# Bruce Ralston

Bruce Ralston KC is a Canadian politician. He was a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) of British Columbia, representing the riding of Surrey-Whalley from 2005 until 2024. A member of the New Democratic Party (NDP), he has served in the cabinets of Premiers John Horgan and David Eby.

## Life and career

Ralston was born in Victoria and grew up in Vancouver. He has degrees in history and law from the University of British Columbia, and a degree in history from the University of Cambridge in England. He was called to the bar in 1982, and has lived in Surrey since 1990, where he ran his own law firm.
Ralston served on the Surrey City Council from 1988 to 1993. He was a member of the board of directors of Vancouver City Savings Credit Union from 1995 to 2006. Between 1996 and 2001, he served as president of the BC NDP.
He ran in the 2001 provincial election as the NDP candidate in Surrey-Panorama Ridge, finishing a distant second behind Liberal candidate Gulzar Cheema. In the 2005 election he instead contested the riding of Surrey-Whalley, winning the seat with 55% of the vote. He kept his seat in the 2009 election, growing his vote share to 66.5%, and was re-elected in 2013, 2017 and 2020. He replaced John Horgan as NDP house leader in March 2014, allowing Horgan to contest the party leadership.
In July 2017, Ralston was named Minister of Jobs, Trade and Technology in the NDP minority government. He swapped portfolios with Michelle Mungall in January 2020, becoming Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources. His post was modified to Minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation and Minister Responsible for the Consular Corps of British Columbia in November 2020, and he was appointed Queen's counsel in December of the same year. He was subsequently named Minister of Forests in the Eby ministry on December 7, 2022, while retaining the role of Minister Responsible for the Consular Corps.

## Electoral results

vte2020 British Columbia general election: Surrey-Whalley :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | New Democratic | Bruce Ralston | 10,994 | 70.94 | +12.32 | $21,604.97 |
| | Liberal | Shaukat Khan | 4,052 | 26.15 | −3.93 | $28,029.77 |
| | Vision | Jag Bhandari | 228 | 1.47 | – | $0.00 |
| | Communist | Ryan Abbott | 223 | 1.44 | +0.9 | $123.40 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 15,497 | 100.00 | – |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 236 | 1.50 | +0.62 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 15,733 | 40.59 | −10.96 |
| Registered voters | Registered voters | Registered voters | 38,764 |
| | New Democratic hold | New Democratic hold | Swing | Swing | +8.13 |
| Source: Elections BC |||||||
vte2017 British Columbia general election: Surrey-Whalley :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | New Democratic | Bruce Ralston | 10,315 | 58.62 | −2.81 | $59,997 |
| | Liberal | Sargy Chima | 5,293 | 30.08 | +0.54 | $75,151 |
| | Green | Rita Anne Fromholt | 1,893 | 10.76 | – | $322 |
| | Communist | George Gidora | 96 | 0.54 | – | $0 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 17,597 | 100.00 | – |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 157 | 0.88 | −0.56 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 17,754 | 51.55 | +5.27 |
| Registered voters | Registered voters | Registered voters | 34,440 |
| Source: Elections BC |||||||
vte2013 British Columbia general election: Surrey-Whalley :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | Expenditures |
| | New Democratic | Bruce Ralston | 10,405 | 61.43 | $112,496 |
| | Liberal | Kuljeet Kaur | 5,004 | 29.54 | $34,568 |
| | Conservative | Sunny Chohan | 1,110 | 6.55 | $40,961 |
| | Vision | Jag Bhandari | 420 | 2.48 | $9,375 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 16,939 | 100.00 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 248 | 1.44 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 17,187 | 46.28 |
| Source: Elections BC |||||||
vte2009 British Columbia general election: Surrey-Whalley :
| Candidate | Votes |
| New Democratic | Bruce Ralston | 10,453 |
| Liberal | Radhia Benalia | 4,083 |
| Green | Bernadette Kennan | 1,189 |
vte2005 British Columbia general election: Surrey-Whalley :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | New Democratic | Bruce Ralston | 8,903 | 55.00 |
| | Liberal | Barbara Steele | 4,949 | 30.57 |
| | Green | Roy Whyte | 1,238 | 7.65 |
| | Democratic Reform | Elayne Brenzinger | 607 | 3.75 |
| | Marijuana | Melady Belinda Earl | 302 | 1.87 |
| | Independent | Joe Pal | 139 | 0.86 |
| | Platinum | Neil Gregory Magnuson | 50 | 0.31 |
| Total | Total | Total | 16,188 | 100.00 |
2001 British Columbia general election: Surrey-Panorama Ridge :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Gulzar Cheema | 9,590 | 58.94 | – |
| | NDP | Bruce Ralston | 3,240 | 19.91 | – |
| | Green | Sunny Athwal | 1,437 | 8.83 | – |
| | Unity | Heather Stilwell | 1,123 | 6.90 | – |
| | Marijuana | Randy Caine | 424 | 2.61 | – |
| | Reform | Shirley Ann Abraham | 408 | 2.51 | – |
| | Action | Ed Weiland | 50 | 0.30 | – |
| Total Valid Votes | Total Valid Votes | Total Valid Votes | 16,272 | 100.00 | |
| Total Rejected Ballots | Total Rejected Ballots | Total Rejected Ballots | 128 | 0.79 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 16,400 | 69.04 | |