The , whose members are known as '''Socreds''', was the governing
Political Party of
British Columbia ,
Canada , for more than 30 years between the
1952 Provincial Election and the
1991 Election . For three decades, the party dominated the British Columbian political scene, with the only break occurring between the
1972 and
1975 Elections when the
New Democratic Party Of British Columbia was in power.
Although founded to promote
Social Credit policies of monetary reform, the Social Credit Party became a political vehicle for fiscal conservatives and later social conservatives in BC, who discarded the social credit ideology.
After its defeat in 1991 the party essentially collapsed.
Prior to 1952, the social credit movement in British Columbia was divided between various factions. The Social Credit League of British Columbia nominated candidates for the first time in the
1937 Election , but did not do so in the
1941 Election .
In the
1945 Election , these factions formed an alliance to field 16 candidates, who won a total of 6,627 votes (1.42% of the provincial total.)
This alliance broke down before the
1949 Election , and three separate groups nominated candidates:
- the Social Credit Party,
- the British Columbia Social Credit League, and
- the Union of Electors.
Collectively, they nominated 28 candidates, who won a total of 14,326 votes, 2.05% of the popular vote in that election.
The won the largest number of seats in the
1952 Provincial Election under the interim leadership of the Reverend
Ernest George Hansell , M.P. for the Alberta riding of Macleod since 1935. Hansell was hand-picked by Alberta premier
Ernest Manning as the Alberta Socreds still dominated its BC sister. Following the election, BC party president
Lyle Wicks called a leadership convention at which only elected MLAs could vote. The 19 newly elected Social Credit
Members Of The Legislative Assembly (MLAs) chose former
BC Conservative MLA
W.A.C. Bennett to lead the new government over
Philip Gaglardi .
Although the party was ostensibly the British Columbia wing of the
Canadian Social Credit Movement , Bennett added a mixture of
Populism and
Conservatism in the party. It became a political vehicle to unite opponents of the
Socialist Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, and to keep the CCF and its
Social Democratic successor, the New Democratic Party (NDP), out of power. Bennett's Socreds took power in 1952, forming a
Minority Government and, after changing the electoral system, swept to a majority the next year, staying in power until 1972. Bennett's party encouraged development of the economy through megaprojects and highway construction.
Despite being a
Free Enterprise party, the Bennett government formed BC Hydro in 1961 by
Nationalizing the province's largest private hydroelectric concern to make sure that it could not oppose the government's hydroelectric dam construction program. It also formed the
BC Ferries in 1958, and established the
Bank Of British Columbia , which was 25% owned by the provincial government.
Following the party's defeat in the
1972 Election by the NDP, "Wacky" Bennett's son,
William R. Bennett , took over the leadership of the party, and modernized it, putting populism behind and becoming an uneasy coalition of
Federal Liberals , Christian conservatives from the province's Bible Belt, and fiscal conservatives from the corporate sector with the latter firmly in control. On its return to power in the
1975 Election , the party, for the most part, eschewed the megaprojects of the elder Bennett (with the exception of
Expo 86 and the
Coquihalla Highway ), and embraced a fiscally conservative program.
As a result, the party built up a small political engine that managed to win the
1983 Election , in spite of Bennett's controversial "Restraint" program. This was nicknamed the "Baby Blue Machine", and consisted of political advisors primarily imported from the
Ontario Progressive Conservative Party . It never became a major political apparatus like the
Big Blue Machine in Ontario did, as Bennett decided to retire in
1986 .
All Socred governments attempted to curb the power of
Trade Unions and also limited
Social Welfare spending.
Under Bennett's successor,
Bill Vander Zalm , control of the party shifted from urban fiscal conservatives to social conservatives, causing the coalition to unravel and this would drive moderate Socreds to the
Liberals . This process was exacerbated by Vander Zalm's eccentricity, and the constant scandals that plagued his government. As well, Vander Zalm allowed his principal secretary,
David Poole , to amass a substantial amount of power, despite being unelected.
Grace McCarthy , who served long under Bennett, resigned from Vander Zalm's cabinet in protest.
Vander Zalm was forced to resign in a
Conflict Of Interest scandal, and was succeeded as party leader and premier by longtime associate
Rita Johnston , who defeated McCarthy to become the first female head of government at any level in Canada. However, many viewed this as a mistake as Johnston was close to the Vander Zalm legacy. Even NDP opposition leader
Mike Harcourt admitted later that he preferred Johnston over McCarthy, as the latter would be a much tougher opponent in an election.
Johnston was unable to make up any ground, and Social Credit was defeated in the
1991 Election by the NDP. Johnston lost her own seat. To add insult to injury, many moderate Socred supporters switched their support to the
British Columbia Liberal Party , relegating the Socreds to third place, with only seven seats.
More party infighting occurred as
Grace McCarthy , a cabinet member under both Bill Bennett and Vander Zalm, was elected to replace Johnston.
1994 was a key year in the decline of Social Credit. In February, newly-elected leader Grace McCarthy lost a by-election for a BC Legislature seat in the once safe riding of
Matsqui (Liberal
Mike De Jong won the seat by less than 100 votes). After that defeat, four of the six remaining Social Credit MLAs elected in 1991 left the party to join the
British Columbia Reform Party , leaving Social Credit without official party status in the BC Legislature. McCarthy resigned as leader shortly thereafter.
Of the class of '91, only MLA
Judi Tyabji .
In the
1996 Provincial Election , Social Credit lost all of its remaining seats in the legislature, and received only 0.4% of the vote, under the leadership of
Larry Gillanders , despite (or perhaps because of) his inclusion in the provincial leaders' debate. At this point, the party was largely considered a dead force in BC politics with most of its remaining members joining the socially conservative Reform Party or the centrist Liberal Party.
In 2001, at the behest of former leader Vander Zalm, the Social Credit Party merged with other provincial right-wing parties to form the
Unity Party , but soon left due to dissatisfaction with the way the party was run. In the
2001 Provincial Election , what remained of the party ran only two candidates.
Grant Mitton achieved some success in
Peace River South , placing second with 1,726 votes (17.4%). He subsequently left to become leader of the
British Columbia Party . The other candidate,
Carrol Barbara Woolsey , in
Vancouver-Hastings , placed 5th of 6 candidates with 222 votes (1.15% of the total).
In the .
The party continues to exist, but is essentially a fringe party, similar in status to the
Marijuana Party . It is not taken seriously by voters at large, the media, or even most former Socred members or politicians.
As Of 2005 , the Social Credit Party does not have an official leader, though party president Carrol Barbara Woolsey acts as its ''de facto'' leader.
- Arthur H. Jukes, 1937-48, leader of the Union of Electors faction, 1948-49.
- No leader as such of the Social Credit Party/Social Credit League emerged until the 1952 election. However, Eric Martin and Lyle Wicks were the most obvious figures of a collective leadership. At the 1952 party convention Wicks, W.A.C. Bennett and Rev. Hansell were nominated for the party leadership. Wicks and Bennett both withdrew in favour of Hansell who was the hand-picked choice of Alberta Social Credit leader and Premier Ernest Manning . Following the election, Wicks, who was party president, called a second leadership convention at which only Social Credit MLAs could vote. This was won by Bennett.
- Reverend Ernest George Hansell , M.P. for Macleod (Alberta), leader for the 1952 election.
- W. A. C. Bennett ( July 15 , 1952 - November 24 , 1973 ) ---
- William R. Bennett ( November 24 , 1973 - July 30 , 1986 ) ---
- William Vander Zalm ( July 30 , 1986 - April 1 , 1991 ) ---
- Rita Johnston ( April 2 , 1991 - March 7 , 1992 ) ---
- Jack Weisgerber (interim) ( March 7 , 1992 - November 6 , 1993 )
- Grace McCarthy ( November 6 , 1993 - 1994 )
- Cliff Serwa (interim) ( 1994 )
- Larry Gillanders ( November 4 , 1994 - May 24 , 1996 )
- Ken Endean (interim) ( 1996 )
- Eric Buckley ( 1996 -October 2000 )
Eric Buckley left Social Credit in October 2000 to join the
British Columbia Party . The position of party leader has been vacant since that time.
In the 1937 election, the British Columbia Social Credit League endorsed candidates, but none were elected.
In the
1941 Election , no candidates ran under the social credit banner.
In the 1945 election, an alliance of social credit groups nominated candidates. None were elected.
In the 1949 election, three different social credit groups nominated candidates. None were successful.
In subsequent elections, only the Social Credit Party of British Columbia emerged as the only social credit party, although it quickly abandoned social credit theories.
