1991 British Columbia general election

Canadian provincial election September 2023 July 2016 1991 British Columbia general election British Columbia parliamentary no no no 1986 British Columbia general election 1986 1996 British Columbia general election 1996 75 seats of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia 38 seats were needed for a majority October 17, 1991 34th Parliament of British Columbia 35th Parliament of British Columbia 64.03%B.C. Voter Participation: 1983 to 2013 http://142.34.128.33/docs/stats/bc-voter-participation-1983-2013.pdf Elections BC May 11, 2017 March 28, 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190328040547/https://142.34.128.33/docs/stats/bc-voter-participation-1983-2013.pdf dead 1.77 pp 150x150px BC NDP nohash Mike Harcourt 1987 BC NDP name Vancouver-Mount Pleasant 22 seats 51 29 595,391 40.71% 1.89 BCL BC Liberal nohash Gordon Wilson 1987 BC Liberal name Powell River-Sunshine Coast 0 seats 17 17 486,208 33.25 26.51 SC BC Social Credit nohash Rita Johnston 1991 BC Social Credit name Surrey-Newton (lost re-election) 47 seats 7 40 351,660 24.27 25.27 BC Legislature 1991.svg 200 Premier Rita Johnston BC Social Credit name Premier after election Mike Harcourt BC NDP name The 1991 British Columbia general election 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 New Democratic Party of Mike Harcourt defeated the incumbent Social Credit Party of British Columbia, which had been beset by scandals during Bill Vander Zalm's only term as premier. Liberal Party leader Gordon Wilson surprised observers by leading his party to winning one-third of the votes cast and 23 percent of the seats, and forming the official opposition in the legislature after having held no seats at all since 1979. 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.http://www.elections.bc.ca/elections/electoral_history/electhistvol2.pdf Archived copy 2008-04-05 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20071009023853/http://www.elections.bc.ca/elections/electoral_history/electhistvol2.pdf 2007-10-09 It was also the first British Columbia general election with only single-member districts.http://www.elections.bc.ca/elections/sov91/foreword.html Elections BC – SOV91 Foreword 2008-02-02 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20071004235030/http://www.elections.bc.ca/elections/sov91/foreword.html 2007-10-04 Background Under Vander Zalm's leadership, Socred's control shifted from urban fiscal conservatives to social conservatives. Vander Zalm seemingly cruised to victory in the 1986 provincial election, held just a month after he was sworn in. In truth, however, a number of more moderate Socreds were not comfortable with the party's rightward turn on social issues, and began defecting to the BC Liberals. This process was exacerbated by Vander Zalm's eccentricity,The Premier Who Was a Reporter's 'Fantasy' https://thetyee.ca/Life/2013/05/14/Bill-Vander-Zalm/ 2026-02-27 The Tyee2010-08-08 BC Premier #27: The Zalm – Not To Be Trusted With Knives https://www.nottobetrustedwithknives.com/2010/08/08/vanderzalm/ 2026-02-27 en-US and the constant scandals that plagued his government. As well, Vander Zalm allowed his principal secretary, David Poole,Paterson Jody 2018-03-17 A Closer Look: Jody Paterson: Martyn Brown: Say Wha-a-a-a-t? https://closer-look.blogspot.com/2018/03/martyn-brown-say-wha-a-t.html 2026-02-27 A Closer Look to amass a substantial amount of power, despite being unelected. Vander Zalm resigned in April 1991 amid a conflict of interest scandal surrounding the sale of a theme park that he owned. 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 Johnston had little time to make up ground in the polls or distance herself from the now-detested Vander Zalm. Additionally, the Socreds were still bitterly divided over the bruising leadership contest. The NDP went into the elections as heavy favourites after leading in opinion polls for almost four years. The 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, which took place on 8 October. 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. One of the memorable moments of the debate came as Harcourt and Johnston argued loudly amongst each other, when Wilson pointed towards them and declared, "Here's a classic example of why nothing ever gets done in the province of British Columbia."Gordon Wilson's debate triumph in B.C. http://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/bc-elections-1991-gordon-wilsons-debate-triumph CBC News Archives Canadian Broadcasting Corporation 25 October 2016 8 October 1991 Opinion polls Last day of pollBC NDP nameBC Liberal nameBC Social Credit name Others Pollster Sample Margin Source Results 40.7 33.3 24.1 1.9 10 October 199138 30 29 3 Angus Reid ± 3,1 en Tom Barrett Liberals leap into second, poll suggests: Socreds overtaken by narrow margin; NDP still in the lead Vancouver Star 1991-10-12 A1 25 September 199148(39) 11(9) 39(32) 2(2) en The Canadian Press Poll shows NDP lead on decline Vancouver Star 1991-09-28 B13 15 July 199047 8 36 9 Angus Reid ± 3,5 en The Canadian Press NDP lead widening in B.C., poll finds Toronto Star 1990-07-29 A15 21 January 199049 43 Angus Reid ± 4,2 en The Canadian Press Vander Zalm gets boost, poll finds Toronto Star 1990-01-21 A15 25 April 198953 10 32 5 Angus Reid ± 3,5 en Chris Rose Harcourt, NDP sweep voter poll: 53 per cent would vote for party to oust Socreds Vancouver Sun 1989-05-02 A1 20 April 198948 11 35 6 Marktrend 4 November 198843 18 34 5 Marktrend 1 October 198841 23 Goldfarb ± 3,0 en The Canadian Press Most in B.C. see Vander Zalm as liability to party, poll shows Toronto Star 1988-10-19 A18 29 November 198746(31) 6(4) 40(27) 7(5) ± 4,5 en The Canadian Press Majority unhappy with Vander Zalm B.C. poll finds Toronto Star 1987-11-29 A12 1986 Elections 42.6 6.7 49.3 1.4 Riding-specific polls Oak Bay-Gordon Head by-election + Evolution of voting intentions at provincial level Polling firmLast day of survey Source BCNDP BCSC BCLP Other ME Margin of Error SampleBy-election 1989December 13, 198945.2643.689.111.94Angus ReidDecember 1989Kieran Brian Political pundits pick the NDP, 7 to 5 December 12, 1989 6 The Province5238Angus ReidDecember 1989Hume Mark Poll shows close race in Oak Bay: Generation, gender gaps split conservative riding December 9, 1989 A1 The Vancouver Sun4541McIntyre & MustelDecember 7, 1989Hauka Don Neck and neck in Oak Bay December 8, 1989 1 The Province49444Election 1986December 13, 198935.9152.502.389.21 Results The Socreds were swept from power in a massive NDP landslide. This was not due to the NDP winning a higher percentage of the vote as much as it was due to Socred support collapsing in favour of the BC Liberals, splitting the vote. 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. Johnston herself lost her own seat in Surrey-Newton to NDP challenger Penny Priddy, and all but five members of her cabinet were defeated. The Liberals returned to the legislature as the official opposition after a 12-year absence, replacing Social Credit as the main alternative to the NDP in the province. PartyParty leader# ofcandidatesSeatsPopular vote1986Elected% Change#%% Change BC NDP rowNew DemocratsMichael Harcourt 752251 +131.8% 595,391 40.71% -1.89% BC Liberal row-nameGordon Wilson71-17   486,208 33.25% +26.51% BC Social Credit row-nameRita Johnston74477 -85.1% 351,660 24.27% -25.27% BC Green row-name 42-- – 12,650 0.86% +0.62% BC Independents rowIndependents16-- – 10,281 0.70% +0.57% BC Reform row-nameRon Gamble4 *- * 2,673 0.18% * BC Family Coalition row-name  8 *- * 1,310 0.09% * BC Libertarian rowLibertarian  11-- – 860 0.06% +0.04% BC Western Canada Concept rowWestern Canada ConceptDoug Christie5-- – 651 0.04% +0.02% BC Progressive Conservatives rowConservativePeter B. MacdonaldMacdonald was not eligible to run as a candidate in 1991. He moved to Canada at the age of 10 and only discovered during the election campaign that he was a British subject and had never obtained his Canadian citizenship. (Matas, Robert, "B.C. Tory leader ineligible for election He discovered just two weeks ago that he isn't a Canadian citizen", Globe and Mail, October 2, 1991 4-- – 426 0.03% -0.70% BC Independents rowHuman Race  2 *- * 110 0.01% * BC Independent rowGreen Go (Green Wing/Rhino)   1 *- * 93 0.01% * BC Communist rowCommunist League  3-- – 92 0.01% -0.02% BC Independents rowInterdependence Party  1 *- * 62 x *Total3176975 +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.Popular vote #ddd 600px 410px NDP BC NDP 40.71 Liberal BC Liberal 33.25 Social Credit BC Social Credit 24.05 Others BC Independent 1.99Seats summary #ddd 600px 410px NDP BC NDP 68.00 Liberal BC Liberal 22.67 Social Credit BC Social Credit 9.33 Synopsis of results + 1991 British Columbia general election – results by ridingElections BC 2002 5–14 Riding Winning party VotesMinor political parties receiving less than 1% of the popular vote (and fielding candidates in fewer than half the ridings) are aggregated under Other 1st place Votes Share Margin# Margin% 2nd place % NDP Lib. Liberal SC Social Credit Green Ind Independent or No Affiliation Other Total  Abbotsford SC 6,647 36.12% 138 0.75% Lib 35.37% 5,246 6,509 6,647 – – – 18,402Alberni NDP 7,136 53.39% 3,471 25.97% SC 27.42% 7,136 2,358 3,665 – – 206 13,365Bulkley Valley-Stikine NDP 3,744 33.97% 265 2.40% Lib 31.56% 3,744 3,479 – – 3,799Jack Kempf, who received 2,842 votes, was the incumbent Social Credit MLA for Omineca, but opted to campaign as an Independent in 1991. – 11,022Burnaby-Edmonds NDP 9,947 47.15% 3,049 14.45% Lib 32.70% 9,947 6,898 3,900 199 74 77 21,095Burnaby North NDP 9,809 48.43% 3,472 17.14% Lib 31.29% 9,809 6,337 3,833 194 – 81 20,254Burnaby-Willingdon NDP 10,597 44.36% 2,574 10.78% Lib 33.59% 10,597 8,023 5,036 232 – – 23,888Cariboo North NDP 4,919 39.10% 714 5.67% SC 33.42% 4,919 2,317 4,205 – – 1,141 12,582Cariboo South NDP 6,369 45.37% 1,639 11.68% SC 33.70% 6,369 2,567 4,730 – – 371 14,037Chilliwack Lib 8,601 38.83% 982 4.43% SC 34.40% 5,688 8,601 7,619 241 – – 22,149Columbia River-Revelstoke NDP 6,241 45.08% 1,879 13.57% SC 31.51% 6,241 3,241 4,362 – – – 13,844Comox Valley NDP 10,355 39.20% 1,601 6.06% Lib 33.14% 10,355 8,754 6,734 432 49 93 26,417Coquitlam-Maillardville NDP 11,136 47.18% 2,206 9.35% Lib 37.84% 11,136 8,930 3,354 – 117 65 23,602Cowichan-Ladysmith NDP 11,038 48.53% 4,229 18.59% SC 29.94% 11,038 4,896 6,809 – – – 22,743Delta North NDP 8,068 38.65% 762 3.65% Lib 35.00% 8,068 7,306 5,252 – 72 178 20,876Delta South Lib 8,783 39.82% 2,070 9.39% SC 30.44% 6,559 8,783 6,713 – – – 22,055Esquimalt-Metchosin NDP 13,458 59.16% 6,570 28.88% Lib 30.28% 13,458 6,888 2,402 – – – 22,748Fort Langley-Aldergrove Lib 8,663 43.57% 2,636 13.26% NDP 30.31% 6,027 8,663 4,880 – 227 87 19,884Kamloops NDP 8,926 43.67% 2,893 14.15% Lib 29.52% 8,926 6,033 5,481 – – – 20,440Kamloops-North Thompson NDP 5,843 39.43% 1,149 7.75% Lib 31.67% 5,843 4,694 4,283 – – – 14,820Kootenay NDP 7,352 46.48% 2,338 14.78% SC 31.70% 7,352 3,450 5,014 – – – 15,816Langley Lib 7,149 38.95% 1,387 7.56% NDP 31.39% 5,762 7,149 5,201 – 62 180 18,354Malahat-Juan de Fuca NDP 8,579 44.18% 940 4.84% Lib 39.34% 8,579 7,639 2,628 380 – 193 19,419Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows NDP 11,591 45.16% 2,805 10.93% Lib 34.23% 11,591 8,786 4,986 305 – – 25,668Matsqui SC 8,236 43.74% 1,805 9.59% Lib 34.15% 4,163 6,431 8,236 – – – 18,830Mission-Kent NDP 7,659 44.78% 3,080 18.01% Lib 26.77% 7,659 4,579 4,556 246 63 – 17,103Nanaimo NDP 11,135 51.24% 3,579 16.47% Lib 34.77% 11,135 7,556 2,480 342 – 216 21,729Nelson-Creston NDP 8,583 46.90% 2,844 15.54% SC 31.36% 8,583 3,510 5,739 467 – – 18,299New Westminster NDP 10,384 49.89% 3,267 15.70% Lib 34.20% 10,384 7,117 3,311 – – – 20,812North Coast NDP 6,365 59.75% 3,896 36.58% Lib 23.18% 6,365 2,469 1,818 – – – 10,652North Island NDP 8,427 50.39% 2,757 16.49% Lib 33.91% 8,427 5,670 2,217 408 – – 16,722North Vancouver-Lonsdale NDP 7,535 38.63% 476 2.44% Lib 36.19% 7,535 7,059 4,622 207 – 85 19,508North Vancouver-Seymour Lib 12,120 50.84% 4,994 20.95% NDP 29.89% 7,126 12,120 4,304 205 – 84 23,839Oak Bay-Gordon Head NDP 10,522 39.61% 837 3.15% Lib 36.46% 10,522 9,685 5,556 – – 803 26,566Okanagan-Boundary NDP 7,228 46.82% 3,250 21.05% SC 25.77% 7,228 3,859 3,978 374 – – 15,439Okanagan East Lib 8,578 38.47% 682 3.06% SC 35.41% 5,825 8,578 7,896 – – – 22,299Okanagan-Penticton NDP 7,885 34.84% 448 1.98% Lib 32.86% 7,885 7,437 6,894 416 – – 22,632Okanagan-Vernon SC 8,615 37.99% 895 3.95% NDP 34.05% 7,720 6,065 8,615 – 275 – 22,675Okanagan West SC 11,667 41.15% 2,657 9.37% Lib 31.78% 7,361 9,010 11,667 312 – – 28,350Parksville-Qualicum NDP 10,408 40.24% 1,282 4.96% Lib 35.29% 10,408 9,126 5,846 303 – 180 25,863Peace River North SC 5,758 54.79% 3,411 32.45% NDP 22.33% 2,347 2,048 5,758 303 54 – 10,510Peace River South SC 4,617 37.21% 773 6.23% NDP 30.98% 3,844 3,512 4,617 435 – – 12,408Port Coquitlam NDP 11,435 45.48% 1,506 5.99% Lib 39.49% 11,435 9,929 3,781 – – – 25,145Port Moody-Burnaby Mountain NDP 9,821 45.62% 1,730 8.04% Lib 37.59% 9,821 8,091 3,450 151 – 14 21,527Powell River-Sunshine Coast Lib 11,486 54.68% 4,369 20.80% NDP 33.88% 7,117 11,486 2,174 161 66 – 21,004Prince George-Mount Robson NDP 5,751 50.99% 1,616 14.33% SC 36.66% 5,751 – 4,135 – 1,393 – 11,279Prince George North NDP 5,468 38.74% 962 6.82% Lib 31.93% 5,468 4,506 4,139 – – – 14,113Prince George-Omineca SC 6,656 52.05% 525 4.11% NDP 47.95% 6,131 – 6,656 – – – 12,787Richmond Centre Lib 7,806 42.44% 1,284 6.98% NDP 35.46% 6,522 7,806 3,889 108 – 68 18,393Richmond East Lib 6,870 40.91% 774 4.61% NDP 36.30% 6,096 6,870 3,703 123 – – 16,792Richmond-Steveston Lib 6,664 38.32% 610 3.51% NDP 34.81% 6,054 6,664 4,609 – – 65 17,392Rossland-Trail NDP 8,340 51.73% 4,538 28.15% Ind 23.58% 8,340 – 3,267 713 3,802Christopher D'Arcy was the incumbent NDP MLA for Rossland-Trail. – 16,122Saanich North and the Islands Lib 13,633 52.53% 4,888 18.84% NDP 33.70% 8,745 13,633 2,917 – – 656 25,951Saanich South NDP 10,254 44.63% 1,945 8.47% Lib 36.17% 10,254 8,309 4,218 – – 193 22,974Shuswap NDP 7,687 35.50% 405 1.87% Lib 33.63% 7,687 7,282 6,262 422 – – 21,653Skeena NDP 5,597 46.67% 831 6.93% SC 39.74% 5,597 1,629 4,766 – – – 11,992Surrey-Cloverdale Lib 9,012 38.28% 1,751 7.44% NDP 30.84% 7,261 9,012 6,920 – – 348 23,541Surrey-Green Timbers NDP 8,708 46.16% 2,384 12.64% Lib 33.52% 8,708 6,324 3,744 89 – – 18,865Surrey-Newton NDP 10,193 42.28% 2,397 9.94% SC 32.34% 10,193 5,923 7,796 197 – – 24,109Surrey-Whalley NDP 7,243 47.76% 2,381 15.70% Lib 32.06% 7,243 4,862 2,922 137 – – 15,164Surrey-White Rock Lib 11,008 38.84% 1,945 6.86% NDP 31.98% 9,063 11,008 8,062 – – 209 28,342Vancouver-Burrard NDP 9,725 50.93% 2,998 15.70% Lib 35.23% 9,725 6,727 2,201 441 – – 19,094Vancouver-Fraserview NDP 8,016 44.16% 2,179 12.00% Lib 32.16% 8,016 5,837 4,060 141 – 98 18,152Vancouver-Hastings NDP 10,087 55.93% 4,995 27.69% Lib 28.23% 10,087 5,092 2,589 268 – – 18,036Vancouver-Kensington NDP 8,323 46.85% 3,623 20.39% Lib 26.45% 8,323 4,700 4,389 155 – 200 17,767Vancouver-Kingsway NDP 9,292 54.79% 4,902 28.90% Lib 25.88% 9,292 4,390 3,112 137 – 29 16,960Vancouver-Langara Lib 7,241 36.95% 467 2.38% NDP 34.56% 6,774 7,241 5,374 134 – 75 19,598Vancouver-Little Mountain NDP 10,383 45.43% 2,203 9.64% Lib 35.79% 10,383 8,180 3,944 259 90 – 22,856Vancouver-Mount Pleasant NDP 10,108 63.33% 6,971 43.67% Lib 19.65% 10,108 3,137 2,143 432 – 142 15,962Vancouver-Point Grey NDP 12,076 49.26% 3,054 12.46% Lib 36.80% 12,076 9,022 2,817 388 138 75 24,516Vancouver-Quilchena Lib 11,373 49.53% 5,201 22.65% NDP 26.88% 6,172 11,373 5,113 302 – – 22,960Victoria-Beacon Hill NDP 10,939 47.95% 3,505 15.36% Lib 32.59% 10,939 7,434 3,712 728 – – 22,813Victoria-Hillside NDP 11,117 51.39% 3,884 17.95% Lib 33.44% 11,117 7,233 2,714 569 – – 21,633West Vancouver-Capilano Lib 13,194 56.63% 7,033 30.18% SC 26.44% 3,740 13,194 6,161 140 – 65 23,300West Vancouver-Garibaldi Lib 11,182 58.36% 6,676 34.84% NDP 23.52% 4,506 11,182 3,020 454 – – 19,162Yale-Lillooet NDP 7,740 52.31% 683 4.62% SC 47.69% 7,740 – 7,057 – – – 14,797 a #DCDCDC silver = Winning candidate held seat in previous Legislature #EABB94 silver = Incumbent had switched allegiance #FFFF00 silver = Previously incumbent in another riding #EEBBBB silver = Not incumbent; was previously elected to the Legislature #87CEFA silver = Incumbency arose from byelection gain #DCD0FF silver = Other incumbents renominated #FFA07A silver = Previously an MP in the House of Commons of Canada #F0E68C silver = Multiple candidates Legacy This was considered a political realignment 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. The NDP and Liberals would go on to be the two main parties in the province until 2024, when the Liberals, who by then had renamed themselves BC United, withdrew from that year's general election and endorsed the Conservative Party of 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 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 after a brief spell as founder, leader and sole MLA of the Progressive Democratic Alliance. He served as an MLA and minister until his defeat in 2001. Wilson was also a candidate for the NDP's leadership in 2000, won by Ujjal Dosanjh. See also List of British Columbia political parties References Further reading 1988 Electoral History of British Columbia: Supplement, 19872001 https://elections.bc.ca/docs/rpt/1987-2001-ElectionHistory.pdf Elections BC 0-7726-4789-5 Elections BC 2002 Leyton-Brown David Canadian Annual Review of Politics and Public Affairs, 1991 1998 University of Toronto Press Toronto 9781442672048 https://archive.org/details/canadianannualre0000unse_n8s8 registration External links Elections BC 1991 Election Category: elections in Canada General election Category:October 1991 in Canada