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Riding of Westside-Kelowna | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Registered | 46,021 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 18,797 (40.84%) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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 | ||||||||
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| 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 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 a "free enterprise coalition" and draws support from members of both the federal Liberal and Conservative parties. From 1991 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.
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 was the centre-right BC United until the Conservative Party of British Columbia reconstituted itself for the 2024 British Columbia general election, with BC United withdrawing its candidates and endorsing the Conservatives. The party is formally affiliated with the federal New Democratic Party and serves as its provincial branch.
The Conservative Party of British Columbia, commonly known as the BC Conservatives and colloquially known as the Tories, is a provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada. It is the main rival to the governing British Columbia New Democratic Party and forms the Official Opposition in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. It is led by John Rustad, who was originally elected as a British Columbia Liberal Party MLA in 2005 before being expelled from the Liberal caucus in 2022.
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John Joseph Horgan was a Canadian politician and diplomat who served as the 36th premier of British Columbia from 2017 to 2022 and the ambassador of Canada to Germany from 2023 to 2024. He led the British Columbia New Democratic Party from 2014 to 2022, guiding the party to government after 16 years in opposition. A member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia (MLA) from 2005 to 2023, he represented the riding of Langford-Juan de Fuca.
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Benjamin Richard Stewart is a Canadian politician, who has represented the riding of Kelowna West in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 2018 until 2024 as a member of BC United. He previously represented the riding of Westside-Kelowna from 2009 to 2013.
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