Premier John Horgan has issued the following statement on the death of Jim Hume:

“For decades, Jim Hume brought a sharp eye and a sharper pen to the world of B.C. politics. Hume was the dean of the Legislative Press Gallery and certainly its longest-serving member. We were saddened to learn of his death today at age 98.

“Hume was the English-born son of a wounded Gallipoli veteran. Unable to find a reporting job in post-war Britain, he immigrated with his wife and infant son to Vancouver Island. He was a struggling freelance writer, driving a bread truck for a living when he wrangled an interview with Premier Byron (Boss) Johnson in 1950. Several years passed before he landed a sportswriter’s job in Nanaimo.

“His career took him to 10 Downing Street in London and the Quai d’Orsay in Paris. He once sipped cocktails aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia with Queen Elizabeth II. In 2002, he received the Queen’s Golden Jubilee medal for his contributions to public life.

“Hume received the Bruce Hutchison Award for lifetime achievement from the Jack Webster Foundation 27 years ago. As it turns out, Hume was then only in mid-career. His final column, a trenchant critique of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, was posted on his The Old Islander blog earlier this month.

“On behalf of the people of British Columbia, I extend our condolences to the family and friends of Jim Hume, who cared deeply about his adopted home.”