 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Riding of Westside-Kelowna | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registered | 46,021 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 18,797 (40.84%) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A by-election was held on July 13, 2013, to replace MLA Ben Stewart in the riding of Westside-Kelowna. Stewart resigned his seat to allow the liberal party leader and incumbent premier of British Columbia Christy Clark to run in a liberal safe seat, following her electoral defeat in Vancouver-Point Grey during the 2013 British Columbia general election two months prior.
In the 2013 British Columbia general election, Premier Christy Clark attempted to keep her seat in Vancouver-Point Grey. The constituency election was essentially a rematch of the 2011 by-election won by Clark against David Eby of the NDP. Unlike the by-election however, Eby defeated Clark, leaving the incumbent premier of British Columbia without a seat in the legislature. Despite her personal election loss, the Liberals led by Clark held their majority in the legislature, which by convention allowed Clark's government to remain in power. [1] In order to remain in the legislature, Clark sought out Liberal MLAs in Liberal safe seats who were willing to resign their seat, so that Clark could contest it in a by-election. Eby would later go on to become premier after winning the NDP leadership election in 2022.
On June 6, Liberal MLA Ben Stewart announced that he would be resigning his seat in Westside-Kelowna to give Christy Clark the opportunity to re-enter the legislature. [2] Clark claimed that many other Liberal MLAs had also offered to give up their seats, but Kelowna stood out to her for its symbolic connection with free enterprise, as it was the home of premiers W.A.C. Bennett and Bill Bennett. The riding of Westside-Kelowna had also never been represented by a New Democratic MLA since its establishment.
| British Columbia provincial by-election, July 10, 2013 : Westside-Kelowna Resignation of Ben Stewart | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Christy Clark | 11,758 | 62.66 | +4.58 | $56,758 | |||
| New Democratic | Carole Gordon | 5,563 | 29.64 | −1.20 | $38,827 | |||
| Conservative | Sean Upshaw | 1,115 | 5.94 | −5.14 | $9,755 | |||
| Independent | Dayleen Van Ryswyk | 134 | 0.71 | – | $373 | |||
| Independent | John Marks | 74 | 0.39 | – | $250 | |||
| Independent | Silverado Brooks Socrates | 46 | 0.25 | – | $250 | |||
| Vision | JB Bhandari | 45 | 0.24 | – | $2,261 | |||
| Independent | Korry Zepik | 31 | 0.17 | – | $440 | |||
| Total valid votes | 18,766 | 100.00 | – | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 31 | 0.16 | −0.80 | |||||
| Turnout | 18,797 | 40.84 | −6.68 | |||||
| Registered voters | 46,021 | |||||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | +2.89 | ||||||
| Source: Elections BC [3] [4] | ||||||||
After winning the by-election, Christy Clark remained the premier of British Columbia for the rest of the 40th parliamentary term. [5] In October 2013, Ben Stewart was appointed by Christy Clark to be the BC Special Representative in Asia. In the 2017 election, Clark won again in Kelowna West (renamed from Westside-Kelowna), but her party lost their majority, resulting in a hung parliament. Despite her effort to keep the confidence of the legislature, her government was defeated fifty-one days after the general election, following the arrangement of a confidence and supply agreement between the New Democratic and Green parties. [6] [7] After losing the premiership, Christy Clark resigned her seat as an MLA, and another by-election was organized in Kelowna West, which was eventually won by Ben Stewart. Clark also resigned her position as leader of the BC Liberals and was replaced by Andrew Wilkinson in the subsequent leadership election.
BC United (BCU), known 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 a "free enterprise coalition" and draws support from members of both the federal Liberal and Conservative parties. Since the 1990s, BC United has been 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.
The New Democratic Party of British Columbia is a social democratic political party in British Columbia, Canada. The party sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum and is one of the two major parties in British Columbia; since the 1990s, its rival is the centre-right BC United. The party is formally affiliated with the federal New Democratic Party and serves as its provincial branch.
The Conservative Party of British Columbia, commonly the BC Conservatives and colloquially known as the Tories, is a provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada. In the first half of the twentieth century, the Conservatives competed with the BC Liberal Party for power in the province. During this period, three party leaders served as premier of British Columbia: Richard McBride (1903–1915), William John Bowser (1915–1916), and Simon Fraser Tolmie (1928–1933). Royal Maitland and Herbert Anscomb served as deputy premiers, both during the coalition governments of the 1940s. The party's influence diminished in the second half of the century, with the Tories having only a minor presence in the legislature after the 1950s. The party has seen an electoral resurgence under leader John Rustad, who was originally elected as a BC Liberal MLA in 2005 before being expelled from that party in 2022.
Christina Joan Clark is a former Canadian politician who was the 35th premier of British Columbia (BC), from 2011 to 2017. Clark was the second woman to be premier of BC, after Rita Johnston in 1991, and the first female premier in Canada to lead her party to a plurality of seats in two consecutive general elections.
Greater Vancouver, also known as Metro Vancouver, is the metropolitan area with its major urban centre being the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The term "Greater Vancouver" describes an area that is roughly coterminous with the region governed by the Metro Vancouver Regional District (MVRD), though it predates the 1966 creation of the regional district. It is often used to include areas beyond the boundaries of the regional district but does not generally include wilderness and agricultural areas that are included within the MVRD.
The 2005 British Columbia general election was held on May 17, 2005, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) of the Province of British Columbia (BC), Canada. The British Columbia Liberal Party formed the government of the province prior to this general election under the leadership of Premier Gordon Campbell. The main opposition was the British Columbia New Democratic Party, whose electoral representation was reduced to two MLAs in the previous provincial election in 2001.
Vancouver-Point Grey is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada. It was first contested in the general election of 1933. It was created out of parts of Richmond-Point Grey, South Vancouver and Vancouver City. The riding began as a three-member seat, and was reduced to a two-member seat in 1966 when Vancouver-Little Mountain was created. In the redistribution preceding the 1991 election, it was reduced to a one-member riding along with the other older urban ridings, as several new one-member ridings were created.
Kevin Falcon is a Canadian provincial politician who is the leader of BC United and became the Leader of the Opposition in May 2022. He is the member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for the district of Vancouver-Quilchena, being elected in a byelection in April 2022. He formerly served as the MLA for Surrey-Cloverdale as a member of the then BC Liberals from 2001 to 2013. He served as both the 12th deputy premier of British Columbia, and the province's minister of Finance.
Adrian Dix is a Canadian politician who is the current Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Vancouver-Kingsway in British Columbia. A member of the British Columbia New Democratic Party, he was the party's leader and Leader of the Opposition in British Columbia from 2011 to 2014, resigning after losing the 2013 provincial election in an upset. He is the current Minister of Health as well as the Minister Responsible for Francophone Affairs, both since 2017, under premiers John Horgan and David Eby.
John Joseph Horgan is a Canadian diplomat and former politician who has been the Canadian ambassador to Germany since 2023. Horgan served as the 36th premier of British Columbia from 2017 to 2022, and also as the leader of the British Columbia New Democratic Party from 2014 to 2022. Horgan was the member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for the constituency of Langford-Juan de Fuca and its predecessors from 2005 to 2023.
Kelowna West or Westside-Kelowna is a former provincial electoral district in British Columbia, Canada. It combined a portion of the City of Kelowna on the east shore of Lake Okanagan with communities on the west shore.
Steve Thomson is a Canadian politician, who was elected as a BC Liberal Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2009 provincial election, representing the riding of Kelowna-Mission. Thomson was re-elected in 2013 and 2017 and elected Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia on June 22, 2017. He had previously served as Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations since 2011. Thomson resigned as Speaker on June 29, 2017, after less than a week in office, immediately following the defeat of the minority Liberal government of Christy Clark on a confidence vote.
Benjamin Richard Stewart is a Canadian politician, who has represented the riding of Kelowna West in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia since 2018 as a member of BC United. He previously represented the riding of Westside-Kelowna from 2009 to 2013.
The 2013 British Columbia general election took place on May 14, 2013, to elect the 85 members of the 40th Parliament of British Columbia to the Legislative Assembly in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The British Columbia Liberal Party formed the government during the 39th Parliament prior to this general election, initially under the leadership of Premier Gordon Campbell then after his resignation, Christy Clark. The British Columbia New Democratic Party under the leadership of Carole James, and then Adrian Dix, formed the Official Opposition. The BC Green Party under the leadership of Jane Sterk and the BC Conservative Party under John Cummins were also included in polling, although neither party had representation at the end of the 39th Parliament.
David Robert Patrick Eby is a Canadian politician and lawyer who has been serving as the 37th and current premier of British Columbia since November 18, 2022.
Andrew Wilkinson is an Australian-born Canadian politician. He is the former leader of the British Columbia Liberal Party, and served as the leader of British Columbia's Official Opposition. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2013 provincial election and re-elected in 2017 and 2020. He represented the electoral district of Vancouver-Quilchena.
The 2017 British Columbia general election was held on May 9, 2017, to elect 87 members (MLAs) to the Legislative Assembly to serve in the 41st Parliament of the Canadian province of British Columbia. In the 40th Parliament prior to this general election, the British Columbia Liberal Party formed the government under the leadership of Christy Clark, while the British Columbia New Democratic Party (NDP), under the leadership of Adrian Dix and then John Horgan, formed the Official Opposition; the Green Party of British Columbia were also represented in the legislature with sole MLA and later leader Andrew Weaver.
The 41st Parliament of British Columbia was in session from June 22, 2017, to September 21, 2020. It consisted of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, as elected by the general election of May 9, 2017, and subsequent by-elections, and the Queen in right of British Columbia, represented by the lieutenant governor of British Columbia. It was the first parliament following the increase in size of the legislature from 85 to 87 seats. Immediately following the election, Christy Clark, the incumbent premier, asked the lieutenant governor to remain governing until the final votes were counted and it would be known if there would be a majority or minority government. Lieutenant Governor Judith Guichon agreed and Clark appointed a cabinet of 21 ministers and 13 parliamentary secretaries, which were sworn in on June 12, 2017.
A British Columbia Liberal Party leadership election was held on February 3, 2018, due to the resignation of Christy Clark as Liberal leader on August 4, 2017. Rich Coleman was elected interim leader announcing that he has no intention of running for leader, but would resign as interim leader if he changed his mind, adding that he did not anticipate changing his mind.
The 2024 British Columbia general election will be held on October 19, 2024, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly to serve in the 43rd parliament of the Canadian province of British Columbia.
