Prior to 1903, there was no strong party discipline in the province, and governments rarely lasted more than two years as independent-minded members changed allegiances. MLAs were elected under a myriad of party labels many as Independents, and no one party held strong majorities. The first party government, in 1903, was Conservative; disciplined party caucuses have been the backbone of BC provincial politics ever since. A list of political parties currently registered with Elections BC, the non-partisan office responsible for conducting elections in the province, can be found on the Elections BC website. [1]
Name | Founded | Ideology | Leader | MLAs | In Legislature | In Government | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
British Columbia New Democratic Party (known as the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation until 1961) | 1933 | Social democracy | David Eby | 47 | 1933–present | 1972–1975, 1991–2001, 2017–present | |
Conservative Party of British Columbia (known as the Progressive Conservative Party from 1942 to 1991) | 1903 | Conservatism, right-wing populism | John Rustad | 41 | 1903–1933, 1937–1956, 1971–1979, 1986, 2012, 2023–present | 1903–1916, 1928–1933, 1941–1952 | |
Green Party of British Columbia | 1985 | Green politics | Jeremy Valeriote (interim) | 2 | 2013–present | ||
OneBC | 2025 | Right-wing populism, Social conservatism | Dallas Brodie (interim) | 2 | 2025–present |
Political parties currently registered to Elections BC as of April 4, 2025. [2]
Name | Founded | Ideology | Leader | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Centre BC | 2025 | Centrism | Karin Kirkpatrick | |
Christian Heritage Party of British Columbia | 2010 | Christian right, Constitutionalism, Social conservatism | Rod Taylor | |
Communist Party of British Columbia (known as the Labor-Progressive Party from 1943 until 1959) | 1924 | Communism, Marxism-Leninism | Kimball Cariou | |
Freedom Party of British Columbia | 2023 [3] | Amrit Birring | ||
British Columbia Libertarian Party | 1986 | Libertarianism | Alex Joehl | |
Party of Citizens Who Have Decided To Think For Ourselves & Be Our Own Politicians | 2001 election (original) 2023 (relaunch) [4] | Gordon Watson | ||
BC Strong | 2025 [5] | James Davison | ||
BC United | 2023 (BC Liberals from 1903–2023) | Conservatism Neoliberalism | Kevin Falcon | |
B.C. Vision | 2013 | Fiscal conservatism, Green politics | Jagmohan Bhandari |
Name | Founded | Ideology | In legislature | In Government | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
BC Liberal Party (known as BC United after 2023) | 1903 | Conservatism, Neoliberalism | 1903–1912, 1916–1975, 1991–2024 | 1916–1928, 1933–1952, 2001–2017 | |
British Columbia Social Credit Party | 1935 | Social credit, Conservatism, Right-wing populism | 1952–1996 | 1952–1972, 1975–1991 |
Name | Founded | Ideology | In Legislature | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Labour/Independent Labour/Federated Labour | N/A | Social democracy | 1903–1907, 1920–1924, 1928–1960 | |
Socialist Party of British Columbia | 1901 | Socialism, Impossiblism | 1905–1916 | |
Social Democratic Party of British Columbia | 1907 | Social democracy | 1912–1916 | |
People's Party of British Columbia | N/A | Populism | 1920–1924 | |
Provincial Party of British Columbia | 1923 | Agrarianism | 1924–1928 | |
Non Partisan Independent Group | 1933 | Conservatism | 1933–1937 | |
Unionist Party of British Columbia | 1933 | Conservatism | 1933–1937 | |
British Columbia Social Constructive Party | 1936 | Reformism, Social Democracy | 1936–1937 | |
United Party of British Columbia | 1986 | |||
Progressive Democratic Alliance | 1993 | Centrism | 1993–1997 | |
Reform Party of British Columbia | 1983 | Right-wing populism | 1994–1997 | |
Democratic Reform British Columbia | 2005 | Centrism, Progressivism, Populism | 2005 |