1991 British Columbia general election

British Columbia general election, 1991

October 17, 1991
75 seats of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia 38 seats were needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   BCL SC Leader Mike Harcourt Gordon Wilson Rita Johnston Party New Democratic Liberal Social Credit Leader since 1987 1987 1991 Leader's seat Vancouver-Mount Pleasant Powell River-Sunshine Coast Surrey-Newton (lost re-election) Last election 22 0 47 Seats won 51 17 7 Seat change +29 +17 -40 Popular vote 595,391 486,208 351,660 Percentage 40.71 33.25 24.05 Swing -1.89 +26.51 -25.27
Premier before election Rita Johnston Social Credit Premier-designate Mike Harcourt New Democratic

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 election was held at the same time as a referendum on recall and initiative. It was also the first British Columbia general election with only single-member districts.

Background

Under Vander Zalm's leadership, Socred's control shifted from urban fiscal conservatives to social conservatives, causing the coalition to unravel and pushing many moderates to eventually switch to the Liberals. This process was exacerbated by Vander Zalm's eccentricity, and the constant scandals that plagued his government, cumulating in one which was a conflict of interest. As well, Vander Zalm allowed his principal secretary, David Poole, to amass a substantial amount of power, despite being unelected.

After Premier Vander Zalm resigned, Socred members elected the lesser-known Deputy Premier Rita Johnston, a close ally of Vander Zalm, to be their new leader, over Grace McCarthy, a longtime associate of former Premier Bill Bennett. Many viewed this as a mistake, as Johnston was close to the Vander Zalm legacy; even NDP leader Mike Harcourt admitted later that he preferred Johnston over McCarthy, as the latter would be a much tougher opponent in an election.

Campaign

The third place Liberals, who had not been represented in the legislature since 1979, gained slightly in the polls due to great resentment against the ruling Socreds and skepticism towards the NDP. A turning point came when Wilson successfully took legal action to be included in the televised leaders' debate. During the debate Johnston and Harcourt exchanged many bitter attacks, while Wilson, still not considered a serious contender, was able to successfully portray himself as an "outsider" who was above the partisan bickering of the other two parties. Liberal support surged dramatically as a result of Wilson's performance.

Results

The Socreds were swept from power in a massive NDP landslide. Johnston herself lost her own seat in Surrey-Newton to NDP challenger Penny Priddy. The defeat was magnified by moderate Socred supporters voting Liberal, continuing a shift that dated to early in Vander Zalm's tenure. The combined effect was to decimate the Socred caucus, which was reduced from 47 members to only seven—only three over the minimum for official party status. The Liberals returned to the legislature as the official opposition after a 12-year absence.

Party		Party leader	# of candidates	Seats			Popular vote
				1986	Elected	% Change	#	%	% Change
	New Democrats	Michael Harcourt	75	22	51	+131.8%	595,391	40.71%	-1.89%
	Liberal	Gordon Wilson	71	-	17		486,208	33.25%	+26.51%
	Social Credit	Rita Johnston	74	47	7	-85.1%	351,660	24.05%	-25.27%
	Green		42	-	-	-	12,650	0.86%	+0.62%
	Independents		16	-	-	-	10,281	0.70%	+0.57%
	Reform	Ron Gamble	4	*	-	*	2,673	0.18%	*
	Family Coalition		8	*	-	*	1,310	0.09%	*
	Libertarian		11	-	-	-	860	0.06%	+0.04%
	Western Canada Concept	Doug Christie	5	-	-	-	651	0.04%	+0.02%
	Conservative	Peter B. Macdonald	4	-	-	-	426	0.03%	-0.70%
	Human Race		2	*	-	*	110	0.01%	*
	Green Go (Green Wing/Rhino)		1	*	-	*	93	0.01%	*
	Communist League		3	-	-	-	92	0.01%	-0.02%
	Interdependence Party		1	*	-	*	62	x	*
Total			317	69	75	+8.7%	1,462,467	100%
Source: Elections BC

Notes:

x - less than 0.005% of the popular vote.

* Party did not nominate candidates in the previous election.

Legacy

This was considered a realigning election due to the high turnover in MLAs and the effective end of the Socreds as a political force. The party was completely shut out of the legislature in the 1996 election, never to return. Meanwhile, the Liberals replaced them as the main non-socialist party in British Columbia.

However, neither Harcourt, Wilson, or Johnston would contest the subsequent 1996 election as leaders of the major parties, with Johnston and Harcourt having retired from politics by that campaign. Johnston, having lost her seat, resigned the leadership of the Socreds immediately in early 1992. Harcourt resigned as premier in 1996 due to a scandal among one of the MLAs in his caucus. Wilson proved unable to consolidate the party's leadership due to inexperience and he was eventually deposed in 1993, and he crossed to the NDP in 1997, serving as an MLA and minister until his defeat in 2001.

See also

• List of British Columbia political parties

External links

• Elections BC 1991 Election