A minister who served in the last B.C. NDP government, and whose wife serves in the current one, has died.
The New Democrat B.C. Government Caucus says Ed Conroy passed away Friday at the age of 73 of natural causes.
Conroy was first elected to the B.C. legislature in 1991 as the MLA for Rossland-Trail, and was reelected in 1996.
He served as the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries for B.C. and the Minister Responsible for Rural Development from 2000 to 2001.
He previously served as a school trustee and school board vice-chair, and contributed to the development of the Columbia Basin Trust.
His wife, Katrine Conroy, has served as MLA for the same region, now renamed Kootenay Boundary, since 2005 and is the current minister of children and family development.
Ed Conroy is survived by his wife, four children, their spouses, nine grandchildren and a large extended family.