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Conservative Party of British Columbia

(Redirected from BC Conservatives)

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.[2] 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.[3]

Conservative Party of British Columbia
LeaderJohn Rustad
PresidentAisha Estey
Founded1903; 121 years ago (1903)
Preceded byLiberal-Conservative Party (1903–1926)
Conservative Party
(1926–1942)
Progressive Conservative Party (1942–1991)
Headquarters1434 Ironwood Street
Unit 327
Campbell River, British Columbia
V9W 5T5
Membership (2024)Increase ~9,000[1]
Ideology
Political positionCentre-right to right-wing
ColoursBlue
Legislative Assembly
44 / 93
Website
conservativebc.ca

In the first half of the 20th 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 Conservatives having only a minor presence in the legislature after the 1950s. However, the party saw a resurgence under Rustad's leadership in the 2024 provincial election, winning the second-most seats in its best electoral performance in 72 years.[4][5]

While both of its members tend to support each other, and both parties have roughly the same platform, the BC Conservatives have no organizational link to the federal Conservative Party of Canada, and as such does not operate as their provincial wing in the province.

History

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Founding and early years

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Richard McBride, the first Conservative Premier of British Columbia

The Conservative Party of British Columbia was formed in 1900 as the Liberal-Conservative Party, before the province officially embraced partisan politics. The party selected Charles Wilson as its first leader.[6] Several opposition factions contested the 1900 general election against the non-partisan government, but these were generally loose affiliations.[6] In 1902, the Conservative Party convention passed a resolution to stand candidates in the next election.[6]

Party government was introduced on June 1, 1903, by Premier Richard McBride, when he announced the formation of an officially Conservative government.[6] McBride believed that the system of non-partisan government that the province had until that point was unstable and inhibiting development. His Conservatives won the 1903 election, the first fought on the party system, earning a two-seat majority in the British Columbia Legislative Assembly over their rivals, the Liberal Party, as well as various Socialist and Labour MLAs. The Conservatives generally implemented policies mirroring the priorities of the national Conservative Party, which at the time favoured government intervention to help develop industry and infrastructure.

The Conservatives under McBride and his successor, William John Bowser, held power for 13 years until they were defeated by the Liberals in the 1916 election. In November 1926, the Liberal-Conservative Party formally changed its name to the Conservative Party.[6]

Tolmie government and crisis

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The Tories returned to power in the 1928 election under the leadership of Simon Fraser Tolmie, winning 35 of 48 seats in the Legislature. The Tolmie government was confronted with the Great Depression, and was wracked by infighting and indecision. The party was in such disarray that, despite being in power, the Conservative provincial association decided not to run any candidates in the 1933 election. Instead, each local association was left to act on its own, endorsing some candidates who ran as Independents, some as Independent Conservatives, and so on. Those supporting Premier Tolmie ran under the 'Unionist' label, while others grouped around former premier William John Bowser and ran as part of the 'Non-Partisan Independent Group'. When Bowser died and the elections in Vancouver Centre and Victoria City were postponed, four Non-partisan and two Unionist candidates withdrew.

The Conservative Party rebounded under Frank Porter Patterson to run a near-full slate in the election of 1937, however they were only able to elect eight MLAs, just one more than the growing Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) caucus. In the election of 1941, the Conservatives were able to win 12 seats, compared to 21 for the Liberals and 14 for the CCF. Members of the province's business community, who feared the growing strength of the democratic socialist CCF, urged the Liberals and Conservatives to form a wartime coalition government to ensure stability. Then-Conservative leader Royal Maitland agreed, while then-Liberal Premier T.D. Pattullo was opposed; however, Pattullo was forced to resign by his own party in late 1941. John Hart replaced him as Liberal leader and premier on the promise to form a coalition, and did so, making Maitland Deputy Premier and Attorney General shortly thereafter.

Coalition years

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In 1942, the BC Conservatives were rebranded as the BC Progressive Conservative Party, following the lead of the federal party. Maitland and Hart served throughout the remainder of World War II and continued their partnership past, running a joint ticket in the 1945 election and winning a majority government of 37 out of 48 seats. However, Maitland died suddenly in 1946 and was replaced by Herbert Anscomb, who became Deputy Premier and Finance Minister in the coalition government.[7] When Premier Hart retired in 1947, the Conservatives pushed for Anscomb to succeed him as Premier, but the Liberals, who had more members in the coalition caucus, insisted that the role remain with a Liberal. Byron Johnson was appointed Premier a short time later, but the conflict strained relations between the two parties and leaders going forward, and caused internal divisions to open up within the Tories.

The PCs were riven into three factions: one led by Okanagan MLA W.A.C. Bennett, who called for the Liberals and Tories to fuse into a single party; a second faction that supported the status-quo; and a third that wanted Anscomb to simply lead the PCs out of the coalition. Meanwhile, the Liberals were beginning to doubt that they needed the fractious Tories to govern. The coalition was re-elected in the 1949 election, winning 39 seats against nine for the CCF opposition, but despite this, growing divisions within the Conservative Party resulted in Anscomb's leadership being challenged at the 1950 party convention. Bennett, who had moved over to the anti-coalition faction, quit the party and crossed the floor to sit as a Social Credit League of British Columbia member, eventually forming the BC Social Credit Party.[7]

In January 1952, the Liberals decided to dissolve the coalition, with Johnson summarily dismissing his PC ministers, including Anscomb, and continued forward as a minority government.[8] The Conservatives properly re-founded their party and went into the 1952 election with the goal of unseating Premier Johnson.

Decline

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Prior to the 1952 election, the coalition government, whose entire reason for being had been to keep the CCF out of power, introduced an instant-runoff voting system. The assumption behind the change was that business-oriented voters would keep the democratic socialist party out of power through their secondary choices, regardless of the split between the former coalition partners. However, the Social Credit League, led by Albertan Ernest George Hansell, won the most seats in the election, while the two former coalition partners fell far behind. The PCs won only four seats, not including Anscomb's Oak Bay constituency. Two months later, former Tory W.A.C. Bennett would take control of the Socreds, dropping the party's social credit monetary reform policy in favour of traditional and populist platforms.

It was clear to those who wanted to keep the CCF out of power that only the Socreds would be able to accomplish that task, and so business-oriented voters left the old parties behind. Having a majority government following 1953, the Social Credit government changed the electoral system back to first past the post in order to cement its base. Social Credit became, in effect, the new centre-right coalition party, and both the Liberals and the Tories became marginalized.

Wilderness years

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Between the 1956 and 1972 elections, the Tories won no seats in the Legislature, and the party began to dwindle. After 1960, the party would not run a full slate of candidates again until 2024.[9] Deane Finlayson served as leader from 1952 until 1961, eventually handing the reins to federal Member of Parliament Davie Fulton. Fulton led the party to a brief surge of relevance in the 1963 election, winning 11% of the vote but no seats, with even Fulton falling far behind his Socred opponent in the Kamloops constituency. Fulton left soon after, returning to federal politics while the BC Tories collapsed into ruin. The Party ran only three candidates in the 1966 election, and just one, then-party leader John de Wolf, in the 1969 election.

In 1971, former Socred MLA Scott Wallace, who represented Oak Bay, crossed the floor to join the PCs, becoming the party's first MLA in 15 years. The PCs earned nearly 13% of the vote in the 1972 election and two seats—Wallace's and Hugh Curtis in Saanich and the Islands, both in the Victoria area. The election was won by the CCF's successor party, the New Democratic Party (NDP), who took advantage of the split between the Socreds, Tories, and resurgent Liberals to form a majority government.

Wallace was elected leader of the party in 1973. However, in 1974, his caucus mate Curtis left to join the Social Credit caucus, answering a call by new leader Bill Bennett to reunite the 'pro-business' vote. Wallace was able to win his own seat in the 1975 election, but resigned in 1977 and returned to his medical practice shortly after. Wallace's successor in Oak Bay and the party leadership was the last Tory MLA to be elected. Vic Stephens won the seat in a 1978 by-election, but lost in the following year's general election campaign.

During this time, with most of their voters in BC supporting Social Credit, the federal Progressive Conservative Party kept its distance in order to avoid alienating Social Credit Party supporters. When the federal and provincial election campaigns overlapped in 1979, federal leader Joe Clark made obvious efforts to avoid any contact with Stephens.[10] The Tories returned to the political wilderness in the following years. For a brief stint in 1986, former NDP MLA Graham Lea crossed the floor to sit as a PC MLA, but quit politics altogether following the dissolution of the Legislature for the 1986 election.

In 1991, the party changed its name back to the BC Conservative Party. However, the party was unable to gain traction during the collapse of the Socred government in the 1991 election and the subsequent re-alignment of BC politics. The party ran only a handful of candidates between 1991 and 2005, as the pro-business voters of the province moved en masse to the BC Liberals.

Twenty-first century revival efforts

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Party leader John Cummins in 2011

In 2005, former BC Reform Party and Christian conservative British Columbia Party leader Wilf Hanni was elected leader of the Conservatives. The party fielded 24 candidates in the 2009 election, its highest number since 1979, and earned 2.1% of the vote. In the aftermath of the election, Hanni resigned as party leader, along with eleven directors and party officials, citing infighting.[11]

By the end of 2010, with former Newfoundland premier Brian Peckford acting as an advisor, the party had the support of 8% of voters according to opinion polls, had approximately 2,000 members—up from 300 in June of that year—and had constituency associations established in 45 of the province's 85 ridings.[12] The party received another boost in 2011. After Christy Clark defeated Kevin Falcon for the BC Liberal leadership, a segment of Falcon's supporters defected to the Conservative ranks.[13] The Conservatives held their own leadership convention on May 28, 2011, where former Conservative Party of Canada Member of Parliament John Cummins was proclaimed leader.[14] By late 2011, Conservative support had surged to 18%.[15]

On March 26, 2012, Abbotsford South MLA John van Dongen announced that he was leaving the Liberals to join the Conservatives, providing the party with its first representative in the Legislative Assembly since 1986.[16] However, six months later van Dongen switched to Independent status after Cummins was re-elected party leader without van Dongen's support.[17] van Dongen stated that he lacked confidence in Cummins' leadership and cited differences about the party's direction as reasons for leaving.[17]

In the run-up to the 2013 election, the party was able to field only 56 candidates. Nevertheless, Cummins was invited to join the leaders of the Liberals, NDP, and Greens on-stage for the leaders' debates.[18] The Conservatives ultimately received less than 5% of the vote and had no candidates elected. On July 18, 2013, Cummins resigned as party leader.[19] Dan Brooks was elected the new leader of the party on April 12, 2014. Brooks resigned at the party's annual general meeting on February 20, 2016.[20] However, stating that outstanding issues that led to his resignations were resolved, Brooks was re-elected as leader at a leadership convention held on September 17, 2016.[21] On October 28, 2016, the party's executive board removed Brooks from the leadership after ruling that the meeting that approved his candidacy for the leadership convention lacked quorum. Brooks criticized the decision, stating that the executive were "like praying mantises, they eat their leaders".[22]

The party did not select a new leader before the start of the 2017 election campaign. As such, the Conservatives entered the election campaign without a leader and nominated only ten candidates, none of whom were elected.[23] In September 2017, following the party's annual general meeting, Scott Anderson, a Vernon city councillor, was appointed interim leader by a unanimous vote of the newly elected board. Anderson oversaw the reformation of several defunct riding associations and an increase in membership, and took the party through the Kelowna West and Nanaimo by-elections. Fort St. John city councillor Trevor Bolin became the party's new permanent leader on April 8, 2019.[24]

The party altered its name to the Conservative Party of British Columbia prior to the 2020 general election.[25]

During the BC Liberal leadership race in 2022, conservative commentator Aaron Gunn was disqualified by the party, which described his views as "inconsistent" with Liberal values including "diversity and acceptance of all British Columbians".[26] Following his disqualification, Gunn founded Common Sense BC, an advocacy group to study the viability of a right-wing alternative to the BC Liberals. Common Sense endorsed a slate of candidates who stood for election to the Conservative Party board at the May 2022 annual general meeting, effectively launching a takeover of the party. The endorsed candidates, including People's Party of Canada founding member Angelo Isidorou, were elected, and right-wing activists took control of the party.[27] In August 2022, the party revealed a new logo, alongside a new website and platform.

John Rustad leadership and resurgence (2023–present)

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John Rustad became party leader in 2023 after crossing the floor from the BC Liberals

On February 16, 2023, John Rustad, MLA for Nechako Lakes, joined the Conservative Party, giving the party representation in the Legislature for the first time since 2012. Rustad had been elected as a Liberal but was removed from the party's caucus in August 2022 after he refused to undo his retweet of a comment casting doubt on the scientific consensus that climate change is caused by carbon dioxide emissions; after the removal, Rustad sat as an Independent.[28] Rustad cited "irreconcilable differences" with Liberal leader Kevin Falcon in explaining his decision to join the Conservatives.[29]

Bolin announced on March 3, 2023, that he was stepping down as party leader, and that a party leadership race would be held in the near future.[30][31] Three weeks later, Rustad announced that he was running for the party's leadership.[32] On March 31, 2023, Rustad was acclaimed as the new leader as the only candidate in the race.[33]

In the June 2023 Vancouver-Mount Pleasant and Langford-Juan de Fuca by-elections, the Conservative candidates placed fourth and second, with 4.88% and 19.86% of the vote, respectively.[34] The second place finish in Langford-Juan de Fuca, ahead of the centre-right BC United (formerly the BC Liberals), indicated a surge in support for the Conservatives, which was seen to echo that of the federal Conservative Party, which by 2023 was surging in national polls.[35]

 
Polling ahead of the 2024 BC general election showing increased support for the party

On September 13, 2023, BC United MLA Bruce Banman crossed the floor to join the Conservatives.[36] This gave the Conservatives the two MLAs necessary for official party status, and Banman was named party house leader.[37] As a result of the party gaining official status, the Legislative Assembly Management Committee approved $214,000 in funding for the Conservative caucus, equivalent to the two-MLA Green caucus.[38]

On May 31, 2024, BC United MLA and caucus chair Lorne Doerkson crossed the floor to the Conservatives.[39] Doerkson was followed by BC United's MLA for Surrey South, Elenore Sturko on June 3—she also announced her intention to run in Surrey-Cloverdale for the upcoming election— and BC United MLA for Richmond North Centre and former Minister of Trade Teresa Wat on July 29.[40][41]

Leading up to the 2024 provincial election, polls showed the Conservatives displacing BC United as the main challenger to the incumbent BC NDP.[42] On August 28, 2024, BC United leader Falcon announced that his party, lagging in the polls, was suspending its campaign after negotiations with Rustad, and that he was putting his support behind Rustad and the Conservatives.[43] In addition, it was announced that some candidates from the BC United roster could run as Conservatives for the election.[43][44] Popular support for the Conservatives surged after the announcement, with the party in a statistical tie in opinion polling with the NDP by mid-September.[45] The rise of the Conservatives at the expense of BC United was noted by some commentators to have changed political discourse in the province, with the Conservatives and NDP both leaning more into culture war issues.[46][47]

Ideology and political positions

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For much of its history, the BC Conservative Party subscribed to a free enterprise ideology, although one that was often overshadowed by centre-right coalitions like those of the BC Social Credit and BC Liberal parties.[48] However, the Conservatives, especially in the 21st century, sought to offer a right-wing alternative, and with the breakdown of formerly successful centre-right coalitions have enjoyed renewed popularity.[49] In 2017, party communications director John Twigg compared the party's populist and anti-establishment rhetoric with that of the Brexit movement and that of supporters of Donald Trump.[50]

Under John Rustad's leadership, the party has portrayed itself as more mainstream and "common sense" in order to broaden its appeal. In 2023 and 2024, Rustad described his party as a "centre-right alternative" to BC United, the BC NDP, and the BC Greens, while matching the rhetoric of the federal Conservative Party in focusing on affordability and crime.[51][52] Rustad's party has been labeled both centre-right[53][54][55] and right-wing.[48][35][51]

Economic issues

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The party advocates for increased resource extraction with fewer environmental roadblocks, and calls to further develop the province's fossil fuel and lumber industries. It seeks to eliminate the provincial carbon tax, roll back climate-friendly building codes, and consider nuclear power as an energy option.[35][56] It also seeks to expand support for farmers by increasing local food processing capacity, and to bring in private auto insurance companies.[57]

Healthcare

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The party supports allowing for both public and private health-care options and allowing patients who are waiting for care in B.C. to access services at approved out-of-province clinics. It opposes COVID-19 vaccine mandates for health care workers and has promised to compensate health-care workers who lost their jobs as a result.[57]

Housing

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In 2024, party leader John Rustad told supporters that he would scrap a housing reform by the BC NDP that legalized fourplexes on lots that previously only allowed single-family housing and sixplexes on lots near rapid transit stations.[58][59][60] Instead, the Conservatives would work with local governments to use pre-zoning to increase density and supply in specific areas. The party has proposed a $1,500 a month housing costs rebate for both renters and homeowners starting in 2026, supports incentives for rental construction, and has promised it will not bring in low-barrier housing or homeless shelters without community consent.[57]

Social issues

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The party has been described as a "more socially conservative" party than BC United.[61] Rustad has often clashed on social issues with BC premier David Eby in the legislature. Rustad accused Eby of being an "authoritarian socialist" in 2023, while in 2024, Eby accused the Conservatives of embodying "the worst traits of American populism".[62][63]

Rustad has said that under a BC Conservative government, access to abortion and contraception "will remain exactly as it is now."[64]

The party opposes BC's Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) education policies and safe injection sites for drug users.[65][66][67] The party proposes that people suffering from severe drug addiction be involuntarily committed to drug rehabilitation centres, and opposes the now rolled-back NDP drug decriminalization pilot program.[57][68] It supports increased funding for law enforcement and justice reform measures to deal with repeat or violent offenders.[57]

Conspiracies

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Under Rustad's leadership, the party has been criticized by opponents for its candidates espousing conspiracy theories.[69][70] Rustad has been the subject of media attention for several controversial claims, including that children may be forced to eat insects, that vaccine mandates are about "shaping opinion and control on the population", and a social media post which critics said compared SOGI education and the Canadian residential school system.[71][72][73]

In the lead-up to the 2024 election, a leaked dossier of opposition research revealed support for conspiracy theories among several party candidates.[74] The party dropped several candidates for spreading misinformation on vaccination and medical issues, including Stephen Malthouse, Jan Webb, and Rachael Weber.[75][76][77] The party also dropped Damon Scrase for homophobic and racist comments, and Alexandra Wright after “careful consideration of various factors related to campaign performance and conduct”.[78][79] BC United implied the latter decision was because Wright had re-posted a statement calling for a criminal investigation into Health Minister Adrian Dix and Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, while Wright herself believed it was due to a conflict she had with a local fruit packer.[79]

Party leaders

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† denotes interim leader or vacancy

# Leader Tenure Highest position
†[a] Charles Wilson 1900–1903 Party leader
1 Richard McBride 1903 – December 1915 Premier
2 William John Bowser December 1915 – August 1924 Premier
† Robert Henry Pooley August 1924 – November 1926 Party leader (interim)
3 Simon Fraser Tolmie November 1926 – May 1936 Premier
† Frank Porter Patterson May 1936 – February 1938 Party leader (interim)
4 Royal Lethington Maitland September 1938 – March 1946 Deputy premier
5 Herbert Anscomb April 1946 – November 1952 Deputy premier
6 Deane Finlayson November 1952 – April 1961 Party leader
† Vacant April 1961 – January 1963 —
7 Davie Fulton January 1963 – April 1965 Party leader
† Vacant April 1965 – June 1969 —
8 John de Wolf June 1969 – November 1971 Party leader
9 Derril Thomas Warren November 1971 – December 1973 Party leader
10 George Scott Wallace December 1973 – October 1977 Party leader
11 Victor Albert Stephens October 1977 – November 1980 Party leader
12 Brian Westwood November 1980 – March 1985 Party leader
13 Peter Pollen March 1985 – August 1986 Party leader
† Vacant August 1986 – July 1991 —
14 Peter B. Macdonald July 1991 – March 1997 Party leader
15 David Mercier March 1997 – January 2001 Party leader
16 Susan Power 2001–2003 Party leader
17 Kenneth Edgar King 2003–2004 Party leader
18 Barry Edward Chilton 2004–2005 Party leader
19 Wilf Hanni 2005–2009 Party leader
† Vacant 2009 – May 2011 —
20 John Cummins May 2011 – July 2013 Party leader
† Vacant July 2013 – April 2014 —
21 Dan Brooks April 2014 – February 2016[b] Party leader
† Vacant February 2016 – October 2017 —
† Scott Anderson October 4, 2017 – April 8, 2019 Party leader (interim)
22 Trevor Bolin April 8, 2019 – March 31, 2023 Party leader
23 John Rustad March 31, 2023 – present Leader of the Opposition

Notes

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a Wilson served as leader before the province officially allowed party politics.[6]
b After resigning as leader in February 2016, Brooks ran again for leadership in September 2016; although he was elected, he was removed the following month when the party executive ruled that his nomination meeting had lacked quorum.[22]

Election results

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See also: List of BC general elections § Results by party
Election Leader Votes % Seats +/– Position Status
1903 Richard McBride 27,913 46.43
22 / 42
   22   1st Majority
1907 30,781 48.70
26 / 42
   4   1st Majority
1909 53,074 52.33
38 / 42
   12   1st Majority
1912 50,423 59.65
39 / 42
   1   1st Majority
1916 William John Bowser 72,842 40.52
9 / 47
   30   2nd Opposition
1920 110,475 31.20
15 / 47
   6   2nd Opposition
1924 101,765 29.45
17 / 48
   2   2nd Opposition
1928 Simon Fraser Tolmie 192,867 53.30
35 / 48
   18   1st Majority
1933 Did not contest
0 / 47
   35 N/A Extra-parliamentary
1937 Frank Porter Patterson 119,521 28.60
8 / 48
   8   2nd Opposition
1941 Royal Lethington Maitland 140,282 30.91
12 / 48
   4   3rd Coalition[a]
1945[b] 261,147 55.83
37 / 48
 N/A   1st Coalition
1949[b] Herbert Anscomb 428,773 61.35
39 / 48
   2   1st Coalition
1952[c] 129,439 16.84
4 / 48
 N/A   4th Fourth party
1953[c] Deane Finlayson 40,780 5.60
1 / 48
   3   4th No status
1956 25,373 3.11
0 / 52
   1   4th No seats
1960 66,943 6.72
0 / 52
   0   4th No seats
1963 Davie Fulton 109,090 11.27
0 / 52
   0   4th No seats
1966 Vacant 1,409 0.18
0 / 55
   0   4th No seats
1969 John de Wolf 1,087 0.11
0 / 55
   0   4th No seats
1972 Derril Thomas Warren 143,450 12.67
2 / 55
   2   4th Fourth party
1975 George Scott Wallace 49,796 3.86
1 / 55
   1   4th No status
1979 Victor Stephens 71,078 5.06
0 / 57
   1   3rd No seats
1983 Brian Westwood 19,131 1.16
0 / 57
   0   4th No seats
1986 Vacant 14,074 0.73
0 / 69
   0   4th No seats
1991 Peter B. Macdonald 426 0.03
0 / 75
   0   9th No seats
1996 1,002 0.06
0 / 75
   0   10th No seats
2001 Susan Power 2,417 0.15
0 / 79
   0   8th No seats
2005 Barry Chilton 9,623 0.55
0 / 79
   0   7th No seats
2009 Wilf Hanni 34,451 2.10
0 / 85
   0   4th No seats
2013 John Cummins 85,783 4.76
0 / 85
   0   4th No seats
2017 Vacant 10,421 0.53
0 / 87
   0   4th No seats
2020 Trevor Bolin 35,902 1.91
0 / 87
   0   4th No seats
2024 John Rustad 910,180 43.27
44 / 93
   44   2nd Opposition

Notes

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  1. ^ After the election, a coalition government was formed by the Conservative and Liberal members. T. D. Patullo, Liberal leader, objected, stepped down, and sat as a Liberal, giving the Coalition 32 seats.
  2. ^ a b In the 1945 and 1949 elections, the Liberal Party ran in coalition with the Conservative Party. Results compared to Liberal and Conservative total from previous election.
  3. ^ a b The 1952 and 1953 elections used the alternative voting system. Rather than marking the ballot with an X, numbers were to be placed opposite the names in order of choice. If, after the first count, no candidate received an absolute simple majority, the candidate with the fewest votes was dropped, and the second choices distributed among the remaining candidates. This process continued until a candidate emerged with the requisite majority vote. Some voters only indicated a first choice (plumping), and others did not utilize the full range available. Consequently, as the counts progressed, some ballots would be exhausted and total valid votes would decline, thereby reducing the absolute majority required to be elected. In multi-member ridings, there were as many ballots as members to be elected, distinguished by colour and letters.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "B.C.'s unofficial election campaign is in full swing". CBC News. August 23, 2024. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  2. ^ "B.C. Tories call for top doctor's job over continued vaccine mandates for health-care workers". Global News. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  3. ^ MacLeod, Andrew [@A_MacLeod_Tyee] (February 16, 2023). "The BC Conservative Party has announced MLA John Rustad has joined them. Rustad has sat as an independent since the BC Liberals booted him out in August. #bcpoli" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  4. ^ "B.C. NDP poised to win 2024 election, with judicial recounts increasingly likely". CTV News British Columbia. October 28, 2024. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  5. ^ "NDP closer to winning majority after overturning Conservative lead in critical Surrey riding". CBC News. October 28, 2024. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Legislative Library of British Columbia, Party Leaders in British Columbia 1900–, 2000, updated 2005
  7. ^ a b Hans J. Michelmann, David E. Smith, Cristine De Clercy Continuity And Change in Canadian Politics: Essays in Honour of David E. Smith, University of Toronto Press (2006), page 184
  8. ^ "The Vancouver Sun, January 18, 1952".
  9. ^ Little, Simon. "Poll shows BC Conservatives making inroads among federal Conservative voters". Global News. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  10. ^ Morley, J. Terence; Ruff, Norman J.; Swanson, Neil A.; Wilson, R. Jeremy; and Young, Walter D., The Reins of Power: Governing British Columbia, p. 92, Douglas & McIntyre, Vancouver, 1983
  11. ^ Hui, Stephen (June 30, 2009). "B.C. Conservative Party leader Wilf Hanni resigns over infighting". The Georgia Straight. Archived from the original on July 4, 2009. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
  12. ^ Matas, Robert (December 28, 2010). "Spurred by warhorses, B.C. Tories plot a comeback". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  13. ^ Fowlie, Jonathan (February 20, 2012). "A "handful" of Falcon backers flee to BC Conservatives". Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on September 9, 2018. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  14. ^ "Cummins named leader of B.C. Conservatives". CBC News. May 28, 2011. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  15. ^ MacLeod, Andrew (November 3, 2011). "BC Liberal declines under Premier Clark benefit Conservatives, NDP". The Tyee. Archived from the original on November 12, 2011. Retrieved December 9, 2011.
  16. ^ Lindsay, Bethany (March 26, 2012). "Van Dongen ditches BC Liberals, joins Conservatives". ctv.ca. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  17. ^ a b Toth, Christina (September 25, 2012). "Independence Day for van Dongen". Abbotsford-Mission Times. Archived from the original on September 30, 2012. Retrieved September 26, 2012.
  18. ^ "BC Provincial Election Debate – April 29, 2013". www.cpac.ca. May 14, 2013. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  19. ^ "B.C. Conservative Leader John Cummins resigns". The Globe and Mail. July 18, 2013. Retrieved August 10, 2013.
  20. ^ "B.C. Conservative leader resigns". Vancouver Sun. Canadian Press. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  21. ^ "B.C. Conservatives name Dan Brooks as new party leader". CBC. September 17, 2016. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
  22. ^ a b "Newly re-elected leader Dan Brooks ousted as leader of the BC Conservative party". The Globe and Mail. The Canadian Press. October 28, 2016. Archived from the original on October 29, 2016. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  23. ^ "BC Liberals cut to minority with Greens holding balance of power". theglobeandmail.com. May 10, 2017. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  24. ^ "Fort St. John councillor named B.C. Conservative leader". Victoria News. April 8, 2019. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  25. ^ "Registered Political Parties – Information" (PDF). Elections BC. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  26. ^ Grochowski, Sarah (October 22, 2021). "Aaron Gunn tossed from B.C. Liberal leadership race over 'diversity concerns'". Times Colonist. Archived from the original on November 12, 2021. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
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