The 2009 British Columbia general election was held on May 12, 2009, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly in the

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

province of

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. The

British Columbia Liberal Party 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 ...

(BC Liberals) formed the government of the province prior to this

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

under the leadership of

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

Gordon Campbell. The

British Columbia New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party of British Columbia (BC NDP) is a social democratic political party in British Columbia, Canada. The party sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum and is one of the two major parties in British Columbia; since ...

(BC NDP) under the leadership of Carole James was the Official Opposition. The election was the first contested on a new electoral map completed in 2008, with the total number of constituencies increased from 79 in the previous legislature to 85. Under amendments to the BC Constitution Act passed in 2001, BC elections are now held on fixed dates which are the second Tuesday in May every four years. A second referendum on electoral reform was held in conjunction with the election. The election did not produce a significant change in the province's political landscape. The BC Liberals, who had been in power since the 2001 provincial election, were returned to power, constituting the first time in 23 years a party had won three elections in a row in British Columbia. As a result of the seat redistribution, both the Liberals and the New Democrats gained seats, and both parties increased their popular vote by less than one per cent over 2005. Each party lost two incumbent MLAs: the BC NDP's

Jenn McGinn Jenn McGinn (born in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island) is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, representing the electoral district of Vancouver-Fairview, in a by-election on October 29, 2008. ...

and Charlie Wyse, and the Liberals'

John Nuraney John Nuraney (October 31, 1937 – November 21, 2016) was a Canadian politician who was the first Muslim elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. He represented the riding of Burnaby-Willingdon from 2001 to 2009 for ...

and

Wally Oppal Wallace Taroo "Wally" Oppal, (born 1940) is a Canadian lawyer, former judge and provincial politician. Between 2005 and 2009, he served as British Columbia's Attorney General and Minister responsible for Multiculturalism, as well as Member of ...

were defeated. All other seat changes in the election resulted from the new seats or from retiring incumbents. Voter turnout was 50.99% of eligible voters (1,651,567 registered voters).

2008 redistribution of ridings

An Act was passed in 2008 providing for an increase of seats from 79 to 85, upon the next election. The following changes were made:

Political parties

British Columbia Liberal Party

New Democratic Party of British Columbia

Green Party of British Columbia

Minor parties

Timeline of the campaign

April 10, 2008, passage of ''the Electoral Districts Act'', 2008 moving BC from 79 to 85 constituencies. October 29, 2008, by-elections in Vancouver-Burrard and

Vancouver-Fairview Vancouver-Fairview is a former provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada in use from 2001 to 2024. Fairview is made up of two rectangles: one bounded by Granville Street to the east, 16th Avenue ...

, both won by the New Democrats. April 14, 2009, the campaign will officially begin when the

writ In common law, a writ is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court. Warrant (legal), Warrants, prerogative writs, subpoenas, and ''certiorari'' are commo ...

is issued. April 24, 2009 1pm close of nominations for the election. May 12, 2009, Election day.

Debates

There was one TV debate featuring the leaders of the three major parties: Gordon Campbell, Carole James, and

Jane Sterk Jane Sterk (born January 14, 1947) is a Canadian psychologist, businesswoman, academic, and politician. She is the former leader of the Green Party of British Columbia and a business professor at University Canada West. In the 2009 British Colu ...

on all three major BC networks on Sunday May 3 at 5:00 p.m. CKNW had a debate of the three leaders on April 23 from 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. CBC Radio One had a debate of the three leaders on April 21 at 7:30 a.m.

Opinion polls

Results

MLAs elected

Synopsis of results

: = Open seat : = turnout is above provincial average : = winning candidate was in previous Legislature : = Incumbent had switched allegiance : = Previously incumbent in another riding : = Not incumbent; was previously elected to the Legislature : = Incumbency arose from by-election gain : = other incumbents renominated : = previously an MP in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

: = Multiple candidates

Summary analysis

References

Sources

External links

Elections BC

BC Election 2009 by Sacha Peter with comprehensive information on the election

Election Prediction Project - BC 2009

UBC ESM Election Prediction Voter Transition Matrix

Weekly chart tracking of the Federal & BC seat projection models

Election Weblinks

Party platforms

''In order of release''
Conservative Party Platform (A Clear Vision for British Columbia)

Green Party Platform 2009 (A Better Plan for BC)

New Democratic Party Platform 2009 (Take Back Your BC)

Liberal Party Platform 2009 (Keep BC Strong)
{{British Columbia elections

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

2009 elections in Canada 2009 in British Columbia May 2009 in Canada