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BC United

BC United
AbbreviationBCU
LeaderKevin Falcon
PresidentRyan Bruce (acting)[1]
Founded1903 (1903) (as BC Liberal Party)
HeadquartersVancouver, British Columbia
Youth wingBC United Youth
Membership (2022)Increase 45,000[2]
Ideology
Political positionCentre-right
National affiliationLiberal Party of Canada (until 1987)
Colours
  •   Aqua
  •   Pink
  •   Deep Red[a]
Seats in the Legislative Assembly
0 / 93
Website
votebcunited.ca

BC United (BCU), known from 1903 until 2023 as the British Columbia Liberal Party or BC Liberals, is a provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada. The party has been described as conservative, neoliberal, and occupying a centre-right position on the left–right political spectrum.[b] The party commonly describes itself as a "free enterprise coalition" and draws support from members of both the federal Liberal and Conservative parties.[19][20][21][22] From the 1990s to 2024, BC United was the main centre-right opposition to the centre-left New Democratic Party (NDP). Once affiliated with the Liberal Party of Canada, the British Columbia Liberal Party became independent in 1987.[23] The party changed its name to BC United on April 12, 2023.[24]

Until the 1940s, British Columbia politics were dominated by the Liberal Party and rival Conservative Party. The Liberals formed government from 1916 to 1928 and again from 1933 to 1941. From 1941 to 1952, the two parties governed in a coalition (led by a Liberal leader) to counter the ascendant Co-operative Commonwealth Federation. The coalition was defeated in the 1952 election by the new Social Credit Party, and the party went into decline, eventually losing its presence in the legislature in the 1979 election. It returned to the legislature in the 1991 election, coming in second and forming the Official Opposition, through the efforts of leader Gordon Wilson. Wilson lost a leadership challenge to Gordon Campbell in 1994. Under Campbell's leadership, the BC Liberals began to shift rightwards and distance themselves from the federal party. In the 2001 election, the Liberals won an overwhelming majority, which they held under Campbell and his successor Christy Clark until shortly after the 2017 election. The party remained in Opposition after losing the 2020 election.

Eight party leaders have served as premier of British Columbia: Harlan Brewster, John Oliver, John MacLean, Duff Pattullo, John Hart, Boss Johnson, Gordon Campbell, and Christy Clark. Since the 2022 leadership election, the party has been led by Kevin Falcon.[25]

On August 28, 2024, BC United announced the party was suspending its campaign for the October 2024 election. The party formally endorsed the BC Conservatives and merged their campaigns, with some BCU candidates running for the Conservatives and many others withdrawing their candidacies.[26] This was after the party had suffered a notable decline in polls and defections of MLAs and other party members to the Conservatives.

  1. ^ "B.C. United Throws Support to B.C. Conservatives". CPAC. August 28, 2024. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  2. ^ "B.C. Liberal Party set to become B.C. United after members vote to change party name". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. November 16, 2022. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
  3. ^ John Gastil; Katherine R. Knobloch (2020). Hope for Democracy: How Citizens Can Bring Reason Back Into Politics. Oxford University Press. p. 52. ISBN 9780190084523.
  4. ^ George Hoberg (2021). The Resistance Dilemma: Place-Based Movements and the Climate Crisis. MIT Press. p. 281. ISBN 9780262543088.
  5. ^ Reshef, Yonatan; Rastin, Sandra (2003). Unions in the Time of Revolution: Government Restructuring in Alberta and Ontario. University of Toronto Press. p. 1. ISBN 978-0-8020-8753-9. Retrieved May 4, 2013.
  6. ^ Rosenberg, Karen E. (2008). From Moderate Chastisement to Mandatory Arrest: Responses to Violence Against Women in Canada and the United States. p. 91. ISBN 978-1-109-00418-2. Retrieved May 4, 2013.
  7. ^ "In Canada, $7 billion dam tests the limits of state power". The Seattle Times. December 10, 2016.
  8. ^ "British Columbia Proposes Ban on Corporate and Union Donations in Elections". The New York Times. September 18, 2017.
  9. ^ Vickers, Jill (2013). Federalism Feminism and Multilevel Governance. Ashgate Publishing. p. 64. ISBN 978-1-4094-9985-5. Retrieved May 5, 2013.
  10. ^ Michael. Maniates; Meyer, John M. (2010). The environmental politics of sacrifice. MIT Press. p. 190. ISBN 978-0-262-28878-1. Retrieved May 7, 2013.
  11. ^ David Rayside; Jerald Sabin; Paul E.J. Thomas (2017). Religion and Canadian Party Politics. UBC Press. p. 241. ISBN 9780774835619.
  12. ^ Mason, Gary (April 20, 2012). "By-election losses put B.C. Liberals on notice: Reunite or cede power to NDP". The Globe and Mail.
  13. ^ Haddow, Rodney S.; Klassen, Thomas Richard (2006). Partisanship, globalization, and Canadian labour market policy. Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Press. pp. 8, 58. ISBN 978-0-8020-9090-4.
  14. ^ Byrne, Lesley H. (2008). Representing Women: The Impact of Women Cabinet Ministers in British Columbia and Ontario and the Rise of Fiscal Feminism. p. 29. ISBN 978-0-549-58544-2. Retrieved May 4, 2013.
  15. ^ Young, Nathan; Matthews, Ralph (2011). The Aquaculture Controversy in Canada: Activism, Policy, and Contested Science. UBC Press. p. 240. ISBN 978-0-7748-5953-0. Retrieved May 5, 2013.
  16. ^ Evans, Bryan M.; Smith, Charles W. (2015). Transforming Provincial Politics: The Political Economy of Canada's Provinces and Territories in the Neoliberal Era. University of Toronto Press. p. 298. ISBN 978-1-4426-1179-5.
  17. ^ Banting, Keith G.; Myles, John (2013). Inequality and the Fading of Redistributive Politics. UBC Press. p. 385. ISBN 978-0-7748-2601-3.
  18. ^ Pedersen, Thomas F.; Elgie, Stewart (August 28, 2015). "A template for the world: British Columba's carbon tax shift". In Larry Kreiser; Mikael Skou Andersen; Birgitte Egelund Olsen (eds.). Carbon Pricing: Design, Experiences and Issues. Edward Elgar Publishing. p. 13. ISBN 978-1-78536-023-7.
  19. ^ "B.C. Conservative leader John Cummins officially resigns". Vancouver Sun. July 18, 2013. Archived from the original on October 24, 2013.
  20. ^ Hoekstra, Gordon; Cooper, Sam; Shaw, Rob (June 23, 2017). "Christy Clark's left turn worries her party's conservatives, could endanger Liberals free-enterprise coalition". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
  21. ^ Meissner, Dirk (October 27, 2020). "'It's a wake-up call': B.C. election reveals declining support for Liberals, need for change in party". CTV News. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
  22. ^ "B.C. Liberals eye giving themselves a new name in time for 2024 election". Times Colonist. The Canadian Press. June 12, 2022. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
  23. ^ "The BC Liberal Party". CBC News. April 1, 2009. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012.
  24. ^ Cite error: The named reference CBCNameChange was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  25. ^ Meissner, Dirk; Charlebois, Brieanna (February 5, 2022). "Former cabinet minister Kevin Falcon wins B.C. Liberal leadership race on 5th ballot". CBC News. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  26. ^ "Kevin Falcon attempting to suspend BC United's campaign in fall election | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved August 28, 2024.


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