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British Columbia Election Results (2001)

© David Newman

The question in the British Columbia election wasn't who was going to be elected but how many seats the Liberals would get. The predictions varied, some even saying they'd take it all. They didn't take it all but it all comes down to the same thing.

The Liberals took 76 seats out of a possible 79, one of the largest political victories in Canadian history, the largest since Frank McKenna's Liberals won all the 58 seats in the 1987 New Brunswick election. The 3 seats remaining went to the New Democratic Party, which was replaced as the government after 10 years. The reason it came to an end? The NDP has been swarmed by controverse during the last few years. Ujjal Dosanjh who toke control of the party and became Premier after Glen Clark was forced to step down after he was under criminal investigation.

Gordon Campbell leader of the Liberal Party (which is more of a coalition of Tories, Social Credit members and Liberals) is British Columbia's new Premier having no problem winning his seat in Vancouver.

Ujjal Dosanjh was defeated doubly as he lost the election as a New Democrat and his own seat. Dosanjh announced his resignation as Leader of the New Democratic Party after his defeat. While Dosanjh knew the Liberals would form the next government, he was hopping to form a strong opposition.

NDP supporters blame many losses, including their official party status, on the Green Party who although hasn't won any seats, has gotten many votes from environmentalists and former NDP supporters. The Greens got 12.4% of the popular vote, the largest "third" party in this election. The Liberals made their majority government enven more so by gaining a majority of the votes with 57.5% of the popular vote. The NDP got 21.6% of the vote. The Unity Party got 3.3% of the vote and all other parties got 5.2%.

Campbell's vision of a new era, which will include tax cuts has won over the NDP's "family's first" slogan. And wether its good or bad, this is, after ten years, a new era in BC politics.