Instituted in 1989 by Lieutenant Governor David Lam, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier Bill Vander Zalm,[1] the order is administered by the Governor-in-Council and is intended to honour current or former British Columbia residents for conspicuous achievements in any field,[1][2][3] being thus described as the highest honour amongst all others conferred by the British Columbia Crown.

[3] The Order of British Columbia, which evolved out of and replaced the earlier Order of the Dogwood, is intended to honour any current or former longtime resident of British Columbia who has demonstrated a high level of individual excellence and achievement in any field, demonstrating the "greatest distinction and excell[ence] in any field of endeavour benefiting the people of the Province or elsewhere.

Posthumous nominations are not accepted, though an individual who dies after his or her name was submitted to the advisory council can still be retroactively made a Member of the Order of British Columbia.

The main badge consists of a gold medallion in the form of a stylized flower of the Pacific Dogwood—the official provincial flower—with the obverse in white enamel with gold edging, and bearing at its centre the escutcheon of the arms of British Columbia, all surmounted by a St. Edward's Crown symbolizing the Canadian monarch's role as the fount of honour.

Members will also receive for wear on casual clothing a lapel pin, appearing as a smaller enamel Dogwood flower capped by a crown.