=auto}}</ref>

Harcourt resigned as premier in February 1996 as the result of "Bingogate", a scandal in which [[David Stupich]], a former NDP [[Member of the Legislative Assembly (Canada)|member of the Legislative Assembly]] (MLA) and [[Member of Parliament (Canada)|member of Parliament]] (MP) from BC, used money raised by a charity bingo to fund the party. While it was determined by a BC Ministry of Justice special prosecutor that Harcourt was not directly responsible for the scandal, he took political responsibility for it. He was succeeded as premier by [[Glen Clark]] in 1996.<ref>{{cite news|title=Harcourt cleared of any Bingogate wrongdoing|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/harcourt-cleared-of-any-bingogate-wrongdoing-1.174461|publisher=CBC News|access-date=September 28, 2011|date=September 1, 1999}}</ref> He did not run for another term as MLA in the [[1996 British Columbia general election]]; [[Jenny Kwan]] succeeded him as the NDP candidate and later MLA of [[Vancouver-Mount Pleasant]].

Harcourt's challenges as premier, with both the legislature and the media, were chronicled in Vancouver journalist [[Daniel Gawthrop (writer)|Daniel Gawthrop]]'s book ''Highwire Act: Power, Pragmatism, and the Harcourt Legacy'',<ref>Highwire Act: Power, Pragmatism and the Harcourt Legacy (New Star Books, 1996) — {{ISBN|9780921586487}}</ref> which was published shortly after his resignation as the NDP was preparing for the [[British Columbia New Democratic Party leadership elections|leadership convention]] in which Clark was named his successor.

== Post-politics ==
After serving as premier, Harcourt became associated with the [[University of British Columbia]] (UBC). He was involved in research relating to sustainable development and cities.

Harcourt was severely injured in a near-fatal fall at his cottage<ref>[http://www.cbc.ca/bc/bookclub/mikeharcourt.html CBC Studio One Book Club. An interview and reading with Mike Harcourt. Oct 2, 2005 (Streaming audio available)] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070203152202/http://www.cbc.ca/bc/bookclub/mikeharcourt.html |date=February 3, 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1100881449694_96290649 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090321164802/http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1100881449694_96290649 |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 21, 2009 |title=Mike Harcourt talks tragedy and triumph in book |publisher=CTV |date=November 19, 2004 |access-date=January 28, 2012 }}</ref> on [[Pender Island]] in November 2002, which resulted in a severe [[spinal-cord injury]]. After 13 years as a partial quadriplegic, he describes 20 percent of his body as still paralyzed.<ref name="Mulgrew16" /> The former premier received a widespread outpouring of empathy and support from his fellow British Columbians and his rapid recovery astonished doctors. He spent several months at the world-renowned [[GF Strong Rehab Centre|GF Strong]] facility. He later published a book about his ordeal, called ''Plan B.''

He was named as a special advisor to [[Prime Minister of Canada|Prime Minister]] [[Paul Martin]] on cities on December 12, 2003.

His book ''City Making in Paradise'' was released in August 2007.{{Cn|date=January 2025}}

In November 2007, he received an [[Legum Doctor|honorary doctoral degree in law]] (LLD) from UBC. In February 2009, he was appointed associate director of the new UBC Continuing Studies [[Centre for Sustainability]], where his mandate was to contribute to the development of educational programs that emphasized practical knowledge in [[Climate change mitigation|tackling climate change]] and other sustainability issues.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.publicaffairs.ubc.ca/media/releases/2009/mr-09-016.html |title=Former Premier Mike Harcourt to Guide UBC Continuing Studies Centre for Sustainability |publisher=Public Affairs |date=February 4, 2009 |access-date=January 28, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927155034/http://www.publicaffairs.ubc.ca/media/releases/2009/mr-09-016.html |archive-date=September 27, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 2008, Harcourt became a key adviser to then–newly elected mayor of Vancouver [[Gregor Robertson (politician)|Gregor Robertson]], including topics about transparency and transportation.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bula |first=Frances |date=2008-12-12 |title=Joined at the hip: The mutually beneficial relationship of a mayor and his closest adviser |language=en-CA |work=The Globe and Mail |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/joined-at-the-hip-the-mutually-beneficial-relationship-of-a-mayor-and-his-closest-adviser/article664612/ |access-date=2022-08-09}}</ref><ref name="Cooper152">{{cite news |last1=Cooper |first1=Sam |date=2015-02-25 |title=Harcourt's 'Golden Mile' windfall: Former B.C. premier's family could reap $6-million profit from sale of property |work=The Province newspaper |url=https://theprovince.com/business/harcourt+golden+mile+windfall+former+premier+family+could+reap+million+profit+from+sale/10846074/story.html |access-date=29 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150710130228/https://theprovince.com/business/harcourt+golden+mile+windfall+former+premier+family+could+reap+million+profit+from+sale/10846074/story.html |archive-date=10 July 2015}}</ref>

In 2011, Harcourt joined five other former mayors of Vancouver to urge the federal government to halt its efforts to close [[Insite]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Mickleburgh |first=Rod |date=2011-05-10 |title=Former mayors speak out for Insite |language=en-CA |work=The Globe and Mail |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/former-mayors-speak-out-for-insite/article579493/ |access-date=2022-08-09}}</ref>

In the January 31, 2014, issue of ''High Country News''<ref>{{cite news|last1=Marsa|first1=Linda|title=How Vancouver, BC became North America's smart growth leader|url=http://www.hcn.org/issues/46.1/mary-lee-and-the-butterfly-effect|work=High Country News|date=January 31, 2014}}</ref> Harcourt stated he was recruited in the 1960s by an activist group to oppose a freeway that would have connected the Trans-Canada Highway to downtown Vancouver. "{{-'}}You've been hired to stop the freeway{{'-}}", he recalled being told.

Harcourt revealed in April 2014 that he had allowed his NDP membership to lapse and now considers himself an independent. "I don't know whether it's a trial separation or a decree absolute", he told the ''Globe and Mail'' in an interview.<ref name=":3" /> Harcourt cited several complaints against his former party, including former leader [[Adrian Dix]]'s decision to oppose the Kinder Morgan pipeline and the party's general disposition against mining, logging and other resource-extraction industries, the party's 2009 opposition to the BC Liberal government's proposed [[carbon tax]], and the 2010 caucus revolt that forced the resignation of then-leader [[Carole James]].<ref name=":3">{{cite news|title=Former premier Mike Harcourt quits B.C. NDP in nasty public split|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/former-premier-mike-harcourt-quits-bc-ndp-in-public-and-nasty-split/article17751648/|access-date=April 1, 2014|newspaper=Globe and Mail|date=April 1, 2014}}</ref>

Harcourt had repeatedly supported the legalization of [[cannabis]] and, in May 2014, announced that he would be an advisor to True Leaf Medicine, a [[Vernon, British Columbia|Vernon]]-based start-up company seeking [[Health Canada]] approval to produce and sell [[medical cannabis|medicinal marijuana]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Fong|first1=Petti|title=Former Premier Mike Harcourt Goes to Pot|url=http://www.bcbusiness.ca/people/former-premier-mike-harcourt-goes-to-pot|work=BC Business Magazine|date=May 30, 2014}}</ref> Harcourt admitted previous personal use of marijuana in the 1960s and 1970s.<ref name="Mulgrew16">{{cite news|last1=Mulgrew|first1=Ian|title=Ex-premier Harcourt pumped about legalizing pot plan, likes PM's 'gutsy' move|url=https://vancouversun.com/news/national/ian-mulgrew-ex-premier-harcourt-pumped-about-legalizing-pot-plan-likes-pms-gutsy-move|work=The Vancouver Sun|date=2016-08-26}}</ref>

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline}}

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{{Succession box|before=[[Bob Skelly]]|title=[[Leader of the Opposition in the British Columbia Legislature]]|years=1987&ndash;1991|after=[[Gordon Wilson (British Columbia politician)|Gordon Wilson]]}}
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{{BCPremiers}}
{{BC NDP Leaders}}
{{Mayors of Vancouver}}
{{Harcourt ministry}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Harcourt, Mike}}
[[Category:1943 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian lawyers]]
[[Category:20th-century mayors of places in British Columbia]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the University of British Columbia]]
[[Category:Canadian cannabis activists]]
[[Category:Canadian lawyers with disabilities]]
[[Category:Canadian politicians with disabilities]]
[[Category:House of Harcourt|Mike]]
[[Category:Lawyers in British Columbia]]
[[Category:Leaders of the British Columbia CCF/NDP]]
[[Category:Leaders of the opposition (British Columbia)]]
[[Category:Mayors of Vancouver]]
[[Category:Members of the Executive Council of British Columbia]]
[[Category:Officers of the Order of Canada]]
[[Category:Peter A. Allard School of Law alumni]]
[[Category:Politicians from Edmonton]]
[[Category:Premiers of British Columbia]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia]]