He was 65.
Nebbeling was Minister of State for the 2010 Olympic bid in November 2003 when he legally married his same-sex partner of more than 30 years, Jan Holmberg.
Nebbeling was dropped from cabinet the day after his marriage was announced in January 2004, but both he and Premier Gordon Campbell said the marriage had nothing to do with his demotion.
The one-time mayor of Whistler, B.C., was openly gay throughout his political career.
Born in Amsterdam, the multilingual Nebbeling settled in B.C. after he and Holmberg paid a visit and fell in love with Vancouver. They operated a sandwich shop in Vancouver before selling it and moving to Whistler.
Nebbeling was first elected to Whistler city council in 1986 and became mayor in 1990. He was elected to the legislature in 1996.
A foot bridge in Whistler village was named after him as a nod to his municipal service.
Campbell paid tribute to Nebbeling in the legislature Wednesday, saying he was instrumental in helping bring the Winter Games to Canada.
"He made a huge contribution to his province and made the world a little bit better and a little bit brighter for all of us, and I hope that we would send our condolences to Jan and the entire family," said Campbell.
In an official statement, Campbell said "Ted was instrumental in securing the 2010 Games for British Columbia and giving all British Columbians the gift of an event that will last in memory for generations."
Opposition New Democrat house leader Mike Farnworth said Nebbeling was a huge presence at the legislature.
"Ted brought an energy to this house, and all of us in this chamber, and myself, and a number of my colleagues who served with him back in the 1990s, we will miss him," said Farnworth.
Nebbeling served two-terms, from 1996 to 2005, as the Liberal member for the riding of West Vancouver-Garibaldi.
He was known for his sense of humour, his generosity and his permanent tan.
Nebbeling occasionally found himself in the middle of controversy at the controversy-prone legislature.
In 1997, he heckled an opposition member who was addressing the house in Cantonese, prompting the NDP to accuse him of racism for mocking the language.
Nebbeling denied the racism, noting his Dutch accent meant he was sometimes misunderstood. But the story brewed for several days and forced Nebbeling to apologize to the legislature.
Later that year, during a mid-summer, late-night legislature sitting, Nebbeling was speaking when a wind-up, bouncing penis danced across his desk, courtesy of two snickering female colleagues.
The prank was caught on the legislature's television channel, with Nebbeling telling the house: "I don't know what's going on around me, but I have been surrounded by women who want to do something."
Later, after the affair gained international attention and sparked a B.C. debate about sexism and ethics at the legislature, Nebbeling dead-panned about "the small penis" through a media scrum that had most reporters desperate to control their laughter.
