The Johnson ministry was established part-way through the 21st Parliament of British Columbia, after John Hart resigned as premier and leader of the Liberal Party. Johnson was elected as the Liberal Party's new leader at the party's 1947 convention, and outgoing premier Hart pledged to recommend Johnson to the lieutenant governor of British Columbia to be the province's next premier.[1] However, the Hart ministry had been a coalition between the Liberal and Conservative parties, and in the immediate aftermath of Johnson's leadership victory, it was uncertain if the two parties would renew their coalition arrangement. Johnson and Herbert Anscomb, leader of the Conservatives, agreed to continue the coalition on December 27, 1947.[2] The new cabinet, comprising six Liberals and four Conservatives, was sworn in two days later.[3]
The cabinet governed through the remainder of the 21st Parliament and, following the 1949 election, into the 22nd Parliament.[4] On January 18, 1952, the Progressive Conservatives left the coalition and moved to the opposition benches, becoming the Official Opposition. For the last six months of the 22nd Parliament, the Johnson ministry continued as a minority government, consisting only of Liberal ministers but supported by a few independent members.[5] After the 1952 election, it was replaced by the W. A. C. Bennett ministry.[6]
The Johnson ministry was the last time the Liberals formed government until the Campbell ministry in 2001. It is also the most recent coalition government in the province and the most recent time that the Conservative Party was in cabinet.
