The 1986 British Columbia general election was the 34th general election in the Province of British Columbia, Canada. It was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. The sitting Social Credit government was re-elected.
65.8%[1] 4.7 pp 1,366,193 voted. (The number of votes recorded exceeds the number of voters who voted due to the block voting system in use in BC's multi-member constituencies.)
The election was called on September 24, 1986. The election was held on October 22, 1986, and the new legislature met for the first time on March 9, 1987.
The governing British Columbia Social Credit Party (Socreds) had seen a leadership change just months before the election, with Bill Bennett standing down in favour of Bill Vander Zalm. Promising a fresh start after the Bennett years, Vander Zalm led the Socreds to a fourth consecutive majority government, although with winning less than half of the popular vote. 12 new seats had been created in the legislature for this election. Social Credit coincidentally won 12 additional seats, while the social democraticNew Democratic Party, led by Bob Skelly, won the same number it had in the previous election. No other parties won seats. In fact the two leading parties together - SC and NDP - took more than 90 percent of the votes.
There were 17 two-member constituencies in this election. Voters in these places were allowed two votes (Block Voting), and generally used them both on the same party, with the largest group (even if not a majority) taking both seats.
Only one district elected both a SC and a NDP MLA. This was Vancouver-Point Grey where two women, an NDP member and a Socred (Kim Campbell, later a Canadian prime minister), were elected.
All other districts elected either two Socreds (12 districts) or two NDP members (four districts), with no representation given to the minority vote in the district. That helped ensure the government's capture of the most seats.[a]
It was the last election to be held with multi-member districts since BC moved to all single-member districts prior to the next election.
^Block voting also perhaps makes the popular vote – the number of votes cast – not truly reflective of the sentiment of the voters since some voters cast two votes, and others cast only one.
^Party leader Peter Pollen quit shortly before the election was called.
Referencesedit
^(PDF). Elections BC. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 28, 2019. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
^ ab"NDP edges closer to Socreds in polls". The Ottawa Citizen. October 11, 1986. p. A13.
Further readingedit
Byers, R. B., ed. (1990). Canadian Annual Review of Politics and Public Affairs, 1986. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN9781442671997.
External linksedit
October 27, 2023
1986, british, columbia, general, election, 34th, general, election, province, british, columbia, canada, held, elect, members, legislative, assembly, british, columbia, sitting, social, credit, government, elected, 1983, october, 1986, 1991, outgoing, members. The 1986 British Columbia general election was the 34th general election in the Province of British Columbia Canada It was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia The sitting Social Credit government was re elected 1986 British Columbia general election 1983 October 22 1986 1991 outgoing memberselected members 69 seats of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia 35 seats were needed for a majorityTurnout65 8 1 4 7 pp 1 366 193 voted The number of votes recorded exceeds the number of voters who voted due to the block voting system in use in BC s multi member constituencies First party Second party Third party SC NDPLeader Bill Vander Zalm Bob Skelly Art LeeParty Social Credit New Democratic LiberalLeader since 1986 1984 1984Leader s seat Richmond Alberni Ran in Vancouver Little Mountain lost Last election 35 22 0Seats won 47 22 0Seat change 12 0 0Popular vote 954 516 824 544 130 505Percentage 49 32 42 60 6 74Swing 0 44 2 34 4 05Premier before electionBill Vander ZalmSocial Credit Premier after election Bill Vander ZalmSocial CreditThe election was called on September 24 1986 The election was held on October 22 1986 and the new legislature met for the first time on March 9 1987 The governing British Columbia Social Credit Party Socreds had seen a leadership change just months before the election with Bill Bennett standing down in favour of Bill Vander Zalm Promising a fresh start after the Bennett years Vander Zalm led the Socreds to a fourth consecutive majority government although with winning less than half of the popular vote 12 new seats had been created in the legislature for this election Social Credit coincidentally won 12 additional seats while the social democratic New Democratic Party led by Bob Skelly won the same number it had in the previous election No other parties won seats In fact the two leading parties together SC and NDP took more than 90 percent of the votes There were 17 two member constituencies in this election Voters in these places were allowed two votes Block Voting and generally used them both on the same party with the largest group even if not a majority taking both seats Only one district elected both a SC and a NDP MLA This was Vancouver Point Grey where two women an NDP member and a Socred Kim Campbell later a Canadian prime minister were elected All other districts elected either two Socreds 12 districts or two NDP members four districts with no representation given to the minority vote in the district That helped ensure the government s capture of the most seats a It was the last election to be held with multi member districts since BC moved to all single member districts prior to the next election Contents 1 Opinion polls 2 Results 3 See also 4 Notes and References 4 1 Notes 4 2 References 5 Further reading 6 External linksOpinion polls editEvolution of voting intentions at provincial level Polling firm Last day of survey Source BCSC BCNDP BCLP PCBC Other ME SampleElection 1986 October 22 1986 49 32 42 60 6 74 0 73 0 61United Communications Research October 1986 2 48 30 6 4 3 64 725United Communications Research September 1986 2 50 29 6 3 Election 1983 May 5 1983 49 76 44 94 2 69 1 16 1 45Results editSummary of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia election results Party Party leader Candidates Seats Valid votes received1983 Dissol 1986 Change ChangeSocial Credit Bill Vander Zalm 69 35 47 nbsp 12 954 516 49 32 0 44 New Democratic Bob Skelly 69 22 22 nbsp 824 544 42 60 2 34 Liberal Art Lee 55 130 505 6 74 4 05 Progressive Conservative Vacant b 12 14 074 0 73 0 43 Green 9 4 660 0 24 0 05 Independent 6 2 470 0 13 0 19 Libertas 1 1 552 0 08 People s Front 8 1 502 0 08 Communist 3 722 0 03 0 02 Libertarian 3 341 0 02 Western Canada Concept Doug Christie 1 322 0 02 0 84 New Republic 1 245 0 01 Total 237 57 57 69 nbsp 12 1 935 453 100 Total voters voting 1 366 193 Source Elections BCPopular voteSocial Credit 49 32 NDP 42 60 Liberal 6 74 Others 1 34 Seats summarySocial Credit 68 12 NDP 31 88 See also editList of British Columbia political partiesNotes and References editNotes edit Block voting also perhaps makes the popular vote the number of votes cast not truly reflective of the sentiment of the voters since some voters cast two votes and others cast only one Party leader Peter Pollen quit shortly before the election was called References edit B C Voter Participation 1983 to 2013 PDF Elections BC Archived from the original PDF on March 28 2019 Retrieved May 11 2017 a b NDP edges closer to Socreds in polls The Ottawa Citizen October 11 1986 p A13 Further reading editByers R B ed 1990 Canadian Annual Review of Politics and Public Affairs 1986 Toronto University of Toronto Press ISBN 9781442671997 External links editElections BC 1986 Election Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1986 British Columbia general election amp oldid 1180447392, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
