British Columbia New Democratic Party facts for kids

Quick facts for kids British Columbia New Democratic Party
Abbreviation	BC NDP
Leader	David Eby
President	Aaron Sumexheltza
Founded	1933; 92 years ago (1933) (as BC CCF) 1961; 64 years ago (1961) (as BC NDP)
Headquarters	34 West 7th Avenue Unit 320 Vancouver, British Columbia V5Y 1L6
Youth wing	British Columbia Young New Democrats
Membership (2022)	~11,000
Ideology	Social democracy
Political position	Centre-left
National affiliation	New Democratic Party
Colours	Orange
Seats in the Legislative Assembly	47 / 93

The New Democratic Party of British Columbia (BC NDP) is a political party in British Columbia, Canada. It is known for its social democratic ideas, which means it believes in a fair society where the government helps people. The party is considered to be on the centre-left side of politics.

The BC NDP is one of the two main political parties in British Columbia. For many years, its main rival was the BC United party (formerly the BC Liberals). More recently, the Conservative Party of British Columbia has become a strong competitor. The BC NDP is connected to the national New Democratic Party in Canada.

The party started in 1933 as the provincial part of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF). In 1961, it changed its name to the NDP. For a long time, the CCF/NDP was the Official Opposition in British Columbia. This means they were the second-largest party in the government.

The NDP first won an election in 1972 with Dave Barrett as leader. They were in power for three years. They won again in 1991 and governed until 2001. After being in opposition for many years, the NDP formed a minority government in 2017 with John Horgan as leader. In 2020, they won a majority government. In 2022, David Eby became the new leader and premier. He led the party to another win in the 2024 election.

Seven leaders of the NDP have served as premier of British Columbia. These include Dave Barrett, Mike Harcourt, Glen Clark, Dan Miller, Ujjal Dosanjh, John Horgan, and David Eby. David Eby has been the party leader and premier since 2022.

Party History

Starting Out: 1933–1951

The party began in 1933 during the Great Depression. It was called the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (British Columbia Section). It was formed by different groups who wanted to help people during tough economic times. In the 1933 provincial election, the new party won seven seats. This was enough to become the official opposition.

In 1936, the party had a disagreement and some members left. Their leader, Robert Connell, was expelled. Three other members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) also left. They formed a new party, but it did not win any seats in the next election. Harold Winch then became the CCF leader and guided the party for many years.

During the 1930s, the CCF and another group called Social Credit became popular in western Canada. To stop the CCF from gaining more power in British Columbia, the Liberal and Conservative parties formed a coalition government in 1941. For ten years, the CCF was the official opposition.

Becoming a Strong Opposition: 1951–1972

The coalition government ended in 1951. The government then changed the voting system. They hoped this would stop the CCF from winning. However, a new party, the British Columbia Social Credit Party, became very strong.

In the 1952 election, the Social Credit League became the largest party. They had one more seat than the CCF. The Social Credit party chose W. A. C. Bennett as their new leader.

In 1953, new elections were called. Bennett's Social Credit party won a majority government. The Liberal and Conservative parties became much smaller. Throughout the 1950s, Bennett kept the CCF from winning power. He often used a tactic called the "Red Menace" to make people afraid of the CCF's ideas. He called them "socialist hordes."

In 1960, the CCF joined with a national labour group to create the "New Party." In 1961, this became the "New Democratic Party" (NDP). This showed the new connection between the CCF and labour unions. Bennett continued to keep the NDP out of power through the 1960s. He kept using the "Red Menace" tactic against NDP leaders like Robert Strachan and Thomas Berger.

Barrett's Government: 1972–1975

The NDP finally won an election in 1972. Dave Barrett became premier for three years. His government passed many new laws quickly. They created the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia and the Agricultural Land Reserve. They also added a "Question Period" to the government process.

In the 1975 election, Barrett called an early election. The Social Credit party, led by W. A. C. Bennett's son Bill Bennett, won. The Barrett government had started many changes in areas like worker rights and social programs. Many of these changes lasted for years.

Back in Opposition: 1975–1991

The NDP gained a lot of support in the 1979 election. They received 46 percent of the votes. After a small drop in support in 1983, Barrett retired as leader.

The NDP seemed likely to win the 1986 election. However, their new leader, Bob Skelly, made a mistake during the campaign. The Social Credit party's new leader, William Vander Zalm, was very popular. The NDP did not win as many seats as they hoped.

Harcourt's Government: 1991–1996

The New Democratic Party governed British Columbia for nine and a half years. They won elections in 1991 and 1996. In 1991, the Social Credit party was facing problems. The NDP, led by former Vancouver mayor Mike Harcourt, won with 41 percent of the votes.

Harcourt's government first focused on social programs, like increasing welfare spending. The voting age was lowered from 19 to 18 in 1992. Later, his government made changes to welfare programs. These changes were partly because the national government reduced funding to the provinces.

Harcourt's government also faced challenges with environmental groups. There were protests and blockades in areas like Clayoquot Sound. Many people were arrested. Some environmental leaders stopped supporting the NDP and moved to the Green Party.

Near the end of Harcourt's time as premier, his government dealt with a land dispute involving an Indigenous group. This led to a large police operation to regain control. The government also faced a scandal involving charity money. Although Harcourt was not involved, he resigned. Glen Clark then led the NDP into the 1996 election.

Clark's Government: 1996–1999

Glen Clark started the 1996 election behind in the polls. However, he was a very good campaigner. He brought together the party's supporters with the slogan "On Your Side." He presented the Liberal leader, Gordon Campbell, as someone who only cared about big businesses. The NDP won 39 seats, even though the Liberals had more overall votes. This was partly because votes for other parties were split.

After the election, Clark's government faced difficulties. There were questions about the province's budget. New problems also appeared. Clark was accused of using his influence to help a neighbour get a casino license. There were also major problems with new BC Ferries ships. These ferries cost a lot of money and had many technical issues. They became known as the "fast ferry scandal."

By 1999, there were disagreements within the government. Clark resigned as premier. Dan Miller became the interim premier and party leader. After a leadership race, Ujjal Dosanjh became the new party leader and premier.

Dosanjh's Government: 2000–2001

The Dosanjh government tried to regain public support. They made some changes to please groups focused on poverty and the environment. However, the party's support in polls did not improve much.

Dosanjh waited as long as possible to call the next election in April 2001. It was clear the NDP would not win. Dosanjh asked voters to keep the NDP as a strong opposition party. Joy MacPhail helped to energize the campaign. The NDP's popular vote dropped to 22 percent, and they won only two seats. MacPhail and Jenny Kwan were the only NDP members elected. The Liberals won almost all other seats. After the election, Dosanjh resigned, and MacPhail became interim leader.

Opposition and Recovery: 2001–2017

MacPhail and Kwan were initially not given "official party status" because the rules said a party needed four seats. However, the Speaker of the Assembly recognized MacPhail as leader of the Opposition. This meant the NDP still received resources as an official party.

In 2003, Carole James became the new leader of the NDP. In 2004, the party won an unexpected election in Surrey-Panorama Ridge. Jagrup Brar became the third NDP member in the government.

In the 2005 provincial election, James's NDP won 33 seats. This was a big improvement. The NDP also gained more than 40 percent of the votes for the first time since 1991.

In the 2009 provincial election, the NDP came in second place to the Liberals. They won 35 seats. Only 3,500 votes separated the party from forming the government.

The NDP, led by Adrian Dix, was expected to win the May 2013 provincial election. Polls showed them far ahead. However, the Liberals won the election, and the NDP lost two seats. In September 2013, Dix announced he would step down as leader.

John Horgan became the new party leader in 2014. He then became the leader of the Opposition.

Horgan and Eby Governments: Since 2017

Horgan campaigning in 2017

In the May 2017 provincial election, the results were very close. The Liberals won 43 seats, the NDP won 41, and the Green Party won 3. No party had a majority. The Green Party decided to support the NDP. This meant the NDP formed a minority government with John Horgan as premier. This was the first time the NDP had a minority government in British Columbia.

On September 21, 2020, Horgan called an early election. This happened during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the 2020 election, the NDP won a majority government. They secured a record 57 seats and received 47.7% of the votes.

After five years as premier, Horgan announced in June 2022 that he would step down. David Eby became Horgan's successor on October 21, 2022. In the 2024 British Columbia general election on October 19, 2024, David Eby led the party to another majority victory. Shortly after the election, the NDP and the BC Greens announced an agreement to ensure government stability.

Party Leaders

"" means the person was an acting or interim leader.

CCF Leaders

NDP Leaders

#	Party leader	Portrait	Tenure	Notes
1	Robert Strachan		1961–1969
2	Thomas R. Berger		1969–1970
3	Dave Barrett		1970–1984	Premier of British Columbia, 1972–1975
4	Bob Skelly		1984–1987
5	Mike Harcourt		1987–1996	Premier of British Columbia, 1991–1996
6	Glen Clark		1996–1999	Premier of British Columbia, 1996–1999
	Dan Miller		1999–2000	Premier of British Columbia, 1999–2000
7	Ujjal Dosanjh		2000–2001	Premier of British Columbia, 2000–2001
	Joy MacPhail		2001–2003	Interim leader
8	Carole James		2003–2011
	Dawn Black		2011	Interim leader
9	Adrian Dix		2011–2014
10	John Horgan		2014–2022	Premier of British Columbia, 2017–2022
11	David Eby		Since 2022	Premier of British Columbia, since 2022

Election Results

The results below show how the party performed in elections. From 1933 to 1960, the results are for the CCF. From 1963 onwards, they are for the NDP.

Legislative Assembly Seats

Election	Leader	Seats	+/−	Place	Votes	Vote share (%)	Change (pp)	Role in Government	Notes
1933	Robert Connell	7 / 47 (15%)	n/a	2nd	120,185	31.53	n/a	Opposition	Liberal majority
1937	vacant	7 / 48 (15%)		3rd	119,400	28.57	2.96	Third party	Liberal majority
1941	Harold Winch	14 / 48 (29%)	7	2nd	151,440	33.36	4.79	Opposition	Liberal minority
									Liberal–Conservative coalition
1945		10 / 48 (21%)	4	2nd	175,960	37.62	4.26	Opposition
1949		7 / 48 (15%)	3	2nd	245,284	35.10	2.52	Opposition
1952		18 / 48 (38%)	11	2nd	236,562	30.78	4.32	Opposition	Social Credit minority
1953	Arnold Webster	14 / 48 (29%)	4	2nd	224,513	30.85	0.07	Opposition	Social Credit majority
1956	Robert Strachan	10 / 52 (19%)	4	2nd	231,511	28.32	2.53	Opposition	Social Credit majority
1960		16 / 52 (31%)	6	2nd	326,094	32.73	4.41	Opposition
1963		14 / 52 (27%)	2	2nd	269,004	27.80	4.93	Opposition
1966		16 / 55 (29%)	2	2nd	252,753	33.62	5.82	Opposition
1969	Thomas Berger	12 / 55 (22%)	4	2nd	331,813	33.92	0.30	Opposition	Social Credit majority
1972	Dave Barrett	38 / 55 (69%)	26	1st	448,260	39.59	5.67	Majority
1975		18 / 55 (33%)	20	2nd	505,396	39.16	0.43	Opposition	Social Credit majority
1979		26 / 57 (46%)	8	2nd	646,188	45.99	6.83	Opposition
1983		22 / 57 (39%)	4	2nd	741,354	44.94	1.05	Opposition
1986	Robert Skelly	22 / 69 (32%)		2nd	824,544	42.60	2.34	Opposition	Social Credit majority
1991	Mike Harcourt	51 / 75 (68%)	19	1st	595,391	40.71	1.89	Majority
1996	Glen Clark	39 / 75 (52%)	12	1st	624,395	39.45	1.26	Majority
2001	Ujjal Dosanjh	2 / 79 (3%)	37	2nd	343,156	21.56	17.89	No status	Liberal majority
								Opposition
2005	Carole James	33 / 79 (42%)	31	2nd	694,978	41.43	19.87	Opposition	Liberal majority
2009		35 / 85 (41%)	2	2nd	691,342	42.14	0.71	Opposition
2013	Adrian Dix	34 / 85 (40%)	1	2nd	715,999	39.71	2.43	Opposition	Liberal majority
2017	John Horgan	41 / 87 (47%)	7	2nd	795,527	40.28	0.57	Opposition	Liberal minority
								Minority	Green Party confidence and supply
2020		57 / 87 (66%)	16	1st	899,365	47.70	7.42	Majority
2024	David Eby	47 / 93 (51%)	10	1st	943,915	44.87	2.82	Majority	Green Party confidence and supply

Vote Share Over Time

See also

• List of articles about British Columbia CCF/NDP members
• British Columbia New Democratic Party leadership conventions
• List of premiers of British Columbia
• List of British Columbia general elections
• List of political parties in British Columbia