Strachan was a school trustee and board chair, a regional district director, as well as a three-term MLA and cabinet minister.
He served in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1979 to 1991, as a Social Credit member for the constituency of Prince George South.
[1] After working as a professional musician in the United States of America, Strachan and his wife moved to Prince George, British Columbia in 1966 he and enrolled as an adult student at the College of New Caledonia.
[2] In 1988, as Minister of State for the Cariboo, he secured $100,000 for an initial feasibility study for the creation of the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC).
[3] In 1990, as Minister of Advanced Education and Job Training, Strachan approved a $138 million budget to create the new campus for UNBC.