Rick Thorpe

Rick Thorpe is a Canadian politician. He was formerly a member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) of British Columbia, representing Okanagan-Penticton from 1996 to 2001, and Okanagan-Westside from 2001 to 2009. A caucus member of the British Columbia Liberal Party, he served in several cabinet posts under Premier Gordon Campbell.

Biography
Born in London, Ontario, Thorpe grew up in the southwestern part of that province before meeting his wife Yasmin in Trinidad. The couple married in 1973, and have three children together. A Certified Management Accountant, Thorpe was employed in the brewing industry for 22 years, including at Labatt. The family lived in various places in Ontario, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and Israel before settling in Penticton, British Columbia, where Thorpe became a partner in a winery. He also served as president of the Okanagan Wine Festival in 1994 and 1995.

He was nominated as the BC Liberal candidate in Okanagan-Penticton in May 1995, and was elected the riding's MLA in the 1996 provincial election. While the Liberals were the official opposition, Thorpe served as critic for small business, tourism and culture. With the riding being redistributed ahead of the 2001 election, Thorpe ran instead in Okanagan-Westside and was re-elected MLA there. The Liberals gained power in that election, and Thorpe was appointed to the cabinet by Premier Gordon Campbell that June to serve as Minister of Competition, Science and Enterprise, before being re-assigned as Minister of Provincial Revenue in January 2004.

Following his re-election in 2005, his cabinet post was modified to Minister of Small Business and Revenue, and he was additionally named Minister responsible for Deregulation. In June 2008 he announced his decision not to run in the next provincial election, and was dropped from the cabinet.

After finishing his term as MLA in May 2009, he served a two-year term as member of the board of management of the Canada Revenue Agency, then as the board's chair from 2013 to 2017. In addition, he served as director and vice-chair on the board of the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia from 2012 to 2014.