British Columbia general election, 2005

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The 38th British Columbia general election will be held on May 17, 2005. Under amendments to the B.C. Constitution Act passed in 2001, B.C. elections are now held on fixed dates: the second Tuesday in May every four years. An early election may be held should the government loose the confidence of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, this is unlikely as the current Liberal administration of Premier Gordon Campbell enjoys a massive majority. Held in conjuction with this election is the British Columbia electoral reform referendum, 2005, which will ask voters whether or not they support the proposed electoral reforms of the Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform. If approved, the new electoral system would be implemented for the British Columbia general election, 2009.

Political Parties

There are currently 45 political parties registered with Elections BC. Many of these parties did not contest the 2001 election and are unlikely to contest this election.

Parties that currently have MLAs

British Columbia Liberal Party

Leader: Gordon Campbell

The BC Liberals won 77 of 79 seats in the 2001 election. They currently hold 74 seats, two of their members now sit as independents and they lost one by-election to the opposition NDP.

New Democratic Party of British Columbia

Leader: Carole James

The NDP was crushed in the 2001 election. They went from majority government to just two seats. Political newcomer Carole James now leads the party which is roughly tied with the Liberals in most opinion polls.

Parties that contested the last election

• The British Columbia Marijuana Party ran 79 candidates in 2001. Its current leader is Dana Larsen.

• The Green Party Political Association of British Columbia ran 72 candidates in 2001. Its current leader is Adriane Carr.

• The Unity Party of British Columbia ran 56 candidates in 2001. Its current leader is Chris Delaney.

• The People's Front ran 11 candidates in 2001. Its current leader is Charles Boylan.

• The Reform Party of British Columbia ran 9 candidates in 2001. It currently has no leader registered with Elections BC.

• The All Nations Party of British Columbia ran 6 candidates in 2001. Its current leader is Donald Cyril Moses.

• The British Columbia Conservative Party ran 6 candidates in 2001. It currently has no leader registered with Elections BC.

• The Communist Party of BC ran 4 candidates in 2001. Its current leader is George Gidora.

• The British Columbia Citizens Alliance Now ran 2 candidates in 2001. Its current leader is Bill P. Forsyth.

• The British Columbia Social Credit Party ran 2 candidates in 2001. It currently has no leader registered with Elections BC.

• The Freedom Party of British Columbia ran 2 candidates in 2001. Its current leader is Kenneth Montgomery Keillor.

• The Party of Citizens Who Have Decided to Think for Themselves and Be Their Own Politicians ran 2 candidates in 2001. Its current leader is Franklin Wayne Poley.

• The British Columbia Patriot Party ran 1 candidate in 2001. Its current leader is Andrew Nicholas Hokhold.

• The Citizens Commonwealth Federation ran 1 candidate in 2001. Its current leader is Laery Braaten.

• The Western Reform ran 1 candidate in 2001. Its current leader is Lisa Maskell.

Other parties

• The Alternative Party's current leader is James J. Strauss.

• The Annexation Party of British Columbia's current leader is R. Gordon Brosseuk.

• The BC Allegiance Party's current leader is Ross Parker.

• The BC Youth Coalition currently has no leader registered with Elections BC.

• The Bloc British Columbia Party's current leader is Paddy Roberts.

• The British Columbia Democratic Coalition's current leader is Tom Morino.

• The British Columbia Democratic Futures Party's current leader is Chad Bester.

• The British Columbia Labour Party's current leader is Gordon Henderson.

• The British Columbia Party's current leader is Grant Mitton.

• The Canadian Alliance Party of British Columbia's current leader is Fred J. Cavanagh.

• The Centre Democratic Party's current leader is Thomas E. Deak.

• The Citizens Action Party's current leader is William Savage.

• The Confederation Party of BC's current leader is Terry Milne.

• The Emerged Democracy Party of British Columbia's current leader is Tony Luck.

• The Enterprise Party of B.C. currently has no leader registered with Elections BC.

• The Free Canadian Party's current leader is Steven Kubby.

• The Idealists Party's current leader is George Mann.

• The Link BC's current leader is Harvey Maser.

• The Moderate Democratic Movement's current leader is Matthew Laird.

• The Natural Law Party of British Columbia's current leader is John Cowhig.

• The None of the Above Party of BC's current leader is Sal Vetro.

• The People of British Columbia Millionaires Party's current leader is Terry Cooke.

• The Renewal Party of B.C.'s current leader is Eric Buckley.

• The United Peoples Action Party's current leader is Ernest Schmidt.

• The Western Canada Concept Party of BC's current leader is Douglas Christie.

• The Western Refederation Party of BC currently has no leader registered with Elections BC.

• The Work Less Party of British Columbia's current leader is Conrad Schmidt.

• The Your Political Party of BC's current leader is James Filippelli.

Deregistered parties that contested the 2001 election

• The B.C. Action Party ran 5 candidates in 2001. It is no longer registered with Elections BC.

• The Council of British Columbians ran 2 candidates in 2001. It is no longer registered with Elections BC.

• The Central Party ran 1 candidate in 2001. It is no longer registered with Elections BC.

Timeline

• August 23, 2001 - Bill 7, Constitution Amendment Act is passed, fixing the date of the election at May 17, 2005.

• November 13, 2002 - Liberal MLA Paul Nettleton accuses the government of a secret plan to privatize the BC Hydro power utility. He is removed from caucus several days later and still sits as an Independent Liberal.

• November 23, 2003 - Carole James is elected as leader of the New Democratic Party of British Columbia.

• March 22, 2004 - Liberal MLA Elayne Brenzinger quits the caucus citing a "secret agenda" being understaken by Premier Campbell.

• October 22, 2004 - New Democrat Jagrup Brar wins a by-election in Surrey-Panorama Ridge with 53.6% of the vote, a swing of 33.7% to the NDP from the 2001 result. One of Brar's competitors was Green Party leader Adriane Carr who captured 8.4% of the vote.

Opinion polls

• Mustel, 2004-Sep 7 - Sep 12: Lib 43%, NDP 37%, Green 10%, Reform 4%, So. Cred. 1%, Other 5%

• Ipsos-Reid, 2004-Jul 8: NDP 38%, Lib 37%, Green 18%

Results

Results by party

External links

• Elections BC