The Dunsmuir ministry was the combined Cabinet that governed British Columbia from June 15, 1900, to November 21, 1902. It was led by James Dunsmuir, the 14th premier of British Columbia. It was formed following the 1900 general election, in which the incumbent premier, Joseph Martin, failed to gain a majority; he subsequently recommended Dunsmuir as the next government leader.[1]
On September 3, 1901, finance minister John Herbert Turner resigned in order to become the province's agent general in London and was succeeded by James Douglas Prentice; Prentice, the provincial secretary and education minister, was in turn succeeded by John Cunningham Brown. Brown was an ally of former premier Joseph Martin, and his appointment was opposed by Richard McBride – Martin's political rival – who resigned from cabinet in protest.[4] On September 18, Brown was defeated in a ministerial by-election.[5] Two weeks later, on October 4, Brown resigned from cabinet, and Prentice regained the portfolios while also remaining minister of finance and agriculture.[6]
On March 6, 1902, Edward Gawler Prior joined cabinet as minister of mines, filling the absence left by McBride.[7]
