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Dave Barrett, a wisecracking and flamboyant left-wing populist from east Vancouver who became B.C.’s first NDP premier, died this morning after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s disease.

He was 87.

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“He cared deeply about this province and devoted much of his life to trying to make it a better and fairer place to live,” his family said in a statement Friday afternoon. “His love of the province was surpassed only by his devotion to his family.”

Barrett had a big impact on B.C. during his short three-year term in office, creating the Insurance Corp. of B.C. and the Agricultural Land Reserve, which were kept in place by the Social Credit and B.C. Liberal governments that followed.

The 26th premier of British Columbia led the province for three years between 1972 and 1975.

Photo by Ken Oakes / PNG

It was a time of tumultuous change, with the NDP passing a new law on average every three days while in power.

His government’s reforms ranged from setting up a labour relations board and launching Pharmacare to banning pay toilets and spanking in schools. He lowered the drinking age to 19, increased the minimum wage, preserved Cypress Bowl for recreation and established the air ambulance service.