Shirley Bond won't have to look very far to get briefing notes on her new cabinet responsibilities.
Bond will be sworn in on Monday as the next minster of jobs, tourism and skills training - a position most recently held by former Prince George-Mackenzie MLA Pat Bell.
"I know that Pat did a good job creating the vision behind the ministry," Bond said on Friday from Vancouver. "I now get to take that and expand on it and I think that's just a sign of the strength of leadership that's come out of the north in this government."
Bond was one of 19 MLAs named to cabinet Friday at a splashy launch event. Premier Christy Clark put together an executive council that has a mix of cabinet veterans like Bond and newcomers including Nechako Lakes MLA John Rustad in aboriginal affairs and reconciliation and Cariboo North MLA Coralee Oakes in community, sport and cultural development.
Clark said she chose Bond for the jobs portfolio because of her experience and her ties to the north.
"Shirley is the leader in the north and the north is where the bulk of our resources are located and those resources are what create jobs, so I felt it was really important that we have a northerner as our minister of jobs," Clark said on a conference call with provincial media. "I also wanted a woman in what's traditionally been a role filled by men."
Clark said ensuring her government's jobs plan is successful was one of the cornerstones of her party's re-election campaign and she trusts Bond will succeed.
"It's an important one, it's one we intend to honour," Clark said. "And that's why I gave it to Shirley Bond."
Bell had held the jobs portfolio since 2011, but didn't seek re-election last month due to a health condition. Mike Morris won Bell's old seat for the Liberals, but didn't get a seat at the cabinet table.
In her new job, Bond expects to work closely with a number of her colleagues including
Rich Coleman, who has been tasked with heading up liquified natural gas development and Teresa Wat, who is in charge of international trade.
"I'm very excited about this role and I think it was critical that we keep a focus on jobs and skills training in the north," Bond said. "When [Clark] asked me to take on this new role, it was an easy yes. The heart of our campaign was about jobs, it was about skills training, it was keeping the momentum going - to be given the task of doing that job is something I'm very excited about."
Bond has been a cabinet minister since she was first elected to provincial office in 2001. She's held a variety of portfolios over the years, including some of the highest profile jobs in government like health and education. Most recently she served as minister of justice, but that portfolio now belongs to rookie MLA Suzanne Anton.
"It was an unbelievable honour to be the first female attorney general in the history of British Columbia and I'm very proud of the initiatives I started in terms of justice reform and bringing the ministry together," Bond said. "I don't leave with regrets, it was a fantastic opportunity."
Other high-profile members of the executive council are Finance Minister Mike de Jong, Education Minister Peter Fassbender and Health Minister Terry Lake.
Clark has been premier since she won the Liberal party leadership in 2011, but she said this upcoming term is her first in office because of the party's victory in last month's election. Clark lost her own Vancouver-area seat, but will run in a byelection in Kelowna.
"In the first year of your first mandate a premier has the opportunity to create a cabinet that is based on qualifications only and that is what I have done," she said. "I'm lucky because I have incredibly qualified people from all the regions of the province. Sometimes you see premiers create cabinets and it feels like their satisfying interest groups and I did not do that. I chose the best and the brightest."
