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55 seats of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia 28 seats were needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 30th general election for the Canadian province of British Columbia was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. The election was called on July 24, 1972, and held on August 30, 1972. The new legislature met for the first time on October 17, 1972. David Barrett led the social democratic New Democratic Party to victory, winning a majority government.
British Columbia is the westernmost province of Canada, located between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. With an estimated population of 5.016 million as of 2018, it is Canada's third-most populous province.
The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is one of two components of the Parliament of British Columbia, while the other is Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, represented by the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia.
David Barrett, was a politician and social worker in British Columbia, Canada. He was the 26th Premier of British Columbia for three years between 1972 and 1975.
The Social Credit Party, led by Premier W.A.C. Bennett, was defeated after governing British Columbia since the 1952 election. Social Credit's share of the popular vote fell by over 15 percentage points, and the party lost 28 of the seats it had won in the previous election.
The Liberal Party held onto its five seats, while the Progressive Conservative Party, under the leadership of Derrill Warren, returned to the legislature for the first time since the 1953 election by winning two seats.
The British Columbia Conservative Party, formerly the British Columbia Progressive Conservative Party, is a provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada. From the early 1900s until the 1950s, the Conservatives were, along with the British Columbia Liberal Party, one of the two major parties in the province. Since the 1950s, the party has gradually declined in prominence, last winning a seat in a 1978 by-election. The Conservatives enjoyed a brief resurgence after Liberal MLA John van Dongen joined the party in 2012, and won nearly 5% of the vote in the 2013 provincial election. The party plays a minor role in provincial politics today.
In four ridings and part of a fifth, a referendum was held concurrently with the election.
Social Credit ran a lackluster campaign beset by gaffes. A week before the general election, cabinet minister Phil Gaglardi remarked to a newspaper that Bennett would resign after the election, calling him "an old man who doesn't understand what is happening with the young people of this province". [1] The remark proved damaging, bringing the issue of whether Bennett and his party were worn out after 20 years in office to the forefront of the campaign. [2] A pre-campaign visit by Bennett and his cabinet to New Westminster turned violent after they were confronted by demonstrators, who injured eight ministers, a melee for which Bennett tried to blame Barrett. [2] Shortly after the Social Credit campaign started, Bennett was tricked into shaking hands with current Progressive Conservative leader Derril Warren in front of a photographer from The Province . After the photograph, depicting a smiling Warren and scowling Bennett, was published on The Province's front page, Bennett spent the rest of the campaign antagonising the media, refusing to tell reporters where he was appearing. [2]
Philip Arthur Gaglardi, sometimes known as Flying Phil was a politician in the Canadian province of British Columbia. He is best known for his service as Minister of Highways in the BC government from 1955 to 1968.
New Westminster is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of Metro Vancouver. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the capital of the new-born Colony of British Columbia in 1858, and continued in that role until the Mainland and Island Colonies were merged in 1866, and was the Mainland's largest city from that year until it was passed in population by Vancouver during the first decade of the 20th Century.
The Province, one of the two major daily newspapers in British Columbia, is a tabloid published in British Columbia by Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. alongside the broadsheet newspaper The Vancouver Sun, the other major daily newspaper in British
Barrett benefited from his youth, allowing the media to contrast him with the aged Bennett, and ran a campaign focused on "people issues" such as urban transit, public auto insurance, and increased royalties from the province's timber and minerals industries. [2] Late in the campaign, Bennett declared at a Social Credit rally, "The socialist hordes are at the gates of British Columbia!" [2]
Public auto insurance is a government-owned and -operated system of compulsory automobile insurance used in the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Quebec. It is based on the idea that if motorists are compelled to purchase auto insurance by the government, the government ought to ensure motorists pay fair premiums and receive high-quality coverage. Governments across the country have used various insurance schemes - from full tort to full no-fault - in pursuit of this goal.
Although Bennett's campaign had been lacklustre, no commentators anticipated the party's loss. The resulting NDP majority came as a surprise. [3] Historian David J. Mitchell wrote, "The surprise was not just [the Social Credit] defeat, but its magnitude." [1] [2] In his victory speech, Barrett told supporters that ten thousand people had worked for 40 years to get the NDP and its predecessor, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, elected into office, and vowed, "I will not let their hopes or aspirations down." [2]
38 | 10 | 5 | 2 |
New Democratic | Social Credit | Liberal | PC |
Party | Party leader | # of candidates | Seats | Popular vote | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1969 | Elected | % Change | # | % | % Change | ||||
New Democrats | Dave Barrett | 55 | 12 | 38 | +217% | 448,260 | 39.59% | +5.67% | |
Social Credit | W.A.C. Bennett | 55 | 38 | 10 | -73.7% | 352,776 | 31.16% | -15.63% | |
Liberal | David Anderson | 53 | 5 | 5 | - | 185,640 | 16.40% | -2.63% | |
Progressive Conservative | Derril Thomas Warren | 49 | - | 2 | - | 143,450 | 12.67% | +12.56% | |
Independent | 9 | - | - | - | 1,184 | 0.10% | +0.02% | ||
Communist Party | 15 | - | - | - | 862 | 0.08% | +0.03% | ||
Total | 226 | 55 | 55 | - | 1,132,172 | 100% | |||
Source: Elections BC | |||||||||
The British Columbia Liberal Party is a centre-right provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada. The base of the BC Liberal Party is made up of supporters of both the federal Liberal Party and Conservative Party, and its policies are a mixture of Liberal and Conservative. The party forms the Official Opposition. Andrew Wilkinson became leader of the party on February 3, 2018, after winning the Leadership Election on the fifth ballot, making him the Leader of the Official Opposition of British Columbia.
The New Democratic Party of British Columbia is a social-democratic provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada, which currently governs the province, and previously governed from 1972 to 1975, and then again from 1991 to 2001. Following the 2017 provincial election in British Columbia, the party formed a minority government via a confidence and supply agreement with the British Columbia Green Party, following the defeat of Christy Clark's British Columbia Liberal Party government by a confidence vote in the legislature.
William Andrew Cecil Bennett was a Canadian politician. He was the 25th Premier of British Columbia. With just over 20 years in office, Bennett was and remains the longest-serving premier in British Columbia history. He was usually referred to as W.A.C. Bennett, although some referred to him either affectionately or mockingly as "Wacky" Bennett. To his close friends, he was known as "Cece".
The British Columbia Social Credit Party, whose members are known as Socreds, was the governing political party of British Columbia, Canada, for all but three years between the 1952 provincial election and the 1991 election. For four decades, the party dominated the British Columbian political scene, with the only break occurring between the 1972 and 1975 elections when the New Democratic Party of British Columbia was in power.
The Alberta New Democratic Party, commonly shortened to Alberta NDP, is a social-democratic political party in Alberta, Canada, which succeeded the Alberta section of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and the even earlier Alberta wing of the Canadian Labour Party and the United Farmers of Alberta. From the mid-1980s to 2004, the party abbreviated its name as the "New Democrats" (ND).
The British Columbia general election of 2001 was the 37th provincial election in the Province of British Columbia, Canada. It was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. The election was called on April 18, 2001, and held on May 16, 2001. Voter turnout was 55.4 per cent of all eligible voters.
The British Columbia general election of 1996 was the thirty sixth provincial election in the Province of British Columbia, Canada. It was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. The election was called on April 30, 1996, and held on May 28, 1996. Voter turnout was 59.1 per cent of all eligible voters. The election is notable for producing a "false-winner" outcome, rewarding a party that got second in the popular vote with a majority government.
The British Columbia general election of 1991 was the 35th provincial election in the Province of British Columbia, Canada. It was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. The election was called on September 19, 1991, and held on October 17, 1991. The incumbent Social Credit Party of British Columbia, which had been beset by scandals during Bill Vander Zalm's only term as premier, was defeated by the New Democratic Party of Mike Harcourt. Liberal Party leader Gordon Wilson surprised observers by leading his party to winning one-third of the votes cast, and forming the official opposition in the legislature. The new legislature met for the first time on March 17, 1992.
The British Columbia general election of 1986 was the 34th general election in the Province of British Columbia, Canada. It was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. The sitting Social Credit government was re-elected.
The British Columbia general election of 1979 was the 32nd general election in the Province of British Columbia, Canada. It was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. The election was called on April 3, 1979. The election was held on May 10, 1979, and the new legislature met for the first time on June 6, 1979.
The British Columbia general election of 1975 was the 31st general election in the Province of British Columbia, Canada. It was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. The election was called on November 3, 1975, and held on December 11, 1975. The new legislature met for the first time on March 17, 1976.
The British Columbia general election of 1956 was the 25th general election in the Province of British Columbia, Canada. It was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. The election was called on August 13, 1956, and held on September 19, 1956. The new legislature met for the first time on February 7, 1957.
Robert Skelly is a Canadian former politician from British Columbia. He was born April 14, 1943 at New Westminster, British Columbia and worked as a teacher.
The Politics of British Columbia involves not only the governance of British Columbia, Canada, and the various political factions that have held or vied for legislative power, but also a number of experiments or attempts at political and electoral reform.
Robert Martin Strachan was a trade unionist and politician. He was the longest serving Leader of the Opposition in British Columbia history.
The New Democratic Party is a social democratic federal political party in Canada. The party was founded in 1961 out of the merger of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) with the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC). The party sits to the left of the Liberal Party of Canada within the Canadian political spectrum. The leader of the federal NDP is Jagmeet Singh, who won the 2017 leadership election.
The 29th Legislative Assembly of British Columbia sat from 1970 to 1972. The members were elected in the British Columbia general election held in August 1969. The Social Credit Party led by W. A. C. Bennett formed the government. The New Democratic Party (NDP) led by Dave Barrett formed the official opposition.
The 30th Legislative Assembly of British Columbia sat from 1972 to 1975. The members were elected in the British Columbia general election held in August 1972. The New Democratic Party (NDP) led by Dave Barrett formed the government. The Social Credit Party led by W. A. C. Bennett formed the official opposition. Bill Bennett was elected Social Credit party leader in November 1973 after his father resigned his seat in the assembly in June 1973.
The 33rd Legislative Assembly of British Columbia sat from 1983 to 1986. The members were elected in the British Columbia general election held in May 1983. The Social Credit Party led by Bill Bennett formed the government. After Bennett retired in 1986, Bill Vander Zalm became Premier. The New Democratic Party (NDP) led by Dave Barrett formed the official opposition. After Barrett resigned his seat in 1984, Bob Skelly became party leader.