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2001 British Columbia general election

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79 seats of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia 40 seats were needed for a majority
Turnout	55.44% 3.67 pp
First party Second party Third party   Leader Gordon Campbell Ujjal Dosanjh Adriane Carr Party Liberal New Democratic Green Leader since September 11, 1993 February 20, 2000 September 23, 2000 Leader's seat Vancouver-Point Grey Vancouver-Kensington (lost re-election) Ran in Powell River-Sunshine Coast (lost) Last election 33 seats 39 seats 0 seats Seats won 77 2 0 Seat change 44 37 Popular vote 916,888 343,156 197,231 Percentage 57.62% 21.56% 12.39% Swing 15.80% 17.89% 10.40%
Popular vote by riding. As this is an FPTP election, seat totals are not determined by popular vote, but instead via results by each riding. Click the map for more details.
Premier before election Ujjal Dosanjh New Democratic Premier after election Gordon Campbell Liberal

The 2001 British Columbia general election was the 37th 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 April 18, 2001 and held on May 16, 2001. Voter turnout was 55.4 per cent of all eligible voters.

The incumbent British Columbia New Democratic Party (BC NDP), in office since 1991, had been rocked by two major scandals—the Fast Ferries Scandal and a bribery scandal involving Premier Glen Clark. With the NDP's ratings flatlining, Clark resigned in August 1999, and Deputy Premier Dan Miller took over as caretaker premier until Ujjal Dosanjh was elected his permanent successor in February. Dosanjh was not, however, able to restore the party's public image, and the BC NDP suffered a resounding defeat at the hands of the British Columbia Liberal Party (BC Liberals), led by former Vancouver mayor Gordon Campbell. The BC Liberals won over 57% of the popular vote, and an unprecedented 77 of the 79 seats in the provincial legislature—the largest victory in the province's electoral history.

The BC NDP, on the other hand, suffered a near-total political collapse. The party lost almost half of the share of the popular vote that it had won in the 1996 election, while its seat count fell from 39 seats to only two—those of Deputy Premier and Education Minister Joy MacPhail and Community Development Minister Jenny Kwan. It was easily the worst defeat of a sitting government in British Columbia history. It was also the second-worst defeat of a sitting provincial government in Canada, eclipsed only by the New Brunswick election of 1987, the Alberta election of 1935, and the Prince Edward Island election of 1935. In those elections, the governing party–the New Brunswick Tories, the United Farmers of Alberta and the PEI Tories–was completely wiped off the map. Dosanjh resigned as party leader soon after the election; he had actually conceded defeat a week before voters went to the polls. Despite being the only other party in the Assembly, the BC NDP lacked the four seats then required for official party status.

The British Columbia Unity Party had been created as a union of conservative parties. Initially, Reform BC, the Social Credit, the British Columbia Party, and the Family Coalition Party had joined under the "BC Unity" umbrella. By the time the election was called, however, only the Family Coalition Party and a large majority of Reform BC segments had remained in the BC Unity coalition. The other parties had withdrawn to continue independently. The parties would collectively only earn around 4% of the vote, as voters, conscious of vote-splitting that had taken place between the Liberals, Reform BC, and the since-defunct Progressive Democratic Alliance in 1996, united behind the Liberals this time. Ron Gamble, sometime leader and sometime president of the renewed Reform BC continued his opposition to conservative mergers, consistently proclaiming a "Say No to Chris Delaney & BC Unity" policy, until Unity's eventual collapse in 2004 after a failed second attempt at a merger with BC Conservatives.

2000 redistribution of ridings

An Act was passed in 2000 providing for an increase of seats from 75 to 79, upon the next election. The following changes were made:

1. With part of Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows
2. With part of Okanagan-Boundary
3. Parts also went to Vancouver-Fraserview, Vancouver-Mount Pleasant and Vancouver-Langara
4. From parts of Okanagan West, Okanagan-Vernon and Okanagan-Penticton
5. From parts of Surrey-Newton and Surrey-Cloverdale
6. From parts of Surrey-Cloverdale, Surrey-Whalley and Surrey-Green Timbers

Opinion polls

During campaign period

During 36th Legislative Assembly of British Columbia

Region-specific polls

Southern Vancouver Island

Riding-specific polls

Vancouver-Kensington

Results

Notes

x – less than 0.005% of the popular vote.

* The party did not nominate candidates in the previous election.

Unity Party results are calculated relative to Family Coalition Party results.

MLAs elected

Synopsis of results

1. including spoilt ballots
2. parties receiving more than 1% of the popular vote, or fielding candidates in at least half of the constituencies, are listed separately. Reform is also listed separately, as it was a major contender in 1996, to identify the districts that still nominated candidates.
3. Gulzar Singh Cheema was previously a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba

  = Open seat

  = turnout is above provincial average

  = winning candidate was in previous Legislature

  = Incumbent had switched allegiance

  = Previously incumbent in another riding

  = Not incumbent; was previously elected to the Legislature

  = Incumbency arose from by-election gain

  = other incumbents renominated

  = previously an MP in the House of Commons of Canada

  = Multiple candidates

See also

• List of British Columbia political parties

References

1. "B.C. Voter Participation: 1983 to 2013" (PDF). Elections BC. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 28, 2019. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
2. "B.C. NDP no longer official party after recounts". CBC News. May 31, 2001. Retrieved October 31, 2012.
3. Electoral Districts Amendment Act, 2000, S.B.C. 2000, c. 14
4. Bailey, Ian (May 14, 2001). "Last-minute NDP ads target surging Green Party: A first for B.C.: vote-splitting on left". The National Post. p. A3.
5. "BC Election 2001 Party Preferences". Ipsos. May 9, 2001.
6. Hauka, Don (May 9, 2001). "Dosanjh admits defeat as Greens pull ahead". The Calgary Herald. p. A8.
7. Seal, Melanie (May 3, 2001). "Poll sees rosy outlook for B.C. Liberals". The Globe and Mail.
8. "BC Election 2001 Party Preferences". Ipsos. April 25, 2001.
9. Hauka, Don (April 22, 2001). "Poll suggests B.C. Grits could wipe out NDP". The Calgary Herald. p. A5.
10. Palmer, Vaughan (April 4, 2001). "The 'wipeout' scenario just won't go away". The Vancouver Sun.
11. Danard, Susan (April 4, 2001). "NDP sinks lower in latest poll: Numbers show tactic of delaying vote could backfire for premier". The Times Colonist. p. A1.
12. Simpson, Jeffrey (April 14, 2001). "If an NDP tree falls in a B.C. forest". The Globe and Mail. p. A19.
13. "BC Political Scene". Ipsos. March 22, 2001.
14. "Liberals in front". The Province. February 21, 2001. p. A3.
15. Hume, Mark (February 10, 2001). "Dosanjh's NDP faces B.C. wipeout, poll finds: National Post/Compas Poll: Governing party has 18% support, rival Liberals 59%, with election imminent". The National Post.
16. McInnes, Craig (January 19, 2001). "NDP sees gains in latest B.C. poll: But 10-point rise viewed with caution". The Vancouver Sun. p. A4.
17. "BC Political Scene December 2000". Ipsos. December 20, 2000.
18. Palmer, Vaughn (November 21, 2000). "The Liberal case for open government". The Vancouver Sun.
19. ^ McInnes, Craig (November 7, 2000). "B.C. Liberals take 50-point lead over NDP: poll". The Vancouver Sun. p. A1.
20. Palmer, Vaughn (October 4, 2000). "Latest poll shows the leaders' perception problems: For Ujjal Dosanjh, the verdict seems to be `Right guy, wrong party.' Gordon Campbell's strong point is dislike of the NDP". The Vancouver Sun.
21. "BC Political Scene September 2000". Ipsos. September 20, 2000.
22. "BC Liberals Hold Commanding Lead in Polls". Ipsos. June 20, 2001.
23. ^ Smyth, Michael (April 21, 2000). "She'll get Gord's little dog, too". The Province.
24. McInnes, Craig (April 21, 2000). "Dosanjh honeymoon over, new poll says: Just two months after replacing an unpopular leader, the government finds its approval rating languishing at 16 per cent". The Vancouver Sun.
25. "BC Political Scene March 2000". Ipsos. March 21, 2000.
26. Palmer, Vaughn (March 10, 2000). "Another poll provides some comfort for the NDP: Not everyone is clamouring for an instant election; many are ready to give Dosanjh a chance, and a lot don't like Campbell". The Vancouver Sun.
27. McInnes, Craig (March 8, 2000). "Poll shows Dosanjh, Campbell even: But voters would prefer Liberal party to run B.C". The National Post. p. A6.
28. ^ Lunman, Kim (March 8, 2000). "Dosanjh, Liberal Leader equally popular, poll says". The Globe and Mail. p. A4.
29. "Canada in Brief". The Windsor Star. February 25, 2001.
30. "NDP leadership race & BC politics" (PDF). Ipsos. December 21, 1999.
31. ^ Palmer, Vaughn (October 28, 1999). "Poll holds a bit of comfort for Dosanjh faction: Latest opinion survey shows Liberals still hold majority support. But their leader only ties the undeclared NDP candidate". The Vancouver Sun. p. A22.
32. "NDP leadership race & BC Politics September 1999" (PDF). Ipsos. September 22, 1999.
33. "BC Politics After Glen Clark Resignation". Ipsos. August 26, 1999.
34. "Liberals most popular among B.C. voters: poll". The Star Phoenix. September 18, 1999. p. A10.
35. McInnes, Craig (June 17, 1999). "Support for the NDP now at an all-time low, poll shows: Only 16 per cent of decided voters polled this month said they would vote for the NDP if a provincial election were held now". The Vancouver Sun. p. A1.
36. Smyth, Michael (April 19, 1999). "Liberal insiders abuzz at poll giving party a 41-point lead". The Province. p. A3.
37. ^ "BC's Political Scene". Ipsos. April 3, 1999.
38. Gibson, Gordon (October 6, 1998). "Glen Clark's NDP is heading for a breathtaking fall". The Globe and Mail. p. A21.
39. Culbert, Lori (June 19, 1998). "NPoll shows B.C. Liberals' support slipping: A report notes the figures are significant because they break a trend". The Vancouver Sun. p. A8.
40. "Two surveys show Clark at low ebb with electorate". The Globe and Mail. March 20, 1998. p. A9.
41. Smyth, Michael (March 19, 1998). "NDP sinking, Clark treading water". The Province. p. A6.
42. ^ "BC Angus Reid Poll -- December 17, 1997" (PDF). Ipsos. December 17, 1997.
43. Evenson, Brad (December 6, 1997). "Inside Politics". Edmonton Journal. p. A3.
44. Smyth, Michael (September 19, 1997). "Which way's up, Gord?: LIberal leader having trouble making sense of his poller-coaster ride". The Province. p. A6.
45. "BC Angus Reid Poll: Political Scene". Ipsos. June 24, 1997.
46. Barrett, Tom (March 18, 1997). "B.C. Reform party shows gain in poll". The Vancouver Sun. p. A8.
47. Ward, Doug; Hunter, Justine (September 18, 1996). "Clark loses shine with voters, poll finds: Budget controversy and child deaths have contributed to the Liberals' 8-point lead over the NDP, pollster says". The Vancouver Sun. p. A1.
48. Harnett, Cindy. "South Island gives NDP best chance: Poll says Capital Region residents value left-wing traditions more than economy". Times Colonist. p. A3.
49. Danard, Susan. "Poll shows Victoria offers best chance for faltering NDP". Times Colonist. p. A1.
50. ^ Austin, Ian. "Premier faces riding defeat: Province poll says Liberals to sweep Dosanjh riding". The Province. p. A6.
51. Elections BC 2002, pp. 37–49.

Further reading

• Electoral History of British Columbia: Supplement, 1987–2001 (PDF). Elections BC. 1988. ISBN 0-7726-4789-5.
• Mutimer, David, ed. (2007). Canadian Annual Review of Politics and Public Affairs, 2001. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-1-4426-8412-6.

External links

• Elections BC 2001 Election

• Elections in British Columbia
• 2001 elections in Canada
• 2001 in British Columbia
• May 2001 events in Canada
• Landslide victories