Wikipedia

List of political parties in British Columbia

(Redirected from United Party of British Columbia)

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. And disciplined party caucuses have been the backbone of BC provincial politics ever since.

A list of political parties currently registered with Elections BC can be found at the Elections BC website.[1]

Parties represented in the current Legislative Assembly

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See also: 43rd Parliament of British Columbia and 2024 British Columbia general election
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, left-wing populism 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, Social conservatism John Rustad 44 1903–1933, 1937–1956, 1971–1979, 1986, 2012, 2023–present 1903–1916, 1928–1933, 1941–1952
  Green Party of British Columbia 1985 Green politics Sonia Furstenau 2 2013–present none

Current parties outside the legislature

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Political parties currently registered to Elections BC as of April 17, 2024.[2]

Name Founded Ideology Leader
  British Columbia Action Party 2013 Fiscal conservatism Vacant
  BC Cascadia Party 2016 Cascadian separatism Troy Gibbons
  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
  British Columbia Direct Democracy Party 2020[3] Direct democracy John Walsh
Freedom Party of British Columbia 2023[4] 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)[5] 		Gordon Watson
  B.C. Vision 2013 Fiscal conservatism, Green politics Jagmohan Bhandari
  Your Political Party of British Columbia 2002 Open government James Filipelli

Other parties that have formed governments

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Name Founded Ideology Leader In legislature In Government
  BC Liberal Party
(known as BC United after 2023) 		1903 Conservatism, Neoliberalism Kevin Falcon 1903–1912, 1916–1975, 1991–2024 1916–1928, 1933–1952, 2001–2017
  British Columbia Social Credit Party 1935 Social credit, Conservatism, Right-wing populism Vacant 1952–1996 1952–1972, 1975–1991

Historical parties that have been represented in the legislature

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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

Historical parties that never had seats in the legislature

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Elections BC website". Archived from the original on 2009-01-30. Retrieved 2009-01-29.
  2. ^ Registered political Parties elections.bc.ca
  3. ^ "Volume CLX, No. 27". The British Columbia Gazette. Government of British Columbia. 2 July 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  4. ^ "About". Freedom Party of British Columbia. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  5. ^ "Volume CLXIII, No. 34". The British Columbia Gazette. Government of British Columbia. 24 August 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  6. ^ "Volume CLXI, No. 13". The British Columbia Gazette. Government of British Columbia. 1 April 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
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