June 27, 2020 - 6:38 PM
VICTORIA - A minister who served in a former British Columbia NDP government, and whose wife now serves in the current one, has died.
The New Democrat B.C. Government Caucus says in a news release that Ed Conroy, who was 73, died Friday of natural causes.
Conroy represented Rossland-Trail in the legislature and served as the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries and the Minister Responsible for Rural Development from 2000 to 2001.
He lost his bid for re-election in 2001, and his wife Katrine Conroy became an MLA in the region in 2005.
She is currently the Minister for Children and Family Development.
The couple lived in Pass Creek where they ran a ranch breeding prize-winning Polled Hereford cattle.
"Ed gave so much to the province of British Columbia, and did so with kindness at every step," Government Caucus Chair Jagrup Brar said in the news release.
"Our entire New Democrat caucus sends our condolences and love to Ed's wife Katrine, and their whole family."
The release said Conroy had also been a towboat operator, school trustee, school board vice-chair and helped create the Columbia Basin Trust.
He is survived by his wife, four children, their spouses and nine grandchildren.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 27, 2020.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2020