The British Columbia Democratic Alliance was a political party at the provincial level in the Province of

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, Canada. It was founded in June 2004 by "individuals who are progressive in their policies, democratic in their principles, and represent an alliance of interests reflecting the future of British Columbia as a strong and equal partner in a united Canada." Its founders, former supporters of the

Progressive Democratic Alliance The Progressive Democratic Alliance (PDA) was a centrist political party in British Columbia, Canada founded by Gordon Wilson (British Columbia politician), Gordon Wilson, Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Powell River—Sunshine Co ...

, had hoped to resuscitate the old party which had been moribund since Gordon Wilson's defection to the NDP. For financial reasons (the PDA reportedly had $60,000 in bad debts), they instead chose to create a new entity. The BCDA believed: * that every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age or mental or physical disability; * that all persons are endowed with an inherent worth and dignity; * that the role of government is: ** to develop laws to protect the public trust, which is the environment; ** to provide law and order, which allows social harmony; and ** to provide comprehensive health care, adequate and effective education, and a

social safety net The social safety net (SSN) consists of non-contributory assistance existing to improve lives of vulnerable families and individuals experiencing poverty and destitution. Examples of SSNs are previously-contributory social pensions, in-kind and fo ...

for those who cannot otherwise provide for themselves. In autumn 2004, the party formed the ''

British Columbia Democratic Coalition The British Columbia Democratic Coalition (BCDC) was a short-lived coalition of minor political party, political parties in British Columbia, Canada. It was founded in September 2004 to bring together four minor parties: the British Columbia Democ ...

'' with three other small parties: the

British Columbia Moderate Democratic Movement The British Columbia Moderate Democratic Movement was a minor political party in the Province of British Columbia, Canada. *In 2004, it joined with the British Columbia Democratic Alliance, the Citizens Action Party and Link BC to form the British ...

, the Citizens Action Party, and

Link BC Link BC was a minor political party in the Province of British Columbia, Canada, describing itself as "centre-right". In September 2004, it joined with the British Columbia Democratic Alliance, the Citizens Action Party and the British Columbia ...

. On January 15, 2005, the British Columbia Democratic Coalition participated in the founding convention of ''

Democratic Reform British Columbia Democratic Reform British Columbia (Democratic Reform BC or DRBC) was a progressive–centrist political party in the Province of British Columbia, Canada. Formation of the party The party was brought together by Tom Morino as an attempt to recr ...

'' (DRBC) in which it merged with the

Reform Party of British Columbia The Reform Party of British Columbia (Reform BC) is an unregistered right-wing populist political party in British Columbia, Canada. Although its name is similar to the defunct Reform Party of Canada, the provincial party was founded before the ...

and

All Nations Party of British Columbia The All Nations Party was a minor political party in British Columbia, Canada. Its primary base of support was the First Nations aboriginal peoples of Canada. In the 2001 provincial election, the All Nations Party nominated six First Nations cand ...

. The DRBC calls itself a "socially progressive, fiscally conservative" centrist political party.

References

Democratic Reform BCElections BC
Defunct political parties in Canada {{Canada-party-stub

See also

References