Colin Kinsley was the mayor of Prince George for 12 years, he had a political career that bypassed two decades and a working career in the natural gas industry that spanned three decades.
Colin was born in London, England in 1946. His father Albert Kinsley was a Canadian soldier who was still stationed in Europe after the war ended; he married Irish born Cecilia Regan. Shortly after being born Colin's mother took him to his grandparent's farm in County Mayo, Ireland where they remained for six months before coming to Canada to start a new life.
Colin grew up in rural Manitoba, attended high school in Portage La Prairie and went to college in Winnipeg. He started a 30-year career in the natural gas industry as a branch manager for a small Manitoba gas company which eventually brought him to Prince George in 1971 where he worked for the former Inland Natural Gas Company which is now known as Fortis BC.
Colin retired in 1996 from the industry after working in various roles that included technician, office administrator and marketing manager and finally the demanding job as construction superintendent for the Northern BC Region.
After his retirement from the gas company he started an inter-governmental and community relations consulting firm.
When Mayor John Backhouse announced his retirement after ten years in office Colin had many discussions with close friends and made the decision to run for mayor.
His experience as a city councillor from 1984 to 1996 as well as four years as chairman of the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George made him fully aware of the expectations and the demands of a political life.
Colin was elected and served four terms as the mayor of Prince George from December 1996 to December of 2008 when he chose to retire. During that time he also served as the president of the North Central Municipal Association from 1989-1990.
I asked Colin about the highlights of his 12 years as our mayor and there were many; since this is a column and not a book I had to do some editing. Colin enthusiastically said, "I loved the excitement of seeing the city and the region grow and trying to influence people from around the world to invest in our region. I had the opportunity to meet with mayors all over B.C., Canada and internationally; I was hooked on the idea of opening doors and expanding trade and customer relationships throughout the globe and finding new markets especially in China.
"I met with many great people along the way including kings, queens and presidents right down to the street people here in Prince George. As far as I was concerned they all had something important to say and I always tried to take the time to listen - especially to our local people."
Colin lobbied and promoted several large projects during his 12 years in the mayor's chair with the main ones being the expansion of our airport, building the Northern Sports Centre of UNBC, development of the Port of Prince Rupert, locating an army reserve unit here in Prince George, the Cameron Street and the John Hart bridge projects and he chaired the Northern Medical School Program Action Committee. He had foresight, he was committed to our area and he was not afraid of change, in fact it was his mandate.
He has always been a dedicated worker for the City of Prince George. He served as a director for the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George and he was a member and chair of the Audit Committee with the Board of Governors of the University of Northern B.C. (UNBC).
Colin was the North America vice president for the World Winter Cities Association for Mayors (WWCAM) and promoted Prince George at every opportunity.
He held positions as president of the Northern Medical Program Trust, vice chair and trustee of the Municipal Finance Authority of B.C. and a Director of the B.C. Transit Board. He also served as a director of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and Commissioner of the B.C. Utilities Commission.
At the national level Colin also chaired the Ministerial Advisory Council on Rural Remote Aboriginal and Northern Health as well as chairing the Softwood Industry Community Adjustment Fund which was a $55 million federal program to help B.C. forestry communities to adjust to U.S. trade sanctions.
Colin was recognized for many aspects of his work and received the Queen's Jubilee for Community Service Award and The Royal Canadian Legion 75th Anniversary Service Medal.
He was awarded honorary membership in the Canadian Association of Veterans in UN Peacekeeping and honoured with the Freedom of the City award.
He was awarded the Canadian Wood Council's Community Leadership Award and the B.C. Forest Minister's Award of Excellence.
Colin remains an avid National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) fan.
He is a past president and a life member of the Prince George Automobile Racing Association (PGARA) and in fact he raced his own stock car for ten years.
Colin retired his Kinsley Consulting firm and now spends his summers at his cabin at Clucuz Lake and his winters in Arizona.
Colin said, "I have three children: Colleen who lives in Port Moody, and Sean and Chad who live here in Prince George. I have nine grandchildren and eight of them also live in Prince George.
"I arrived in Prince George with five dollars in my pocket and a dream in my head; I have had a great life and I am blessed with a wonderful family. Prince George proved to be a great place to raise a family and I have many life-long friends here. Life is good."
