2013 Westside-Kelowna provincial by-election

2013 provincial by-election in British Columbia 2013 Westside-Kelowna provincial by-election British Columbia Riding of Westside-Kelowna Parliamentary no no no 2013 07 10 2013 British Columbia general election 2013 2017 British Columbia general election 2017 left 46,021 left 18,797 (40.84%) Christy Clark by Kris Krug 01 (cropped).jpg BC Liberal nohash BC Liberal name Christy Clark 11,758 62.66% 4.58 pp percentage points NDP BC NDP nohash BC NDP name Carole Gordon 5,563 29.64% 1.20 pp percentage points CON BC Conservative nohash BC Conservative name Sean Upshaw 1,115 5.94% 5.14 pp percentage points MLA Member of the Legislative Assembly Ben Stewart BC Liberal name Christy Clark BC Liberal name A by-election was held on July 13, 2013, to replace MLA Ben Stewart in the riding of Westside-Kelowna. Stewart resigned his seat to allow the Liberal Party leader and incumbent premier of British Columbia Christy Clark to run in a Liberal safe seat, following her electoral defeat in Vancouver-Point Grey during the 2013 British Columbia general election two months prior. Background 2013 British Columbia general election Vancouver-Point Grey election Vancouver-Point Grey In the 2013 British Columbia general election, Premier Christy Clark attempted to keep her seat in Vancouver-Point Grey. The constituency election was essentially a rematch of the 2011 by-election won by Clark against David Eby of the NDP. Unlike the by-election however, Eby defeated Clark, leaving the incumbent premier of British Columbia without a seat in the legislature. Despite her personal election loss, the Liberals led by Clark held their majority in the legislature, which by convention allowed Clark's government to remain in power.https://globalnews.ca/news/563626/vancouver-point-grey-results-premier-christy-clark-wins-province-loses-seat/ Vancouver – Point Grey results: Premier Christy Clark wins province, loses seat Leslie Young Global News May 15, 2024 September 27, 2024 In order to remain in the legislature, Clark sought out Liberal MLAs in Liberal safe seats who were willing to resign their seat, so that Clark could contest it in a by-election. Eby would later go on to become premier after winning the NDP leadership election in 2022. Westside-Kelowna election thumb|upright|right|Ben Stewart, the resigning Westside-Kelowna MLA Westside-Kelowna On June 6, Liberal MLA Ben Stewart announced that he would be resigning his seat in Westside-Kelowna to give Christy Clark the opportunity to re-enter the legislature.https://vancouversun.com/news/Stewart+steps+aside+Kelowna+Premier+Christy+Clark/8483307/story.html Ben Stewart steps aside in Kelowna for B.C. Premier Christy Clark Jonathan Fowlie Vancouver Sun June 6, 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20190111004508/http://www.vancouversun.com/news/stewart+steps+aside+kelowna+premier+christy+clark/8483307/story.html January 11, 2019 Clark claimed that many other Liberal MLAs had also offered to give up their seats, but Kelowna stood out to her for its symbolic connection with free enterprise, as it was the home of premiers W.A.C. Bennett and Bill Bennett. The riding of Westside-Kelowna had also never been represented by a New Democratic MLA since its establishment. Candidates JB Bhandari (Vision) Christy Clark (Liberal; incumbent premier) John Marks (Independent) Carole Gordon (New Democratic) Silverado Brooks Socrates (Independent) Sean Upshaw (Conservative) Dayleen Van Ryswyk (Independent) Korry Zepik (Independent) Results Aftermath After winning the by-election, Christy Clark remained the premier of British Columbia for the rest of the 40th parliamentary term.https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/b-c-premier-christy-clark-beaming-after-byelection-win-1.1311488 B.C. Premier Christy Clark beaming after byelection win CBC News July 10, 2013 October 12, 2024 In October 2013, Ben Stewart was appointed by Christy Clark to be the BC Special Representative in Asia. In the 2017 election, Clark won again in Kelowna West (renamed from Westside-Kelowna), but her party lost their majority, resulting in a hung parliament. Despite her effort to keep the confidence of the legislature, her government was defeated fifty-one days after the general election, following the arrangement of a confidence and supply agreement between the New Democratic and Green parties.McElroy Justin Timeline: the B.C. Election that took 52 days CBC News http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/timeline-the-b-c-election-that-took-52-days-1.4184196 June 30, 2017 June 30, 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20170630112500/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/timeline-the-b-c-election-that-took-52-days-1.4184196Keller James Hunter Justine Hager Mike B.C. NDP to take power following confidence vote, ending 16 years of Liberal rule The Globe and Mail https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/christy-clarks-liberals-lose-confidence-vote/article35500474/ June 30, 2017 July 6, 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20170706190952/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/christy-clarks-liberals-lose-confidence-vote/article35500474/ After losing the premiership, Christy Clark resigned her seat as an MLA, and another by-election was organized in Kelowna West, which was eventually won by Ben Stewart. Clark also resigned her position as leader of the BC Liberals and was replaced by Andrew Wilkinson in the subsequent leadership election. See also List of British Columbia by-elections 2011 British Columbia Liberal Party leadership election 2013 British Columbia general election References Category:2013 elections in Canada Category:July 2013 in Canada Category:2013 in British Columbia 2013 Westside-Kelowna Category:40th Parliament of British Columbia Category:Christy Clark Category:Politics of Kelowna