The 26th premier of British Columbia has died after a lengthy struggle with Alzheimer's disease, his family confirmed Friday. He was 87.

Dave Barrett's death was announced in a statement issued by the Office of the Premier, sent by his son, Dan.

A former social worker, Barrett was first elected as an MLA in Dewdney in 1960, then represented Coquitlam six years later. Through his political career, he was elected eight times as an MLA.

He then became party leader, and led the NDP to an election win in 1972, and served as premier until 1975. He was awarded the Order of B.C. in 2012.

"He cared deeply about his province and devoted much of his life to trying to make it a better and fairer place to live," Dan Barrett said.

"His love of the province was surpassed only by his devotion to his family. He will be sorely missed."

Barrett's government initiated several reforms while in power, including lowering the drinking age to 19 and the initiation of the Insurance Corporation of B.C.

The NDP also established a labour code, halted agricultural land conversion and increased minimum wage. Corporal punishment was banned from schools, changes were made to the welfare system and the province's public sector was expanded.

"That government passed a new law every three days," said Glen Clark, who served as the province's 31st premier. Clark led the NDP government between 1996 and 1999.

"It was just a dramatic whirlwind of progressive legislation that's made a huge impact, positive impact, on people's lives."

He said the single thing Barrett was most proud of was protecting the Cypress Bowl from development by creating a recreation area.

"There are so many changes they made that you can't keep track of them, and there's so many good things to that legacy," Clark said.

"He was just driven--driven to make a change… There wasn't a day that went by that he didn't get up and say, 'How can we make British Columbia better? How can we make change for working people? How can we deal with poverty?'... He was like that his whole life."

The leader was known for his sense of humour, once referring to himself as "fat lil' Dave." Clark said he remembers Barrett making jokes, even about radical positions, making them real for the public.

In a statement posted online, the BC NDP said it was mourning the loss, and echoed his son's sentiments.

John Horgan said he was first exposed to Barrett at a rally in 1983, while the now-premier was still working as a waiter. He remembers being captivated by Barrett's speaking style and the power of his movements.

"I literally joined the NDP that day and I've been a follower of Dave Barrett ever since."

Horgan later met him while working on Parliament Hill. He said he remembers Barrett holding court in his office, "not as a court jester, because he was always humourous."

Like Clark, Horgan said he felt Barrett's humour brought people to him, even those who didn't vote for him or support his party. The public came first and he took his job seriously, but he used jokes to make people feel comfortable in front of him.

He called the Barrett's reign a transformative period for B.C., and added his projects and initiatives are still in effect today.

While ICBC’s financial state might be troubling lately, the intention behind the corporation was to have something in place that worked for British Columbians. 

The B.C. Federation of Labour referred to Barrett as "a friend of working people." 

The organization's president said his Labour Relations Board and labour code "fundamentally altered relationships between unions and employers," and that legislation passed by his party made it possible for government employees to join a union.

"He was a bold premier from a bold era. Barrett's government marked a political coming of age for our province," president Irene Lanzinger said.

"His term as leader of B.C. certainly wasn't a long time, but it surely was a good time to make B.C. a better place for working people."

A year after losing the 1975 election and his seat in Coquitlam, Barrett served as MLA for Vancouver East until 1984. He served as leader of the Opposition, and was once forcibly removed from the Legislature for failing to abide by a Speaker's ruling.

In the late '80s to early '90s, Barrett served as Member of Parliament representing the riding of Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca. He then chaired inquiries into leaky condos in B.C. before retiring from public life.

His death comes just over two years after the death of the premier that defeated him in 1975. Bill Bennett died in 2015 at the age of 83, and had also been suffering from Alzheimer's. 

Bennett and Barrett went at each other in the legislature, something residents are likely to remember.

"I heard someone tell me a story today that (Barrett) was in a coffee shop in Prince Rupert and two women came over to him and said, we're so happy to see you, Mr. Bennett. He said, 'Oh, he has more money than me, but I'm better looking.' And they laughed right away, and they went away feeling confident that, here's a guy who's just like us," Horgan said.

"Dave was able to give that sense to people. He wasn't better than anyone, he was just one of us."