Harcourt was student council president at Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School and studied at the University of British Columbia, where he graduated BA and LLB.

As Ralph Klein introduced severe spending cuts in neighbouring Alberta, Harcourt accused him in December 1993 of driving Albertan welfare recipients into British Columbia.

A controversial news story about welfare fraud among British Columbia's Somali Canadian community, after the government had denied that system abuse was taking place, further hurt its standing.

He fired Joan Smallwood as Minister of Social Services, replaced her with Joy MacPhail, reduced welfare rates, and made it more difficult for families to claim assistance.

[3][5] The resulting BC Benefits welfare reform package, which included budget cuts, new restrictions, and a reduction in the basic rate to $500 per month, the same it had been when Harcourt took office, proved hard to accept for the NDP[3] and had a lasting effect on its reputation by hampering its attempts to condemn later governments for undertaking similar welfare crackdowns.

[7] The NDP government under Harcourt entered into a contract with Carrier Lumber to build roads and construct new mills to handle an increased volume of wood because of the infestation of the mountain pine beetle.

On May 13, 1992, Harcourt ignored the contract between his government and Carrier Lumber and promised several First Nations that no timber would be harvested and that no roads would be built without their agreement.

Justice Glenn Parrett of the Supreme Court of British Columbia in his reasons stated of the NDP government, "It is difficult to conceive of a more compelling and cynical example of duplicity and bad faith.

[13] The former premier received a widespread outpouring of empathy and support from his fellow British Columbians and his rapid recovery astonished doctors.

[17] In the January 31, 2014, issue of High Country News[18] Harcourt stated he was recruited in the 1960s by an activist group to oppose a freeway that would have connected the Trans-Canada Highway to downtown Vancouver.