"Give your head a shake": John Horgan's top moments (VIDEOS)
John Horgan, BC’s former premier, has announced he will be stepping down as an MLA this spring in order to spend more time with his family.
From losing it in the Legislature to some pretty dad moments, Horgan’s time in politics has been very memorable so we compiled our top 10 moments from John Horgan’s time in provincial politics.
1. “Give your head a shake”: Hulk Horgan tells off trucker convoys
I was asked a few times about a so-called “trucker convoy” – here’s my response 👇 pic.twitter.com/N5EEnZdwpd
— John Horgan (@jjhorgan) March 11, 2022
This was one of the classic Hulk Horgan moments we are going to miss. When asked about the ongoing anti-vaccine, so-called freedom rallies across Canada in the spring, the premier didn’t hold back. Horgan suggested that the people taking part in convoys have “nothing better to do with their time than to drive around in circles honking their horns.”
Adding, “Goodness me, get a hobby.”
The Twitter video has been watched more than 800,000 times and many of the commenters stand with Horgan’s suggestion that these folks give their heads a shake.
2. Horgan flashes Star Trek salute during cabinet swearing-in ceremony
ProvinceofBC/YouTube
We can’t make these things up. While Horgan may be remembered for some hot-headed moments, this one showed his nerdy side. Following his reelection, Horgan performed the Vulcan salute from the popular Star Trek TV series during his swearing-in ceremony in 2020. When a reporter asked him a question about the “live long and prosper” move Horgan said he didn’t even realize he’d done it until after the prestigious and traditional event was over.
3. Put some money back in our pockets
Jason Drury / Facebook
So what if it was a thinly veiled election push for voters in Surrey and beyond? Horgan’s move to lift the tolls on two bridges saved the average family about $1,500 a year. He made the move to make crossing the Port Mann and Golden Ears free in 2017 after taking power, which means folks would be about $7,500 poorer if he hadn’t.
Two years later, British Columbians received their last bill to pay the monthly Medical Services Plan premiums after Horgan announced the province would be phasing it out. BC was among the last places in Canada where free universal health care still had a price tag attached to it, but no more!
4. “Get whichever vaccine is available to you”: Horgan steps up to get AstraZeneca
@jjhorgan/Twitter
While a lot of people were nervous about getting the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, BC’s premier rolled up his sleeve to show he was confident in its safety. It was a big move, and he was among the first group of high-profile people to do it.
“Get whichever vaccine is available to you. The longer you wait to get vaccinated, the longer you’re not protected,” he said in April 2021. “We know the risk of getting infected and ending up in hospital — that is very real.”
5. He gave everyone a look at the apps on his phone, and people were confused.
The context of this one still leaves a lot of questions. In a news conference where journalists asked why the province was introducing a fee on freedom of information requests, Horgan seemed to enter a different world. The context may have been that Horgan was trying to make a point about the request for data from government officials’ phones, and maybe that there was nothing interesting to find, but he asked the cameras to zoom in on the screen for a strange “Tour de App.”
“You’ll see from that, that I play Scrabble, I have Spotify, I check my heart rate, I know what the weather’s going to be like in Prince Rupert, and I have email, I have text messages, and I have a telephone. And a host of other things that I don’t even what they are.”
— No Context BC Gov (@NoContextBCGov) October 21, 2021
6. Ah, f*ck: BC’s premier appears to drop an F-bomb during Question Period
— No Context BC Gov (@NoContextBCGov) April 25, 2022
Things often got heated during Question Period, but when Horgan was asked to defend and explain the ongoing doctor shortage in the province, it reached a breaking point.
“Do you care? Do you really care? Or do you wanna hear yourself? Do you want a headline, or do you want action?” Horgan then dropped the F-bomb.
“If my mom was still around, she’d be on her way to the Legislature with a bar of Irish Spring,” he wrote on Twitter later.
7. “Fatalities are a part of life,” Horgan said about the BC heatwave deaths
Dear rest of Canada: send help@jjhorgan‘s response to heat wave deaths: “Fatalities are a part of life…It was apparent to anyone who walked outdoors that we were in an unprecedented heatwave and there’s a level of personal responsibility”#BCPoli #CanPoli
— Nick Gottlieb (@ngottliebphoto) June 29, 2021
This one really didn’t sit well with a lot of folks. When he was asked if the province had done enough to prevent the mass casualties which occurred during the record-breaking heat dome in June 2021, the premier said that people were very aware that it would be hot and that “fatalities are a part of life.” At the time, the number of deaths had been estimated at 100 people, however, a later report would reveal 619 people died between June 25 and July 1 in the province.
“Mourning families deserve our compassion, and the wording of my comments didn’t reflect that,” he wrote on Twitter later following major backlash.
8. “A little less robust than before”: Horgan fights cancer and wins
They had the phasers on stun and my treatment is complete.
So grateful for the compassion and professionalism of the @BCCancer team and health workers across BC under incredible strain right now.
A little less robust than before, but feeling better every day. See you soon! pic.twitter.com/QekAHuQwKs
— John Horgan (@jjhorgan) January 17, 2022
While many were continuing to worry about the threat of COVID-19, BC’s own premier became among the immunocompromised who were at an even greater risk. Horgan revealed he had been diagnosed with throat cancer in November of 2021 and had undergone 35 rounds of radiation following the biopsy. “They had the phasers on stun and my treatment is complete,” he said, referencing his beloved Star Trek.
He even got a special mention from Star Trek’s Captain Kathryn Janeway during his battle.
Best captain ever! Thank you @TheKateMulgrew – it’s an honour to be part of your crew. https://t.co/TXuTwE6j3E
— John Horgan (@jjhorgan) October 28, 2021
Several months later, he announced he was cancer-free, and thanked medical professionals for their care and treatment. Visibly thinner, Horgan joked that he was “less robust than before.” This was Horgan’s second battle with cancer, after being diagnosed with bladder cancer in his 40s. He referenced his cancer fight as part of his announcement that he would not be seeking reelection.
9. “We thought we had it right and clearly we did not”: The BC museum mess
Preliminary concept for new Royal BC Museum in downtown Victoria. (Government of BC)
This one was a wild ride and we all know how it ended.
Horgan took the blame for making what he characterized as the wrong decision at the wrong time after his government tried to spend $800 million to redevelop the Royal BC Museum in Victoria. There were a lot of reasons why critics hated it, not to mention it came at a time when unaffordability and gas prices were top of mind for people, but in the end, the premier pressed pause.
“I have heard people of BC quite clearly,” he said. “Today I’m announcing we’re stopping the project and going to go back to the drawing board.”
10. John Horgan’s introduction butchered by San Fran mayor
This one is particularly cringy, but the mess-up is not Horgan’s fault. When San Francisco’s mayor was introducing him at a climate change announcement, she really, really flubbed his title. Calling him the “premiere” of “the British Columbia,” as well as suggesting BC’s leader was actually Jay Inslee. It’s super awkward to watch, but Horgan seemed to laugh it off.
With files from Amir Ali, Kenneth Chan, Amanda Wawryk, and Megan Devlin
Editor’s note: This piece was originally published in November 2022 but has been updated.