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influenCe: she's premier of Canada's third-largest province and, alongside ontario's Kathleen Wynne, helping to drag Canada's economy through a turbu- lent 2015. the Panel says: "It's too easy to say that under her direction B.C. is punching above its weight. In fact, we are leading–not simply surprising." Carole James (c) finance spokesperson, B.C. nDP; Mla, Victoria- Beacon hill influenCe: after leading the nDP in 2005 to its high- est vote count since the mid-'80s (albeit in a losing effort), James was ousted as leader in 2010. still, she remains arguably the most effective critic her party has, keeping the govern- ment in check as the nDP's finance critic. faCtOid: James, who is part-Métis, is married to al Gerow, elected chief of the Burns lake first nation. Penny Ballem (d) City manager, City of Vancouver influenCe: Dr. Ballem (she has an MD from UBC) has become the go-to administrator in B.C. for dol- ing out tough medicine to public sector organizations, including B.C.'s ministry of health and, since 1998, B.C.'s largest municipal government. the Panel says: "she runs the city with an iron fist, and as B.C.'s deputy minister of health, she amalgamated all the health authorities from 40-some- thing down to seven." elizabeth May (e) leader, Green Party of Canada; MP, saanich- Gulf Islands influenCe: May made his- tory by winning the Green Party of Canada's first elected seat in 2011; now, as one of Parliament's best performers, she's angling to win a few more seats for the Greens in the 2015 federal election. faCtOid: May served as a policy advisor to former Mulroney environment minister Tom McMillan. Jessica McDonald (f) President and CeO, BC hydro influenCe: McDon- ald–a former deputy minister and head of B.C.'s public service– leads the province's biggest Crown corpo- ration at a transforma- tive time, with major capital improvements and the mega-billion- dollar site C project all about to take shape under her guidance. faCtOid: five of BC hydro's eight-person executive team are now women. Irene lanzinger (g) President, BC federa- tion of labour influenCe: lanzinger, elected BC fed president just last fall, is the first woman leader in the organization's history–and the first from the public sector side of the union movement. faCtOid: B.C.'s unionization rate was 31.5 per cent in 2013, from 42 per cent in '73. Wendy Grant-John (h) Councillor and former chief, Musqueam first nation influenCe: a former three- term chief of the Mus- queam–and first woman elected regional chief to the assembly of first nations– Grant-John has also been a leading entrepreneur, creating the first aboriginal commercial fishery in Canada. she now plays a key role advising govern- ments and corporations on first nations issues. the Panel says: "she sits on six or seven task forces for the Un–for different components for aboriginal/ indigenous people world- wide. she's recognized as a global expert." sharon White (i) Partner, richards Buell sutton llP, president, BC liberals influenCe: as a partner at rBs, White is an influential voice on matters real estate related–but it is in her role as president of the BC liberals (since 2011) that she's really left her mark, revitalizing a party that many took for dead post- Gordon Campbell. faCtOid: Corporate donors contributed $46 million to the BC liberals between 2005 and 2012, according to research by the Vancouver Sun. Marsha Walden (j) President and CeO, Des- tination British Columbia influenCe: Walden, a longtime executive at the BC lottery Corporation, was handed the task in 2013 of driving up B.C.'s tourism numbers when she was named Ceo of Destination BC. Thanks to a lower Canadian dollar, and cre- ative marketing initiatives from Walden and her team, it's starting to happen. faCtOid: In 2014, B.C. saw an increase of 4.7 million international visitors, almost 250,000 more than visited in the previous year. Janine north (k) CeO, northern Development Initiative Trust influenCe: The appropriately named north, a seasoned logging and trucking executive (who also sits on several boards, including BC hydro's), is the dynamic founding force behind an organization helping to drive economic growth in B.C.'s resource heartland. faCtOid: The province provided $185 million to establish nDIT in 2005. bcbusiness.ca June 2015 BCBusiness 43 P ubl ic s e c t or (a) (e) (i) (b) (f) (j) (c) (g) (k) (d) (h)

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