The British Columbia general election of 1991 was the 35th provincial election in the Province 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...

, Canada

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...

. It 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 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 last term as premier, was defeated by the 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...

 of Mike Harcourt

Michael Harcourt

Michael Franklin Harcourt served as the 30th Premier of the province of British Columbia in Canada from 1991 to 1996, and before that as the 34th mayor of BC's major city, Vancouver from 1980 to 1986....

. Liberal Party

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...

 leader Gordon Wilson

Gordon Wilson (Canadian politician)

Gordon Wilson is a former provincial politician in British Columbia. He served as leader of the Liberal Party of BC from 1987–1993, leader and founder of the Progressive Democratic Alliance from 1993–1997, and in the provincial cabinet as Minister of Finance and Minister of Employment, Investment...

 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

British Columbia recall and initiative referendum, 1991

The British Columbia Recall and Initiative Referendum was a referendum held in British Columbia on October 17, 1991. It was concurrent with that year's general election. The referendum posed two questions. They were on whether elected officials should be able to be recalled and whether voters...

 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

Conflict of interest

A conflict of interest occurs when an individual or organization is involved in multiple interests, one of which could possibly corrupt the motivation for an act in the other....

. 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 voted the lesser-known Rita Johnston

Rita Johnston

Rita Margaret Johnston was a politician in British Columbia, Canada. Johnston became the first female premier in Canadian history when she succeeded William Vander Zalm in 1991 to become the 29th Premier of British Columbia.Much of her early life was spent running a successful trailer park in the...

, a close ally of Vander Zalm, to be their new leader, over Grace McCarthy

Grace McCarthy

Grace Mary McCarthy, OC, OBC is a former Canadian politician and florist in British Columbia. Nicknamed Amazing Grace by members of her longtime political party, the Social Credit Party of B.C, she was largely responsible for rebuilding the party after its defeat in the 1972 provincial...

, a longtime associate of former Premier Bill Bennett

Bill Bennett

William Richards Bennett, PC, OBC , commonly known as Bill Bennett, was the 27th Premier of the Canadian province of British Columbia 1975–1986. He is a son of the former Premier, W. A. C. Bennett. He was a 3rd cousin, twice removed, of R.B...

. Many viewed this as a mistake, as Johnston was close to the Vander Zalm legacy; even NDP leader Mike Harcourt

Mike Harcourt

Michael Franklin Harcourt served as the 30th Premier of the province of British Columbia in Canada from 1991 to 1996, and before that as the 34th mayor of BC's major city, Vancouver from 1980 to 1986....

 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 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.

Legacy

This was considered a realigning election

Realigning election

Realigning election are terms from political science and political history describing a dramatic change in the political system. Scholars frequently apply the term to American elections and occasionally to other countries...

 due to the high turnover in MLAs, while it ended the Socreds as a political force, replacing them with the Liberals.

However, neither Harcourt, Wilson, or Johnston would contest the subsequent 1996 election as leaders of the major parties, with Johnston and Harbourt 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.

Results

Party		Party leader	# of candidates	Seats			Popular vote
				1986 British Columbia general election, 1986 The British Columbia general election of 1986 was the 34th 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 September 24, 1986...	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...	Michael Harcourt Michael Harcourt Michael Franklin Harcourt served as the 30th Premier of the province of British Columbia in Canada from 1991 to 1996, and before that as the 34th mayor of BC's major city, Vancouver from 1980 to 1986....	75	22	51	+131.8%	595,391	40.71%	-1.89%	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...	Gordon Wilson Gordon Wilson (Canadian politician) Gordon Wilson is a former provincial politician in British Columbia. He served as leader of the Liberal Party of BC from 1987–1993, leader and founder of the Progressive Democratic Alliance from 1993–1997, and in the provincial cabinet as Minister of Finance and Minister of Employment, Investment...	71	-	17		486,208	33.25%	+26.51%	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...	Rita Johnston Rita Johnston Rita Margaret Johnston was a politician in British Columbia, Canada. Johnston became the first female premier in Canadian history when she succeeded William Vander Zalm in 1991 to become the 29th Premier of British Columbia.Much of her early life was spent running a successful trailer park in the...	74	47	7	-85.1%	351,660	24.05%	-25.27%	Green Green Party of British Columbia The Green Party of British Columbia is a political party in British Columbia, Canada. It is led by former Esquimalt municipal councillor, university professor and businessperson Jane Sterk, she was elected by the party in 2007. Penticton realtor and columnist Julius Bloomfield serves as the deputy...		42	-	-	-	12,650	0.86%	+0.62%	Independents		16	-	-	-	10,281	0.70%	+0.57%	Reform Reform Party of British Columbia The Reform Party of British Columbia is a populist right wing political party in British Columbia, Canada. Although its name is similar to the defunct Reform Party of Canada, the provincial party was founded before the federal party was and it did not have any formal association with...	Ron Gamble	4	*	-	*	2,673	0.18%	*	Family Coalition Family Coalition Party of British Columbia The Family Coalition Party of British Columbia was a conservative, pro-life political party in British Columbia, Canada.In the 1991 election, it nominated 8 candidates in the province's 75 ridings. They won a total of 1,310 votes, or 0.09% of the provincial total. In the 1996 election, it nominated...		8	*	-	*	1,310	0.09%	*	Libertarian British Columbia Libertarian Party The British Columbia Libertarian Party is a libertarian political party in British Columbia, Canada.It first nominated candidates in the 1986 provincial election...		11	-	-	-	860	0.06%	+0.04%	Western Canada Concept Western Canada Concept The Western Canada Concept was a Western Canadian political party founded in 1980 to promote the separation of the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia and the Yukon and Northwest Territories from Canada in order to create a new nation.The party argued that Western...	Doug Christie Doug Christie (lawyer) Douglas Hewson "Doug" Christie, Jr. is a Canadian lawyer and far-right political activist based in Victoria, British Columbia.-Career:...	5	-	-	-	651	0.04%	+0.02%	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...	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 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....		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.

See also

• List of British Columbia political parties

External links

• Elections BC 1991 Election