British Columbia New Democratic Party facts for kids

Quick facts for kids British Columbia New Democratic Party
Active provincial party
Abbreviation	BC NDP
Leader	David Eby
President	Aaron Sumexheltza
Founded	1933; 92 years ago (1933) (as BC CCF)
Headquarters	34 West 7th Avenue Unit 320 Vancouver, British Columbia V5Y 1L6
Youth wing	British Columbia Young New Democrats
Ideology	Social democracy
Political position	Centre-left
National affiliation	New Democratic Party
International affiliation	Progressive Alliance
Colours	Orange blue
Seats in the Legislative Assembly	55 / 87

The New Democratic Party of British Columbia (BC NDP) is a political party in British Columbia, Canada. It believes in social democracy, which means it supports fairness and helping everyone in society. The party is considered to be on the centre-left of the political spectrum.

The BC NDP is one of the two main political parties in British Columbia. Its main rival is the BC United party (which used to be called the BC Liberals). The BC NDP is connected to the federal New Democratic Party of Canada.

The party started in 1933 as the provincial part of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF). It changed its name to the New Democratic Party in 1961. For many years, from 1933 to 1972, the CCF/NDP was often the Official Opposition in the BC government.

The NDP first won an election in 1972 with Dave Barrett as leader. They governed until 1975. The party returned to power in 1991 and stayed in office until 2001. After being in opposition for many years, the NDP formed a minority government in 2017 under John Horgan. In 2020, the party won a majority government. In 2022, David Eby became the new leader and is currently the premier of British Columbia.

Seven leaders of the NDP have served as premier of British Columbia: Dave Barrett, Mike Harcourt, Glen Clark, Dan Miller, Ujjal Dosanjh, John Horgan and David Eby.

Party History: How the BC NDP Grew

Starting Out: 1933–1951

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

In 1936, the party faced a challenge when its leader, Robert Connell, left. Other members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) also left to form a new party. However, the CCF soon recovered and regained its strength. Harold Winch became the new leader and guided the party for many years.

To stop the CCF from gaining more power, the Liberal and Conservative parties in BC formed a coalition government in 1941. For the next ten years, the CCF was the Official Opposition.

Becoming a Strong Opposition: 1951–1972

In 1951, the coalition government ended. The government changed the voting system, hoping to stop the CCF from winning. However, a new party, the BC Social Credit League, became very popular.

In the 1992 election, Social Credit became the largest party. The CCF was the second largest. W. A. C. Bennett became the leader of Social Credit. In the 1953 election, Bennett's Social Credit party won a majority government.

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Bennett's party stayed in power. He often warned people about the CCF's "socialist" ideas. In 1961, the CCF joined with labour unions to form the "New Democratic Party" (NDP). This new name showed its connection to workers. Despite the change, Bennett kept the NDP out of power through several elections.

The Barrett Government: 1972–1975

The NDP finally won the election in 1972 under leader Dave Barrett. He became premier and led the province for three years. His government made many changes quickly. They created the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia and the Agricultural Land Reserve, which protects farmland. They also added a "Question Period" to the legislature, where politicians could ask questions.

In the 1975 election, Barrett's government was defeated by the Social Credit party, led by W. A. C. Bennett's son, Bill Bennett.

Back in Opposition: 1975–1991

After their defeat, the NDP returned to being the Official Opposition. In the 1979 election, they gained a lot of public support. Dave Barrett retired as leader in 1983.

In the 1986 election, the NDP was expected to win. However, their new leader, Bob Skelly, faced challenges. The Social Credit party, with its new charismatic leader William Vander Zalm, won the election. The NDP remained in opposition.

The Harcourt Government: 1991–1996

The NDP returned to power in 1991. Mike Harcourt, a former mayor of Vancouver, became premier. The party won with 41 percent of the votes. This happened because the Social Credit party's votes were split between the BC Liberals and the Social Credit Party.

Harcourt's government initially focused on social programs. Later, they made changes to welfare rules. These changes were partly due to less money coming from the federal government.

The government also faced challenges with environmental groups. There were protests over logging in Clayoquot Sound, leading to many arrests. Some environmental leaders then supported the Green Party.

Harcourt's government also dealt with a tense situation involving an Indigenous group's occupation of land, known as the Gustafsen Lake standoff. The police were involved in a large operation to resolve the situation.

Harcourt resigned as premier before the 1996 election due to a situation involving a charity investigation. He was later cleared of any wrongdoing. Glen Clark then led the NDP into the 1996 election.

The Clark Government: 1996–1999

Glen Clark became premier after the 1996 election. The NDP won 39 seats, even though the Liberals had more overall votes. This was partly because the votes for other parties were split. Clark's government faced challenges, including questions about the province's budget.

New issues arose during this time. There were concerns about the construction of new BC Ferries called PacifiCats. These ferries had problems and ended up costing the province a lot of money.

Clark stepped down as premier in 1999. Dan Miller became interim premier. After a leadership race, Ujjal Dosanjh became the new party leader and premier.

The Dosanjh Government: 2000–2001

The Dosanjh government tried to regain public support. They made some changes to help people and the environment. However, the party's popularity remained low.

In the 2001 election, the NDP suffered a big defeat. They won only two seats in the legislature. Joy MacPhail and Jenny Kwan were the only NDP MLAs elected. The Liberals won almost all the other seats. Despite the loss, MacPhail was praised for helping the party survive. Dosanjh resigned, and MacPhail became interim leader.

Opposition and Recovery: 2001–2017

After the 2001 election, the NDP had only two seats. This was not enough for them to be officially recognized as the opposition party. However, the Speaker of the Assembly, Claude Richmond, recognized MacPhail as the leader of the Opposition. This helped the party get the resources it needed.

In 2003, Carole James was chosen as the new leader. In the 2005 provincial election, the NDP did much better. They won 33 seats and gained more votes than expected.

In the 2009 election, the NDP came very close to winning, with 35 seats compared to the Liberals' 49. Only a few thousand votes separated them from forming the government.

In the May 2013 election, the NDP was expected to win, but the Liberals won again. Adrian Dix resigned as leader, and John Horgan became the new leader in 2014.

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, allowing John Horgan to form a minority government. On July 18, Horgan became British Columbia's 36th premier. This was the first time the NDP had a minority government.

On September 21, 2020, Horgan called an early election. In the 2020 election, the NDP won a majority government, securing a record 57 seats.

In June 2022, Horgan announced he would step down as leader and premier. David Eby became his successor on October 21, 2022. Eby is now the premier of British Columbia.

Party Leaders

"" means acting or interim leader.

CCF Leaders

NDP Leaders

#	Party leader	Years as Leader	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
	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

Results shown are for CCF from 1933 to 1960, and NDP since 1963.

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

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