David Zirnhelt

Zirnhelt failed in his attempt at re-election in 2001.

With the election of a New Democratic government in 1991, Premier Mike Harcourt appointed Zirnhelt minister of economic development, small business and trade. He was later minister of agriculture, fisheries and food. Following Harcourt's resignation, Premier Glen Clark appointed Zirnhelt minister of forests — a powerful portfolio in a province where forestry is a major economic sector. In that position, Zirnhelt initiated an intensive review of the province's forest practices, as concerns mounted over the logging of old growth forests and the insufficient restocking of logged areas by timber companies.

He was a director of the Cariboo Regional District from 1974 to 1977. In 1987, he was elected as a trustee of the Cariboo-Chilcotin School District. In 1989, following the death of Alex Fraser, Zirnhelt stood in the resulting by-election for Cariboo, this time as a member of the social democratic New Democratic Party. In a shock upset, Zirnhelt won the election; the riding had, until then, been a stronghold of the conservative British Columbia Social Credit Party for 37-years. Zirnhelt went on to be re-elected in 1991 and 1996 in the riding of Cariboo South (the old Cariboo riding was abolished with the 1991 election).

Zirnhelt's first entry into politics was in the 1969 British Columbia general election, where he stood as a candidate for the Liberal Party in the riding of Cariboo. He was unsuccessful in his run, placing third against victor Alex Fraser. Fraser's widow later recalled that despite his resounding victory, Fraser was impressed with Zirnhelt and that "if he was older [he] might have given him some trouble."

David Zirnhelt (born 1947) is a Canadian politician, businessman and rancher from British Columbia. A member of the British Columbia New Democratic Party, he was a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Cariboo and Cariboo South from 1989 to 2001.