Jim Doyle (Canadian politician)
Jim Doyle (born 28 October 1943) is a politician in British Columbia, Canada.[1] Having served two terms as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Doyle was mayor of Golden, British Columbia for several terms.
Early life
Doyle was born in County Down, Northern Ireland. His passion for politics was sparked while working in Brisbane, Australia before emigrating to Canada in 1967.
Local government
Doyle was elected as a municipal councillor in Golden in 1976 and subsequently re-elected in 1978 and 1980. He went on to serve as mayor from 1981 to 1990.
Legislative Assembly
Following a 24-year career with the Canadian Pacific Railway Doyle was elected to the legislative assembly for the New Democratic Party in 1991 for the riding of Columbia River-Revelstoke. He was subsequently re-elected in 1996 and, during his second term as an MLA, held various offices within the provincial government, first as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Municipal Affairs. With the exception of a short period between February and November 2000 when Doyle was Minister of Forests he served as Minister of Municipal Affairs from July 1999 until his election defeat in May 2001.
Defeat and subsequent career
The 2001 legislative election saw all but two of incumbent NDP's candidates, including Doyle, defeated. In 2002 he successfully campaigned for election as Mayor of Golden. In October 2007, Doyle left the NDP and joined the BC Liberal Party. He ran for re-election, in November 2008, as mayor of Golden but lost to councillor Aman Virk by a 573-568 vote.