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The series consists of correspondence inward regarding public service pensions, including letter from Simma Holt regarding Social Credit government of William Richards Bennett; newspaper clippings regarding pensions.

British Columbia's twenty-sixth premier, David Barrett, was born in Vancouver on October 2, 1930. The son of a fruiterer, he attended local schools before graduating from Britannia High School in 1948. He completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy at Seattle University in 1953 and earned a Master of Social Work degree at St. Louis (Missouri) University in 1956. In 1957, after working as a probation officer for the St. Louis juvenile courts, Barrett was appointed staff training officer at the Haney Correctional Institute near Vancouver. He held this position until July 1959 when he was dismissed by the Attorney-General's department because of his union and political activities at the Institute. He subsequently joined the Commonwealth Co-operative Federation [CCF], afterwards called the New Democratic Party [NDP], and in 1960 was elected MLA for Dewdney. Having defeated a Social Credit Party cabinet minister in his electoral debut, Barrett soon established himself as one of the leading figures in the NDP. He was re-elected in 1963 in Dewdney and, when the riding was redistributed, was elected for Coquitlam in 1966 and 1969. The following year (June 1970) he succeeded Thomas Berger as leader of the NDP and Leader of the Opposition in the Legislature. In 1972 Barrett led the NDP to victory over W.A.C. Bennett's Social Credit Party, which had held power in B.C. since 1952. The new government moved quickly to redress a number of economic and social concerns. Crown corporations were established to take over pulp and paper mills which were threatened with closure by private companies; a universal automobile insurance plan run by another new corporation, the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia [ICBC] was introduced. Other reforms included the introduction of a guaranteed minimum income for B.C. residents, free prescription drugs for the elderly, and consumer protection legislation. As well, Barrett's government established agricultural land reserves and granted public employees the right to strike. Although his reforms were applauded in many quarters, Barrett's programmes were criticised for being too costly. His close relationship with organized labour also suffered when his government introduced back-to-work legislation aimed at several striking trade unions. As a result, the NDP was defeated by a conservative Social Credit coalition (led by W.R. Bennett, son of the former premier) in the election of December 1975. Barrett, the province's first socialist premier, lost his own riding of Coquitlam in that election. Barrett regained a seat in the Legislature in June 1976 when he won a by-election in the riding of Vancouver East. He was re-elected there in 1979 and again in 1983. Still, he was unable to defeat the Social Credit government in these two general elections and in May 1983 he resigned as leader of the NDP. The following year he retired from the Legislature and began a new career as a radio talk-show host in Vancouver. MS-2120 consists of politically related correspondence, reports and other documents accumulated by Barrett between 1971 and 1976 during his years as MLA for Vancouver East, Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the British Columbia New Democratic Party. Also included are abbreviated caucus minutes and NDP position papers on such topics as BC Hydro, health services, labour relations, and environment and land use. However, despite the outside dates of this collection, MS-2120 contains almost no material pertaining to Barrett's tenure as premier of British Columbia. Inexplicably, records dealing with the years 1972-1975 were missing when this material was accessioned by the BC Archives in May 1984. Moreover, although extensive enquiries have been made at the NDP caucus offices (which had custody of this material) and of Mr. Barrett himself, the BC Archives has not been able to determine the whereabouts of these key records. The records may have been destroyed or they may have been given to someone outside of the government. Whatever the case, records relating to the office of the premier, 1972-1975, were alienated from this larger unit of records before the material was transferred to the BC Archives. Related records, consisting of Barrett's miscellaneous and general correspondence, 1983-1984, are to be found in MS-2179 and MS-1928. Other records, dealing with CCF/NDP policies and programmes, are to be found in the papers of Barrett's predecessor, Robert M. Strachan, in MS-1291.

David Barrett papers as Leader of the Opposition. Political correspondence, caucus minutes, and reports accumulated by David Barrett during his last year as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the British Columbia New Democratic Party. Mr. Barrett, who was premier of the province from 1972 to 1975, resigned the leadership of the NDP in 1983; he retired from the Legislature (where he represented the riding of Coquitlam) in 1984.

The series consists of incoming and outgoing correspondence received and created by the Office of the Premier between 1974 and 2008. The records were managed by the Correspondence Branch and include correspondence with the public and representatives of other governmental bodies.

Incoming correspondence from the public is arranged alphabetically by surname in groupings based on year. In many cases, members of the public enclosed video tapes, audio cassettes, artwork, books, and ephemera with the correspondence. Many of these items, particularly those deemed to be oversized, were removed by Correspondence Branch staff and placed at the end of the accession with an out-guide noting the sender’s name, date of correspondence, and details such as title or video running time. However, staff did not place corresponding out-guides in the file with the original letter.

Correspondence from the public addresses a variety of concerns, including personal grievances, letters of protest or support for government decisions, and thoughts on issues of local, national or international interest. The series covers the terms of premiers Bill Bennett, Bill Vander Zalm, Mike Harcourt, and Glen Clark. Accession 91-5458 is the only accession to have any material dating from Rita Johnston's premiership.

The series also includes the copies of outgoing letters sent from the Premier’s office, known as "flimsies," usually sent in reply to correspondence received from the public. Flimsies are arranged by date and are often grouped into files based on month.

The series also consists of messages sent by the Premier congratulating sports teams or individuals, or in recognition of special events and letters to other governmental bodies.

Governmental correspondence is generally arranged by date and level of government and was filed at the end of each accession.

The series also consists of correspondence sent to the Premier's office by other government bodies for reference purposes, including correspondence from MLAs and the Ombudsman, as well as copies of letters from the public that were sent to specific ministries and carbon copied to the Premier.

In some cases the Correspondence Branch created files based on the subject of the correspondence rather than on the sender. Therefore, researchers should not assume that file titles containing association or company names contain correspondence from that body. It is entirely possible that the file contains several pieces of correspondence relating to the body in question.

Some boxes contain "issue lists" created by the originating office, but these were not included for every box. Researchers wishing to find correspondence relating to a particular topic are advised to consult all correspondence files from the relevant time frame.

The series is covered mainly by ORCS primary 11100 (Correspondence-General) of schedule 881099 (Office of the Premier and Executive Council). Some of the records are covered by ORCS primaries 11180 (Correspondence with Governments-British Columbia), 11200 (Correspondence with Governments-Canada, 11260 (Correspondence with Governments-Local), and 11280 (Correspondence with Governments-Provincial and Territorial).

The series consists of correspondence, memoranda, notes, itineraries, photographic contact sheets, and background information relating to appointments, events and trips, including Premier’s trips and those of visiting delegations. The records provide evidence of the creation of the Premier’s daily schedule and were created between 1983 and 1996. Records in this series relate to Premiers Vander Zalm, Bennett and Harcourt. Records relating to specific trips are arranged by event. Many of the records pertain to trips to China and Japan. Records relating to requests for appointments with the Premier are arranged alphabetically and by year. The series also includes 5 volumes of the Premier’s daily journal dating from 1976 to 1980. The series also includes a small number of negatives and slides relating to various events as well as two film copies of the promo for the film “Partners in Enterprise : Opening Doors.” Itineraries for Premier Harcourt often include briefing notes, memos, and other supplementary information, and provide instructions on the day's proceedings.

Records in this series are covered by ORCS 14500-01 and 14500-02 of schedule 8810099 (Office of the Premier and Executive Council Operational Records Classification System).

The series comprises audio recordings of two British Columbia Premiers, David Barrett and W.R. Bennett (as well as some of their cabinet ministers), heard at news conferences, press events, election campaign stops, speeches, announcements, and media interviews, 1973-1980.

Series consists of posters, signage, brochures, pamphlets, cards, and other promotional materials from B.C. provincial elections. Represented are the Social Credit (Socred), Progressive Conservative (PC), New Democrat, Green, Western Canada Concept, and Liberal parties as well as independent candidates.

Identified candidates include: David Anderson, Charles Barber, Dave Barrett, Tom Bate, Robert (Sam) Bawlf, Leonard Bawtree, William (Bill) Richards Bennett, Andy Bigg, Robin Blencoe, Robert Bonner, Helen Boyce, Buda Brown, Kevin Bruce, A.J. (Tony) Brummet, Adriane Carr, Frank Carson, Joe Conroy, John Craggs, Hugh Austin Curtis, Walter Davidson, Gordon Dowding, Mike Emes, Thom Ferguson, Gordon Hanson, Frank Hillier, F.C. Christopher Huddlestan, Lyle MacWilliam, Ken Mallinson, Kitty Maracle, Jake Martens, Eric Martin, Alex Matthew, Cliff Michael, Bob Monaghan, Clyde Nunn, Terence Pitt O'Grady, Sheila Page, Les Peterson, Paul A. Phillips, Bert Price, Ron Price, Ian Rendle, Karen Sanford, Cyril Morley Shelford, Allan Arthur Schroeder, Bob Tanner, Forrest Felix Walkem, George Scott Wallace, and Malcolm Wright.

Additional items include posters for provincial Notice of Polls (Vancouver 1949, 1952, and 1956 and Prince Rupert 1975), one federal Notice of Poll for Vancouver 1945, one electoral districts map for 1989 (Item: 24921C), notices of meetings for new World War II veterans, and hospital charges for B.C.H.I.S. benefits.