The BC Pharmacy Association was created in May 1968 as the British Columbia Professional Pharmacists’ Society by four founding members: Murray Dykeman, John Dyck, Dean Earle McPhee, and Trevor Watson. The first Senate meeting was held at the Harrison Hotel in Harrison Hot Springs where North Vancouver pharmacist Murray Dykeman was elected president. The society was founded on two primary objectives: Promoting and protecting the professionalism of pharmacists and improving their economic conditions.
“Pharmacy in B.C. is at a crossroads…leave things as they are, and end up with the professional status of a shoe salesman, or control our own destiny,” wrote pharmacist and membership coordinator Paul Beattie in an open letter in February 1968.
Since the Association’s inception, B.C. pharmacists have seen numerous changes in how they deliver care to patients – from the introduction of PharmaCare in 1974 to being given the authority to give injections in 2009.
In 1990, the Society changed its name to the British Columbia Pharmacy Association.
In 2008 the BC Pharmacy Association published Looking Back, Moving Forward, a retrospective of the first 40 years of the Association for members. Members wanting a copy can contact the Communications Department.