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65-495: Wilson, previously the leader of the British Columbia Liberal Party , led that party through a breakthrough in the provincial election of 1991 , in which they rose from no parliamentary representation to official opposition status. He was unable to hold his caucus together, however, and was forced to call a leadership convention following revelations about his personal relationship with another member of

130-578: A " free enterprise coalition" and draws support from members of both the federal Liberal and Conservative parties. From the 1990s to 2024, BC United was the main centre-right opposition to the centre-left New Democratic Party (NDP). Once affiliated with the Liberal Party of Canada, the British Columbia Liberal Party became independent in 1987. The party changed its name to BC United on April 12, 2023. Until

195-582: A Liberal Party leadership review that had been called soon afterward, Wilson was defeated by Vancouver mayor Gordon Campbell . Within weeks, he and Tyabji left the Liberal caucus and formed a new party, the Progressive Democratic Alliance (PDA). In the 1996 provincial election , Wilson retained his seat, while Tyabji, whom he later married, lost hers. In 1999, Wilson shocked many in his party when he disbanded it and crossed

260-600: A Liberal– Conservative coalition government , known in BC history as "the Coalition ". From 1941 to 1945, Hart governed at a time of wartime scarcity, when all major government projects were postponed. The coalition government was re-elected in the 1945 election . In that contest, Liberals and Conservatives ran under the same banner. After 1945, Hart undertook an ambitious program of rural electrification, hydroelectric and highway construction. Hart's most significant projects were

325-424: A balanced one for the 2013–14 fiscal year, which included a tax hike on high-income British Columbians. She also sought to take advantage of BC's liquified natural gas (LNG) reserves, positioning the budding LNG industry as a major economic development opportunity over the next decade. While the final years of Gordon Campbell's administration had seen far-reaching and progressive environmental legislation enacted, Clark

390-576: A candidate. Delta South MLA Fred Gingell became the leader of the Opposition while the Liberal leadership race took place. Soon, former party leader Gordon Gibson and Vancouver mayor Gordon Campbell entered the leadership race. Campbell won decisively on the first ballot, with former party leader Gordon Gibson placing second and Wilson third. The leadership election was decided on a one-member, one vote system through which Liberals voted for their choices by telephone. Wilson and Tyabji then left

455-545: A close second after Social Credit. In the 1956 election , with the Sommers scandal still not resolved, the Liberals fared worse than in 1953. Arthur Laing lost his seat, and the party was reduced to two MLAs and 20.9% of the vote. In the 1960 election , the party won four seats with the same 20.9% of the popular vote as in 1956. In the 1963 election , the party's caucus increased by one more MLA to five, but their share of

520-489: A difficult time to build a disciplined organization that could mount an effective opposition against the New Democratic Party provincial government. In 1993, Wilson's leadership was further damaged by revelations of his affair with fellow Liberal MLA Judi Tyabji . By this time, most of the caucus was in open revolt against his leadership. Wilson agreed to call for a leadership convention, at which he would be

585-511: A drug investigation known as Operation Everwhichway led to raids on government offices in the British Columbia Parliament Buildings in relation to suspect dealings concerning the sale of BC Rail to CN in a scandal which became known as "Railgate" and the trial of four former ministerial aides for influence peddling, breach of trust and accepting bribes. The Liberals were re-elected in the 2005 election with

650-555: A fraction of their price). Campbell also initiated the privatization of BC Rail , which the Liberals had promised not to sell in order to win northern ridings which had rejected the party in 1996 but reversed this promise after election, with criminal investigations connected with the bidding process resulting in the 2003 British Columbia Legislature raids and the ensuing and still-pending court case. There were several significant labour disputes, some of which were settled through government legislation but which included confrontations with

715-554: A major political error. He was elected in 1953 for the Lillooet riding. In 1955, the Sommers scandal surfaced, and he was the only leader in the legislature to make an issue of it. W. A. C. Bennett and his attorney general tried many tactics to stop the information from coming out. In frustration, Gibson resigned his seat and forced a by-election, hoping to make the Sommers scandal the issue. The voting system had changed, and he came

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780-577: A majority of seats in the legislature, their finance minister Einar Gunderson was defeated in Oak Bay by Philip Archibald Gibbs of the Liberals. Gordon Gibson Sr , a millionaire timber baron, nicknamed the "Bull of the Woods", was elected for Lillooet as a Liberal. During the early period of this time, the Liberals' most prominent member was Gordon Gibson Sr. He was a cigar -smoking and gregarious logging contractor who could have been premier but for

845-491: A nasty squabble between BC Socred leader and Premier Rita Johnston and BC NDP leader Mike Harcourt , Wilson famously said, "Here's a classic example of why nothing ever gets done in the province of British Columbia." It would become the campaign's most successful sound bite . As a consequence, he led the Liberal Party to win 17 seats, its highest total since 1949. He was largely helped by moderate Socreds crossing over to vote Liberal. The Liberals vaulted from no seats to

910-515: A notable decline in polls and defections of MLAs and other party members to the Conservatives. Provincial Provincial The divided Conservatives faced the Liberals in the election of 1916 and lost. The Liberals formed a government under Harlan Carey Brewster . Brewster had become leader of the Opposition, and was elected party leader in March 1912. He lost his seat a few weeks later in

975-526: A reduced majority of 7 seats (46–33). The Liberals were again re-elected in the 2009 election . Shortly after this election the introduction of the HST was announced, contrary to promises made during the election campaign. On November 3, 2010, facing an imminent caucus revolt over his management style and the political backlash against the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) and the controversial end to

1040-399: A three party competition, the government introduced instant-runoff voting , with the expectation that Conservative voters would list the Liberals as their second choice and vice versa. Voters, however, were looking for alternatives. More voters chose British Columbia Social Credit League ahead of any other party as their second choice. Social Credit went on to emerge as the largest party when

1105-516: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . British Columbia Liberal Party BC United ( BCU ), known from 1903 until 2023 as the British Columbia Liberal Party or BC Liberals , is a provincial political party in British Columbia , Canada. The party has been described as conservative , neoliberal , and occupying a centre-right position on the left–right political spectrum . The party commonly describes itself as

1170-594: Is interred in the Ross Bay Cemetery in Victoria, British Columbia . John Oliver succeeded Brewster as premier when Brewster died in 1918. Oliver's government developed the produce industry in the Nanook Valley , and tried to persuade the federal government to lower the freight rate for rail transport. The party managed a bare majority win in the 1920 election and only managed to govern after

1235-470: The 1924 election with the support of the two Independent Liberals. The Liberals managed to increase their vote in the 1928 election but lost close to half their seats. With the onset of the Great Depression and the implosion of the government of Simon Fraser Tolmie , the Liberals won the 1933 election . The 1933 election brought into power Duff Pattullo and introduced into the legislature

1300-509: The 1949 election – at 61% the greatest percentage of the popular vote in BC history. Tensions had grown between the coalition partners and within both parties. The Liberal Party executive voted to terminate the coalition and Johnson dropped his Conservative ministers in January 1952, resulting in a short-lived minority government which soon collapsed. In order to prevent the CCF from winning in

1365-495: The 2001 provincial election , Wilson and Tyabji left the party to establish the Progressive Democratic Alliance on December 5, 1993. In the subsequent June 26, 1996 general election , Wilson retained his seat, while all 65 other PDA candidates, including Tyabji, were defeated. The party won a total of 90,797 votes, or 5.74% of the popular vote. The PDA was disbanded by Wilson in 1999 when he joined

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1430-580: The 2022 leadership election , the party has been led by Kevin Falcon . On August 28, 2024, BC United announced the party was suspending its campaign for the October 2024 election . The party formally endorsed the BC Conservatives and merged their campaigns, with some BCU candidates running for the Conservatives and many others withdrawing their candidacies. This was after the party had suffered

1495-711: The Alcan Agreement, which facilitated construction of the Kenny Dam. The government also coped with the 1948 flooding of the Fraser River, declaring a state of emergency and beginning a program of diking the river's banks through the Fraser Valley. Johnson is also noted for appointing Nancy Hodges as the first female Speaker in the Commonwealth . The Liberal-Conservative coalition government won

1560-508: The BC Rail corruption trial and with his approval rating as low as 9% in polls, Gordon Campbell announced his resignation. The party's 2011 leadership convention was prompted by Gordon Campbell 's request to the party to hold a leadership convention "at the earliest possible date". The convention elected Christy Clark as its new leader of the party on February 26, 2011. Clark and her new Cabinet were sworn in on March 14. Under Clark,

1625-467: The CBC , radio station CKNW , and newspapers The Globe and Mail , The Vancouver Sun and Times Colonist who had all reported on the termination and subsequent comments. In June 2019, the case judge dismissed the portions claimed to have been lost acting as a future consultant or advocate for government or LNG-related organizations but permitted the case to be further considered to examine loss of income from

1690-565: The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), a new social-democratic and democratic socialist opposition party. Pattullo wanted an activist government to try to deal with the depression through social programs and support of the unemployed. Canada has been recognized as the hardest hit by the Great Depression , and western Canada the hardest hit within Canada. Pattullo's attempts were often at odds with

1755-563: The Official Opposition in the legislature, relegating the ruling Social Credit Party to a distant third with seven seats. Wilson won his own seat in Powell River-Sunshine Coast . In 1993, Wilson's leadership of the Liberals was challenged after it came to light that he was having an extramarital affair with fellow Liberal MLA Judi Tyabji , whom he had recently named as the party's House Leader . In

1820-610: The Progressive Democratic Alliance from 1993–1999, before joining the NDP where he served in the provincial cabinet. He also ran as a candidate in the 2000 BC New Democratic Party leadership race. During the 2013 British Columbia provincial election , Wilson endorsed Liberal Premier Christy Clark for re-election over the NDP's Adrian Dix . Wilson was born in Vancouver , spent his early years in Kenya and returned to British Columbia in

1885-571: The 1912 election, which returned no Liberals at all. In 1916, he won election to the legislature again through a by-election, and led his party to victory in a general election later that year by campaigning on a reform platform. Brewster promised to end patronage in the civil service , end political machines , improve workman's compensation and labor laws, bring in votes for women, and other progressive reforms. The government brought in women's suffrage , instituted prohibition , and combated political corruption before his unexpected death in 1918. He

1950-420: The 1940s, British Columbia politics were dominated by the Liberal Party and rival Conservative Party . The Liberals formed government from 1916 to 1928 and again from 1933 to 1941. From 1941 to 1952, the two parties governed in a coalition (led by a Liberal leader) to counter the ascendant Co-operative Commonwealth Federation . The coalition was defeated in the 1952 election by the new Social Credit Party , and

2015-615: The 1970s. He has a BSc from the State University of New York at New Paltz , and a master's degree from the University of British Columbia in resource economics . He raised two children with his wife Elizabeth in the Middlepoint area of BC's Sunshine Coast , dabbling in pig farming before teaching resource economics and economic geography at Capilano College ( North Vancouver ), where he also served as president of

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2080-467: The BC Liberals in the 2013 provincial election , Premier Christy Clark appointed Wilson to a position titled LNG – Buy BC Advocate to promote for the development of an LNG industry in the province. The position was ended by the newly inaugurated NDP/Green government on 1 August 2017, a position for which he had been paid $ 150,000 per annum since 2013. In response to the public comments made following

2145-478: The BC NDP won the election, the Liberals came in second with 17 seats. Wilson became leader of the Opposition . Wilson's policies did not coincide with many other Liberals both in the legislature and in the party who wanted to fill the vacuum left by the collapse of Social Credit. The Liberals also proved themselves to be inexperienced, both in the legislature and in building a broad-based political movement. They had

2210-505: The Fraser Valley region, solidifying their claim to be the clear alternative to the existing BC NDP government. The Liberal party also filled the vacuum created on the centre-right of the BC political spectrum by Social Credit's collapse. In the 1996 election , the BC Liberals won the popular vote. However, much of the Liberal margin was wasted on large margins in the outer regions of the province; they only won eight seats in Vancouver and

2275-418: The Liberals and formed their own party, the Progressive Democratic Alliance . Once Campbell became leader, the Liberals adopted the moniker "BC Liberals" for the first time, and soon introduced a new logo and new party colours (red and blue, instead of the usual "Liberal red" and accompanying maple leaf ). The revised name and logo was an attempt to distinguish itself more clearly in the minds of voters from

2340-538: The Liberals outnumbered the Tories in the coalition caucus and Hart was followed by another Liberal, Byron Johnson, known as "Boss" Johnson , with Anscomb as deputy premier and minister of Finance . Johnson's government introduced universal hospital insurance and a 3% provincial sales tax to pay for it. It expanded the highway system, extended the Pacific Great Eastern Railway , and negotiated

2405-554: The Lower Mainland. In rural British Columbia, particularly in the Interior where the railway was the lifeblood of the local economy – the BC Liberals lost several contests because of discomfort that the electorate had with some of Campbell's policies, principally his promise to sell BC Rail . The net result was to consign the Liberals to opposition again, though they managed to slash the NDP's majority from 13 to three. After

2470-469: The NDP's party leadership at a convention in February 2000, but pulled out of the race shortly before the voting began. He threw his support to candidate Corky Evans , who in turn lost to Ujjal Dosanjh . In the 2001 provincial election , he lost his seat to BC Liberal candidate Harold Long , previously a Social Credit MLA whom Wilson had defeated in 1991 when running for the BC Liberals. After endorsing

2535-474: The ballots were counted in the 1952 general election . Social Credit's de facto leader during the election, W. A. C. Bennett , formerly a Conservative, was formally named party leader after the election. At the 1953 general election , the Liberals were reduced to four seats, taking 23.36% of the vote. Arthur Laing defeated Tilly Rolston in Vancouver Point Grey. Although Social Credit won

2600-415: The biggest landslide in BC history, taking 77 of 79 seats. They even managed to unseat Premier Ujjal Dosanjh in his own riding. Gordon Campbell became the seventh premier in ten years, and the first Liberal premier in almost 50 years. Campbell introduced a 25% cut in all provincial income taxes on the first day he was installed to office. The BC Liberals also reduced the corporate income tax and abolished

2665-827: The construction of Highway 97 to northern British Columbia (of which the Prince George – Dawson Creek segment is now named in his honour) and the Bridge River Power Project , which was the first major hydroelectric development in British Columbia. He established the BC Power Commission, a forerunner of BC Hydro , to provide power to smaller communities that were not serviced by private utilities. In December 1947, Hart retired as premier. The Conservative Party agitated for its leader, Herbert Anscomb , to succeed Hart as premier, but

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2730-468: The corporate capital tax for most businesses (a tax on investment and employment that had been introduced by the New Democrats). Campbell's first term was also noted for fiscal austerity , including reductions in welfare rolls and some social services , deregulation , the sale of some government assets (in particular the "Fast ferries" built by the previous government , which were sold off for

2795-532: The course of the cuts, hospitals, courthouses and extended care facilities around the province were shut down, particularly in smaller communities, and enforcement staff such as the BC Conservation Service were reduced to marginal levels. Various provincial parks created during the previous NDP regime were also downgraded to protected area status, meaning they could be opened for resource exploitation, and fees for use of parks were raised. In 2003,

2860-490: The election, the BC Liberals set about making sure that there would be no repeat of 1996. Campbell jettisoned some of the less popular policy planks in his 1996 platform, most notably a promise to sell BC Rail, as the prospect of the sale's consequences had alienated supporters in the Northern Interior ridings. After a scandal-filled second term for the BC NDP government, the BC Liberals won the 2001 election with

2925-569: The faculty association. After an unsuccessful campaign to be elected to the BC Legislature in the 1986 provincial election, in 1987, Wilson took over as leader of the BC Liberal Party , which had not elected a member in over a decade. He was defeated in a 1989 provincial byelection. In the 1991 general election , Wilson's profile skyrocketed after his highly successful performance in the campaign's televised leaders debate. During

2990-488: The federal Liberal Party of Canada . In early 1994, Campbell was elected to the legislature in a by-election. Under his leadership, the party began moving to the right, gaining support from members of the former Social Credit Party and, later, the provincial Reform Party . Some moderate Socreds had begun voting Liberal as far back as the Vander Zalm era. The Liberals won two former Socred seats in by-elections held in

3055-530: The federal government in Ottawa . Pattullo was also an advocate for British Columbia, and suggested the annexation of Yukon by BC, and the construction of the Alaska Highway to reduce the power of eastern Canada over BC. In the 1937 general election , his government was re-elected running on the slogan of " socialized capitalism". The alternating government with the Conservatives came to an end with

3120-448: The federal party's perspective, this move was equally beneficial to them, as the provincial party was heavily in debt. Wilson set about to rebuild the provincial party as a credible third party in British Columbia politics. During the same period, the ruling Social Credit party was beset by controversy under the leadership of Bill Vander Zalm . As a result, multiple Social Credit scandals caused many voters to look for an alternative. By

3185-468: The federal party. In the 2001 election , the Liberals won an overwhelming majority, which they held under Campbell and his successor Christy Clark until shortly after the 2017 election . The party remained in Opposition after losing the 2020 election . Eight party leaders have served as premier of British Columbia : Harlan Brewster , John Oliver , John MacLean , Duff Pattullo , John Hart , Boss Johnson , Gordon Campbell , and Christy Clark . Since

3250-416: The floor to join the governing NDP. As part of the deal, he joined Premier Glen Clark 's cabinet as Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Minister Responsible for BC Ferries . He was later appointed Minister of Finance and Corporate Relations after the resignation of Joy MacPhail , and then Minister of Education. He later served as Minister of Employment and Investment and as Minister of Forests. He ran for

3315-534: The leader of the provincial Liberal Party when no one else was interested. Wilson severed formal links between the provincial Liberal party and its federal counterpart . Since the mid-1970s, most federal Liberals in BC had chosen to support the British Columbia Social Credit Party at the provincial level. For the provincial party, the intent of this separation was to reduce the influence of Social Credit members of federal party. From

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3380-684: The legislature, but with the lowest vote in party history at 16.4%. After the British Columbia New Democratic Party (BC NDP) won the 1972 election , many supporters of the Liberal and Conservative parties defected to the Social Credit League. This coalition was able to keep the New Democrats out of power from 1975 until the 1990s. MLAs Garde Gardom , Pat McGeer and Allan Williams left the Liberals for Social Credit along with Hugh Curtis of

3445-452: The party charted a more centrist outlook while continuing its recent tradition of being a coalition of federal Liberal and federal Conservative supporters. She immediately raised the minimum wage from $ 8/hour to $ 10.25/hour and introduced a province-wide Family Day similar to Ontario's. Clark became premier during the aftermath of the 2008–09 recession, and continued to hold the line on government spending, introducing two deficit budgets before

3510-425: The party went into decline, eventually losing its presence in the legislature in the 1979 election . It returned to the legislature in the 1991 election , coming in second and forming the Official Opposition , through the efforts of leader Gordon Wilson . Wilson lost a leadership challenge to Gordon Campbell in 1994. Under Campbell's leadership, the BC Liberals began to shift rightwards and distance themselves from

3575-526: The popular vote fell to 19.98%. In the 1966 election , the party won another seat, bringing its caucus to six, and had an increase in the vote to 20.24%. In the 1969 vote , the party lost one seat, and its share of the vote fell to 19.03%. In 1972, the party was led into the election by a new leader, David Anderson , who had been elected in the 1968 federal election as an MP for the Liberal Party of Canada . He and four others managed to be elected to

3640-420: The province of Alberta, who sought increased market access for its bitumen through BC ports, yet adamantly refuse any arrangement which would see BC receive any royalties. Gordon Wilson (British Columbia politician) Gordon Wilson (born 2 January 1949) is a former provincial politician in British Columbia , Canada. He served as leader of the Liberal Party of BC from 1987–1993, leader and founder of

3705-485: The province's doctors. Campbell also downsized the civil service, with staff cutbacks of more than fifty percent in some government departments, and despite promises of smaller government the size of cabinet was nearly doubled and parliamentary salaries raised. Governance was also re-arranged such that Deputy Ministers were now to report to the Chief of Staff in the premier's office, rather than to their respective ministers. In

3770-450: The rise of the CCF, who managed to be Official Opposition from 1933 to 1937 and were one seat less than the Conservatives in the 1937 election . In the 1941 election , the CCF came second. The election did not give the Liberals the majority they hoped for. John Hart became the premier and Liberal leader in 1941 when Pattullo refused to go into coalition with the Conservatives. The Liberal members removed Patullo as leader and Hart formed

3835-615: The ruling New Democratic Party of British Columbia to become a member of Cabinet. He later ran for the provincial NDP leadership, but lost to Ujjal Dosanjh . He lost his legislative seat in the 2001 provincial election. In 2004, former party activists attempted to resuscitate the PDA. Finding financial obstacles, they instead formed the British Columbia Democratic Alliance , billing it as a successor organization. This Canadian politics –related article

3900-403: The small Liberal caucus, Judi Tyabji , MLA for Okanagan East. Tyabji and Wilson were both married to others at the time; they subsequently divorced and married each other. Many in the Liberal Party believed that their relationship created at least the potential for a serious conflict of interest . After losing the leadership challenge to Gordon Campbell , who in turn led the party to victory in

3965-417: The suddenly rejuvenated Tories. All of them became members of Social Credit Cabinets after 1975. In the 1975 election , the only Liberal to be elected was Gordon Gibson Jr. as the party scored a dismal 7.24%. David Anderson was badly defeated in his Victoria riding, placing behind the New Democrats and Social Credit. The 1979 election was the party's lowest point. For the second time in party history, it

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4030-399: The termination Wilson launched a libel lawsuit, seeking $ 5 million in damages, against Premier John Horgan and Minister Bruce Ralston who implied he had not sufficiently provided report or briefing of his work, as well as federal Member of Parliament Rachel Blaney who questioned the value of the work relative to the salary in a Facebook post. Wilson later expanded the lawsuit to also name

4095-466: The time of the 1991 election , Wilson lobbied to be included in the televised Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) debate between Vander Zalm's successor, Premier Rita Johnston and BC NDP leader Michael Harcourt . The CBC agreed, and Wilson impressed many voters with his performance. The Liberal campaign gained momentum, and siphoned off much support from the Social Credit campaign. While

4160-757: Was more measured in her approach to environmental policy. While continuing with BC's first-in-North-America carbon tax, she promised to freeze the rate during the 2013 election and her LNG development aspirations seemed to contradict greenhouse gas emissions targets set by the Campbell government in 2007. She also announced in 2012 that any future pipeline that crosses BC would have to meet five conditions that included environmental requirements and Indigenous consultation. Controversially, she indicated that one of her five conditions would be that BC receives its "fair share" of any revenues that accrue from increased pipeline and tanker traffic. This has put her in direct conflict with

4225-402: Was shut out of the legislature. Only five candidates ran, none were elected, and the party got 0.5% of the vote. The 1983 election saw a small recovery as the party came close to a full slate of candidates, but won 2.69% of the vote. The 1986 vote was the third and last election in which the party was shut out. Its share of the popular vote improved to 6.74%. In 1987, Gordon Wilson became

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