The 30th general election for the Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 province

Provinces and territories of Canada

The provinces and territories of Canada combine to make up the world's second-largest country by area. There are ten provinces and three territories...

 of British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

 was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia

The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is one of two components of the Parliament of British Columbia, the provincial parliament ....

. The election was called on July 24, 1972, and held on August 30, 1972. The new legislature met for the first time on October 17, 1972.

David Barrett

Dave Barrett

David Barrett, OC , commonly known as Dave Barrett, is a retired politician and social worker in British Columbia, Canada...

 led the social democratic

Social democracy

Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...

 New Democratic Party

New Democratic Party of British Columbia

The New Democratic Party of British Columbia is a social-democratic political party in British Columbia, Canada. The party currently forms the official opposition to the governing British Columbia Liberal Party following the 2009 provincial election in British Columbia.The BC NDP is the provincial...

 to victory, winning a majority government

Majority government

A majority government is when the governing party has an absolute majority of seats in the legislature or parliament in a parliamentary system. This is as opposed to a minority government, where even the largest party wins only a plurality of seats and thus must constantly bargain for support from...

.

The Social Credit Party, led by Premier W.A.C. Bennett

W.A.C. Bennett

William Andrew Cecil Bennett, PC, OC was the 25th Premier of the Canadian province of British Columbia. With just over 20 years in office, Bennett was and remains the longest-serving premier in British Columbia history. He was usually referred to as W.A.C...

, was defeated after governing British Columbia since the 1952 election

British Columbia general election, 1952

The British Columbia general election, 1952 was the 23rd general 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 April 10, 1952, and held on June 12, 1952. The new legislature met for the...

. Social Credit's share of the popular vote fell by over 15 percentage points, and the party lost 28 of the seats it had won in the previous election.

The Liberal Party held onto its five seats, while the Progressive Conservative Party

British Columbia Conservative Party

The British Columbia Conservative Party is a political party in British Columbia, Canada. First elected as the government in 1903, the party went into decline after 1933...

, under the leadership of Derrill Warren, returned to the legislature for the first time since the 1953 election

British Columbia general election, 1953

The British Columbia general election of 1953 was the 24th general 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 April 10, 1953, and held on June 9, 1953...

 by winning two seats.

In four ridings and part of a fifth, a referendum

British Columbia time referendum, 1972

The British Columbia time referendum, 1972 was a referendum held in British Columbia on August 30, 1972, simultaneously with a general election. The actual referendum only took place in four electoral districts and part of a fifth, all located in the northeast or southeast parts of the province...

 was held concurrently with the election.

Results

Party		Party leader	# of candidates	Seats			Popular vote
				1969 British Columbia general election, 1969 The British Columbia general election of 1969 was the 29th general 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 July 21, 1969, and held on August 27, 1969...	Elected	% Change	#	%	% Change	New Democrats New Democratic Party of British Columbia The New Democratic Party of British Columbia is a social-democratic political party in British Columbia, Canada. The party currently forms the official opposition to the governing British Columbia Liberal Party following the 2009 provincial election in British Columbia.The BC NDP is the provincial...	Dave Barrett Dave Barrett David Barrett, OC , commonly known as Dave Barrett, is a retired politician and social worker in British Columbia, Canada...	55	12	38	+217%	448,260	39.59%	+5.67%	Social Credit British Columbia Social Credit Party The British Columbia Social Credit Party, whose members are known as Socreds, was the governing political party of British Columbia, Canada, for more than 30 years between the 1952 provincial election and the 1991 election...	W.A.C. Bennett W.A.C. Bennett William Andrew Cecil Bennett, PC, OC was the 25th Premier of the Canadian province of British Columbia. With just over 20 years in office, Bennett was and remains the longest-serving premier in British Columbia history. He was usually referred to as W.A.C...	55	38	10	-73.7%	352,776	31.16%	-15.63%	Liberal British Columbia Liberal Party The British Columbia Liberal Party is the governing political party in British Columbia, Canada. First elected for government in 1916, the party went into decline after 1952, with its rump caucus merging with the Social Credit Party for the 1975 election...	David Anderson	53	5	5	-	185,640	16.40%	-2.63%	Progressive Conservative British Columbia Conservative Party The British Columbia Conservative Party is a political party in British Columbia, Canada. First elected as the government in 1903, the party went into decline after 1933...	Derril Thomas Warren	49	-	2	-	143,450	12.67%	+12.56%	Independent		9	-	-	-	1,184	0.10%	+0.02%	Communist Communist Party of British Columbia The Communist Party of British Columbia is the British Columbia branch of the Communist Party of Canada. Its leader is Sam Hammond.From the 1945 British Columbia election to the 1956 election, it was known as the Labour Progressive Party....		5	-	-	-	862	0.08%	+0.03%
Total			226	55	55	-	1,132,172	100%
Source: Elections BC

See also

• List of British Columbia political parties