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British Columbia general election, 2005

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Popular vote map by riding. Traditional areas of NDP support returned to the party fold after the preceding wipeout.[Colourblind-friendly version]
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Popular vote map by riding. Traditional areas of NDP support returned to the party fold after the preceding wipeout.

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The 38th British Columbia general election was held on May 17, 2005, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia (BC), Canada. The BC Liberal Party formed the government of the province prior to this general election under the leadership of Premier Gordon Campbell. The New Democratic Party's two MLAs were not enough to qualify them for official opposition status.

The Liberals retained power, with a reduced majority. However, in the previous election in 2001, the Liberals had won an unprecedented 77 seats to the NDP's 2. It was therefore widely expected that the NDP would improve in 2005 at the expense of the Liberals.

Under amendments to the BC Constitution Act passed in 2001, BC elections are now held on fixed dates: the second Tuesday in May every four years.

The BC electoral reform referendum was held in conjunction with this election. This referendum asked voters whether or not they support the proposed electoral reforms of the Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform, which included switching to a single transferable vote system. Had it been approved by 60% of voters in 60% of ridings), the new electoral system would have been implemented for the general election in 2009. Although the proposed reform attracted a clear majority (58% in favour), the level of support was just short of that required for mandatory implementation. Premier Campbell has promised a second referendum on the issue in November 2008.

Contents

Results by party

|- |bgcolor="sandybrown"|     |- |bgcolor="yellowgreen"|     |- |bgcolor=palevioletred|     |- |bgcolor="cornflowerblue"|     |- |bgcolor="#FF3366"|     |- |bgcolor=60AC66|     |- |bgcolor="rosybrown"|     |- |bgcolor="lightskyblue"|     |- |bgcolor="tomato"|     |- |bgcolor="mediumturquoise"|     |- |bgcolor="000077"|     |- |bgcolor="gainsboro"|     |- |bgcolor="gainsboro"|    
Party Party leader # of
candidates 		Seats Popular vote
2001 Dissolution Elected % Change # % Change |- |bgcolor="lightcoral"|     BC Liberal Gordon Campbell 79 77 72 46 align="right"
807,164 45.80% align="right"
New Democrats Carole James 79 2 3 33 align="right"
1,550%
731,761 41.52% align="right"
19.96%
Green Adriane Carr 79 align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
161,858 9.18% align="right"
Democratic Reform Tom Morino 38 * 1 align="right"
* 14,021 0.80% * |- |bgcolor="tan"|     Marijuana Marc Emery 44 align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
11,519 0.65% align="right"
Conservative Barry Chilton 7 align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
9,623 0.55% align="right"
0.4%
Work Less Conrad Schmidt 11 * align="right"
align="right"
* 1,642 0.09% * |- |bgcolor="green"|     Libertarian (vacant) 6 * align="right"
align="right"
* 1,054 0.06% * |- |bgcolor="f0f0f0"|     Platinum Jeff Evans 11 * align="right"
align="right"
* 779 0.04% * |- |bgcolor="#FFFF99"|     Western Refederation (vacant) 4 * align="right"
align="right"
* 675 0.04% * |- |bgcolor="lightblue"|     Social Credit (vacant) 2 align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
502 0.03% align="right"
Your Political Party James Filippelli 1 * align="right"
align="right"
* 442 0.03% * |- |bgcolor="khaki"|     Western Canada Concept Douglas Christie 2 * align="right"
align="right"
* 387 0.02% * |- |bgcolor="indianred"|     People's Front Charles Boylan 5 align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
383 0.02% align="right"
Youth Coalition (vacant) 2 * align="right"
align="right"
* 369 0.02% * |- |bgcolor=FFFFCC|     Moderates (vacant) 2 * align="right"
align="right"
* 367 0.02% * |- |bgcolor="deepskyblue"|     Reform (vacant) 1 align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
365 0.02% align="right"
BC Party Grant Mitton 2 * align="right"
align="right"
* 362 0.02% * |- |bgcolor="hotpink"|     Sex John Ince 3 * align="right"
align="right"
* 305 0.02% * |- |bgcolor="lightskyblue"|     Bloc BC Paddy Roberts 3 * align="right"
align="right"
* 282 0.02% * |- |bgcolor="#3333CC"|     Freedom K.M. Keillor 2 align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
282 0.02% align="right"
Communist George Gidora 3 align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
244 0.01% align="right"
Unity Daniel Stelmacker 1 align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
224 0.01% align="right"
Emerged Democracy Tony Luck 1 * align="right"
align="right"
* 151 0.01% * |- |bgcolor="orchid"|     Patriot Andrew Hokhold 2 align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
90 0.01% align="right"
Independents 23 align="right"
1 align="right"
align="right"
16,152 0.92% align="right"
0.00%
No affiliation 5 align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
1,447 0.08% align="right"
0.03%
Vacant 2  
Total 79 79 79   1,762,450 100% align="right"
5.43%
* denotes that the party did not contest the election in question

Results by region

|- |bgcolor="yellowgreen"|    
Party name Van. Van.
East
Sub. 		North
Shore/
Sun. C. 		Rich./
Delta/
Surrey 		Van.
Island 		Fraser
Valley 		Interior North Total |- |bgcolor="lightcoral"|     BC Liberal Seats: 5 4 4 7 4 7 9 6 46 |- |bgcolor="lightcoral"|     Popular Vote: 44.3% 44.9% 49.6% 48.2% 40.7% 53.2% 44.9% 48.8% 45.8% |- |bgcolor="sandybrown"|     New Democrats Seats: 5 4 1 5 9 1 6 2 33 |- |bgcolor="sandybrown"|     Popular Vote: 43.7% 45.3% 30.7% 39.6% 47.1% 35.2% 41.5% 38.7% 41.5%
Total seats: 10 8 5 12 13 8 15 8 79
Parties that won no seats:
Green Popular Vote: 9.6% 7.7% 18.0% 7.1% 9.6% 8.9% 8.6% 7.1% 9.2% |- |bgcolor=palevioletred|     Democratic Reform Popular Vote: 0.1% 0.8% 0.1% 0.6% 1.4% 0.7% 0.9% 1.0% 0.8% |- |bgcolor="tan"|     Marijuana Popular Vote: 0.9% 0.5% 0.5% 0.7% 0.3% 1.1% 0.7% 0.9% 0.7% |- |bgcolor="cornflowerblue"|     Conservative Popular Vote: align="right"
align="right"
0.4% 0.1% align="right"
align="right"
2.4% align="right"
0.6% |- |bgcolor="#FF3366"|     Work Less Popular Vote: 0.4% align="right"
0.2% xx 0.1% align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
0.1% |- |bgcolor="green"|     Libertarian Popular Vote: 0.3% 0.1% align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
0.1% |- |bgcolor="f0f0f0"|     Platinum Popular Vote: 0.1% 0.1% align="right"
xx align="right"
0.2% align="right"
align="right"
xx |- |bgcolor="#FFFF99"|     Western Refederation Popular Vote: align="right"
align="right"
0.1% align="right"
0.1% align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
xx |- |bgcolor="lightblue"|     Social Credit Popular Vote: 0.1% 0.1% align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
xx |- |bgcolor=60AC66|     Your Political Party Popular Vote: align="right"
0.2% align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
xx |- |bgcolor="khaki"|     Western Canada Concept Popular Vote: align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
0.1% align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
xx |- |bgcolor="indianred"|     People's Front Popular Vote: 0.1% align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
xx align="right"
xx xx xx |- |bgcolor="rosybrown"|     Youth Coalition Popular Vote: align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
0.2% align="right"
align="right"
xx |- |bgcolor=FFFFCC|     Moderates Popular Vote: align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
0.2% align="right"
align="right"
xx |- |bgcolor="deepskyblue"|     Reform Popular Vote: align="right"
align="right"
0.3% align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
xx |- |bgcolor="lightskyblue"|     BC Party Popular Vote: align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
0.1% align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
0.2% xx |- |bgcolor="hotpink"|     Sex Popular Vote: 0.1% align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
xx |- |bgcolor="lightskyblue"|     Bloc BC Popular Vote: align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
0.1% align="right"
xx |- |bgcolor="#3333CC"|     Freedom Popular Vote: align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
xx 0.1% align="right"
align="right"
xx |- |bgcolor="tomato"|     Communist Popular Vote: xx align="right"
align="right"
xx align="right"
align="right"
xx align="right"
xx |- |bgcolor="mediumturquoise"|     Unity Popular Vote: align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
0.2% xx |- |bgcolor="000077"|     Emerged Democracy Popular Vote: align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
0.1% align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
xx |- |bgcolor="orchid"|     Patriot Popular Vote: align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
align="right"
xx align="right"
xx |- |bgcolor="gainsboro"|     Independents/
No Affiliation 		Popular Vote: 0.2% 0.3% align="right"
3.5% 0.5% 0.2% 0.7% 3.1% 1.0%

xx Denotes party received less than 0.1%

Timeline

Pre-campaign period

Campaign period

Opinion polls and predictions

Below are the set of polls closest to the election, from organizations polling in British Columbia

Besides the usual public polling by market research firms, other organizations have been attempting to predict the results of the upcoming election using alternate methods. Results suggest that all three projections below underestimated NDP seats and overestimated Liberal seats:

UBC's Election Stock Market tracks the prices of contracts whose value depend on election results: [link]
Popular vote: Lib 44.5%, NDP 35.9%, Green 13.9%, Other 5.3%
Seats: Lib 48.6 (61.5), NDP 29.4 (37.2), Other 1.6 (2.0)
(values in parentheses are values of actual contracts, in cents)

The [Election Prediction Project] aggregates submissions from the Internet and subjectively predicts winners based on the submissions (see [methodology]):
Seats: Lib 50, NDP 29, Other 0

Will McMartin at the progressive online newspaper [The Tyee] makes [his predictions] by looking at "historic election results and selected demographics, as well as public opinion polls, regional sources and input from Election Central readers" (see [details]):
Seats: Lib 51, NDP 28, Other 0

Political parties

British Columbia has Canada's least restrictive elections laws with regard to political party registration, and consequently there are currently nearly 50 parties registered with Elections BC, by far the most of any jurisdiction in the country. 25 parties are contesting the 2005 election, also a considerably greater number than anywhere else in Canada.

British Columbia Liberal Party

  Leader: Gordon Campbell

The BC Liberals won 77 of 79 seats in the 2001 election. At dissolution, the party held 72 seats. One member elected as a Liberal left the party to sit as a member of Democratic Reform British Columbia; one member elected as a Liberal left to sit as an independent; the party lost one by-election to the opposition New Democratic Party; and two former Liberal seats were vacant when the election was called. In 2005 election, the Liberal party dropped from 72 to 46 seats in the legislature, yet still won the election.

New Democratic Party of British Columbia

  Leader: Carole James

The NDP's legislative caucus was reduced from a majority to just two seats in the 2001 election. It won another seat in an October 2004 by-election to bring the total to three. Carole James led the NDP to 33 seats to become the Leader of the Opposition.

Green Party of British Columbia

  Leader: Adriane Carr

The Green Party ran 72 candidates in 2001, winning 12 percent of the vote but no seats in the legislature. Some argued that the Green Party support peaked in 2001, drawing on dissatisfied NDP voters, and they would remain incapable of winning a seat in 2005 under the First-Past-the-Post system; others believed that if there had been four or more competitive parties in this election, the Greens might elect a handful of members. The Greens may benefit if the 2009 election is conducted using the proposed BC-STV system. In 2005, the Greens received 9% of the popular vote and no seats.

Democratic Reform British Columbia

  Leader: Tom Morino

Democratic Reform British Columbia is a new party created in early 2005 by the merger of the British Columbia Democratic Coalition—a coalition of minor centrist parties— with the All Nations Party of British Columbia and key elements of the Reform BC. Independent MLA Elayne Brenzinger, a former Liberal, became DRBC's first MLA on January 19, 2005. Controversially, no invitation was extended for Morino to participate in the leader's debate.

British Columbia Marijuana Party

  Leader: Marc Emery

The BC Marijuana Party nominated 43 candidates in this election. It was the only party other than the Liberals and NDP to run candidates in all 79 districts in 2001. The party chose not to run in certain districts and instead endorse New Democrat and Green candidates who publicly favour the legalization of marijuana. Party founder Marc Emery ran against Solicitor General Rich Coleman, an anti-drug hardliner, in staunchly conservative Fort Langley-Aldergrove. He gained controversy early in the campaign for claiming that the government spends too much money on senior citizens.

Minor parties

  Work Less Party of British Columbia

Leader: Conrad Schmidt

The WLP is an anti-materialist political movement that hopes to achieve socialist and green ends through, among other things, the promotion of a four-day work-week. The 2005 BC election marked the debut in Western politics of any registered party expressly driven by the ideology of voluntary simplicity. It nominated 11 candidates, all in urban ridings.

  Platinum Party of Employers Who Think and Act to Increase Awareness

Leader: Jeff Evans

Nominated eleven candidates.

  British Columbia Conservative Party

Leader: Barry Chilton

Nominated seven candidates. Former provincial affiliate of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada

  British Columbia Libertarian Party

No registered leader

Nominated six candidates. Provincial affiliate of the Libertarian Party of Canada

  People's Front

Leader: Charles Boylan

Nominated five candidates. Provincial affiliate of the Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist).

  Western Refederation Party of British Columbia

No registered leader

A new autonomist/separatist party that nominated four candidates around the province.

  Communist Party of British Columbia

Leader: George Gidora

Nominated three candidates. Provincial affiliate of the Communist Party of Canada.

  Sex Party

Leader: John Ince

Nominated three candidates in the City of Vancouver. Billed itself as "the world's first sex-positive party."

  Bloc British Columbia Party

Leader: Paddy Roberts

Libertarian separatist movement. Nominated three candidates in the Interior.

  British Columbia Social Credit Party

No registered leader

Although Social Credit governed British Columbia for most of the period from 1952 to 1991, the party is now a minor party, with little organization or support. It nominated the minimum two candidates in order to retain party status this election.

  Freedom Party of British Columbia

Leader: Kenneth Montgomery Keillor

Nominated two candidates.

  British Columbia Patriot Party

Leader: Andrew Hokhold

Nominated two candidates.

  Western Canada Concept Party of British Columbia

Leader: Doug Christie

Although the WCC did not run in the 2001 election, it has been a constant, if minor, force in the BC political fringes for decades. Christie, its controversial leader, and a second candidate were nominated by the party in Greater Victoria.

  British Columbia Party

Leader: Grant Mitton

The BC Party is also a relatively old minor party, one of several populist conservative organizations that attempted to fill the vacuum after the collapse of Social Credit in the mid-nineties. This was the first election in which it nominated candidates. It nominated two cnadidates. A third possible candidate, Summer Davis in Surrey-Tynehead, ran as an independent.

  British Columbia Moderate Democratic Movement

No registered leader

The majority of the Moderates, including leader Matthew Laird, joined DRBC. The party's registration did not lapsed, however. The two candidates running under its banner opposed the merger.

  British Columbia Youth Coalition

No registered leader.

Nominated two candidates.

  British Columbia Unity Party

Interim Leader: Daniel Stelmacker

BC Unity finished fourth in 2001, winning slightly over 3% of the vote with a slate of 56 candidates. It stood poised to potentially benefit from right-of-centre voters disenchanted with Campbell, but instead fell victim to serious internal division following a failed merger with the BC Conservative Party, which led to Chris Delaney's resignation as party leader. It appointed Daniel Stelmacker as its interim leader until it can hold a full leadership convention in the autumn of 2005. Stelmacker was its only nominated candidate, in Skeena riding.

  Reform Party of British Columbia

No registered leader

Aborted mergers with BC Unity and DRBC drained supporters left and right from BC Reform, leaving only a tiny core of what was briefly BC's third party. Party founder Ron Gamble was the party's sole candidate in North Vancouver-Lonsdale.

  Your Political Party of British Columbia

Leader: James Filippelli

YPP appears to be a one-man political movement; its website made mention of no figures other than Filippelli, the party's founder and leader, who was its sole candidate in this election. He ran in Port Moody-Westwood.

  Emerged Democracy Party of British Columbia

Leader: Tony Luck

Nominated one candidate, Rob Nordberg, in Surrey-Green Timbers.

Candidates

The deadline for candidate registration was Wednesday, May 4, 2005, at 1:00 p.m. Pacific Time.

Northern British Columbia

Kootenay, Columbia and Boundary

Okanagan and Shuswap

Thompson and Cariboo

Fraser Valley

Surrey

Richmond and Delta

Vancouver's eastern suburbs

Vancouver

North Shore and Sunshine Coast

Vancouver Island

Greater Victoria

External links


Preceded by:
2001 		British Columbia general elections Followed by:
2009


The most recent elections in Canada
Federal 2006 | Provinces summary
BC 2005 | Alberta 2004 | Saskatchewan 2003 | Manitoba 2003 | Ontario 2003
Quebec 2003 | New Brunswick 2003 | Nova Scotia 2006 | PEI 2003 | Nfld. & Lab. 2003
Yukon 2002 | NWT 2003 | Nunavut 2004

 

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All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.

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