Ted Nebbeling (1943/44 – October 28, 2009) was a Canadian politician who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) of British Columbia, representing the electoral district of West Vancouver-Garibaldi from 1996 to 2005. As part of the British Columbia Liberal Party caucus, he was Minister of State for the Community Charter from 2001 to 2004 under Premier Gordon Campbell.
Biography
Born in Amsterdam, Nebbeling moved to Canada in 1977 along with his partner Jan Holmberg, who was originally from Sweden. The couple operated a sandwich shop in Downtown Vancouver before selling the business and moving to Whistler in 1979, where they ran a number of retail stores.
Concerned that the local economy was too dependent on winter activities, Nebbeling decided to run for office, becoming a Whistler municipal councillor in 1986 and winning re-election in 1988. In that role he was tasked with preparing legislation concerning the new Community Charter, which aimed to provide local governments with more power and flexibility. He was also involved in Vancouver/Whistler's bid for the 2010 Winter Olympics. He was dropped from cabinet in a January 2004 shuffle, one day after his marriage was announced in the media. The government stated that the timing of the shuffle was a coincidence and without prejudicial intent, as Nebbeling was openly gay at the time of his election.
After being diagnosed with colon cancer in 2008, he died from the illness on October 28, 2009, in Vancouver, aged 65.