Gordon Gibson Jr

For the Australian cricketer, see Gordon Gibson (cricketer). For another British Columbia politician, see Gordon Lionel Gibson.

Gordon Fulerton Gibson OBC (August 23, 1937 – November 10, 2023), often referred to as Gordon Gibson Jr., was a Canadian political columnist, author, and politician in British Columbia. He was the son of Gordon Gibson Sr., who was a prominent businessman and Liberal Party politician in British Columbia in the 1950s and 1960s.

Gordon Gibson OBC
Leader of the British Columbia Liberal Party
In office September 28, 1975 – February 19, 1979
Preceded by	David Anderson
Succeeded by	Jev Tothill
Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia for North Vancouver-Capilano
In office 1974–1979
Preceded by	David Maurice Brousson
Succeeded by	Angus Creelman Ree
Personal details
Born	Gordon Fulerton Gibson (1937-08-23)August 23, 1937
Died	November 10, 2023(2023-11-10) (aged 86)
Political party	BC Liberal Party
Other political affiliations	Liberal Party of Canada
Parent	Gordon Gibson Sr. (father)

Education

Gibson received a BA (honours) in mathematics and physics at the University of British Columbia and an MBA from Harvard Business School, and he did research work at the London School of Economics.

Political career

Gibson served as an assistant to the federal Minister of Northern Affairs from 1963 to 1968, and was a special assistant to Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau from 1968 to 1972. In the 1972 federal election, he ran as the Liberal candidate in Vancouver South, but lost to Progressive Conservative candidate John Fraser by 3,000 votes.

In 1974, Gibson won a by-election to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the riding of North Vancouver-Capilano under the Liberal banner. The following year, three Liberal MLAs defected to the Social Credit Party three months before that year's general election, leaving Gibson and party leader David Anderson as the only two Liberals in the legislature. Anderson declined to be renominated to the leadership, and Gibson was approached to lead the party into the election. He was the only Liberal elected that year. He remained party leader until 1979, when he resigned to run again for a seat in the federal House of Commons, in the riding of North Vancouver—Burnaby. He was defeated in both the 1979 and 1980 federal elections by Progressive Conservative candidate Chuck Cook by less than 2,000 votes on each attempt.

Gibson attempted to return to politics as a candidate in the 1993 B.C. Liberal leadership convention; he came in second to future premier Gordon Campbell.

Post-political career

Gibson was a senior fellow in Canadian Studies at the Fraser Institute and has written several books on Canadian federalism and governance. Following the 2001 British Columbia provincial election, he was hired by the government to make recommendations on the structure and mandate of the Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform. His report was substantially adopted.

His columns appeared frequently in the Vancouver Sun, the Winnipeg Free Press and The Globe and Mail.

Death

Gibson died on November 10, 2023, at the age of 86. Suffering from heart failure from early 2023, he opted for medical assistance in dying.

Honours

In May 2008, Gibson was awarded the Order of British Columbia.

Electoral history

1972 Canadian federal election: Vancouver South
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	John Allen Fraser	17,762	40.03	+16.29
	Liberal	Gordon Gibson	14,549	32.79	-16.47
	New Democratic	Roger Howard	11,145	25.12	+2.47
	Social Credit	Tony Jefferson	765	1.72	-2.23
	Independent	Sean Griffin	102	0.23	–
	Independent	Rick Hundal	44	0.10	–
Total valid votes			44,367	100.0
	Progressive Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing		+16.38

British Columbia provincial by-election, 1974: North Vancouver-Capilano
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Gordon Fulerton Gibson	4,736	31.11
	Social Credit	Ronald Clayton Andrews	4,679	30.74
	Progressive Conservative	Peter Stewart Hyndman	3,151	20.70
	New Democratic	Diane Mackenzie Baigent	2,637	17.32
	Christian Democratic	Norman Gareth Dent	19	0.13

1975 British Columbia general election: North Vancouver-Capilano
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Gordon Fulerton Gibson	8,836	44.74
	Social Credit	Ronald Clayton Andrews	8,530	43.19
	New Democratic	Michael Ian Copes	2,393	12.07

1979 Canadian federal election: North Vancouver—Burnaby
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
	Progressive Conservative	Chuck Cook	16,545	38.18
	Liberal	Gordon F. Gibson	14,377	33.18
	New Democratic	Russ Hicks	12,084	27.89
	Social Credit	Poldi Meindl	188	0.43
	Communist	Eric H. Waugh	92	0.21
	Independent	A. Neila Taylor	29	0.07
	Marxist–Leninist	Kitti Hundal	20	0.05
Total valid votes			43,335	100.0
This riding was created from parts of Burnaby—Seymour and Capilano, which elected a Liberal and a Progressive Conservative, respectively, in the previous election.

1980 Canadian federal election: North Vancouver—Burnaby
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Chuck Cook	16,774	38.10	-0.08
	Liberal	Gordon F. Gibson	15,307	34.77	+1.59
	New Democratic	Jack Woodward	11,820	26.85	-1.04
	Social Credit	Poldi Meindl	88	0.20	-0.23
	Marxist–Leninist	Kitti Hundal	38	0.09	+0.04
Total valid votes			44,027	100.0
	Progressive Conservative hold		Swing		-0.84

Writings

• A New Look at Canadian Indian Policy: Respect the Collective - Promote the Individual (2009). ISBN 978-0-88975-243-6