@prefix vivo: . @prefix edm: . @prefix ns0: . @prefix dcterms: . @prefix dc: . @prefix skos: . vivo:departmentOrSchool "Arts, Faculty of"@en, "Political Science, Department of"@en ; edm:dataProvider "DSpace"@en ; ns0:degreeCampus "UBCV"@en ; dcterms:creator "McCarthy, William P.J."@en ; dcterms:issued "2009-02-26T23:43:51Z"@en, "1994"@en ; vivo:relatedDegree "Master of Arts - MA"@en ; ns0:degreeGrantor "University of British Columbia"@en ; dcterms:description """This thesis is a review and analysis of the selection of William N. Vander Zalm as the third leader of the British Columbia Social Credit party on July 30, 1986. It examines in detail the events and circumstances which allowed the last candidate to enter the most contested leadership race in Canadian history to win the convention. This thesis incorporates an overview of the British Columbia Social Credit party, its traditions, leaders, and criteria for selecting its leaders. The sixty-nine day campaign is chronicled and the other eleven candidates and their campaigns are examined. In addition to reviewing the public and private record on these matters, several interviews were conducted. This thesis also benefits greatly from the analysis and articles on the Social Credit leadership contests produced by the University of British Columbia’s Political Science department. Personal observations are also incorporated into this paper, as the writer was a voting delegate. (I have been a Social Credit party member since 1981. At the leadership convention I supported Vander Zalm on all four ballots. While I readily acknowledge my political biases, I nevertheless have endeavoured to write a balanced academic account of this event). The Vander Zalm victory contradicts much of the conventional wisdom on the organization and conduct of successful leadership campaigns. The Vander Zalm campaign effort was poorly organized with no real strategic planning. The campaign finances were modest. The candidate had little caucus support and no endorsements from the party elites. Furthermore, the candidate did not enter the contest until it was half over and eleven other candidates were already in the race. How then did he win? In this thesis, I argue that the Vander Zalm victory was the result of four factors, all linked and all essential to his success. First, Vander Zalm himself offered a populist style and persona many delegates found attractive. Second, the party’s antiquated constitution provided only one delegate category, those selected directly by the membership. This not only prevented manipulation or control of delegate categories (as seen in other party contests), but ensured that several long-time party activists who were predisposed to the Vander Zalm candidacy would emerge as delegates. Third, Vander Zalm’s candidacy was boosted greatly by polls during the campaign showing him to be the party’s best hope to lead them to victory in the upcoming provincial election. And finally, many delegates saw a vote for Vander Zalm as a means to repudiate the modernization and isolation of the party and government seen during the last years of outgoing Premier W.R. Bennett, and return the party to its populist origins."""@en ; edm:aggregatedCHO "https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/5218?expand=metadata"@en ; dcterms:extent "7070258 bytes"@en ; dc:format "application/pdf"@en ; skos:note "THE 1986 ELECTION OFW.N. VANDER ZALM AS LEADER OF THEB.C. SOCIAL CREDIT PARTYbyWILLIAM P.J. McCARTHYB.A., Simon Fraser University, 1983A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OFTHE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OFMASTER OF ARTSinTHE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIESDepartment of Political ScienceWe accept this thesis as conformingto the required standardTHE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIAApril 1994©William P.1. McCarthy, 1994In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of therequirements for an advanced degree at the Universityof British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall makeit freely available for reference and study. I furtheragree that permission for extensive copying of this thesisfor scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of mydepartment or by his or her representatives. It isunderstood that copying or publication of this thesisfor financial gain shall not be allowed without my writtenpermission.Department of Political ScienceThe University of British Columbia1956 Main MallVancouver, CanadaV6T 1Y3Date 21Z Z /99fDE—6 (3/81)11ABSTRACTThis thesis is a review and analysis of the selection of William N. Vander Zaim as the thirdleader of the British Columbia Social Credit party on July 30, 1986. It examines in detail theevents and circumstances which allowed the last candidate to enter the most contested leadershiprace in Canadian history to win the convention.This thesis incorporates an overview of the British Columbia Social Credit party, its traditions,leaders, and criteria for selecting its leaders. The sixty-nine day campaign is chronicled and theother eleven candidates and their campaigns are examined. In addition to reviewing the publicand private record on these matters, several interviews were conducted. This thesis also benefitsgreatly from the analysis and articles on the Social Credit leadership contests produced by theUniversity of British Columbia’s Political Science department. Personal observations are alsoincorporated into this paper, as the writer was a voting delegate. (I have been a Social Creditparty member since 1981. At the leadership convention I supported Vander Zalm on all fourballots. While I readily acknowledge my political biases, I nevertheless have endeavoured towrite a balanced academic account of this event).The Vander Zaim victory contradicts much of the conventional wisdom on the organization andconduct of successful leadership campaigns. The Vander Zalm campaign effort was poorlyorganized with no real strategic planning. The campaign finances were modest. The candidatehad little caucus support and no endorsements from the party elites. Furthermore, the candidatedid not enter the contest until it was half over and eleven other candidates were already in therace. How then did he win?In this thesis, I argue that the Vander Zalm victory was the result of four factors, all linked andall essential to his success. First, Vander Zalm himself offered a populist style and personamany delegates found attractive. Second, the party’s antiquated constitution provided only onedelegate category, those selected directly by the membership. This not only preventedmanipulation or control of delegate categories (as seen in other party contests), but ensured thatseveral long-time party activists who were predisposed to the Vander Zalm candidacy wouldemerge as delegates. Third, Vander Zalm’s candidacy was boosted greatly by polls during thecampaign showing him to be the party’s best hope to lead them to victory in the upcomingprovincial election. And finally, many delegates saw a vote for Vander Zalm as a means torepudiate the modernization and isolation of the party and government seen during the last yearsof outgoing Premier W.R. Bennett, and return the party to its populist origins.111TABLE OF CONTENTSABSTRACT . iiTABLE OF CONTENTS iiiLIST OF TABLES vACKNOWLEDGEMENT viINTRODUCTION 1CHAPTERI THE BRITISH COLUMBIA SOCIAL CREDIT PARTYAND ITS LEADERSHIP SELECTION . . 71. The British Columbia Social Credit Party and the Bennetts of Kelowna . . . 82. The Social Credit Party Constitution 143. The Party’s 1986 Leadership Campaign Guidelines andDelegate Selection Process 174. The 1986 Social Credit Leadership Convention Delegates 20II WILLIAM VANDER ZALM ANDTHE VANDER ZALM ORGANIZATION AND CAMPAIGN 371. William N. Vander Zalm: Background and Politics 382. The Broadest Appeal: Vander Zalm Enters the Race 503. The Vander Zalm Organization: Personnel, Structure and Finances . . . 534. The Vander Zalm Campaign: Policy, Strategy, Performance 64III THE 1986 BRITISH COLUMBIA SOCIAL CREDIT PARTYLEADERSHIP CAMPAIGN AND CONVENTION 811. The Campaign: The Competition 822. The Campaign: The Caucus Liability 923. The Campaign: Howe Street vs. Main Street 954. The Campaign: The Media Alliances and Speculation 975. The Convention: Whistler, July 28-30, 1986 1016. The Convention: The Speeches 1067. The Convention: First Ballot 1128. The Convention: Second Ballot 1219. The Convention: Third Ballot 12410. The Convention: Fourth Ballot 128ivIV CONCLUSIONS AND EPILOGUE.137BIBLIOGRAPHY 152APPENDIX 1 Chronology of the personal and political career ofWilliam N. Vander Zalm 1934 - 1991 158APPENDIX 2 Summary of William N. Vander Zalm’s political career 177APPENDIX 3 1986 Social Credit Leadership ConventionDelegate Selection Process 181APPENDIX 4 Summary of Votes: 1986 Social Credit Leadership Convention . 182APPENDIX 5 1986 Social Credit Party Leadership Convention Programme . . . 185APPENDIX 6 William N. Vander Zalm 1986 Campaign Material 199APPENDIX 7 The Selection and Election ofSocial Credit Party Leaders 1952-1993 231APPENDIX 8 British Columbia Provincial Election Results 1952-199 1 236VLIST OF TABLES1. Results of the 1952 B.C. Social Credit Party Caucus Vote for Leader 102. Results of the 1973 Social Credit Leadership Race 123. Delegates by Region 154. Revised Delegates by Region (Based upon a Minimum 25 Delegates per M.L.A.) 165. Structure of Delegate Representation at B.C. Leadership Conventions 186. Partisan Activity Among B.C. Leadership Convention Delegates 207. Demographic Profile of Social Credit Party Delegates to the 1973 and1986 Leadership Conventions 228. Policy Consensus Among Social Credit Activists 249. Factors Influencing a Delegate’s Vote 2810. 1986 Social Credit Leadership Candidate Personal Data 9111. Caucus Support and Potential Delegate Support of Candidates 9412. Vancouver Sun First Ballot Estimates (July 10) and Actual First Ballot Results(July 30) 9913. Candidate’s Forum, July 29, 1986 10514. Order of Candidate Speeches, July 29, 1986 10715. Results of the First Ballot (Votes and Percentage Received) 11516. Reasons for First Ballot Vote 11917. First Ballot Support by Region 12118. Results of the Second Ballot (Votes and Percentage Received) 12119. Results of the Third Ballot (Votes and Percentage Received) 12520. Delegate Movement by Candidate 12721. Results of the Fourth Ballot (Votes and Percentage Received) 128viACKNOWLEDGEMENTI wish to acknowledge and thank those people who contributed in assorted ways tothe completion of this thesis, including those who granted interviews and are cited in thebibliography. William Vander Zaim was especially forthcoming when interviewed and thiswork has benefited from his candor. I also wish to acknowledge the assistance of TrishAlford, Janet Bayer, Paul Keenleyside, Jake Koole, Steven McGavin, Egon Nikolai, AngelaSzabo, Sheila Veitch, Elva Williams, the Burnaby-Willingdon Social Credit constituencyassociation and all members of the 1989 - 1991 Social Credit party board of directors andthe then head office staff. Special thanks and appreciation are due Mona Tasler who typedthis manuscript. Sincere thanks and gratitude are given to my mother Alice and my wifeDolores, both of whom supported and endured the time and effort necessary to complete thiswork.I have been most fortunate to have as my thesis advisor Dr. R.K. Carty, whoseadvice, suggestions and support of this project was essential. I also wish to acknowledge theacademic efforts of Dr. Carty and his colleagues Dr. Don Blake and Dr. Lynda Erickson.These professors have made considerable contributions to the analysis and understanding ofBritish Columbia politics and in particular provincial leadership contests. This thesis hasbenefited greatly from their work. Dr. Blake also reviewed various drafts of this thesis, andI thank him for his constructive comments. I also thank Dr. Paul Tennant who served onthe examination committee for this thesis.Finally, I wish to acknowledge and thank my friend, the late Elwood Veitch, whowas the Member of the Legislative Assembly for Burnaby-Willingdon for twelve years anda cabinet minister for most of this time. Elwood is the finest person I have known inpolitics, and I respectfully dedicate this thesis to him.1INTRODUCTIONIn the summer of 1986, following the most contested party leadership selection inCanadian history , the British Columbia Social Credit party, the governing party in theprovince for all but three of the previous thirty-four years, met in convention for only thesecond time in its history to select their leader. On July 30, 1986, at Whistler, BritishColumbia, convention delegates elected William N. Vander Zaim on the fourth ballot tobecome their party’s third leader.“No decision is more important to a Canadian political party than the choice of itsleader.” (2) Our parliamentary system allows the leader of the governing party tremendouspower and authority. The leader symbolizes the party and what it stands for. The successor failure of a party is largely dependent on the public’s perception of the leader, and theconfidence he or she inspires.“Our platform is our leader, and our leader is our platform” issometimes openly avowed, and it is a maxim that is almostalways accepted in practice. It follows, therefore that theleader is the master of the platform, and tends to accept it asa general indication of the way in which the party would likehim to move when and if he finds it desirable to do so.The election of Vander Zalm as their party’s leader was also a result of many SocialCredit party activists effectively using the party’s open delegate selection process to cast theirballots for the candidate they perceived as most likely to win the next general election whilealso repudiating the modern political style of William R. Bennett and return the party to itspopulist beginnings.The 1986 Social Credit leadership race began on May 22, 1986 when William R.Bennett, party leader since November 24, 1973 and premier since December 22, 1975,surprised the province when he announced that in order to give his party an opportunity torenew itself and win re-election, he would resign as party leader once a successor had beenselected.Despite his failing popularity and that of his government, the pending resignation of2Bennett caught the Social Credit party and the province by surprise. Many could not readilyimagine the party lead by anyone other than a Bennett. (The party’s first leader, andpremier from 1952 - 1972 was W.R. Bennett’s father, William Andrew Cecil Bennett).With the pending retirement of W.R. Bennett, the B.C. Social Credit party founditself choosing between candidates aligned with the populist membership-oriented feel of theW.A.C. Bennett era, or with the increasingly centralized and elite driven party of W.R.Bennett. In addition to this fundamental decision on the party’s direction, the exactly 1,300delegates would also have to select at the same time a candidate capable of winning the nextprovincial election - something quite uncertain at the time of W.R. Bennett’s resignationannouncement.Therefore, in such a crowded field, with such a brief campaign, and with minimalcampaign organization, how could Vander ZaIm, the last man to enter the race (a full monthafter Bennett’s resignation announcement), and who was an anathema to much of the thenthirty-five member Social Credit caucus, win the convention?There are four basic and fundamental reasons for the Vander Zaim victory. First,the man himself had long been considered by the rank and file Social Credit membership asmost representative of the party’s populist traditions and policies embodied by the image andaction of W.A.C. Bennett.Second, the leader would be chosen by delegates who would be selected at theconstituency level through a very basic and democratic process outlined in the party’s seldomreferred to constitution. Combined with such a short campaign period (which resthcted thesigning up of new members), this process favoured Vander Zalm who was extremely popularand respected by those most likely to be chosen delegates - the long time activist partymembers.Third, the Social Credit Party was well down in the polls at the time of Bennett’sresignation announcement. Re-election, the primary goal of any governing party was farfrom certain, and indeed unlikely if a leadership change did not occur. When subsequentpolls throughout the leadership campaign, especially one published on the eve of theconvention, repeatedly and consistently pointed to Vander Zaim as the one to lead the partyto victory in a general election, his election prospects were further enhanced.3Fourth, many of the Social Credit delegates saw the 1986 leadership campaign asperhaps their final opportunity to halt W.R. Bennett and his political inner circle’s effortsto transform the grass roots Social Credit party into a modem political organization, at theexpense of its populist traditions and direction.In their detailed and ground-breaking analysis of the 1986 contest (4), University ofBritish Columbia Political Scientists Donald Blake, R.K Carty, and Lynda Erickson state thatthe race to succeed an increasing unpopular Premier W.R. Bennett was:(A) battle for succession in the party involved subtle andsometimes not so subtle efforts by candidates to distancethemselves from Bennett and the record of his government.But observers of the contest also saw a struggle for control ofthe party between advocates of closer ties to the ProgressiveConservative party and those wishing to preserve the traditionof federal neutrality; between the inheritors of the party’spopulist tradition and modem organization men and women;and between neo-conservatives and centrists. The selection ofWilliam Vander Zaim appeared to represent, in part at least,a repudiation of the Bennett style, aspects of his politicalagenda, and some of his attempts to modernize the partyorganization.Without all of these four factors present, there is no way William Vander Zaim couldhave emerged victorious. Indeed, a review and analysis of his campaign structure andstrategy will show that had Vander Zaim relied on his campaign organization and effortsalone, as is so often the case in leadership contests, he would have lost, and lost decisively.Therefore, the William Vander Zalm victory at the 1986 Social Credit leadershipconvention defies much of the traditional logic and wisdom of Canadian political leadershipchange. Vander Zaim won the campaign because of who he was and what he had done yearsin advance of the actual contest, and due to factors well out of his control, such as the timingof the campaign, the delegate selection process, and the state of the party at the start of thesuccession process. In this case, prevailing wisdom that a strong leadership organization andcampaign can make the difference during a campaign and on voting day is irrelevant. It isunlikely that any other successful candidate elected to lead a major governing political partyin Canada had ever run a worse campaign and still won.4In terms of democratic theory the Vander Zaim victory can be called a victory bythose advocating participatory democracy over the elite theory of democracy:The struggle apparently became on of ins versus outs, betweenparty professionals and grassroots, between non-populists andpopulists, and the latter won.Out of a field of twelve, Vander Zaim had not only been the last to declare hiscandidacy, but his entire campaign organization and strategy was an “amateurish-lookingpopulist campaign promising simple government, few experts, more consultation with peopleand basic values”. (7) The Vander Zalm effort stood in stark contrast to those of the otherleading candidates to succeed W.R. Bennett, and to the expensive and high-tech campaignsseen elsewhere in Canada in recent years.The first chapter of this thesis will review the British Columbia Social Credit partyand its leadership selection. By providing a brief overview of the party’s history and its firsttwo previous leadership selections, the stage can be set to review the party’s constitution andhow this brief document outlined in a few seldom read paragraphs the process by whichdelegates would be selected to a Social Credit leadership convention. It is by analyzing theactual delegates themselves one can readily see how predisposed they were towards theVander Zaim candidacy and message.The second chapter focuses first on the unique political style and record of WilliamVander Zalm, and then on his 1986 leadership organization and campaign. This chaptershows that Vander Zalm’s standing with the Social Credit party prior to the actual 1986leadership convention was more important than his performance during of the actualleadership contest. Clearly, had Vander Zalm’s political fate been left in the hands of hisleadership campaign organization and structure - he would have lost. The fact that VanderZaim ran a campaign more often associated with an also-ran or fringe candidate and stillwon, made the four elements of his victory all the more crucial and essential.The third chapter reviews and analyzes the actual leadership contest and convention.This chapter opens with a review of the competition Vander Zaim faced, the largest field ofcandidates to contest a leadership in Canadian history. “With no obvious successor, or5agreement on the direction the party ought to take a record twelve candidates emerged tofight the short two month campaign.” It appears that rather than hinder Vander Zaim, thelarge number of participants in fact helped, as they provided the delegates a wide personaland political contrast between these candidates and Vander Zaim. This final chapter alsoanalyzes the events during both the sixty-nine day campaign and the three day convention.Again, unlike several other previous leadership selections, it will be shown that theconvention itself mattered little to the eventual outcome, as the foundation of the VanderZalm victory was laid well in advance of the actual voting day.The final chapter provides final analyses and conclusions on the events reasons forthe Vander Zaim victory. The epilogue concluding this paper discusses the eventual fate ofthe twelve leadership candidates, and in particular the consequences of the Vander Zaimvictory to both himself and the Social Credit party.To complement the narrative of this. thesis, extensive appendices are also provided.These include a detailed chronology of the political career of William Vander Zaim, VanderZaim’s political career, Social Credit leadership vote summaries, the 1986 Social Creditleadership convention delegate selection process, convention literature, Vander Zaim’scampaign literature, and provincial election results during the Social Credit era.This thesis is based upon four major sources of information and data. First, thewriter was a Burnaby-Willingdon constituency association delegate at the leadershipconvention. (While a Vander Zalm supporter throughout the four ballots, much effort hasbeen given to ensure that this account is both analytical and balanced in its presentation).Second, several interviews were conducted with assorted participants at the campaign,including William Vander Zaim and five other leadership candidates. Third, assorted books,academic papers, magazines, and newspapers were read and analyzed. And finally, theUniversity of British Columbia’s Department of Political Science has produced invaluabledata on leadership campaigns in general and this Social Credit campaign in particular. Theirwork has provided an essential point of departure for this thesis, which attempts to shedsome light on the fascinating subject of leadership selection in Canada, a revealing andintegral part of our democracy. Any shortcomings with this work are of course the soleresponsibility of the writer.6Introduction Footnotes‘Donald Blake, R.K. Carty and Lynda Erickson, Grassroots Politicians, Vancouver,U.B.C. Press, 1991, page 92-93.2George Perlin (ed.), Party Democracy in Canada: The Politics of National PartyConventions, Scarborough, Prentice Hall Inc. 1987, page 1.3R. MacGregor Dawson, The Government of Canada (4th Edition), Toronto,University of Toronto Press, 1963, page 472.4The University of British Columbia political scientists (Drs. Blake, Carty andErickson) analysis is based upon the results of a detailed survey mailed to the delegates fromall provincial constituencies (except Delta) during the weeks following the Social Creditconvention. The department received 340 completed forms (27%), and this sample ofdelegates “appears to be representative of the convention”. (More returned surveys mayhave been received had not Social Credit party president Hope Wotherspoon sent a letter toall 1,300 delegates on August 15, 1986 stating “the party board feels it would be serving theparty’s best interest if we ignored the questionnaire.”) This survey and its results formedthe basis of the academic paper Ratification or Repudiation, as well as sections of their bookGrassroots Politicians.5Donald E. Blake, R.K. Carty and Lynda Erickson, “Ratification or Repudiation:Social Credit Leadership Selection in British Columbia”, Canadian Journal of PoliticalScience, September 1988, volume XXI:3, pages 513-514.6lbid., page 534.7lbid., page 526.8lbid., page 524.The writer has been on the board of directors of the Burnaby-Willingdon SocialCredit Constituency \\ssociation since 1984. At the time of the convention he served asvice-president, and is the current president. He also served from 1989 - 1991 on the SocialCredit party board of directors as the elected representative from the Burnaby and NorthShore region. The writer has chronicled the entire group of Burnaby-Willingdon delegatesduring the leadership campaign in the following paper “A Constituency in Convention: AnAccount and Analysis of the Burnaby-Willingdon Delegates to the 1986 Social Credit PartyLeadership Convention.” This paper was for the University of British Columbia PoliticalScience 503 course, May 1987.7CHAPTER ITo review and analyze a political leadership campaign and convention in Canada, onemust first understand the political party itself. While there are often similarities betweenpolitical parties, all have their own distinct traditions, personalities, policy focus andelectoral record.This opening chapter provides a brief overview of the British Columbia Social Creditparty from the time of its first election as government in 1952, to the 1986 convention.The British Columbia Social Credit party has many distinctions. First, since 1952and until a new leader would be elected on July 30, 1986, the party had been led bymembers of one family- the Bennetts from the city of Kelowna. The father, WilliamAndrew Cecil Bennett, had been party leader from 1952 - 1973 and premier from 1952 -1972. His son, William Richards, who succeeded him as party leader, had been Premiersince the end of 1975.Second, the party had enjoyed tremendous electoral success in the province, winningten of eleven general elections between 1952 - 1986 and being out of power only threc years(1972 - 1975) during this period (see appendices).Third, and perhaps most importantly to the party members, the British ColumbiaSocial Credit party was as much as a centre-right coalition of members and supporters as itwas a party. One of the party’s cornerstones was that it was not in any real sense affiliatedto a federal party. Accordingly, the party played up this independence, running and winning8elections on a B.C. first and only platform.Included in this introductory section is a review of the British Columbia Social Creditparty’s previous two leadership selections. In 1952 W.A.C. Bennett, the de facto leader ofthe party in the preceding general election, was elected following a vote of the newlyelected nineteen member caucus. In 1973, in more a coronation than a contest, Bennett’sson and favoured successor won the party’s first leadership contest on the first ballot.The second and third sections deal with the party’s antiquated constitution, whichoutlined the process by which the actual Social Credit delegates would be selected to the1986 leadership convention itself. It would be this delegate selection process, with its singletrack election process, that provided access to the convention for supporters of WilliamVander Zalm.The final section, which is based largely on the University of British Columbiapolitical science department survey of the 1986 leadership delegates, shows how closelyaligned many of the delegates were to Vander Zaim politically, and how intent they were torepudiate the modernization of their party during the last years of William R. Bennett.These delegates instead wished to return their Social Credit party to its populist form andappearance as seen during the W.A.C. Bennett era.The British Columbia Social Credit Party and the Bennetts of KelownaThe British Columbia Social Credit party’s initial electoral victory and subsequentemergence as the province’s governing party for almost forty years was largely the result ofone man, William Andrew Cecil Bennett.Born in New Brunswick in 1900, Bennett moved to Edmonton, Alberta, at age9nineteen where he began a successful career in the hardware business. When the depressionbegan, Bennett moved his young family to the city of Kelowna, which is situated in thefertile Okanagan Valley of British Columbia.As his business ventures flourished, Bennett also became increasingly active inpolitical affairs, eventually being elected in 1941 as the Member of the Legislative Assembly(MLA) for South Okanagan (a seat he would hold for thirty-two years).Bennett was a populist, who lived by and championed free enterprise. He was alsoan ambitious man, who ran unsuccessfully as a Member of Parliament, and twice lostattempts to become the leader of the provincial Conservative party.Bennett also had sharp political instincts. In 1951 he left the governing Conservative-Liberal coalition to sit as an independent. By the time of the 1952 election, Bennett who hadjust joined the fledgling British Columbia Social Credit league (2), was regarded as thegroup’s de-facto leader. An effective speaker, who brought a measure of credibility to hisnew party, Bennett was able to lead his group to victory in one of the most unusual andcontroversial elections i provincial history.Despite this inauspicious beginning, W.A.C. Bennett would govern the province fortwenty consecutive years, winning seven general elections, while averaging 42% of thepopular vote and 62% of the seats in the legislature. (4)W.A.C. Bennett’s formal election as the Social Credit party’s leader took place in aroom at the Hotel Vancouver on July 15, 1952 - two weeks before the final provincialelection results were known.By previous arrangement, the eighteen presumed elected Social Credit MLAs as well10as member from the Alberta Social Credit party were entitled to vote for leader (SocialCredit had been in power in Alberta since 1936 and had assisted with the British Columbiaparty’s campaign). The winner would have to achieve 50% plus one of the votes cast towin.In addition to Bennett, who with his electoral experience and abilities was the obviouschoice for leader, three other MLAs were also nominated, as well as the candidate of theAlberta party. The three other new MLAs, Thomas Irwin, Philip Gaglardi, and J.A. Reid,received one vote each (likely their own), while the Alberta choice, Peer Paynter, receivedtwo. W.A.C. Bennett received the other fourteen. (5)TABLE 1Results of the 1952 B.C. Social Credit PartyCaucus Vote for LeaderW.A.C. Bennett 14 (74%)Philip Gaglardi 1 (5%)Thomas Irwin 1 (5%)Peer Paynter 2 (11%)l.A. Reid j. (5%)19SOURCE: Mitchell, David, W.A.C. Bennett and the Rise of British Columbia,Vancouver, Douglas and McIntyre, 1983, page 165.The political leadership Bennett so coveted was now his. Power was consolidated inhis hands and outside influences eliminated. The British Columbia Social Credit partybecame Bennett’s alone.The W.A.C. Bennett years were ones of growth and development for the province.A populist who was fiercely supportive of the free enterprise ethic and system, Bennett11would say that his version of Social Credit “means just one thing: that which is physicallypossible, desirable, and morally right must be made financially possible.“ On otheroccasions, even though he had nationalized aspects of the province’s resource andtransportation section, Bennett would remark that Social Credit simply was the “opposite ofsocialism.” m (This was a sentiment that attracted supporters and voters to the partythroughout its years in power. ) The Bennett era remains the period of British Columbia’sgreatest development and growth:Bennett was a seminal force in the modem development ofthe Province; second only to the ice age, he was the forcethat did the most to sculpt the face of B.C. He left hisrecord not so much in the statute books, but in the milesand tons of asphalt, concrete and steel.But in the summer of 1972, the 72 year old Bennett lost the government to the socialistNew Democratic party who won a massive majority of the seats with just 39.2% of thepopular vote. (10) Bennett had stayed one election too many. Just three years earlier,voters had given him his highest popular vote ever (46. 8%) in what many thought wouldbe his retirement victory.Following his defeat, Bennett made it clear to his party that his youngest son,William Richards Bennett, was his favoured successor. On September 7, 1973, threemonths after his father resigned his seat, William R. Bennett won the by-election tosucceed him as the member for South Okanagan. Shortly thereafter, he announced to thesurprise of no one, that he would seek the party’s leadership. The party’s first leadershipconvention was held at the same Hotel Vancouver where twenty-one years before hisfather was elected party leader.12The campaign, which ended with the voting on November 24, 1983 saw “nosuspense in the father-to-son succession.” To ensure this, W.A.C. Bennett hadworked behind the scenes on his son’s behalf. Taking no chances, the W.R. Bennettcampaign was “the best organized, the best financed, the most sophisticated and leastpopulist.” (12) By comparison, MLA Jim Chabot, who estimates he spent $500.00 on hiseffort “had no slogan, no band, no button, no son. “° The results were a decisive firstballot victory for Bennett, who won 56% of the vote.V TABLE 2Results of the 1973 Social Credit Leadership RaceW.R. Bennett 833 (56%)Bob McClelland 269 (18.1%)Harvey Schroeder 204 (13.72%)Jim Chabot 97 (6.52%)Ed Smith 74 (4.98%)James Mason j. (.67%)1,487Source: Official Social Credit Party RecordsWithin 172 days of W.A.C. Bennett’s resignation, his son William R. had run forand been elected in the by-election to succeed his father, served a session in thelegislature, and been elected the party’s leader. In just over two years he would bepremier.Unlike his father, William Richards Bennett, was determined to retire, not beretired from public life. On May 22, 1986, when the younger Bennett stunned the13province with his decision to leave politics, he commented on his father’s loss and thedifficulties involved in rebuilding a defeated political party. Premier W.R. Bennettwhose almost 4,000 days as premier were only exceeded by Richard McBride and hisfather, left the premiership, “convinced there must be political renewal, there must bepolitical change within parties.W.R. Bennett had come reluctantly to public life, and had never been comfortableunder the spotlight of media attention. Nevertheless, he was a firm leader, whoperformed best under pressure. While, like his father, he was a builder, perhaps BillBennett’s two greatest moments occurred when he faced the greatest odds. First wouldbe his revitalizing of his father’s free enterprise coalition, when the neophyte politicianwas able to convince the non-socialist majority that only a revised Social Credit partyunder his (still unproven) leadership, could stop the New Democrats from forminggovernment. Second would be his come from behind victory in the 1983 provincialgeneral election.”5 While history will ultimately judge both Bennetts achievements, itis likely that the often maligned Bill Bennett will emerge as a forceful leader of both hisparty and the province:Bill Bennett governed during the most tumultuous decadeof B.C. ‘s history. His accomplishments in 10 years arearguably greater than his fathers in 20. “Commenting about William R. Bennett, he officially turned the premiership over toWilliam Vander Zalm, Vancouver Sun, Victoria columnist Vaughan Palmer wouldcomment that, “I have never met a politician less interested in the ego gratification” “14The Social Credit Party ConstitutionThe most important feature of the 1986 Social Credit leadership campaign werethe rules and regulations governing the race in general, and the selection of delegates inparticular. As a result, the campaign and convention became “democracy run amok.With only one leadership change in thirty-four years, and that one being fatherto son, the party simply did not have either a detailed or expansive set of leadershipcampaign regulations, nor any practice in staging such events. Instead, followingpremier Bennett’s May 22 announcement of his intent to relinquish the Social Creditleadership, the party’s board of directors had to scramble to expand the criteria for theselection of their party leader outlined in their “band aid constitution.” a9) (A constitutionseldom amended since the days of W.A.C. Bennett).The British Columbia Social Credit party affairs were governed by a twenty-onepage, fourteen section constitution. These fourteen sections included by-law 11 “PartyLeadership”, which contained five sub-sections. These sections deal with how aconvention can be called (vote of the provincial convention, death or resignation of theelected leader) and who is eligible to run for the leadership (party members who areeligible to vote under the British Columbia Provincial Elections Act.) The actualregulations for selecting delegates and the convention balloting are contained in two otherby-law sections. (See Appendix 3 for Delegate Selection Criteria).It is in Section 10 “The Provincial Convention”, subsection C, that the delegateselection procedure is outlined. No complicated procedures, nor ex officio delegatestatus categories, nor quota systems are used:The Provincial Convention shall be open to all members of theParty. Voting delegates shall be twenty-five (25) votingdelegates for the first one thousand (1,000) members orfraction thereof in a Constituency and one (1) additional votingdelegate, for each one hundred (100) members thereafter, as ofrecord, thirty (30) days prior to the date of the AnnualProvincial Convention. (2fl(Nine of the fifty constituencies would have extra delegates due to their membership15exceeding 1,000 by varying degrees). (22)The following tables show that despite the province’s population being concentratedin the Lower Mainland region, the distribution of convention delegates was basedgeographically,according to the electoral map, and not according to census data. This factwould ultimately benefit the Vander Zalm campaign, the only major candidate to havesignificant delegate support province wide. This same format would also hurt the candidacyof Grace McCarthy, whose power base was the city of Vancouver and its surroundingsuburbs, many of which received only 25 delegates despite being two member constituencies.This was pivotal, as McCarthy would not only be trying to attract similar delegates asVander Zaim, she was the only candidate close to Vander Zalm in terms of party popularity.TABLE 3Delegates by RegionLower Mainland (12 ridings) 306 (23.54%)Vancouver City (5 ridings) 125 (9.62%)Vancouver Island (9 ridings) 225 (17.3%)Fraser Valley (4 ridings) 117 (9.0%)Southern B.C. (11 ridings) 292 (22.5%)Central-Northern B.C. (9 ridings) 235 (18.0%)1,300 (100%)Source: Based upon Social Credit Party records.The following table shows the contrast in the delegates by regions (includingVancouver city). If each of the Province’s dual member ridings were apportioned twentyfive delegates for each MLA position, not just for the constituency itself. Based upon this16revised delegate system, the 1986 Social Credit leadership would have had a minimum ofan additional 125 delegates in attendance (plus additional delegates based upon thoseconstituencies with over 1,000 members).TABLE 4Revised Delegates by Region(Based upon a Minimum 25 Delegates per M.L.A.)Lower Mainland (12 Ridings) 300 (21.5%) (1)Vancouver City (10 Ridings) 250 (17.5%) (2)Vancouver Island (10 Ridings) 250 (17.5%)Fraser Valley (5 Ridings) 125 (8.8%)Southern B.C. (11 Ridings) 275 (19.3%)Central-Northern B.C. (9 Ridings) (15.8%)1425 (100%)NOTES:(1). The Lower Mainland consists of all suburban ridings, less Vancouver city, and theFraser Valley, in southwest British Columbia.(2). All of Vancouver’s five constituencies were dual member ridings, Victoria(Vancouver Island) and Surrey (Fraser Valley).Source: Based upon 1986 provincial election boundaries.The results of adding an additional twenty-five delegates for each dual member riding wouldhave most likely benefited Grace McCarthy, as a further 125 delegates would have beenadded to her Vancouver city power base. The other main beneficiary would probably havebeen William Vander Zalm as further delegates would have been added in his own FraserValley power base and in central and northern British Columbia, where his support was alsostrong.17Would these extra delegates have changed the eventual outcome of this leadershiprace? Most likely not, as subsequent surveys of the actual regional strengths of the candidatesshows that not only did William Vander Zaim have the broadest range of support of anycandidate throughout the province, he was also well positioned as the second choice of manyof the other candidates.However, if on the all important first ballot, where Vander Zaim received 367 votesto McCarthy’s 244, if McCarthy had the benefit of extra Vancouver delegates and was asa consequence much closer to Vander Zalm, she may well may have replaced Brian Smithas Vander Zaim’s opponent on the final ballot, something that greatly worried Vander Zaimand his supporters. The fact that the dual member constituencies had actually only fiftypercent delegate representation at the convention was the most obvious and significant flawof the party’s constitution and delegate selection process.The Party’s 1986 Leadership Campaign Guidelines and Delegate Selection ProcessThe Social Credit party’s simple democratic system was in sharp contrast to eitherthe federal Conservatives, Liberals, or NDP, whose entrenched elites had created 23, 18 and5 delegate categories respectively. Many of these were largely self-serving and status quopreserving delegate categories for the parties elites. While not as blatant as their federalcounterparts, the following table shows the contrast in the delegate categories at recentleadership conventions in British Columbia between Social Credit and the New Democratsand Liberals:18TABLE 5Structure of Delegate Representationat B.C. Leadership Conventions (Vertical Percentages)Social Credit NDP LiberalConstituency delegates 100.0* 87.7 83.0*Party executives/officials 2.5 11.4Affiliated members 7.5Others 1.4* 5.7NOTE: Categories marked with an asterisk include MLAs. TheLiberal constituency delegate category consists of 45.5% fromprovincial and 37.5% from federal constituency associations.SOURCE: Blake, D.E., Carty, R.K. and Erickson, L., Grassroots Politicians: PartyActivists in British Columbia, Vancouver, University of British Columbia Press, page 89.With constituency delegate status being the only route to voting at the convention,the only possible way for candidates and their organizers to even try to “stack” constituencyslates with their supporters was to move very quickly and identify possible supporters alreadywithin the riding, and sign up new party members. This, however, proved difficult to do.Two weeks after Premier Bennett’s May 22nd resignation announcement, the party executiveissued the following verdicts: July 7th was the final day for candidates to declare and thatJune 27th would be the cut-off date for new members to join the party to be eligible fordelegate status, or to vote at delegate selection meetings (this was 30 days prior to theconvention). Furthermore, all delegates would be selected between June 30th and July 9th.19As the campaign progressed, and candidates entered the race, the party’s executivewas charged with writing the guidelines and planning the convention virtually from scratch.Eventually the seventeen member leadership convention committees chaired by W.A.C.Bennett’s former Attorney General Les Peterson, established eight special committees. (2The campaign theme selected was “Choosing the Future”, and the party’s proposed campaignbudget was priced at $430,500.00, which after revenues (registration fees) were extracted,would still leave the party with a net loss of $230,500.00. Throughout the campaign, theleadership committee and the party’s executive met frequently. Special meetings, to resolvepossible disputes and clarify regulations, were also held with the official agents of thecandidates. At one of the first of these meetings with the candidate agents, the partypresented them with a thirty-one page eighteen section campaign guideline, which alsoincluded procedural matters for at the convention itself.As a result of the simple and democratic nature of the delegate selection process, thefinal voting results would be largely determined in advance during the ten day period whenrank and file party members selected from amongst themselves, the delegates to choose theirnew leader and the province’s new premier. As a subsequent survey would show, 49.4%of the delegates made their decision on who to support when that particular candidate enteredthe race. These results show how little importance the actual convention was. They alsoshow that Vander Zaim did not unduly harm his prospects by being the last candidate toenter the race.20The 1986 Social Credit Leadership Convention DelegatesThe most important phase of a leadership campaign is the delegate selection process.During the 1986 Social Credit campaign, this phase was both short and intense. Neithercandidates or delegates fully knew what to expect or how the process would unfold, andother than the expected partisan activity the selection of delegates went relatively smooth,with few complaints about the procedure. (31)Not surprisingly, with their party’s future at stake, delegates chosen by the rank andfile membership had been long standing, active members, whose commitment to their localconstituency was extensive. (32) Fully 77% of the delegates considered themselves part of the“party’s central group in (their) constituency.” The following table shows the partisanactivity of the 1986 Social Credit leadership convention delegate. This table also showssimilar levels of involvement and partisan activity of the delegates was also present at recentprovincial New Democrat and Liberal conventions:TABLE 6Partisan Activity Among B.C. Leadership Convention Delegates(Percentages)SocialCredit NDP LiberalJoined before 1975 51.7 45.8 48.9Constituency executive member(past or present) 60.0 72.1 63.3Helped raise funds for party 66.8 87.4 73.3Attended an annual party convention 66.8 70.2Worked in campaign for party candidate 83.5 98.9 84.4Part of central group in constituency 77.1 75.1Actively involved in local politics 65.0 68.4 42.7SOURCE: Blake, D.E., Carty, R.K. and Erickson, L., Grassroots Politicians: PartyActivists in British Columbia, Vancouver, University of British Columbia Press, page 92.21The delegates were also politically active federally, with 61 % of the surveyeddelegates reporting membership in a federal party. While the Social Credit party wasconsidered a free-enterprise coalition, 90% of those indicating membership in a federal partywere Progressive Conservatives. (35) Most importantly though, only 6.5% thought formalassociation with the federal conservatives was desirable. Vander Zaim would repeatedlyemphasize his commitment to keep the B.C. Social Credit part separate and distinct from anyfederal affiliation. This strategy was obviously in tune with the party membership.While there were many women delegates at this Social Credit convention, (32%compared with the 23% at the 1983 Progressive Conservative convention, (3), this trend wasreversed dramatically with regards to youth delegates (those under thirty years of age). Only5 % of these delegates emerged from the constituency selection process to become SocialCredit delegates. In 1983, for example, Young Tories used a multiple of delegatecategories available to them to account for 30% of the delegate total. (A key confidantof Brian Mulroney, (himself a former Young Tory activist), would comment that at the 1983convention, their well-trained young tories “saved our ass.”) An average composite ofthose who would emerge from the Social Credit delegate selection process would be:The average delegate was the sort of middle aged, welleducated, relatively affluent individual normally seen at partyconventions in Canada. Half were 46 or older, two-thirds hadsome post secondary education, and over forty per cent had afamily income of greater than $50,000.00. Further, full halfreported their employment status as self-employed. More thananything this latter characteristic marks the party off as acollection of aggressive individualists, suspicious of mostgovernment activity and bureaucratic organization. (41)22When all delegates were finally selected, there were exactly 1,300 of which 886 weremen (68%) and 414 were women (32%). 42) The following table provides and contrasts thedelegates to both the 1973 and 1986 Social Credit leadership conventions:TABLE 7Demographic Profile of Social Credit PartyDelegates to the 1973 and 1986 Leadership Conventions1973 1986Male 64.2 69.3Over 55 years 33.1 35.7BC-born 33.3 42.6> 15 years resident 87.7RELIGION- none 6.7 18.5Catholic 10.0 12.4United/Anglican 48.5 31.6other 34.8 37.5University-educated 17.3 28.7Self-employed 50.6High income 23.0 42.3MEMBERSHIP/INVOLVEMENTtrade union 17.0 8.7professional assoc. 11.6 56.2ethnic group 14.1NOTE: Figures are in percentages. The ‘high income’ category in 1973 was over $20,000;in 1986 it was over $50,000.SOURCE: Blake, D.E., Carty, R.K. and Erickson, L., Grassroots Politicians: PartyActivists in British Columbia, Vancouver, University of British Columbia Press, page 26.In terms of political beliefs, the 1986 Social Credit delegates were opinionated andconservative in their outlooks. Veteran campaign organizer, John Laschinger, who describeshimself as Canada’s “only full time campaign manager” (43) (and was serving as Bud Smith’s23in 1986), would later be quoted as observing that:The (Social Credit) party out here is further to the right thanany place I’ve seen.” Laschinger measured conservatives ona one-to-ten ideological spectrum (one being left, ten theextreme right). Whereas the average federal Tory could befound just to the right of centre, at about 5.5 on the scale, inB.C., Laschinger discovered that the average Socred sawhimself as a 6.6. In their perception of particular candidates,these same Socreds saw Vander Zalm and McCarthy to theright of themselves (at 7.5 and 6.9 respectively), and the Smithtandem just a hair to the other side (at 6.4). Contrasted tonational figures like Prime Minister Brian Muironey (at 5.7)and the moderate External Affairs Minister Joe Clark (at 5.0),the Socred frontrunners were perceived as solid right-wingersby people who saw themselves as firmly in a similarideological position.Laschinger’s analysis was further supported by subsequent surveys conducted by membersof the University of British Columbia political science department. This information wouldindicate that delegates viewed Vander ZaIm as the candidate most in tune and with their ownopinions.The following Table 8 shows the policy opinions and consensus of those delegateswho would be selecting the next Social Credit party leader- and premier of the province:24TABLE 8Policy Consensus Among Social Credit ActivistsPer cent Consensusagree indexDon’t spend tax dollars on sick 6.0 44.0Should have freer trade with U.S. 92.9 42.9Unions are too powerful 91.7 41.7People should rely on selves not government 91.2 41.7Cut red tape in government 90.2 40.2Government should help women 13.8 36.2Government should negotiate native land claims 14.2 35.8Foreign ownership threatens independence 17.3 32.7Government should guarantee standard of living 24.6 25.4Reduce size of government 72.0 22.0The community should support seniors 28.1 21.9Many welfare programs are unnecessary 68.0 18.0Government should favour BC companiesfor contracts 34.3 15.7Government regulation stifles initiative 64.1 14.1Should trust down-to-earth thinking 61.0 11.0Grassroots could solve problems better 57.2 7.2Preserve independence even at cost ofcut in standard of living 44.4 5.6There should be a law requiring balanced budget 44.5 5.5Unemployed could find jobs if they reallywanted to 54.9 4.9Restraint program was not well implemented 51.2 1.2NOTE: The consensus index can range from 50 (completely united) to 0 (completely split).For exact question wording see the Appendix.SOURCE: Blake, D.E., Carty, R.K. and Erickson, L., Grassroots Politicians: PartyActivists in British Columbia, Vancouver, University of British Columbia Press, page 39.25If delegates were looking to return the party to its populist and moralistic origins,they would be disappointed with the attitudes and performance of several leadershipcandidates and caucus members. During a leadership race, a candidate’s personality andpersonal life receives more scrutiny than their policies. On several moral questions the manycandidates were perceived to have strayed from the tone set by W.A.C. Bennett.Of those questioned on abortion, candidates Campbell, Couvelier, McCarthy, Nielsen,Rogers, and Brian Smith ducked the political hot potato by stating abortion is “not aprovincial issue”. Bill Ritchie would consider it “only when there is a life at stake”while Reynolds, Wenman and Vander Zairn were opposed. (4 Vander Zalm was the mostdirect, stating, “I’m pro-life and I make no bones about it.”The candidates were equally mixed in their views on gambling. McCarthy wouldtighten up the regulations, while Reynolds wanted to form a provincial gaming commission.Also wanting some form of regulation were Campbell, Couvelier, Nielsen, Reynolds, Ritchieand Rogers. Bob Wenman opposed gambling, while Vander Zaim, who does not gamble,“doesn’t personally object to others doing so”. (49)On Sunday drinking, the party of fiercely anti-alcohol W.A.C. Bennett, who toastedthe swearing in of the first Social Credit cabinet with “ovaltine”, had become considerablymore tolerant. Only Ritchie, Vander Zalm and Wenman opposed Sunday drinking. JohnReynolds said the opening of bars was okay, while Campbell and Couvelier wantedindividual communities to decide. The other candidates wanted to see the results of the Expo86 “experiment” which allowed limited Sunday drinking in public houses.26With regards to religion, while Social Crediters are sometimes portrayed as religiouszealots, that image seems overdrawn. “ The party’s constitution continues to state as aprinciple and objective of the society, “to foster and encourage the universally recognizedprinciples of Christianity in human re1ationships”.52> While belonging to an organizedreligious body was not crucial, visible adherence to Christian principles is still regarded asimportant by the party grassroots. Of the candidates, Campbell would not discuss herreligion. McCarthy is an Anglican and “strong believer” but “rarely goes.” Nielsen calledhimself a “Christian” and believed actions are more powerful than words, Ritchie considerthe topic “personal”, Reynolds attended the United Church “occasionally”. Rogers was anAnglican but “not a church goer” although he was “interested” in the subject. Bob Wenmanrepeated his adherence to “Judo-Christian” (sic) principles, and attended a fundamentalistcongregation. (53) William Vander Zaim is a devout Catholic who could not remembermissing a Sunday Mass in his life, and summed up his life’s blessings as:I have a wonderful wife and family. Through my church Ihave spiritual peace. Together they give me strength. Becauseof this support, and faith I am content in all I do.A stable marriage and home life is politically advantageous. Both W.A.C. Bennettand W.R. Bennett had strong and supportive wives who never caused embarrassment orconcern to their husband or his party. Of the twelve candidates, only half, Couvelier,McCarthy, Nielsen (whose adultery became province wide news), Bud Smith, Wenman andVander Zalm were with their original spouses. Three candidates were separated: Ritchie,Rogers and Brian Smith. Those divorced and remarried were Michael and Reynolds (for the27third time). Kim Campbell was divorced but engaged to be married. Some of the new eraof Social Credit leadership candidates would likely not have been invited into the cabinet ofW.A.C. Bennett, who upon meeting with his inaugural cabinet for the first time cautionedthem:That if he were walking out at night with a woman, to makesure it was his wife- and to walk under the street lamps sothat everyone could see she was his wife.At Whistler, almost a quarter of delegates were married to one another. Many of these,long term party activists, and much of the party’s general membership wanted the new leaderto have a stable homelife and to be able to project a positive upstanding image to the votersin the next general election. Indeed, so critical was a candidate’s personal character andintegrity to the voting delegates, that as the following table shows, no factor other than acandidate’s ability to win the next election was considered as important:28TABLE 9Factors Influencing a Delegate’s VoteVery Not NoImportant Important ImportantAnswerCandidate’s ability to lead theparty to victory in the next election 84.1 13.5 1.2 1.2Candidate’s personal character andintegrity 83.5 13.8 0.9 1.8Candidate’s ability to keep the partyunited 72.6 23.5 2.1 1.8Candidate’s policy positions 70.6 25.0 1.5 2.9Candidate’s experience in elected office 54.7 30.3 12.6 2.4Candidate’s understanding of my regionof the province 51.2 32.9 13.2 2.6Candidate’s past service to the party 43.8 40.9 13.2 2.1Personal charisma of the candidate 30.3 48.2 19.1 2.4Personal friendship for the candidateor someone working for him/her 16.2 15.9 65.6 2.4The delegates were asked to rate how important the following were in determining your firstchoice? (1 = very important, 2 = somewhat important, 3 = not important). The questionresults have been placed in the order of which the delegates rated a factor as being “veryimportant”.SOURCE: University of British Columbia, British Columbia Leadership Study 1986,Summary Results, Section E, Question 7.29And so, the political events and timing of the 1986 Social Credit party leadership couldnot really have been more advantageous for Vander Zaim. And the party’s constitutionensured party members predisposed to him would have excellent opportunities to gaindelegate status, something many actively pursued.Subsequently, these activists-delegates cast their ballots in increasing numbers forVander Zaim, the candidate they felt most representative of the party’s populist roots andtraditions and who was most closely aligned to their own political and philosophicalbeliefs.30Chapter I Footnotes‘See Bibliography for selected books on the British Columbia Social Credit partyand its leaders.2The Social Credit name was derived from economic theories devised by MajorC.H. Douglas, a British soldier and engineer. These theories argued that whilecapitalism remained the best economic system, citizens need a financial bonus, or SocialCredit to offset the discrepancies between purchasing power and expense charges. Asmonetary matters are the responsibility of the federal government, such theories werenever implemented by an elected Social Credit government, and remain a forgottencomponent of a generally conservative philosophy.3For the only time in provincial history, a single transferable ballot was used.This ballot allowed the voter to mark in order of preference their choice for MLA. Theelection would be held on 12 June 1952, but final results were not official until July 3 1st.Social Credit won 19 seats and 30.18% of the vote. The CCF 18 and 34.3%. Theformer conservative and liberal coalition partners were reduced to minor roles in theprovince’s political process for most of the next forty years.4Averages taken from official provincial statements of votes. Best Social Creditfigures in this period were: 39 seats in 1956, and 46.8% popular vote in 1969. Otherthan the 1952 results, the party’s poorest showing was: 28 seats in 1953, and 38.3%popular vote in 1960.5David Mitchell, W.A.C. Bennett And the Rise of British Columbia, Vancouver,Douglas and McIntyre, 1983, page 165.6David Humphreys and Roger Keene, Conversations with W.A.C. Bennett,Toronto, Methuen Press 1980, page 40.7Paddy Sherman, Bennett, Toronto, McClelland and Stewart, 1966, page 306.8”There is ample evidence that many Social Credit voters support the party simplybecause of their opposition to socialism and the NDP, not because they are attracted toSocial Credit ideology in any positive fashion or because they share any other commonpolitical attitudes.” Blake, D.E., Carty, R.K., and Erickson, L., “Ratification orRepudiation”, Canadian Journal of Political Science, page 519.9’The father’s determined son”, Western Report, 2 June 1986, page 11. Thisquote is by David Mitchell, W.A.C. Bennett’s biographer.31The NDP won 39.2% of the popular vote and 38 seats. Social Credit wasreduced to 3 1.8% and only 10 seats. The Liberals won 5 seats, the Conservatives 2, buttogether they poiied 28.8% of the vote.““I’m my own man - Bennett”, Vancouver Sun, 25 November 1973.‘2lbjd‘3”Bennett faced do - or die situation in 1973”, Vancouver Sun, 26 July 1986.‘4”I’m stepping down, Bennett declares”, Vancouver Sun, 22 May 1986, page 115Bennett campaigned on the need for ‘restraint’, beginning with the provincialgovernment. Barrett in turn said his NDP government would abolish any such plans.As a result, many voters already wary of Barrett’s financial acumen abandoned anythought of supporting him. Bennett described his entry into public life and hissubsequent service during a speech in Vernon shortly after the Barrett comments. Itbecame known as “The Debt I Owe” speech and this was used as the title of a BritishColumbia Television special on the Bill Bennett era. Social Credit won 49.7% of thepopular vote and 35 seats. The NDP won 49.94% and 22 seats. After three straightlosses to Bill Bennett, Dave Barrett announced his resignation.‘6”End of the Bennett Era”, Western Report, 2 June 1986, page 4. This commentwas made by David Mitchell, W.A.C. Bennett’s biographer.‘7”Being Premier was simply duty”, Vancouver Sun, 6 August 1986.‘8Comments of David Mitchell on the CBC during balloting at the 1986 SocialCredit leadership convention, 30 July 1986. The writer video-taped the candidatespeeches (July 29), and the voting (July 30).‘9Comments by former party executive Lorne Valensky, 22 September 1987.Constitution and Bylaws of British Columbia Social Credit Party effective 25October 1985.2tIbid.22The nine constituencies and their bonus delegates (in addition to the automatic25) were: Central Fraser Valley 15, South Okanagan 12, South Peace River 6, Surreyand CaribOO each with 4, Boundary-Similkameen 3, Dewdney, Okanagan North, andWest Vancouver-Howe Sound each with 2 additional delegates.32In one of the subsequent ironies of the 1986 leadership convention results, thenpremier Vander Zalm carried out on his campaign promise to eliminate double-memberridings. To this end premier Vander Zalm initiated the Judge Thomas Fisher RoyalCommission, whose report at the end of 1988 would lead to the drawing of new andmore democratic electoral boundaries for the province, the increasing of theconstituency’s from 69 to 75, and the final elimination of the dual-member ridings.24Concerned that some MLAs might not have been elected delegates by their ownconstituency members, the Social Credit party board did pass a motion grantingautomatic delegate status to all government M.L.A.s.The fifty Social Credit constituency associations held their delegate selectionmeetings within a brief ten day period between June 30 - July 9, 1986. (Due toregistration irregularities the Delta constituency would have their initial meetingrescheduled to July 16, 1986). The delegate selection meetings schedule is as follows:Day One: Monday. June 30. 19861. Atlin2. Columbia River3. Langley4. North Vancouver Capilano5. Vancouver Point Grey6. Vancouver SouthDay Two: Tuesday. July 1. 19867. Central Fraser Valley8. Okanagan SouthDay Four: Thursday. July 3. 198615. Alberni16. Burnaby Edmonds17. Burnaby Willingdon18. Cowichan Malahat19. Vancouver Little MountainDay Five: Friday. July 4. 198620. Chilliwack21. ComoxDay Six: Saturday. July 5. 1986Day Three: Wednesday. July 2. 19869.10.11.12.13.14.Delta *KootenayNanaimoNorth Peace RiverNorth Vancouver SeymourWest Vancouver Howe SoundMacKenzieSaanich and the IslandsSkeenaVancouver Centre22.23.24.25.* Meeting was postponed until July 16, 1986.33Day Seven: Sunday. July 6. 1986 Day Nine: Tuesday. July 8. 198626. Burnaby North 37. Coquitlam Moody27. Cariboo 38. Esquimalt Port Renfrew28. North Island 39. Nelson Creston29. Yale Lilloet 40. Prince George North41. Prince George South42. South Peace RiverDay Eight: Monday. July 7. 1986 43. Vancouver East30. Boundary Similkameen Day Ten: Wednesday. July 9. 198631. New Westminster32. Oak Bay Gordon Head 44. Dewdney33. Omineca 45. Kamloops34. Richmond 46. Maillardville Coquitlam35. Rossland Trail 47. Okanagan North36. Surrey 48. Prince Rupert49. Shuswap Revelstoke50. VictoriaSource: B.C. Social Credit party 1986 Leadership Campaign Guidelines.Having so many meetings, in such a short period of time and throughout the provincestrained the resources and efforts of all twelve campaigns. As a result, the processneutralized much of the efforts of the major campaigns. Thus Vander Zaim’s simplestrategy to attend and be seen at as many delegate selection meetings as possible was notonly practical, but proved to be productive as well.Peterson had once been W.A.C. Bennett’s choice to succeed him as leaderfollowing the defeat of the Social Credit government in 1972. Peterson however had losthis own seat and was at the time in poor health. He would retire from elective politicsand return to his legal practice.The 1986 Social Credit leadership committee structure and chairs, were:CHAIRMAN Les PetersonPARTY PRESIDENT Hope WotherspoonPARTY VICE-PRESIDENT Ed KislingPARTY TREASURER David StonePRINCIPAL SECRETARY TO THE PREMIER Jerry LampertCONVENTION MANAGER Bill AugheySECRETARY TO THE CONVENTION COMMITE’EE Ken TolmieMEDIA RELATIONS Craig Aspinall34CHAIRMAN, ELECTION RULES Allan WilliamsCHAIRMAN, CREDENTIALS Bill EsselmontCHAIRMAN, CANDIDATE LIAISON Bruce Strachen, MLACHAIRMAN, STAGING Lynne UptonCHAIRMAN, MEDIA Stuart HendersonCHAIRMAN, FINANCE Michael BumsCHAIRMAN, ACCOMMODATION & TRAVEL Gary HustonCHAIRMAN, SPECIAL EVENTS Bruce RozenhartRECORDING SECRETARY Karen WardSource: B.C. Social Credit party 1986 Leadership Campaign Guidelines.The net loss of $230,500.00 for staging the leadership campaign is based upona proposed “Leadership 86” budget, which was included in a fund raising letter sent toall Social Credit party members on 10 June 1986.The election rules committee was chaired by the respected former attorneygeneral Allan Williams. The official candidates package included nomination procedures,signage, regulations, speech format, and various balloting procedures.30University of British Columbia, British Columbia Leadership Study 1986,Summary Results, Section E, Question 8.3tThe Delta constituency delegate selection meeting, was postponed andrescheduled following complaints about the release of the notice of the meeting, themembership list, and other procedural matters. (Other candidate organizations wererightfully concerned that the constituency’s president, Charles Giordano, did not take aleave of absence from his position, as he was also at the time a co-chairman of theVander Zaim campaign). Other complaints about the delegate selection meetings includedsome campaigns trying to impose slates of declared supporters of a candidate on themembership, as well as several members themselves being upset about either being leftoff a slate list, or included on one without any knowledge of or their consent to be onit.32Donald Blake, R.K. Carty and Lynda Erickson, Grassroots Politicians: PartyActivists in British Columbia, Vancouver, University of British Columbia Press, 1991.This book reviews and analyzes the party activists and their attitudes, and theleadership selection process of the Social Credit party, New Democratic Party andLiberal party of British Columbia.33University of British Columbia, British Columbia Leadership Study 1986,Summary Results, Section C, Question 5.353ibid., question 9.35Ibid., question 9Ibid., question 13.37Ibid., Section F, Question 1.See Blake, Carty and Erickson’s, Grassroot Politicians, to review the 1986Social Credit delegates and Martin, Greg and Perlin’s Contenders, to review the 1983Progressive Conservative delegates.39Blake, Carty and Erickson, “Ratification or Repudiation”, Canadian Journal ofPolitical Science, page 517.Comment made by a former president of the federal young tories who in the1986 Social Credit contest was an organizer for Bob Wenman’s campaign.41Blake, Carty and Erickson, “Ratification or Repudiation”, Canadian Journal ofPolitical Science, page 517.42Official Social Credit party records.43John Laschinger and Geoffrey Stevens, Leaders and Lesser Mortals: BackroomPolitics in Canada, Toronto, Key Porter Books Limited, 1992, page viii.44Stan Persky, Fantasy Government, Vancouver, New Star Books, 1989, page 44.45”Socreds speak on Moral Issues”, Vancouver Sun, 18 July 1986.Ibid.47Ibid.“Vander Zaim”, Vancouver Sun, 18 July 1986.49Stan Persky, Fantasy Government, Vancouver, New Star Books, 1989, page 44.50David Mitchell, W.A.C. Bennett and the Rise of British Columbia, Vancouver,Douglas and McIntyre, 1983, page 174.365Blake, Carty, Erickson, “Ratification or Repudiation”, Canadian Journal ofPolitical Science, page 517.52British Columbia Social Credit Party Constitution (1985).531’Religion Low Key in this Campaign”, Vancouver Sun, 18 July 1986.Prior to announcing his decision to run, Vander Zaim requested and then hada meeting with James Carney, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Greater Vancouver.“I just wanted to let the Archbishop know I was seriously considering entering the race.Archbishop Carney wished me well”. (Interview with William Vander Zaim, 27September 1987).35William Vander Zaim interview, 27 September 1987, Richmond, B.C.Sherman, Bennett, page 123.“Blake, Carty, Erickson, “Ratification or Repudiation”, Canadian Journal ofPolitical Science, page 517.37CHAPTER IIThis Chapter begins by chronicling and examining the personal and politicalbackground and accomplishments of William Vander Zaim. This review is essential, asit would be Vander Zaim’s status within the Social Credit party that was a key factor inhis eventual success in the leadership contest.Much of the Vander Zaim mystique and populist appeal is based upon his risefrom an immigrant child to first a successful businessman then a populist politician. Thefirst section provides an overview of Vander Zaim’s personal, professional, and politicalcareer.Vander Zalm’s political career began in 1964 when he contested and lost a racefor municipal office. Despite this initial setback, Vander Zaim became inthgued by thecampaigning, power and prestige of politics. Between 1964 - 1984 Vander Zaim ran intwelve elections, including six municipal campaigns, three provincial campaigns, afederal election. In 1972, fourteen years before contesting for the leadership of theSocial Credit party he ran for the leadership of the provincial liberal party.While Vander Zaim would lose four of these twelve contests, he would show overthe years a resiliency and style which saw him become a favourite with much ‘of theSocial Credit party membership - many who would be delegates at their party’s 1986leadership convention.The second section, entitled “The Broadest Appeal”, is about the three year periodbetween 1983 - 1986 when Vander Zaim was out of elected politics and involved in38private business and various organizations and events that caught his attention, (includingseveral Social Credit party functions). This period, which he called his sabbatical,provided Vander Zaim with both the opportunity to distance himself from theincreasingly unpopular Bennett government, but still remain in the eye of the public andthe Social Credit party members. As a result, when the unexpected leadership race wascalled, rather than have faded from view, Vander Zaim still had the broadest appeal andsupport within a party not eager to endorse as their new leader any member of agovernment they felt was increasingly isolated from the membership.The final sections in this chapter review and critique the leadership campaign ofWilliam Vander Zaim. This analysis clearly shows how little his campaign contributedto his victory. Indeed, in an era when political campaigns are increasingly reliant onhigh-technology, big money, and paid consultants, Vander Zaim’s victory without anyof this is remarkable.William N. Vander Zaim: Background and PoliticsMuch of the 1986 Social Credit leadership campaign was about a truly uniquepolitician, William Vander Zaim. In the province, regardless of where people stoodpolitically, most had an opinion of Vander Zaim. Even opponents grudgingly admiredhis conviction and determination. The Vander Zalm persona, together with the opendelegate selection process would prove an insurmountable combination his opponentswould face in the leadership campaign.Wilhelmus Nicholaas Theordoros Maria Vander Zalm was born 29 May 1934 inthe town of Noordwykerhout in the Zuid Province of The Netherlands. The fifth ofseven children, Vander Zalm’s father was a nurseryman and bulb salesman. When theSecond World War broke out, the senior Vander Zaim was stranded in Canada while hisfamily endured the German occupation, often relying on tulip bulbs for nourishment.39In 1947 the family rejoined their father in Canada, settling in the fertile Fraservalley of British Columbia. It was after attending high school, when his father suffereda heart attack, that William Vander Zalm, equipped with a drivers licence and hisfather’s gardening and salesmanship skills, and his mother’s work ethic, took over thefamily accounts and became a travelling nursery product salesman. From early on,Vander Zalm had impressed upon him the value of individual enterprise:“It isn’t the specific experiences you have that dictate your lifestyle, but the attitude you adopt to them. I was brought up towork hard, not out. I’m tied in, like it or not, with the oldwork ethic.” (I)While in Kelowna on a sales trip, Vander Zaim would gaze at a photo of a prettyyoung girl in a photography studio and tell himself he would marry her. He did so threeyears later when he married eighteen year old Lillian. Their obviously strong marriage anddevotion to one another, and Lillian’s love of campaigning would prove to be a tremendouspolitical asset for Vander Zaim throughout his career.A year before his marriage, Vander Zaim had formed Art Knapp’s Nurseries Ltd.(Vander Zalm had bought the original business from Art Knapp, who was a well knownnurseryman in B.C. and Alberta, for $3,200.00). Vander Zaim, who had sold bulbs andplants with Knapp throughout the province from the back of a pickup truck or trailer,retained the name to ensure customer loyalty for a thriving chain of nurseries.In the 1960s the Vander Zaim family, now consisting of four young children settledin the Port Kells district of the municipality of Surrey. Vander Zaim’s daily routineconsisted of working from 7:00 a.m. to midnight, the entire week, a regime that kept his5’ 11” frame at 175 pounds for 25 years without the benefit of a formal exercise routine. Hewould go decades of without seeing a movie and his only indulgences would be a glass of40wine with dinner and his pipe. Work, talking to his customers, and politics were hishobbies. Lillian would usually be at his side as well, cheerfully helping customers. Thechildren too began to participate in the family’s growing business. As babies, their motherwould often put them in a wheel barrow so she could watch over them while she worked.As they grew, they continued to work in the nursery business, something they all do thisday. (2)The political career of William Vander Zalm began in 1964, when he was encouragedby his neighbours to run for Surrey council.3 Vander Zaim had been instrumental in theneighbourhood’s unsuccessful attempt to prevent the municipality from converting a localpark (beautified with donated Art Knapp plants and trees) into a gravel pit. Vander Zalmran and polled 2,522 votes, 87 short of election.4 On December 11, 1965, a year afterfalling in his first electoral contest by only a few votes, the quick learning and energeticcandidate polled 4,702 votes, the second highest total that year, to win a two year term oncouncil. Two years later Vander Zalm would be re-elected for another two years, this timetopping the polls with 78% of all votes cast.After completing four years on council, the 34 year old Vander Zaim set his sightson the mayor’s chair, which he won in December 1969, polling 62% of the vote anddefeating the incumbent. Vander Zalm would be re-elected mayor in 1971 and 1973 by hugemargins. While suffering defeats outside the municipal arena, Vander Zaim’s ten years onSurrey council became the foundation on which his future political triumphs would be based.Municipal politics are the most difficult to contest. Voter apathy is high, public41and media interest low. If elected, the responsibilities are wide-ranging and affect the dayto day lives of the citizenry. The hours are long, while the remuneration is poor. Despitethis, municipal politics is the perfect training ground for a politician, especially a populistlike Vander Zaim. His garden shop customers became his supporters and campaignvolunteers, the Surrey people and electorate his power base.William Vander Zaim’s run for the Social Credit leadership was his second bid atgaining control of a provincial political party. In the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, WilliamVander Zalm, usually painted as an extreme conservative was an active Liberal. Inexplaining his membership and candidacies in and for the Liberals, Vander Zaim wouldexplain the involvement by stating this family, in particular his father, had been Liberalsupporters, and as a dutiful son, “you go with who you know. No doubt my politics weremore suited for Social Credit.”In the 1968 Federal general election, despite “Trudeaumania”, Vander Zalm ran andlost as the Liberal candidate in Surrey. In May of 1972, still as a Liberal, Vander Zaimlost the leadership of the provincial Liberal party. Three months later he lost again as aLiberal candidate in the provincial general election.While these defeats did not diminish his popularity or credibility with the Surreyvoters, political observers speculated that Vander ZaIm’s political ability and future beganand ended with Surrey council. Such talk intensified when Vander Zaim added to hisambitious, maverick reputation by seeking the leadership of the provincial Liberal party.During the weekend of 20 - 22 May 1972, William Vander Zalm, the 38 year oldnurseryman and mayor of Surrey challenged David Anderson for his party’s leadership.42Many Liberals and media observers thought he should not have been in the race, that hewould embarrass himself and the party, and thereby lose the opportunity at seriouslychallenging the NDP and the aging Social Credit government of W.A.C. Bennett. Outgoingleader Pat McGeer and the four other Liberal MLA’s had endorsed the 34 year old Andersonfor leader. Anderson, the Member of Parliament for Esquimalt-Saanich, spoke French andMandarin, had a law degree, an Olympic silver medal won for rowing, had been in theforeign service. He had recently made headlines for opposing super oil tankers travellingdown the pacific coast. Despite the credentials of his opponent Vander Zalm went toPenticton and “provided the only real colour to an otherwise lacklustre convention,” in his“appeal to the party’s right wing”. Vander Zalm out-hustled Anderson, and in his firstleadership race, Vander Zaim “waged a campaign reminiscent of those staged in 1968 bycandidates for the national leadership of the Liberal party.”In this speech Vander Zaim, who had already made national headlines with hiscrackdown of welfare abuse in Surrey, furthered his right-wing reputation by calling for thereturn of the lash for drug traffickers, and warning that the:continued use of band-aid approach to solving society’sproblems, will destroy us morally, socially, physically,mentally, economically and lead us to certain rebellion orcommunism. (II)Not expected to get 100 votes, Vander Zaim polled 171 to Anderson’s 388. ExplainingVander Zalm’s loss, then Liberal party president and future Social Credit leadershipcandidate Mel Couvelier stated:43He was unsuccessful in that quest primarily as a result of theintensive lobbying done for the eventual winner, DavidAnderson by Federal M.P. ‘s, Cabinet Ministers and influentialmembers of the B.C. Liberal Establishment. 02)Vander Zaim’s better than expected showing revealed his populist attraction whileraising his political profile. He also had the opportunity to meet several then Liberal, soonto be Social Credit colleagues, including Jack Davis. Davis, another maverick sort, defiedthe party establishment to vote for Vander Zaim, who in his learned opinion showed“bounce, energy, and definite leadership qualities.” °On May 31, 1974, while the New Democratic Party floundered in their first everterm as government, William Vander Zaim joined the rejuvenated British Columbia SocialCredit party. On December 11, 1975, Social Credit won the provincial general election.Vander Zalm was elected in the Surrey constituency with 53.4% of the vote. 04) Eleven dayslater he would be sworn in as the province’s Human Resources Minister. Vander Zaimimmediately gained headlines when he stated, “if anybody is able to work but refuses to pickup the shovel, we will find ways of dealing with him.” And thus the shovel became theVander Zaim trademark. (Over the years, Vander Zalm would have silver shovel lapel pinsmade, and Social Credit gatherings would auction off signed shovels, bringing in anestimated $65,000.00 to party coffers).°6Vander Zaim’s NDP predecessor in the ministry had greatly over-run his budget °,and Vander Zaim’s disgust with welfare abusers and those lacking his work ethic fuelled hisdesire to halt such waste of tax payer’s money. The NDP leader Dave Barrett may havebelieved that “money is the only known cure for poverty”, ° but William Vander Zalm44believed that the money should come from your own sweat, not government largesse. In histwo years in office, Vander Zaim’s ministry had a $108 million surplus the first year, and$25 million the second. Opponents claimed these cuts accentuated suffering for societies’most needy, and were overly vindictive. The target of violent protests, editorials, andpolitical cartoons, 09> Vander Zaim stood firm, convinced his tough action was correct forthe province, and those individuals directly affected. To his critics Vander Zaim replied“it’s better to be a red-neck than a yellow belly.’ > William Vander Zaim, the man whooften said what the grassroots wasthinking saw his steadfastness increase his stature amongthe Social Credit leadership.On 4 December 1978 Vander Zaim was moved to the Ministry Municipal Affairs.Here he continued his attack on bureaucratic red tape, and together with another formerLiberal Jack Davis (who had recently been dropped in disgrace from cabinet) began todevelop the plans for Advanced Light Rapid Transit, now known as Skytrain. (Finishedafter he left office, Vander Zaim would proudly state that “1 planted the seed and someoneelse nurtured it to fruition.”) ‘> It was, however, his controversial 165 Section Land UseAct that his tenure in the ministry is remembered for. A bill to centralize several planningand developing functions with the minister, Vander Zaim called his act “a one stopdevelopment shopping concept.” First tabled in December 1981, the bill died on theorder session on July 27, 1982. An outraged Vander Zalm who, after seeing his perceivedattack on local bureaucracy killed by his cabinet colleagues’ lack of support, called them“gutless”.When Vander Zaim was appointed to his final ministry, education, on 20 August451982 many thought premier Bennett was punishing both the militant B.C. Teachers’Federation and Vander Zaim at the same time. Relations between Vander Zaim and theFederation’s hierarchy were strained from the beginning. Vander Zaim, who had once calledQuebec Premier Rene Levesque a frog (24, received a “welcome” letter from the Federationwritten in French. He responded in Dutch.Vander Zalm again went to work in his new ministry. He reduced his budget anddemanded school districts “become more cost effective”. He discussed the possibility ofreplacing school boards with appointed governing bodies, and he requested that provincewide exams be implemented. Again politically active teachers responded, sending him deadflowers and a bottle of Tylenol (when tampered bottles of the drug had caused several deathsin the United States) and finally with bumper stickers reading “stop Vanderlism in theschools.” Despite such personal abuse, Vander Zalm never failed to attend a meeting or achance to debate or defend his actions:My number one beef about society today is its phoniness andlack of truthfulness. Politicians and leaders have become likeplastic products that surround us. They can be molded to fitwhatever, right or wrong. They will respond on the basis ofwhat people would like to hear rather than what theythemselves believe.Through his actions and attitude, William Vander Zaim had become the most popularmember of the Social Credit caucus. Not only was he the most sought after speaker forparty fundraisers or at annual meetings throughout the province, he won thousands ofconverts and supporters by attending hundreds of such meetings, regardless of how busy hewas.46At Social Credit annual conventions, while Premier Bennett always received warmand respectful applause, William Vander Zaim’s response was prolonged. Many cabinet andcaucus members were openly jealous of Vander Zaim and the attention he received. Othersconsidered Vander Zaim a poor team player. Vander Zaim simply had too much going forhim - and they were constantly reminded on it. Vancouver Magazine reported:Aside from being the best-looking and possibly the wealthiestmember of the cabinet, Bill Vander Zaim works the longesthours.Eventually many would avoid their headline gathering seat mate. Even a strong individuallike premier Bennett was reported threatened by Vander Zalm’s popularity, and “many ofhis cabinet colleagues avert their eyes when they pass his door and pray-sometimes out loudthat he would go back to growing shrubs full time”. (2 Unbeknownst to them, Vander Zalmhimself was tiring of his current role in government.On April 1, 1983, William Vander Zaim appeared on radio station CKNW’s GaryBannerman show for their traditional Good Friday gardening show. He opened the show bytelling the listeners that after eight straight years, he would be taking a “sabbatical” frompolitics. While not totally unexpected, it was a surprise move nonetheless. Social Creditmembers pleaded with him to stay, expecting a difficult fight with the NDP in the upcomingelection. Many former caucus members called him a “deserter”, while his opponents saidhe was jumping from a sinking ship. The media was vindictive:With his loose tongue and knee-jerk responses, Mr. VanderZaim has for 7 1/2 years been the symbol of all that has beenarrogant, overbearing, and uncaring about the Social Creditgovernment.47Many believed Vander Zaim left because he thought that if Social Credit lost theupcoming provincial election, he would be in the position to either lead the Socreds afterBennett, or a new coalition party. However when Bill Bennett led his party to victory onMay 5, 1983, Vander Zaim was forced to remain on sabbatical.Rather than being a time for relaxation and refreshment, Vander ZaIm’s 1,216 daysabbatical saw the now ex-politician busier than ever:One of the problems with a person that has my personalitymy approach to things ... is that it is difficult to turn down achallenge. Everything is measured in challenges.Vander Zaim wrote the best selling Northwest Gardeners’ Almanac, a garden column invarious papers and hosted a gardening program on radio CKNW. He set a target of fortyArt Knapp Garden Centres operating by 1986. When the Catholic Archbishop of Vancouver,James Carney (who Vander Zaim once served as an alter boy), asked Vander Zaim to helporganize the Papal Mass of 12 September 1984, the devout Vander Zaim quickly acceptedand began preparing the 1,200 acre Abbotsford Airport site for the crowd of 200,000.During this period Vander Zalm also renewed his traditional small business communityconnections. He allowed his name to be used to assist citizens against no fault automobileinsurance. Just weeks before his entry into the leadership race, Vander Zalm was electedthe president of the B.C. Chamber of Commerce, an association many of whose memberswere also Social Credit members, and staunch Vander ZaIm supporters.There are two highlights to the three year and three month Vander Zaim sabbatical.First, he disposed of most of his assets to acquire and develop a 21 acre botanical garden48situated on Number 5 Road in Richmond. Renamed Fantasy Gardens, the Vander Zaim’sthrew both their considerable efforts and $7 million into creating a display garden and atourist attraction. The site soon acquired an European village motif, complete with ethnicrestaurants and specialty gift shops, a major Art Knapp’s nursery, a children’s petting zoo,a miniature railway, and a biblical garden, complete with a replica of Noah’s Ark, life sizestatues of Christ, and all 232 flowers and plants mentioned in the Bible. The garden wouldbecome the controversial passion of Bill and Lillian Vander Zalm.Throughout 1984, speculatkn grew that despite his other commitments, Vander Zaimhad decided to re-enter politics. The apparent focus of this speculation was the mayoraltyof Vancouver, a city the prospective candidate did not even reside in. The lure that themayor elected in late 1984 would host Expo ‘86 and the city’s centennial enticed VanderZaim, who remarked, “I think it’s a good opportunity for a good profile, and I think I cando that”.Immediately the press, his political opponents and even some supporters attackedwhat they considered nothing more than political opportunism. Still, from January until theNovember election, Vander Zaim stories filled the newspapers. Finally, after seeing PapalMass through, Vander Zaim announced on 3 October, from Fantasy Gardens, that he wouldseek the office of mayor of Vancouver. The campaign was a disaster. Fighting a veteranalliance of social democrats and communists, Vander Zaim’s six week instant campaignnever got focused, something Vander Zaim realized too late:I knew what the odds were. That’s why I waited until the lastminute, hoping someone else would step forward. . . to carrythe free enterprise banner. But nobody did, and somebody hadto.(32)49While he was trounced by the incumbent mayor Michael Harcourt, who gathered 62% of thevote, the Vander Zalm personality and candidacy did raise the city’s voter turnout to 55%,the highest in half a century.While such a haphazard and presumptuous campaign would have hurt the credibilityof most politicians, Vander Zalm was able to rebound. He would later defend his run avirtuous crusade for free enterprise against the entrenched forces of socialism. Some,including Jack Davis, would see his big city defeat as ultimately being beneficial, especiallyin the yes of the small town and rural delegates to the Social Credit leadership conventionwho viewed Vancouver and its affairs with suspicion.A review of Vander Zalm’s sabbatical reveals how active he had been during histhree year absence from elected politics. He had written a book and hosted garden shows.He had consolidated his business activities into one massive venture. He had helpedorganize a Papal Mass. He had participated in the no fault insurance debate. He had beenelected the president of the province’s chamber of commerce. He had run for mayor ofVancouver. It was though Vander Zalm had never left the scene. His words were in papershis voice on radio, and his face on television. As before he was a topic of discussion at thedinner table, the bar, and the political backrooms of the left and right. He had retained thehighest political profile in the province, without holding an elected office. (Unlike, forexample, federal Liberal leader John Turner, who stated that during his political sabbatical,he, “made maybe eight real speeches in the last eight years. )(33) When Vander Zalm reentered active politics, he was as smooth as ever and he was the Vander Zaim the partymembership remembered.50The Broadest Appeal: Vander Zaim Enters the RaceAs shown, William Vander Zalm used the period between his departure fromprovincial politics in May 1983 and W.R. Bennett’s resignation announcement in May 1986to concentrate on his business ventures and other activities that temporarily gained hisinterest, while at the same time keeping both his name and face before the public.It was also during this period that Vander Zaim, free from the constraints of beingpart of the governing party and cabinet, spoke often and spoke out at various Social Creditevents. Usually the first choice for speaker at constituency events (even while out of office),Vander Zaim seldom turned down a speaking engagement, thus retaining his strong linkswith the core groups of Social Credit activists throughout the province.Between the time of W.R. Bennett’s highwater mark, the May 5, 1983 election, andhis resignation announcement three years later, much of the Social Credit party (especiallyolder members), who while retaining their loyalty and respect for W.R. Bennett, alsorejected his efforts to modernize the party. They also resented his growing isolation fromthe grassroots. To this group, W.A.C. Bennett’s approach to politics and party organizationwas the preferred way and William Vander ZaIm best reflected this link to the past. Thisnostalgia would grow as Bennett and his government’s popularity plummeted.While Bill Bennett was both W.A.C. Bennett’s son and logical successor in the bleakdays of 1973, William Vander Zaim was the senior Bennett’s natural political heir. Thesimilarities between the original Bennett and Vander Zalm are numerous. Both were“outsiders, loners, . . . and their own advisers not easily influenced by other people.”Both were hardworking, self made men, (Bennett with hardware, Vander Zaim is gardening).51Both not only preached free enterprise, but lived it. Both were moralistic and religious men,who saw public service as a duty to both their fellow man and maker. Once committed toa cause or course of action, they stood firm. They despised the politically weak. Bothadhered to W.A.C. Bennett’s favourite expression that “you’ve got to stand for something,or you’ll fall for anything.” Both were steadfast and wanted to create opinion not followit.Above all, W.A.C. Bennett and W.N. Vander Zaim had tremendous politicalresiliency. Without it, neither would have become premier. Each had suffered five defeats:Bennett had lost nominations to be a federal and provincial Conservative candidate, a federalby-election as a Conservative candidate and two attempts (1946 and 1950) to unseat HerbertAnscomb as the provincial Conservative leader. In the thirteen years since he had firstsought political office, Bennett had won three terms as a provincial MLA, but he had alsosuffered five political setbacks.William Vander Zaim too had perseverance. While unbeatable since 1965 as a Surreymunicipal politician, in the eight years, since his first political campaign, Vander Zaim hadlost four times. Besides defeat in his first bid for elected office, Vander Zaim had lost asa federal Liberal in 1968, a provincial Liberal in 1972, and in his attempt to win theleadership of the provincial Liberals in 1972. Within a few years, Vander ZaIm had thedubious distinction of losing at all three levels of our political system. He would lose a fifthtime in 1984 when he ran for Mayor of Vancouver - his last contest before the 1986 SocialCredit leadership contest. However, the Vander Zaim image of success, both personally andpolitically endured. Clearly W.A.C. Bennett and W.N. Vander Zalm were driven men.52Defeat might have deterred them, but it did not stop them. They set high goals forthemselves, and achieved many of them.During the 1986 leadership campaign, several candidates attempted to presentthemselves as the natural successor to W.A.C. Bennett. Grace McCarthy had natural links,but delegates decided she was too much Little Mountain, and not enough Okanagan, andcould not win the province. Bud Smith had much of the senior Bennett’s charm, and wasa son of the province’s interior. Bud Smith, however, was tagged as a machine candidate,and one who would possibly merge the party with the Progressive ConservativesAnother, Robert Wenman who once sat in W.A.C. Bennett’s caucus as a 26 year old,referred to Bennett the elder so often, one delegate commented, “He speaks about the oldman so much you’d think he was his third son.” 9) Only Vander Zaim emerged as thepolitical heir to W.A.C. Bennett. A third of the delegates at Whistler joined that partyduring the W.A.C. Bennett years, and if they and others interpreted party renewal as partyrebirth, then Vander Zalm was their candidate. W.A.C. Bennett himself had also consideredVander Zalm as a possible successor. When they met after the 1975 election, he would tellhis fellow populist:Bill, I got a piece of advice for you. Please (whispering), stayin the middle. Don’t go too far to the right. Stay in themiddle. Bill, you’re going to go places. But stay in themiddle. (41)It would be this link to W.A.C. Bennett, and with it the belief held by many delegatesthat Vander Zaim would repudiate the actions and direction the party had been on during thelast half of the W.R. Bennett’s premiership that proved crucial to the Vander Zaim victory.53The Vander Zaim Organization: Personnel. Structure and FinancesAt the time of the 1986 Social Credit leadership campaign, the consensus among partymembers, other leadership contestants, the media and scholars was that the leadershipcampaign of William Vander Zaim was very rudimentary, unstructured, and not what onewould expect of an acknowledged leading candidate. The succeeding years have not broughtforward any information to dispute these initial assessments.If, as is proposed by this thesis, that the events and circumstances that led to VanderZaim’s victory were already in place before he entered the actual race, then it is indeedfortunate for his supporters that Vander Zalm needed “only one asset worth speaking of:himself” (42)With his aversion to structure and belief in his ability to sway the delegates, VanderZaim would show little care on what form his campaign would eventually take. As a result:Vander Zaim, who only entered the race five weeks before theconvention ran an amateurish looking, populist campaignpromising simple government, fewer experts, moreconsultation with the people and basic values. The VanderZaim campaign centred on his personality. (43)Led by dedicated followers and supporters, most notably the three MLAs whosupported him, Rita Johnston, Bill Reid and especially Jack Davis, on very short notice, aminimal organizational framework was established and a campaign began that was, in thewords of Rita Johnston, “sincere but amateurish”.On June 20, 1986, only ten days before the first delegates were to be selected, BillVander Zaim announced that he was entering the Social Credit leadership race. At his press54conference, held at Fantasy Gardens, the twelfth and final candidate indicated that he wouldbring to government high moral standards based on “true Christian principles.” (45) The 52year old nurseryman and tourist attraction owner expressed his belief that despite his lateentry, he could still win over the delegates and the province:I’ve been very up front with the people of this province,” hesaid. “I have great philosophies. In short, I have the broadestappeal”.Since premier Bennett’s resignation, Vander Zaim, who was “once considered a shooin to succeed Bennett.” (4 was torn between a desire to govern the province and hisdemanding financial and time commitments to his Fantasy Gardens development. With itpublicly known that his energies and capital were invested in the project, Vander Zaimwould comment to a key supporter “it’s like they (party establishment) don’t expect me torun.” As a result, during the near month that the reluctant candidate took to enter therace, both his possible candidacy and Fantasy Gardens received tremendous amounts of freepublicity as the media, and the other candidates waited for Vander Zaim’s decision.Other than his family, the person who was most responsible for Vander Zaim finallyentering the leadership race, and the one who then provided much of the semblance of acampaign structure was MLA Jack Davis. The friendship and political alliance of Jack Davisthe intellectual engineer and Bill Vander Zaim the populist horticulturist seems an unlikelyone, with the men sharing little more than a passion for politics and its process. Thecontrast between the two men are striking. Davis was a Rhodes Scholar with five universitydegrees, including a doctorate from McGill University. He was an economist-engineer byprofession, though politics was his passion. First elected to the House of Commons by55citizens from the north shore in 1962, Davis served until his defeat in 1974. In this timehe had become federal Minister of Fisheries and Forestry (26 April 1968), and Canada’s firstenvironment minister (27 November 1970). Following his federal defeat, Davis joined therapidly growing Social Credit movement in July 1975 (before the defection of the provincialLiberal caucus to Social Credit). Running in the riding of North Vancouver - Seymour, JackDavis was easily elected in the December 11, 1975 Social Credit sweep. Davis became firstthe Minister of Transport and Communications, then less than a year later he had Energyadded to his portfolios. Then, on April 3, 1978, Jack Davis’ political world fell apart.Charged for converting first class airline tickets to economy and pocketing the difference,Davis was dropped from cabinet. Despite seeing other Ministers returned to cabinet orretain their posts for worse indiscretions, Davis would never return to the cabinet of W.R.Bennett. Instead, Davis would remain an outspoken maverick backbencher for eight years,until the rise of Vander Zalm.The Bill Vander Zaim and Jack Davis friendship went back to the 1972 provincialLiberal leadership convention, where Davis supported the outsider. Both men adhered tothe brand of Liberalism originated in past centuries, when, as Davis outlined in his book,Popular Politics, the philosophy:emphasized freedom of the individual as its prime purpose insociety. It supported competitive enterprise at home and freetrade abroad. It endorsed representative government as ameans of reducing the arbitrary power of the State. It put theperson ahead of organizations of every kind . . . Due to themodern corruption of the term “liberalism”, the philosophywhich formerly bore that name is now seen as conservatism.Jack Davis had long been impressed by Vander Zalm, and by 1979 he would “see56him as the next premier, and I told him this, and that he could count on my future effort andsupport.” (52) Nor did David forget Vander Zaim’s kindness or consideration during Davis’difficulties. Davis, who worked with Vander Zaim on the Skytrain project said:At first Bill said he was too involved with the (Fantasy)Gardens. He couldn’t see how he could run. But I keptphoning. And about half a dozen times on my way to theVictoria ferry, I would stop in and see him. We discussed theleadership developments, and I kept telling him he was the oneto beat, that we could put together an organization and win.Vander Zaim was also getting hundreds of other visitors at the gardens, and a similarnumber of telephone calls. While many were influential politically and financially, mostwere party members and other citizens who believed in and supported the Vander Zalmapproach to politics.During the course of the subsequent campaign Davis would serve as Vander Zaim’sadviser and confidant. The two would discuss the progress of the campaign and theunfolding leadership contest at least every second day. However, Vander Zaim provedimpossible to keep focused on any type of timetable or schedule, and did not place muchreliance on his leadership campaign. As Davis recalled:57As a student of politics, I had analyzed the recent leadershipcampaigns. I fully expected the day to come when Bill wouldrun, so I wanted to utilize and implement some thoughts andformats I thought would be appropriate. Obviously due to theshort notice given by Bennett of his resignation, and Bill’s lateentry into the race, I thought it critical to modify some of myideas to at least provide the campaign with a basic structure.Bill would of course listen, and I am sure even try to followsome direction, but as the race progressed he pretty much didhis own thing. Despite this, I was never worried about theother three major campaigns (Grace McCarthy, Brian Smith,and Bud Smith), even when we saw the money they werespending. While I though they might try to gang up on Bill,I was reassured when then constituencies began selecting theirdelegates. We (Vander Zaim campaign) recognized many aslong time members- Bill’s natural supporters.Davis would also contribute in two other key ways. First, he would supply numerouscontacts around the province who could assist the Vander Zalm candidacy, especially in theorganizing of supporters onto slates of delegates to contest the constituency delegate selectionmeetings. As well, Davis would place members of his energetic and capable NorthVancouver-Seymour constituency association into key roles within the Vander Zaimcampaign structure. With the possible exception of Elwood Veitch, who supported GraceMcCarthy, no other caucus member contributed more to their candidates’ success than JackDavis.Besides Davis, Bill Vander Zaim received caucus support from only two other MLAs,Rita Johnston and Bill Reid. Both had succeeded Vander Zalm as members for the Surreyconstituency, and were committed Vander Zaim friends and supporters for almost ageneration. All three backbenchers had made independent decisions to support VanderZalm, and until they all arrived at Fantasy Gardens for Vander Zaim’s press conference58did not fully know what to expect from their candidate. As Rita Johnston recalled:Up until the night before, we still weren’t sure if Bill wouldrun. He contacted me by phone and indicated he would runand asked me to meet him the next morning at the Gardens.I was on my way there with Bill (Reid), who hadn’t beencontacted by Bill (Vander Zaim) the night before and wasunsure what Vander Zaim’s decision would be. Regardless ofhis statement we would be there to support him, either way.We were delayed in traffic at the Deas Tunnel when we heardfrom a report on the car radio that Bill’s press conference wasindeed to announce he was running. A few minutes later wearrived and saw Jack Davis. Within moments of theannouncement, hundreds of people who had heard the news onthe car radio were arriving at Fantasy Gardens. It wasincredible, and it showed the remarkable popularity andsupport of the man by the public.The personnel involved in the Vander Zalm campaign came from four distinct groups.First was his Surrey connection, led by Johnston, Reid and Larry Fisher, (a mobile homeoperator who had managed previous Vander Zalm campaigns), and businessman CharlesSteacy. The Surrey contingent, which included hundreds of formal and informal volunteers,many who were Vander Zalm’s oldest and most devoted backers who spoke in almostrevered tones about their friend and political hero. These grassroots workers weresupplemented by a second group of supporters, those who simply wanted Vander Zalm tobe premier and volunteered literally right off the Street.The third group was the North Vancouver-Seymour constituency association, inparticular the riding’s executive (most of whom were delegates and Vander Zalm supporters)provided organizational skills. The association’s past and current president, contractorJohn Leyland and consultant, Roberta Kelly were given the crucial roles of delegate trackingand office manager. While this group initially followed Jack Davis to the Vander Zaim59campaign many also became personally committed to Vander Zalm’s winning the leadershipof the party. As John Leyland said:We knew Jack (Davis) admired Vander Zalm, and listed hisreasons why. When the leadership campaign began he neverpressured us to follow him. But most of us did on our own.North Van Seymour had always been a Vander Zaimconstituency. (59The fourth group can be described as personal acquaintances of Bill Vander Zalm.These included a management consultant Bill Goldie (who had no political experience butserved as the official agent), journalism instructor Charles Giordano (his press agent), andPeter Toigo owner of (amongst other things) The White Spot restaurant chain, who helpedraise funds.However, as the campaign progressed, it became apparent that the organization lackedfocus and was hurt by the absence of one all powerful campaign chairman, someone who hadboth the political instincts and the ability to command the respect of the four campaignfactions. It would not be until three days after their candidate declared, Monday, June 23,at a morning session held at the Abercorn Inn, on Bridgeport Road in Richmond, that theleaders of the campaign would meet for the first time. While most of the eventual chairmenof the seven Vander Zaim committees (delegate tracking, convention, signs, office, finance,strategy and social events) were at this meeting, so were “some weird hangers on.” Manypresent were visibly worried at this point that it had taken the early campaign leadershipthree days out of an already short campaign to organize an initial strategy meeting, then tofind half those present of dubious value to the campaign. With such organization, it is notsurprising that the Vander Zalm campaign “virtually limped off the starting blocks.” (61) In60hindsight, Vander Zaim would concede that the lack of a confidant, or group to meetinformally with was a problem, not only during the campaign, but throughout his politicalcareer:I was naive not to have a person or trusted group of advisorsall these years. It would have certainly helped. During thecampaign I was perhaps too accessible and open to peoplegiving me advice and suggestions - many who I really didn’tknow. When the campaign began, I didn’t have a group ofpeople all set to go. Instead people just showed up. Many Iknew, many I didn’t. (62)Nor had Vander Zaim taken more than a passing interest in the results only of recentleadership contests in Canada. He had not watched on television, nor read anything otherthan some newspaper accounts of the 1983 federal Progressive Conservative campaign, the1984 federal Liberal campaign, and the 1984 British Columbia New Democratic Partycampaign. Unlike his main rivals, Grace McCarthy, Brian Smith and Bud Smith, all ofwhom were veteran political operators in their own right, Vander Zalm was neitherinterested or overly concerned about campaign organization or strategy.Concerning his own run in 1986, Vander Zaim, claimed that he had “not thoughtmuch about it, and obviously did not plan for it.” Vander Zaim further stated:Bill (Bennett’s) resignation really caught me and everyone elseby surprise. He’s (Bennett) a fighter and I thought despite hislow standing (in the polls) he would hang on. That’s how hewon in 1983 (provincial election), and with Expo ‘86 going sowell, I thought things would pick up (for Bennett and hisgovernment). I guess in the back of my mind I thought if Iever ran then the people who new me had worked on othercampaigns would help -and that’s what happened. I certainlyhad not given much thought before to organizing a campaign.Like when I ran in 1972 for the Liberal leadership, I knew wehad to have a general organization, and then go Out and meetthe delegates.61After trying to place the initial group of supporters and volunteers into some form ofcommittee structure, the first major decision was to select a campaign office. Again, unlikethe other leading candidates, they key consideration for the office site was not its locationor how functional it was, but rather what was convenient to the candidate. “Bill wanted tobe close to Fantasy Garden. Also, he wanted it in Richmond because he planned to runwhere he was now living”, commented Rita Johnston. With this criteria, the main officebecame the second floor of a credit union on Cambie Road in Richmond (which was just afew minutes north of Fantasy Garden). This office would be run by Roberta Kelly, presidentof Jack Davis’ North Vancouver-Seymour constituency association. Afterwards, and toprevent a minor skirmish between Vander Zaim’s original boosters from Surrey and thoseasserting leadership roles in the campaign, it was decided to open a second satellite officein Surrey, “not for any practical reason, but to show support and maintain the loyal Surreybase.” (67)As a result of these actions, the Vander Zaim campaign had two offices.However, as a consequence of his late entry into the race, it would not be until near the endof the first week of the campaign before either office had furniture or telephones (includinga toll free long distance number).Facing this office disorganization were the main offices of Grace McCarthy, BrianSmith and Bud Smith, all of which were situated within nine blocks of one another on ornear the central Vancouver Street of West Broadway. (The most elaborate of these officeswas McCarthy’s, a four storey building with fifty parking stalls. The campaign occupied thetop two floors, and provided the estimated volunteer group of 300 with thirty-eight telephonelines and catered food. The McCarthy campaign workers were organized into shifts).62Despite the Vander Zaim campaign’s shaky start, rather than being seen a some indicationor lack of planning or incompetence, the contrast between the Vander Zaim operation wouldbe seen by many as his “grassroots” efforts against the machine dominated style of the otherfront runners.The one area of the Vander ZaIm campaign that did not meet with the samedifficulties as the other components was in its financing. While the Vander Zalm campaigndid not solicit or raise the amount of funds received from the other leading campaigns ,it also did not budget or spend anywhere near what these campaigns did. Commenting onthe campaigns approach to its finances, Vander Zaim, who contributed “$3,000 or $4,000of his own money to his campaign” ‘ stated:One thing everyone on the campaign agreed with was that wewould not spend a dollar until we actually had that dollar in thebank . . . not promised, but actually in the bank. While wedidn’t really have or follow a detailed budget, we were costeffective, and ended the campaign with a surplus (of funds).While there were no spending limits imposed on the candidates by the Social Credit party,the campaign committee included in their “General Rules for Campaign Conduct” twowarnings to the candidates:The Convention Committee strongly urges all Candidates toexercise restraint in campaign expenditures.andThe B.C. Social Credit Party will not in any circumstanceprovide financial assistance to cover all or part of any deficitthat may be incurred by any Candidate for the Leadership ofthe Party.63Just as important as the amount raised in the leadership campaign is its source. Mostof the funds received by the campaign were from individual contributions. (While VanderZalm did have some major corporate backers, such as Peter Toigo and developer MilanIlich, he did not have anywhere near the large business support of the other three majorcandidates).One of the most astute moves of the Vander Zaim campaign was to place a simplead, featuring the candidate’s picture in various newspapers throughout the province. Theseappeals provided a bonanza of funds. This advertisement, which featured a picture ofVander Zalm and a “help support Bill Vander Zaim for Premier” (74) headline, contained apersonal message from Vander Zaim who stated that his campaign was “not financed by abig special interest political machine.” (75) Instead, Vander Zalm asked the individual donorto make a “reasonable contribution.” As campaign finance director Ernie Sarsfield stated:The response was incredible. We got thousands of replies,ranging all the way from $1 up. By the end we have sent outthousands of receipts for tens of thousands of dollars. Thatsimple ad really touched the grassroots. (7During their forty day campaign, the Vander Zalm organization was able to raiseapproximately $140,000.00, (Th more than enough funds for their efforts. They had notplanned to, nor were they prepared to run either a flashy or high-technology campaign.Their finances were therefore modest by this contest’s standards, but adequate for the VanderZaim campaign.As subsequent surveys would reveal, 62.6% of the delegates felt some candidatesspent too much money on their campaigns. So again, without really planning it, theaction of Vander Zalm and his campaign with regards to its finances and spending duringthe campaign was favourably received by the delegates.64The Vander Zaim Campaign: Policy. Strategy. PerformanceThe Vander Zaim campaign did not concentrate on or make policy statements duringthe brief campaign. All campaign literature focused on Vander Zalm personally,highlighting his successful business and political endeavours and his stable and loving familylife. It was the candidate’s well known personal beliefs not specific policies, that the VanderZalm campaign promoted. While other candidates tried to put more focus on policies andissues, Vander Zalm’s simple but sincere utterances, such as, “God gave us the earth, butit’s up to us to pick up the shovel and dig it.” had instant appeal to the party’s grassroots,especially since Vander Zalm was preaching to the converted. The aim was to win the votesof a majority of the 1,300 loyal and committed Social Credit delegates. Vander Zalm hada long and varied record in municipal and provincial government, and delegates could furtheruse this record as an indication of how a Premier Vander Zalm would govern. And so forthe duration of the campaign Vander Zalm would concentrate on his perceived politicalstrengths of integrity, morality, business acumen, and his belief in God and the work ethic.Combined with already high standing amongst party members, many who remembered howaccommodating Vander Zalm had been in attending constituency events over the years,Vander Zaim could restrict his campaign comments to the most basic comments:I believe in law and order. I believe in moral integrity. Ibelieve in fairness for all people in society. I believe we musthelp the disadvantaged. I believe we must all work together asproud British Columbians.65Commenting on Vander Zaim’s campaign approach regarding policy. Jack Daviscommented that:People knew where Bill stood, and where he was coming from.His openness is considered refreshing. Please feel that hishonesty and integrity will allow him to make the right decisionwhen needed. So we simply let Vander Zalm be VanderZalrn. (81)This decision proved to be correct, especially when it became apparent that the bulkof delegates attending the convention would not be longstanding party members, with firmopinions and convictions, most of whom had met the candidate many times over the yearsand appreciated the Vander Zalm approach:Bill Vander Zaim promised a different style of leadership, butwhile different it probably was not new for many of thedelegates. In appealing to populists, suspicious of bureaucracyand impatient with delay, and long time party activities, manyof whom were attracted to Social Credit during the W.A.C.Bennett era, Vander Zalm was offering a style with which theywere familiar. He may have been criticized for offering“style” rather than “substance”, but policy-oriented campaignwould have made the road to victory much rougher. (82)If Vander Zaim and his campaign’s approach to policy was nonchalant, their strategyduring the leadership contest was non-existent.At the first campaign meetings, initial attempts were made to provide the campaignorganization and candidate with a detailed schedule. (Three days firm, the next two daystentative). These efforts were quickly ended due to the little time remaining in the actualcampaign and fifty delegate selection meetings were already scheduled in a ten day period.The lack of a single firm voice in the campaign’s hierarchy to reign the candidate in, (andVander Zalm’s own unwillingness to be controlled) also prevented much planning. As thecampaign’s delegate-tracking chair John Leyland commented:66He is both the most fascinating and frustrating candidatepossible to work for. He develops his own strategy in his headas he goes along, and with his personality and skills he getsaway with it. Sometimes you felt like giving him the delegatelist and a pick-up truck and just let him go at it. (83)The only stated strategy of the Vander Zaim campaign was to have their candidatemeet as many delegates before, during and after their selection. To this end, Vander Zalmattended in person as many of the delegate selection meetings as possible. As Vander Zalmstated:The delegate selection process was perfect for me. I really didnot pay too much attention to the process until after I enteredthe race. Our campaign reviewed the party constitution, andrealized that not only was the selection of delegates really fair,but that even though I waited a while to declare (as acandidate), the other candidates did not have much time to signup new members. It would be the regular party membersgoing to Whistler, and I knew hundreds in everyconstituency. (84)This confidence coupled with a lack of organization saw the Vander Zaim campaign’seffort in putting forward proposed slates of committed delegates forward at the variousdelegate selection meetings run well behind of those of the Grace McCarthy, Brian Smithand Bud Smith teams. Again, Vander Zalm was not as worried as one might think:I realize that the Grace (McCarthy), Brian (Smith) and Bud(Smith) groups put a lot of effort and faith in organizing slatesfor the delegate (selection) meetings - much more than we did.I had my doubts about the slates because I knew most of thedelegates would be long time members. Even if they were onsomeone’s list as a committed delegate, this might not be thecase by convention. Also, other delegates were on listswithout even being asked to be put on. I had all kinds ofdelegates phoning me telling that they had been listed as asupporter of another candidate, but they were actuallycommitted to me from the start. (85)67Despite their candidate’s own doubts about delegate tracking, his campaign did tryto strategically track them. John Leyland, the committee chair, did not follow anypredetermined tracking model or system, instead his committee, key advisors, and VanderZalm himself would meet to brainstorm, both on how to locate potential supports, and howto hold them.The key was to locate possible contacts in the constituenciesand have them quietly form Vander Zalm slates to run at thedelegate selection meetings. We got our contacts from peoplephoning or writing in, or Jack (Davis) and Bill (Vander Zaim)suggesting names.This system had several faults however. No computer was available until near theend of the campaign, and an organizer charged with preparing delegate slates in the crucialInterior constituencies was charged with being either incompetent or working for anothercampaign or both. Several of the leads suggested to the committee, including many ofVander Zalm himself turned out to be were supporting other candidates. And finally, whenseveral Vander Zaim groups and slates in the constituencies were eventually organized, itwas too late as the delegate selection meeting had already been held. By the end of thesedelegate selection meetings Leyland would estimate that:Maybe fifty percent of the constituencies were contacted andreasonably organized. We began to consider the “uncommittedconstituencies” as bonuses. We knew though that the delegateswere smart individuals and open to Bill.Not only was Vander Zalm not overly impressed or concerned with modern campaigntechniques, he even had difficulty following a campaigns most basic routine, the regularlyscheduled campaign meetings. The candidate would comment that:68The campaign committee met three times a week. Webasically brainstormed and I would be given various reports onour campaign efforts, what the other candidates were doing,and what the membership and press were saying about us.After a while I wanted to meet the delegates, not attendmeetings”.To this end, concentrating on his major strength, his populist charisma, Vander Zalmconcentrated on and attended as many delegate selection meetings and all candidate functionsas possible. The results were always the same:He enters the hail for an all-candidates meeting, the last toarrive, and all heads turn to him. No one dares protest as theagenda is shuffled to accommodate his remarks. Afterward theother candidates move through the crowd, searching forsupport. He stands in one place and delegates flock to meethim.While the Vander Zaim campaign had difficulties in identifying and maintaining aprovince wide network of supporters, their candidate was able to draw supporters to himself,perhaps unlike any other politician in British Columbia history. As campaign Co-ChairmanCharles Giordano recalled in a vignette that summarizes both the strength and weakness ofboth Vander Zaim the candidate and his campaign:69People just came out of the woodwork. They were phoningme at home. And they were driving Bill crazy. And he wouldsay: “Keep all those telephone messages, Charlie! Keep allthose cards! Keep all those message slips!” And every day hewould hand me a great big pile of letters and messages. Iwould say: “Bill, what are going to do with them?”“Well, weed through them, Charlie.”He used to mark right on them: “Will help.” “Wants to makea donation.” “Has a problem with his coffee plant.” And I’dsay, “What’s this doing in here?”He’d come into the campaign office smoking his pipe and he’dhave an old orange juice box, cut in half, with all his files andletters in it. I’d say: “Bill, haven’t you got a briefcase?”“Oh, I like this box. It’s just perfect.”But it was just too much to see this guy all dressed up, packingthis old orange juice box, with all his papers in it. And he’dgive me another pile.So we’d go through all of his stuff and we’d separate themessages and phone people. But what happened was, therewere so many, and the phones would keep ringing, and theywould get mad because you couldn’t respond to them all. Wecouldn’t possibly respond to all these people.Too often the candidate’s own popularity and his personal confidence in his abilityto win the campaign meant that proper planning and organization of the campaign itself werelacking. As a consequence, the overall performance of the campaign was mixed. Whileenough support was provided to safeguard the victory, had the contest been tighter and morereliant on the candidate’s campaign organization and strategy, then Vander Zaim would nothave won.While Vander Zaim would not be coached or controlled like other candidates, latein the campaign the candidate and some confidants began to worry that perhaps the campaignwas indeed out of control. In a move that has been described as either an insurance policyor a panic move, the Vander Zalm campaign brought in its own local management70consultants. As the convention neared, the Vander Zalm committee heads met with thenWhite Spot president Peter Mainse at the downtown Cambie Street offices of William F.Johnston and Associates Ltd. (who were the business and advertising consultants to WhiteSpot). Several logistical changes in the campaign’s management were made, most notablythe remainder of the overall campaign would be guided by this company. Bill Goldie’s roleand authority would be reduced and Richmond lawyer, Al Basile, was added to the topcampaign level. (9fl Long time Vander ZaIm friend and campaign manager Larry Fisherwould be placed in charge of the crucial three day Whistler convention. Fortunately, for thecampaign, these behind the scenes alterations and uncertainties did not noticeably hinder theVander Zaim campaign nor worry the candidate. While such confusion would impede mostcampaigns, the Vander Zaim campaign was the candidate himself, and William Vander Zalmwas not about to let campaign organizations, be they those of other candidates, or his own,prevent him from achieving victory.In their 1992 book on political party leadership selection and conventions in Canada,political consultant John Laschinger, and newspaper columnist Geoffrey Stevens offer ninerules “for the politician who is determined to seek the prize at the end of the rainbow.”Rule One: A candidate should always operate on theassumption that the convention will go more than one ballot.Rule Two: A candidate should ensure that they have adequatecaucus support.Rule Three: A candidate who waits until a leadershipconvention is called before they start to campaign is too late.Rule Four: Before declaring, a candidate should commissiona poll of party members and delegates to establish issues andstrategy.71Rule Five: A shrewd candidate will understate and overachieve claims of their delegate support.Rule Six: A leadership campaign must have a hard-nosedS.O.B. to serve as the organization’s comptroller. Inadequatefinancial controls will kill the candidate after the convention,if not before.Rule Seven: A campaign must be professional, but neverlavish.Rule Eight: Candidates should identify a solid base of earlyfinancial support to begin a campaign.Rule Nine: A candidate must know, and be able to articulatetheir reason for wanting to be leader.As Bud Smith’s company manager, John Laschinger had the opportunity to watch theVander Zaim campaign violate and disregard most of these rules, and yet win convincingly.In fact, the only rules that Vander Zaim and his organization adhered to at all wereRule One (Vander Zaim expected at least three ballots) and Rule Six (as shown, financialcontrols were based upon not spending any more than had previously been raised and in thebank). With regards to the other rules (or similar ones), the Vander Zaim campaign not onlydisregarded them, they ran contrary to them.Rule two called for strong caucus support. Vander Zalm had only three largelyuninfluential back benchers supporting him. Most of the remaining caucus were either coolor outright negative to his candidacy and leadership skills. Fellow candidate Stephen Rogerseven stated what many candidates were privately thinking and said he would not serve in aVander Zaim cabinet.Not only did Vander Zalm not declare his candidacy before the leadership conventionwas called on May 22, 1986, (Rule Three), he let almost half the campaigning time lapse72before finally entering the race, and after even candidates had already preceded him.Accordingly to Rule Four, prior to declaring the candidate’s campaign should havecommissioned a poll of party members and delegates to receive feedback on issues and howto structure their strategy. The Vander Zalm campaign did not do any polling at anytime.Nor did the candidate have much regard for their value:I always had my doubts about too much polling. I think theBennett government became to reliant on it in its later years.I always preferred to meet directly .‘ith people, or talk to themby phone . .. then you really get a sense of what theirthinking. (95)Vander Zaim’s own inability to refrain from speculating about his results was mostevident when he discussed his possible first ballot strength (Rule Five). This caused hiscampaign considerable concern. As the chairman of his delegate tracking committeecommented:With no polling or real solid data to base our predictions orprojections of first ballot support, we told all campaignworkers and leaders not to guess or speculate on Bill’s firstballot support. Our strategy was whatever we actuallyreceived, we would say it was great, and more than what heanticipated. Of course, Bill didn’t follow these instructions,and had to speculate with any one who would ask, especiallythe media. When he started talking about up to 500 votes withTV reporters just before the first ballot was announced, andthen only got 367 . . . a lot of us on the campaign thought wewere finished.Rule Seven stated that “a campaign must be professional, but not lavish”. TheVander Zalm campaign was neither.While the Vander Zaim campaign was financially stable, no sources of campaignfunds were identified either before or during the candidate’s entry into the race. “We just73took what people sent us . . . The only solicitation was our newspaper ad” said thecandidate.Finally, Rule Nine states a candidate must be able to articulate their reason forseeking the leadership. Other than generalities, Vander Zaim offered no specifics, nordisplayed any deep passion for wanting to be premier at the time.I was increasingly comfortable in private life when Bill(Bennett) quit. I was caught totally by surprise by hisannouncement. Once the race began, the pressure on me fromall sorts of people was unbelievable. I could do the job, sofinally I said “let’s go”. And if the campaign hadn’t been, in1986, I don’t know if I had of returned to politics for sometime, certainly not in the next election.Despite the structure and conduct of Vander Zalm and his campaign, veterancampaign manager John Laschinger knew three weeks before the convention, from theresults of polls he had commissioned for the Bud Smith campaign, that Vander ZaIm “wouldwin on the third or fourth ballot, and that (Bud) Smith would finish a distant fourth.”Laschinger knew that the makeup of the delegates, their attitudes towards thecandidates personalities and policies, and their goals for the image and direction of theirSocial Credit party were key to the convention results.The delegates were very sophisticated with regards to what they wanted, analyzedLaschinger, and they were attuned to both Vander Zalm and his perceived views anddirection he would lead the party. Thus “the personalistic anti-establishment campaign runby Vander Zaim meant that he had to reach around the party’s elected elite to appeal to thedelegates directly”. Without really planning or organizing it, Vander Zaim used the onlycampaign strategy appropriate for his candidacy.74Chapter II Footnotes‘Stan Perskey, Son of Socred. Vancouver, New Star Books, 1979, page 173.2At the time of the 1986 leadership convention, all four Vander Zalm children wereinvolved in the nursery and garden business. The oldest child, 29 year old Jeffrey ownedand operated Art Knapp stores in Kelowna and Vernon, while 24 year old son Wim had astore in Port Moody. Both daughters, 27 year old Juanita and 21 year old Lucia worked atFantasy Gardens.3Refer to Appendix 2 for a complete summary of Vander Zalm’s twenty-six year,fourteen campaign political career.4Surrey election results are taken from the municipality’s official statements of votes.slnterview with William Vander Zaim, 27 September 1987.6Vander Zalm lost by 4,520 votes to the NDP’s Barry Mather in the Surreyconstituency. To date, the federal level of politics is the only one in which Vander Zaim hasnot been elected to.7Vander Zaim would finish third, well back of the NDP’s Ernie Hall and the SocialCredit candidate. The results are Hall (NDP) 12,574 (52.49%), James Wallace (SocialCredit) 5,877 (24.53%); William Vander Zaim (Liberal) 3,995 (16.68%)81’Vander ZaIm enlivens convention”, Vancouver Sun, 23 May 1972, page 13.9lbid.‘°Ibid., Vander Zalm’s pre-high tech convention consisted of professionally printedplacards, buttons, campaign “newspapers”, a pickup truck with a public address system, anorganized demonstration of support before his speech, and gallons of free coffee.“Ibid.‘2Letter from Mel Couvelier, 4 August 1987, concerning his 1986 Social Creditleadership campaign.13Jack Davis interview, held 13 July 1987 in Victoria, British Columbia.‘4A11 provincial election results are taken from the relevant edition of the Province ofBritish Columbia’s Statement of Votes.75‘5Alan Twigg, Vander Zaim: From Immigrant to Premier, Madiera Park, BritishColumbia, Harbour Publishing Co. Ltd., 1986, page 71.‘6”Some hail him, some hang him”, Western Report, 11 August 1986, page 71.t7This was made public by premier Barrett when on 18 September 1974 he revealedthat “an unidentified person in the Human Resources department has made a clericalerror . . . of $102.8 million in this years budget.” Twigg, Vander Zalm, page 68.Twigg, Vander ZaIm, page 69.19Vander Zalm would sue cartoonist Bob Bierman over a 22 June 1978 cartoonshowing him smiling as he pulled the wings off flies. He won $3,500 from a judge who saidthe cartoon was in bad taste, but lost on appeal when another judge ruled that the cartoonwas “fair comment”. Parodies of this cartoon concerning Vander Zaim’s political careercontinue to this day.“Vander Zaim”, MacLeans, 3 May 1976.21Twigg, Vander ZaIm, page 93.9bid., page 85.Ibid., page 86.24During a 1979 Social Credit regional convention in Williams Lake, Vander Zaimsang an anti-Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau ditty, (to the tune of “On Top of Old Smoky”),of which the mostinfamous verse was: “he needed a distraction, a political fog, and out of the Eastcame the sound of a frog.” Twigg, Vander ZaIm, page 234.“Vander Zaim: A Personal Profile”, Vancouver Sun, 15 October 1984.“Vander Zaim”, Vancouver Magazine, April 1983, page 59.z7Vander Zalm”, Vancouver Sun, 15 December 1982.“Editoria1”, Vancouver Sun, 2 April 1983.76Twigg, Vander Zalm, page 68.30Vander Zaim had extensive, often controversial dealings with the Richmond planningdepartment over the rapid growth of Fantasy Garden’s commercial and retail space. Whilethe various additions to the complex’s “European village” were approved by Richmondcouncil, Vander Zaim received considerable criticism for occasionally proceeding with theassorted projects without the required building permits. Vander Zaim also would make asuccessful application to the province’s Land Commission to have the entire Fantasy Gardenssite removed from the Agricultural Land Reserve. It was this possible conflict of interest(the provincial cabinet is the final voice on such decisions) that Vander ZaIm would mostoften cite as the reason why he delayed his entry into the leadership race. During the courseof the campaign, Vander Zalm would state that if a conflict of interest were to arise, hewould sell the gardens. Instead, Vander Zaim said he would place control over the complexin his wife’s name.31”Vander Zaim ponders run for mayor’s chair”, Vancouver Sun, 27 September 1984.32”Knew the odds Vander Zaim says”, Vancouver Sun, 30 November 1984.33City of Vancouver, Statement of Votes, 1984 election.‘Jack Davis interview, 13 July 1987 in Victoria, British Columbia.35Jack Cahill, John Turner: The Long Run, Toronto, McClelland and Stewart, 1984,page 206.Comments by David Mitchell, on CBC television, 30 July 1986. Mitchell is thebiographer of W.A.C. Bennett.37Twigg, Vander Zalm, page 204.In her 17 June 1986 column, the Vancouver Sun’s Maijorie Nichols insinuated thatBud Smith would likely change Social Credit’s name and eventually merge the party withthe Progressive Conservatives. This blatant attempt to discredit Smith and assist Nichol’schoice, Grace McCarthy, made Bud Smith “madder than at anytime over any thing duringthe entire campaign.” Bud Smith, interview in Victoria 14 July 1987.39Notes taken while a delegate at the 1986 Social Credit leadership convention.4°The University of British Columbia Survey (section C, question 6) reveals thatconvention delegates joined the Social Credit Party during the following periods: 1986(6.5%), 1980-85 (24.1%), 1975-79 (17.4%), 1972-75 (22.4%), and before 1972 (28.8%).41Twigg, Vander Zalm, page 240.7742t’Bill Vander Zalm: The One and Only”, Vancouver Sun, 14 July 1986.43Blake, Carty and Erickson, Grassroots Politicians, page 102.Rita Johnston interview, 16 July 1987 in Victoria, British Columbia.45”Vander Zaim in the Leadership Race”, Vancouver Sun, 21 June 1986, page 1.¶bid.47”I’m stepping down, Bennett declares”, Vancouver Sun, 22 May 1986, page 2.4John Leyland interview 11 September 1986 in North Vancouver, British Columbia.Leyland was responsible for delegate-tracking for the Vander Zaim campaign.49A11 candidates interviewed stated that if Vander Zaim had declared earlier, far fewercandidates would have run. Mel Couvelier indicated he for one would likely have not run.John Reynolds stated that “Vander Zaim couldn’t have been stopped from the time heannounced”. Cliff Michaels said at an all-candidates meeting in Hope, delegates went toVander Zaim “like bees to honey. I told my wife then and there the games over”.50Davis was charged with theft and fraud for pocketing the $1,074 difference in ticketprices. He hoped to receive an absolute discharge, but was found guilty and fined $1,000.00and placed on two months probation. Davis, had to contest for his Social Credit nominationfor the 1979 provincial election. He would be nominated and win re-election in the 1979,1983 and 1986 provincial elections.5tJack Davis, Popular Politics, Vancouver, Friesen Printers, 1984, page 228.53Jack Davis interview, 13 July 1986 in Victoria, British Columbia.Ibid.55As discussed in the next chapter, the impact of the caucus was minimal during thiscampaign.In interviews conducted in Victoria in July 1987, Jack Davis, Rita Johnston and BillRei stated that they held no joint discussions about supporting a Vander Zaim leadershipcancudacy prior to his own declaration.57Rita Johnston interview, Victoria, 16 July 1987.7858Despite the support of Jack Davis, it is believed that Vander Zalm did not receiveall of the North Vancouver-Seymour delegates. Most accounts give Vander Zalm at leastnineteen delegates, with the balance going to either neighbouring candidate John Reynoldsor Grace McCarthy.59John Leyland interview 11 September 1987.9bid.61’The rush for the helm”, Western Report, 30 June 1986, page 4.62William Vander Zaim, interview, Richmond, B.C., 25 September 198763Ibid.TMlbid.9bid.Rita Johnston interview, 16 July 1987.67lbid.The main campaign office was at 210 - 3195 Cambie Road, V6X 1L6 (Tel) 270-9290, while a Surrey satellite office was at 6922 King George Highway, V3W 4Z9 (Tel)590-1182“Candidate’s Troops get HQs Humming”, Vancouver Sun, 10 July 1986.‘The estimated costs of the twelve campaigns are as follows:Kim Campbell $ 40,000 - 50,000Mel Couvelier $ 70,000 - 100,000Cliff Michael $ 30,000Grace McCarthy $500,000 - 600,000Jim Nielsen $150,000John Reynolds $100,000 - 150,000Bill Ritchie $ 75,000 - 100,000Stephen Rogers $ 52,000Brian Smith $200,000 - 300,000Bud Smith $450,000William Vander ZaIm $130,000 - 140,000Bob Wenman $ 80,000 - 125,000The source of these estimates are from various candidate campaign sources as wellas material cited in the bibliography.7971William Vander zaim interview, 25 September 1993.9bid.“British Columbia Social Credit Party, General Rules for Campaign Conduct, 1986.These rules were included in subsequent campaign memoranda and rules and regulations sentto the candidates throughout the campaign.74”Help Support Bill Vander Zaim for Premier”, advertisement in the Province,6 July 1986.“Ibid.“Discussion with Ernie Sarsfield, a member of Jack Davis’ North Vancouver-Seymour constituency, who assisted with the Vander Zaim campaign finances.“The estimate of $140,000.00 is from various sources who worked on the VanderZaim campaign, including the candidate.“University of British Columbia, British Columbia Leadership Study 1986, SummaryResults, Section E, Question 10.79Vander Zaim Campaign brochure.Vander Zaim campaign letter to elected Social Credit delegates.81lnterview with Jack Davis 13 July 1987.82D. E. Blake, R.K. Carty and Lynda Erickson, “Ratification or Repudiation”,Canadian Journal of Political Science, September 1988, pages 534-535.9ohn Leyland interview, 11 September 1987.Wil1iam Vander Zaim, interview, Richmond, B.C., 27 September 1987.Ibid.John Leyland interview, 11 September 1987.87Ibid.William Vander Zaim, interview, 27 September 1987.8089”Bill Vander Zalm: The One and Only”, Vancouver Sun, 14 July 1986.David Mitchell, Succession, Vancouver, Douglas and McIntyre, 1987, pages 104-105.9Commenting on the role Al Basile played in the campaign after joining it in the laststages, Vander Zaim commented that “Al helped with a lot of the small details. You knowhe was supposed to be a Bud Smith supporter, although he personally told me he believedI was the best choice for the Party and the Province. You know many people in ourcampaign thought he was a Bud Smith spy”. These comments, made during an interviewon September 7, 1993, reveal much about Vander Zalm’s laissez faire approach to his owncampaign.John Laschinger and Geoffrey Stevens, Leaders and Lesser Mortals: BackroomPolitics in Canada, Toronto, Key Porter Books, 1992, pages 210-213.93William Vander Zaim interview, 27 September 1993.Despite his campaign comments, Rogers quickly accepted Vander Zaim’s invitationto join his first cabinet. Forced to resign over a conflict of interest, Rogers was allowed toend his sixteen year political career as Speaker of the House, following his appointment byVander Zalm.95William Vander Zaim interview, 7 September 1993.John Leyland interview, 11 September 1987.William Vander Zalm interview, 7 September 1993.9bid.Laschinger and Stevens, Leaders and Lesser Mortals, page 86.1Blake, Carty and Erickson, Grassroots Politicians, page 102.81CHAPTER IIIThis third chapter chronicles the race to succeed outgoing Social Credit party leaderWilliam R. Bennett as Social Credit party leader and to become British Columbia’ twenty-seventh premier. This leadership contest was not only brief (sixty-nine days), but had morecontestants (twelve) than any other race in Canadian history.Therefore, in an effort to understand why William Vander Zaim, and not one of theother eleven candidates won, the first three sections will profile the strengths and weaknessesof Vander Zaim’s eleven opponents. The middle sections of this chapter review the actualcampaign from William R. Bennett’s resignation (May 22) to the actual leadershipconvention (July 28- 30, 1986).What is revealed is that the various campaigns and media allowed speculation andpolitical “spin doctors” to dominate the coverage of the contest. It was only when theconvention began, with the 1,300 delegates present together, that the likelihood of a VanderZalm victory began, that the focus of the campaign changed.The final half of this chapter deals with the three day leadership convention atWhistler, British Columbia, it concludes with a ballot by ballot account, ending with WilliamVander Zalm’s July 30, 1986 victory.82The CompetitionWith the person elected Social Credit party leader on 30 July also becoming thepremier of the province, it was not surprising that several candidates entered the race tosucceed Bill Bennett. That as many as twelve candidates would eventually run, however,was a surprise. (Delegates would split evenly on their being too many candidates) Fully29 days of the 69 day campaign had elapsed by the time all candidates were in the race.Those seeking to become the first non-Bennett to lead that party included four current cabinetministers, two former cabinet ministers, (one of whom was no longer in politics), twobackbench MLA’s, two former aides to Premier Bennett, a Progressive Conservative MP,and the mayor of a Victoria suburb.If leadership contests revolve around personalities, and not policy, then the SocialCredit party and its delegates had a divergent cast to consider. The following sketches ofVander Zalm’s opponents reveals some reasons why they did not capture the imagination orsupport of enough delegates to defeat Vander Zalm. They are profiled in the order theyentered the race.John ReynoldsFirst in was West Vancouver-Howe Sound MLA John Reynolds, a former twiceelected Member of Parliament who left federal politics to become a radio talk show host, andthen a stock promoter. Thrice married, with seven children aged 1- 23, Reynolds could notshake his wheeler-dealer image. Described as being “always slick as lard on a doorob”,2Reynolds candidacy would make many long-time party members uncomfortable. Few wouldbe moved by his campaign slogan of “follow John . . . you’re following the leader.”83Jim NielsenJim Nielsen, had served in cabinet since the original W.R. Bennett government of1975. At the time of the convention he was administering half the provincial budget as bothHealth and Human Resources Minister. Nielsen had long been considered a very capableminister, and when he engineered the defection of disgruntled Altin NDP M.L.A. AllanPassarell to the Socreds, his political star was rising. Then in January 1986 it was disclosedthat the father of nine (5 of whom were adopted, including one who was legally blind andanother with Downs Syndrome) had been having an affair of “some time” (4) with a secretarywho worked in the Legislature. The affair had been disclosed after Nielsen was beaten upby the woman’s husband, another civil servant. Despite this, Nielsen would have supportof five caucus colleagues, and many Young Socreds. Nielsen would still manage to getoff the best line of the campaign when he responded to questions of both his candidacy andthat of Bud Smith. Replied Nielsen, who saw himself as a political Humphrey Bogafl,6 “Ididn’t shovel shit in the stables for ten years to have someone else come in and ride thepony.” rnBill RitchieMunicipal Affairs Minister Bill Ritchie was the third into the race. The 59 year oldmillionaire feed and grain producer was thought to be running not to be premier, but to raisehis profile enough to retain his party’s nomination in the upcoming election. (His CentralFraser Valley constituency association, the largest in the province, and in the heart of the84“bible belt”, was furious at Ritchie over his separation from his wife of 36 years). Ritchiesent Out the most literature during the campaign (most paid for with his own money) ashe attempted to run a policy oriented campaign.Bob WenmanWith three uninspiring candidates so far declared, the fourth candidate in attractedthe first serious scrutiny by the press and party. Conservative MP Bob Wenman however,wilted under this examination. The Wenman campaign peaked the Sunday afternoon heannounced his candidacy before 300 supporters at historic Fort L.angley, part of the FraserValley federal riding he had represented since 1974. Wenman has been a full-time politicianfor a generation. First elected as a Social Credit member in 1966, the 26 year old Wenmanwas the Province’s youngest ever M.L.A. Wenman served two terms before losing hisDelta seat in the NDP sweep of 1972. Wenman then moved to municipal politics and served22 months on Surrey council under then Mayor William Vander ZaIm. Between 1974 -1993 Wenman was a federal Member of Parliament, living in Ottawa. On paper theWenman resume looked impressive. On closer examination, short-comings were quicklynoticed. Other than politics, he had spent a brief time as a teacher, and during his time inthe provincial legislature, he had become a stock broker because, as he would claim,W.A.C. Bennett insisted he have another source of income. References to W.A.C. Bennettwould be frequent during Wenman’s run. The press would soon comment that “what setsWenman apart is that he’s born again. Not that born again. Wenman is a born againW.A.C. Bennett.”85Wenman listed in his Parliamentary Guide °° biography attendance at fiveuniversities, but showed no degree earned. He had switched churches from the United tothe fundamentalist Langley Christian Life Assembly, because the former was “too liberal”2>.He professed his belief in “Judeo-Christian” principles, but pronounced it “Judo-Christian”.°3He had served twenty years in politics without achieving either a cabinet post or significantrecord of accomplishment.Shortly after announcing his entry into the race, Wenman and his entourage arrivedin Victoria where they held court in the prestigious Empress Hotel. Several caucusmembers, and party elites would heed his summons for a discussion regarding his leadershipefforts. All would leave unimpressed . Soon Bob Wenman’s campaign had little to relyon but the unenthusiastic province’s branch of the Young Tories. Wenman had opened hiscampaign saying he would “spend cautiously” “ and his support would be “very significantin real dollar terms,” °. By the campaign’s end, Wenman’s organization would be in debt,and the M.P. the focus of some embarrassing court action. °Bud SmithThe first big name candidate in the race was the former principal secretary to premierBennett, Stuart Douglas Boland Smith, known as Bud. While Smith waged an energetic andskilful campaign, circumstances made a Bud Smith win impossible. The 40 year old lawyerhad never held elected office, and during his tenure in the premier’s office had been bothBennett’s gate keeper and conduit of information, a thankless job involving such personal86tasks as informing a cabinet minister than they are about to return to the backbench. Also,rumours quickly spread that Smith was the choice of Bennett and the establishment, asituation made worse when Smith’s departure from the premier’s office was followed byBennett’s resignation announcement shortly thereafter. When several loyal W.R. Bennettera cabinet ministers and party elites such as past party president Meldy Harris (who wasalso the widow of close Bennett friend Hugh Harris, generally considered to have led themodernization of the party in the early 1980’s) declared for Smith, the rumours wereintensified. These rumors were furthered when then party president Hope Wotherspoonstated that renewal meant attracting “Bud Smiths” as new members.Cliff MichaelThe sixth candidate was popular backbench MLA Cliff Michael, a former unionofficial and member of the provincial New Democratic Party executive who switched partieswhen he moved to the management side. A former school trustee in Salmon Arm, Michaelhad won his Shuswap-Revelstoke seat from a respected New Democrat member Bill Kingin the 1983 general election. He ran because “I’m a new experience, thrill type ofperson, who while being realistic, wanted to show my best.”Mel CouvelierThe former president of the provincial Liberal party and five term Mayor of theVancouver Island community of Saanich was the seventh candidate. Successful in severaldiverse businesses, happily married since he was 18, the 55 year old former accountant Mel87Couvelier had previously declared his intention to seek one of the nominations in his homeconstituency of Saanich and the Islands at the next general election. He had made hisleadership decision after several requests from his “circle of acquaintances”. Couvelierwas “convinced that the Social Credit party must provide a new program with new facesentirely disassociated from previous government actions.”Stephen RogersStephen Rogers billed himself as the “experience we need, for the future we want.”Unfortunately for one of the heirs of the B.C. Sugar fortune, his bright political career wasdetoured a few months before the campaign. Both Rogers and Forest Minister TomWaterland resigned from cabinet when it was revealed that they had not properly disclosedshares held in a pulp company. Rogers pleaded guilty to the breach and was given anabsolute discharge. Unlike Waterland, however, Rogers was not re-appointed to cabinet.When asked why, the MLA for Vancouver South since 1975 replied, “let history judge”.Kim CampbellThe ninth candidate was the former chairman of the Vancouver school board, andrecent policy adviser to premier Bennett. Kim Campbell ran a campaign based “on issuesand imagery, a campaign that would be of value to the party.” (2 With no possibility ofvictory, Campbell seemed to enjoy her opportunity to travel the province and present herpolitical thoughts. She was generally well received by the party members. Then, in adisjointed profile carried in the Vancouver Sun, Campbell was quoted as saying:88As an intellectually- oriented person, I like to socialize withpeople who read the same things as I do and have a similarlevel of education, but I genuinely like orGinary people. Ithink it’s very important to realize that a lot of people thatyou’re out there working for are people who may sit in theirundershirt and watch the game on Saturday, beer in handI suppose they would find me as boring as I would findthem.The story, which the 39 year old lawyer said felt like a “kick in the stomach” did nothingto endear her to many delegates already suspicious of her ambition and agenda.Grace McCarthyFollowing the 1972 election debacle Grace McCarthy’s efforts revived the B.C.Social Credit party. The defeated cabinet minister had narrowly won the party presidency,at the same convention that chose Bill Bennett as his father’s successor. Once in office sheworked tirelessly to preserve the coalition. By the 1975 election, the party’s membershiphad grown from 4,000 to 75,000. A senior cabinet minister and one time deputy premier,McCarthy’s hard work, idealism and boosterism earned her the title “Amazing Grace” fromthe party faithful.Despite being an obvious front runner, McCarthy faced two obstacles in her bid tobe Canada’s first female premier. First, if Bill Vander Zalm entered the race, the twofavorites of the party’s grassroots would be competing for the same delegates - many ofwhom perceived the populist Vander Zaim more electable province-wide than the statelyMcCarthy. Second, premier Bennett had fixed the perimeters of the campaign around“renewal”, something the 58 year old McCarthy, who had been first elected in 1966, would89have to address. Instead, her campaign focused on two themes: attack the politicalmachines operated by the Smiths (who both used veteran Ontario organizers in theircampaigns), and to call for a return of the party to its grassroots, away from the recent eraof pollsters and consultants. While such a strategy had much merit, it would soon seemsomewhat hypocritical when it was revealed that McCarthy too was utilizing members ofOntario’s “big blue machine” while running the most expensive and lavish campaign of therace.Brian SmithWith the benefit of a well organized campaign, Brian Smith campaigned hard forleadership. Directed by Patrick Kinsella, the self proclaimed “best political hack in thecountry” the respected attorney general was transformed from a rumpled, frowningsomewhat aloof character into a semi-polished performer. Smith had his hair cut and newsuits ordered. He smiled more, learned some speaking mannerisms and gestures, andinjected humour into this speeches. Within the two month campaign, the Honourable BrianR. D. Smith, Q. C., became, “Brian! . . . The best we can be! “. The new image coupledwith his proven abilities and the demise of the other campaigns would allow Smith to be onthe convention’s final ballot.While eleven candidates had now declared the media, the public, and the SocialCredit party itself wondered if Vander Zalm would indeed run. One week before VanderZaim entered the race, radio station CKNW’s Garry Bannerman, the top rated talk show host90in the province, (and a personal friend of Vander Zaim), commented that there were toomany candidates, most with no chance of winning and who were instead making “fools ofthemselves by being public nuisances”. Bannerman further remarked:If Bill Vander Zalm runs . . . He has extraordinary popularappeal around this province, and has paid his dues. He’s beeneverywhere. He has spoken at just about every kind of groupimaginable in B.C. When he runs, he’ll deliver something thatBud Smith is going to have to take notes. To learn whatpopular appeal really means, being well-liked by large numbersof people, what that means, being hated by large numbers ofpeople too. But that’s what leaders attract, real leaders, theyinflame passions, positive and negative.While the eleven other candidates had varying degrees of personal, professional and politicalaccomplishments, none would likely have Vander Zalm’s first ballot strength, including hissupport in all regions of the province. Combined with the loyalty of his delegates and hisperceived electability, the number of candidates would not harm the Vander Zaim campaign,and instead may have assisted it as it prevented an effective coalescing against his candidacy.TABLE 101986 Social Credit Leadership Candidate Personal DataMaritalCandidate Status! Professional Political B.C. Cabinetand A2e Children Education Career Career ExperienceK. Campbell Divorced Bachelor Lecturer, Lawyer Vancouver39 years old 0 children & Law Degrees Political Advisor School BoardM. Couvelier Married Cert. General Accountant, Mayor of55 years old 37 years Accountant Businessman Saanich3 childrenG. McCarthy Married High School Florist Parks Corn. (3) Human Resources,58 years old 38 years Businesswoman 17 yrs. MLA Tourism, Provincial2 children SecretaryC. Michael 2nd Marriage High School Union leader, School Trustee52 years old 0 children Businessman 3 yrs. MLAJ. Nielsen Married High School Broadcaster 11 yrs. MLA (4) Environment,47 years old 25 years Consumer &9 children Corporate, Health,& Human ResourcesJ. Reynolds 3rd Marriage High School Salesman, 6 yrs. MP44 years old 7 children Broadcaster 3 yrs. MLAB. Ritchie Separated High School Businessman 7 yrs. MLA (1) Municipal Affairs56 years old 4 childrenS. Rogers Separated Community Pilot 11 yrs. MLA (3) Environment,44 years old 2 children College Energy, HealthBrian Smith Separated Bachelor, Lawyer Ald. & Mayor (3). Education,52 years old 2 children Master & Lecturer of Oak Bay, Energy, AttorneyLaw Degree 7 years MLA GeneralBud Smith Married Bachelor & Lawyer40 years old 14 years Law Degree Political Asst.3 childrenW. Vander ZaIm Married High School Businessman AId. & Mayor (3) Human Resources52 years old 30 years of Surrey, 8 Education, Municipal4 children yrs. MLA AffairsB. Wenman Married Teaching Teacher 6 yrs. MLA46 years old 23 years Certificate Stockbroker 2 yrs. Surrey4 children Politician Alderman,12 yrs. MPCompiled by the Writer from Bibliographical Sources,Source: Candidate Information and Canadian Parliamentary Guides92The Caucus LiabilityOf the front running candidates, the so called “big four” of Grace McCarthy, BrianSmith, Bud Smith, and Bill Vander Zaim, it was Vander Zaim who had the least caucussupport of his leadership. Far from being detrimental to the Vander Zalm campaign, thislack of caucus support may well have been beneficial to his campaign, for it appears that theparty members and convention delegates were not only prepared to repudiate the politicalstyle of Premier W.R. Bennett, but his caucus and cabinet as well.As in other leadership campaigns, the 34 member Social Credit caucus split amongstthe candidates. Only five members did not indicate a preference. (Premier Bennett votedat the convention but refused to say how. Speaker of the House Walter Davidson was theonly MLA to decline delegate status, stating the traditional impartiality of the Speaker’soffice. And finally, MLAs Bruce Strachan and Harvey Schroeder and Environment MinisterAustin Pelton did not declare a preference due to their serving on convention organizingcommittees).Half of the candidates had no caucus support. (See Table Eleven). Federal M.P. BobWenman, Saanich Mayor Mel Couvelier and former Bennett aide Kim Campbell could notpersuade any sitting MLAs to back their candidacy, nor could Cliff Michael, John Reynolds,or Bill Ritchie convince their fellow caucus members to support them. The six candidatesthat obtained caucus backing ranged from Stephen Rogers, who was supported by hisVancouver South running mate and Minister of Post-Secondary Education Russ Fraser, toGrace McCarthy, who had seven members backing her. However, with less than 9% of thedelegates considering a candidates endorsement by other MLAs very important, caucussupport had little impact on this campaign.93In terms of pure votes, it is readily apparent that once balloting began, few M.L.A.shad control over their own constituency delegates. Three examples of this stand out. Healthand Human Resources Minister Jim Nielsen, who won only two additional delegates otherthan himself in the Richmond constituency he had represented since 1975, had the supportof three fellow ministers and two backbenchers. These six caucus members ridingscontained 125 delegates. Nielsen managed only 54 first ballot votes. Next, Brian Smithwho eventually had half the leadership candidates and half the cabinet supporting him on thefinal two ballots could not convince enough delegates that real renewal could be achieved bymerely replacing the outgoing premier with a current cabinet minister and the entrenchedcaucus.Finally, Bill Vander Zalm won with the initial support of only three back benchMLAs; long time friends and Surrey political allies Rita Johnston and Bill Reid, (both whohad succeeded Vander Zaim when he did not seek re-election in the Surrey constituency in1983) and North Vancouver-Seymour member Jack Davis, the only one to have served incabinet. Any other possible support, if any, was lost when Vander Zaim delayed his entryinto the race. None of the cabinet ministers Vander Zaim once called “gutless” supportedVander Zaim, and only Consumer and Corporate Affairs Minister Elwood Veitch seriouslyconsidered it, although he realized that if he did support Vander Zaim he would be“ostracized” by his cabinet colleagues. As the results would reveal, however, thedelegates were independent thinkers, and not willing to allow their opportunity to re-directthe party to be lost by a brokered convention.94TABLE 11Caucus Support and Potential Delegate Support of CandidatesPotential Actual Variance (+ I-)Delegates First Between PotentialM.L.A. Cabinet From M.L.A. Ballot & Actual FirstCandidate Endorsements Endorsements Constituencies Votes Ballot VotesKim Campbell 14Mel Couvelier 20G. McCarthy H. Curtis H. Curtis 150 244 +94G. Gardom G. GardomP. McGeer P. McGeerE. Veitch E. Veitch3. KempfD. MowatA. ReeC. Michael 25 32 +73. Nielsen A. Brummet A. Brumniet 125 54 -71J. Hewitt J. HewittB. McLelland B. McLellandJ. ParksA. PassarrellJ. Reynolds 27 54 +27B. Ritchie 40 28 -12S. Rogers Russ Fraser 25 43 +18Bud Smith A. Fraser A. Fraser 110 202 +92T. Waterland T. WaterlandJ. ChabotD. PhillipsBrian Smith 3. Heinrich 3. Heinrich 100 196 +96C. Richmond C. RichmondT. Segarty T. SegartyW.Vander Zaim J. Davis 54 367 +313R. JohnstonB. ReidB. Wenman 40SOURCE: Compiled by author from the candidate’s campaign information and material cited in the bibliography.95Howe Street Versus Main StreetThe 1986 Social Credit leadership campaign contest “between the inheritors of theparty’s populist tradition and modern organization men and women,” can be symbolizedby the perceived grasp for control of the party by the big monied vested interest of thedowntown business community. laying up his populist image, Bill Vander Zalm would tella Prince George audience (before he was a declared candidate) that the “Social Credit partyhas become more the party of Howe Street.” The brunt of this criticism focused on theSentinel Group of companies and the media’s discovery of the “Top Twenty Club”, acollection of senior business executives, and Social Credit supporters.42 The roles andinfluence of these bodies would come under intense scrutiny by both the party members andthe general public.During the campaign, most candidates met with the “Top 20” group fOr thirtyminutes. (One memorable television news segment would show five candidates duly waitingoutside the meeting place for their own audience). Notable by their absence were GraceMcCarthy and Bill Vander Zaim. Vander Zaim received no invitation (he had only recentlyentered the race, but would not have attended anyway), while Grace McCarthy cancelled anarranged meeting on the day it was scheduled in an apparent effort to affirm her grass-rootscredentials. Instead, McCarthy attacked the Top Twenty and those candidates, especially thetwo Smiths, for their supposed reliance on machines funded by these business leaders. Itwould be the never-elected backroom aide Bud Smith who bore the brunt of McCarthy’sattacks. Besides seeing his candidacy being maligned, Bud Smith called the politicallyexpedient exposure and criticism by other candidates “of such hard working and committedparty supporters as the Top Twenty members, the most disgusting event of the entirecampaign.” When it was revealed that McCarthy herself had benefited during pastcampaigns from the Top Twenty had paid organizers, and that was spending huge sums of96money herself, her grassroots campaign lost much of its lustre.The Sentinel Group revolved around three men. Michael Burns, had a consultingcompany known as Sentinel Strategies Ltd. and was the Social Credit party’s chieffundraiser. Doug Heal, who has been involved in government advertising, ran Doug HealCommunications Ltd. The final operative was pollster and political strategist PatrickKinsella, who operated Progressive Strategies Ltd. All three were also major shareholdersin Dome Advertising. All these companies were run out of the Bentall Centre office towers,in the heart of Vancouver’s business sector. Another similarity amongst the three was that:They were all once high ranking government insiders who nowhave lucrative private sector companies that do business withthe Social Credit government or party, or both.The Sentinal Group came to represent that elite group of individuals who, throughthe use of polls and consulting reports, had gained too much influence over the party’scontrol, direction and style of government. There was also concern that the group had toomuch access to the party’s purse. That Patrick Kinsella was masterminding Brian Smith’scampaign raised suspicions with those delegates who believed that the party was already tooreliant on these pollsters and consultants that this status quo would continue were he elected.Consequently, party activists at Whistler “generally lived up to their reputation for hostilityto bureaucracy, suspicion of experts and faith in grassroots opinion.” (43)By concentrating on the party’s populist membership, and by courting the chamberof commerce level of the business community - his natural constituency, Bill Vander Zaimavoided the negative reaction from delegates for being either too bound to, or dependent onpolitical or business elites. With McCarthy spearheading the attack against the “machines”Vander Zalm could follow in her wake while solidifying his small business links as well asthose delegates suspicious of and antagonistic to the Howe Street crowd.97The Media: Alliances and SpeculationWhen William Vander Zaim spoke to the convention following his selection as partyleader, he included in his brief remarks an acknowledgement of the media’s participation inthe leadership campaign, thanking you for “making the public more aware of the democraticprocess and the wonders of Social Credit.” Indeed it can be effectively argued that VanderZalm and the party rode the wave of media attention, much of it very positive, all the wayfrom the resignation of premier Bennett to their massive victory in October, a period ofexactly five months.All media forms covered the campaign in detail. As John Reynolds, the first declaredcandidate said, “we could get it (media coverage) anytime we wanted it.” Thenewspapers, especially the Vancouver Sun carried reports of delegate selection meetings andother significant developments, including full page profiles of all twelve candidates. Theirpolitical columnist Marjorie Nichols and Vaughan Palmer provided their perceptions on thecampaign almost daily. (Palmer would produce 55 campaign columns during the 69 dayrace). Radio hotline shows, especially those on CKNW (the province’s top rated station) hadseveral segments on the campaign, and frequent interviews, and “open-line” sessions callers’questions), with the candidates. And throughout, television news followed the unfoldingcampaign daily. At the convention itself, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation televisionstation would broadcast live the tribute to Premier Bennett, the speeches, and the actualballoting.With such extensive media coverage, the question to be asked is “did the mediainfluence the actual convention outcome?” With the exception of a pre-convention pollindicating Vander ZaIm was the most electable candidate, the answer would appear to be no.The reasons for this would appear to be twofold. First the 1,300 delegates “were very smartpeople, who knew what they were doing and would not be easily swayed from their decision98by either the media or the candidate campaigns.” (49) And secondly, “the media are morelikely to reinforce delegate perceptions that create them.”A review of the media coverage of the campaign reveals two general themesdominated the press. First was almost daily speculation on where the twelve candidatesranked according to momentum and actual delegate support. Second, the media createdcandidate alliances that they insisted would emerge at the convention. Certain members ofthe media also promoted their personal favorites. On both accounts, the media’s effortswould largely be superficial, and lacking any actual evidence.With regards to candidates delegate totals, the reported totals would be only partiallyaccurate, especially with regards to the big four candidates. On July 10, 1986 theVancouver Sun published the following estimate of first ballot support.99TABLE 12Vancouver Sun First Ballot Estimates (July 10)And Actual First Ballot Results (July 30)ESTIMATE ACTUALDIFFERENCE*McCarthy 250 244 -2%Bud Smith 217 202 -7%Vander Zaim 200 367 +84%Brian Smith 95 196 + 106%Ritchie 35 28 -20%Reynolds 35 54 + 54%Nielsen 25 54 + 116%Rogers 25 45 +80%Couvelier 25 20 -25 %Michael 25 32 +28%Wenman 20 40 +100%Campbell 14 14 -* The difference is the % that is + or - between the candidate’s estimated and actual vote.For example, McCarthy’s actual vote was 2% less than the Vancouver Sun estimate.Source: Compiled by Author.From: Vancouver Sun 10 July, 1986, and compilations extracted fromreports from individual delegate meetings.The above estimates, taken twenty days before the actual leadership vote, reveal somesignificant discrepancies in the perceived first ballot support of the candidates. The mostimportant figures are those of Brian Smith and Bill Vander Zalm, the two eventual finalballot contestants. While estimates of McCarthy’s and Bud Smith’s delegate total are fairlyaccurate, the media severely under estimated the strength of Brian Smith and Bill VanderZaim. Too often accounts of these delegate selection meetings were based upon various“spins” presented by campaign members and their political consultants. As a result, littledetailed analysis of the mood or preferences of the delegates was done before or during theconvention.100It was however, in the creation of candidate alliances that the media performed badly.During the course of the campaign three alliances were forged by the press. None of themmaterialized. One included a possible joining of forces of McCarthy and Vander Zaim.This “Mc Zaim” alliance would be the vehicle for the party’s grassroots. Such speculationdid not fully consider that both candidates would have tremendous first ballot support(finishing one, two, with a combined 47% of the total votes) and that Vander Zalm wouldhave a clear lead on McCarthy.The second alliance, while not initially the creation of the media, was built up bythem to significant proportions. This was the so called “caucus five” coalition, consistingof MLAs Michael, Nielsen, Reynolds, Ritchie and Rogers. The alliance had been struckprimarily as a result of fear about Vander Zaim’s popularity, a dislike of Bud Smith, concernthat they would lose any influence or roles in the new government, and as a possible meansof avoiding embarrassment if they finished poorly. The deal was consummated in a roomat the Best Western Hotel in Coquitlam. The members met following an all candidatesdebate during the home stretch of the campaign. The conversation lasted twenty minutes,and then the group departed. No handshake cemented their deal, because they “were allfriends and didn’t have to.” The caucus five, which the members believed at times tohold a block of well over three hundred votes would end in a trailer outside the conventionhall at Whistler after the first ballot, its destruction being the result of egos and animositybetween some members, and only 211 votes (16.2% of those cast) between the five.The worst speculation however, was with regards to the so-called (“Smith Brothers”)“coughdrops” alliance. (Smith Brothers is the name of a cough drop brand). From almostthe start of the campaign, the media assumed and perpetuated the myth that at some timeduring the convention Brian Smith and Bud Smith would merge their campaigns. Thereasoning was that both were federal Conservatives and both were guided by high profile101charter members of the Ontario Conservative party “big blue machine”. While the twocandidates’ managers may have believed the two Smiths and their delegates would join forcesand support the front runner in subsequent ballots, this was based on two false premises.First, s. .raI Bud Smith delegates considered Bill Vander Zalm their natural secondchoice.55 Second, Bud Smith himself never once fuelled the rumours of a Smith-Smithalliance, and found the continued discussion of it “irritating, because every time I said therewas no such deal, the press would ignore my statement and carry on talking about the‘coughdrop’ thing.Whistler: The July 28-30. 1986 ConventionThe original announcement that the upscale ski resort of Whistler had been chosenby the Social Credit executive to hold the leadership convention was controversial. Theconvention committee had been considering Duncan, Kamloops, Kelowna, Penticton, andVictoria, before narrowing their choice down to Prince George, Vancouver, and Whistler.Prince George was eliminated because of its remoteness and was impossible to book thenecessary amount of rooms needed to accommodate the anticipated 3,000 delegates,alternates, party volunteers, observers, and media expected to attend the convention. WithExpo ‘86 underway in Vancouver, there was also a shortage of rooms there. The remainingchoice of the party executive was the ski village of Whistler. Situated 120 kilometres fromVancouver, Allan Fotheringham would inform eastern observers that Whistler was “the sex,drugs, and rock n’ roll capital of Canada.” Ironically, the actual convention would beheld within the Whistler convention centre. “the $13-million development rescued frombankruptcy by the government two years ago.”The real controversy surrounding the selection of Whistler concerned the manner inwhich the party was able to obtain the required 600 rooms needed by those attending theconvention. One week after premier Bennett’s resignation, party president Hope102Wotherspoon announced that the party was exchanging the arrangements it had previouslymade with the Hotel Vancouver for the party’s annual convention to be held in November,with the July 28-30 reservations made at Whistler by British Columbia Hydro, who werescheduled to hold an energy conference at the resort. The switch as approved by Hydrochairman Chester Johnson, a long time friend of the Bennett family and who had beenappointed to his position by W.R. Bennett two years previously. Buh the press andcandidates would cite the Whistler arrangement as further evidence that others were privyto Bennett’s retirement plans. Attempts to confirm or deny this with the party executivewere met with a smile and “no comment”.While it is unlikely that the actual amounts spent by all twelve candidates will becomeknown, the media and assorted political observers attempted to calculate how much thoseseeking the premiership were able to raise and willing to spend, especially at the actualconvention. Stephen Rogers who disclosed that “a low budget all volunteer, grassrootscampaign costs $54,000,” was the only candidate to release his budget. Most estimatesranged from the $30,000 spent by Cliff Michael campaign up to the $400,000 range spentby the Smiths’, to the well over half million dollars spent by the supposedly grassroots effortof Grace McCarthy. (61) Many Social Credit delegates would in turn be shocked anddismayed by the extravagance shown at Whistler. Two-thirds of those surveyed stated thatsome candidates had spent too much money on their campaigns and that fifty-seven percentfelt that the party should place limits on campaign expenditures. (6Z)During the convention, Whistler village consisted of three parts. Firstly, the villageitself echoed with the candidate’s songs and was covered by their signage. (Bud Smith, forexample, paid the owner of his headquarters, Tapley’s Hotel, which had the prime locationof being beside the convention centre, $3,500 to post his signs). All candidates had eitherrented discos, bars, restaurants, or hospitality suites in the hotels, while the major campaigns103had all of these. Here the convention population, especially delegates, identified by photoidentification tags with blue trim worn around their necks, could eat and drink for free.(The cuisine ranged from chips and beer at the Nielsen provided Longhorn Pub, to Frenchcuisine and liqueurs served by the McCarthy campaign at Chez Joel’s).While the village proper was the focal point during the evening, during the day the“tent city” erected by the candidates on the resort’s golf driving range. Here the delegatescould both see and compare the various campaigns side by side for the only time during thecampaign. The contrast was startling. Bud Smith had the largest tent, Grace McCarthy hadthe best stocked, while Michael, Reynolds, Ritchie, Rogers, and Brian Smith had more thanadequate accommodations. Jim Nielsen’s young organizers put some Social Creditmemorabilia in their tenant and erected a banner proclaiming it the “Pavilion of Pride”, atitle that drew some sarcasm considering Nielsen’s personal difficulties. Speculation grewregarding the possible withdrawal of the Campbell and Couvelier candidacies before theactual balloting when they were seen sharing a small tent. Both persevered, and KimCampbell continued to serve homemade Rice Krispie squares cut into “K’s”, while theMcCarthy camp served unlimited quantities of both salmon and sirloin steaks one hundredmeters away. Only one candidate did not have a tent-of any size. Bob Wenman’s campaignwas shown to be in serious trouble, both in terms of financial and delegate support longbefore Whistler. By failing to have a tent and running his convention from a second storypizza restaurant isolated from any other activity, the demise of the Wenman candidacy wasvisible two days before the voting began.Most of the comments regarding the amateurish nature of the Vander Zaim campaignrevolved around his convention tent, and those who were in it. Delegates wandering incould see hula dancers, listen to a “hillbilly” singer and accordion player, an “oomph-pa-pa”band, or the juke box which played Dean Martin and Elvis records, while enjoying popcorn104and pop. While some worried about Vander Zaim and his supporters appreciation of modemtechnology, others found his home-style approach refreshing. The Vander Zaim tent wasbeside the McCarthy one, and reinforced the belief that Vander Zaim did not have to spendmoney to either create or alter his image. His style and practice was clearly defined andknown long before the Whistler convention.The third part of the convention site was where the actual selection of the new leaderwould take place. The convention centre (seating capacity 3,200) was where the speechesand voting day activities would take place. The site was further supplemented by hugetrailers parked on the south side of the centre. These were used by the major candidates ascommand posts. To the north stood a huge tent, where the actual voting would take place.(See appendix 5 for a site plan of the convention locale).Monday 28 July, consisted primarily of registration and the Party’s tribute to W.R.Bennett. The following day, the twelve candidates moved between the convention centreatrium, the hail itself, and the tent (where the voting itself would be held), where for fifteenminutes they would have the opportunity to address and then answer questions on economy,social policy, and leadership. The format and schedule for the policy forums was as follows:105TABLE 13Candidates’ ForumJuly 29, 1986Social Policy Leadership EconomyTime (Tent) (Atrium) (Convention Hall)0930-0945 Jim Nielsen Bud Smith Stephen Rogers0945-1000 Grace McCarthy John Reynolds Bob WenMan1000-1015 Cliff Michael Brian Smith Bill Ritchie1015-1030 Kim Campbell Mel Couvelier Bill Vander Zalm1030-1045 Bud Smith Stephen Rogers Jim Nielsen1045-1100 John Reynolds Bob Wenman Grace McCarthy1100-1115 Brian Smith Bill Ritchie Cliff Michael1115-1130 Mel Couvelier Bill Vander Zaim Kim Campbell1130-1145 Stephen Rogers Jim Nielsen Bud Smith1145-1200 Bob Wenman Grace McCarthy John Reynolds1200-12 15 Bill Ritchie Cliff Michael Brian Smith12 15-1230 Bill Vander Zaim Kim Campbell Mel CouvelierSOURCE: 1986 Social Credit Leadership Convention GuidelinesThese forums provided no real insight, nor were the candidates overly specific intheir remarks. With most of the delegates attention focused on the candidates speeches laterthat night, the major observation to be made was that where ever Vander Zalm spoke theattendance was the largest. With the forums over, the candidate’s speeches that night wouldbe their final opportunity to influence the next days voting.On the Thursday and Friday before the convention, the Vancouver Sun phoned 402men and women of voting age throughout the province. The respondents were asked elevenquestions, eight of which were related directly to the candidates contesting the Social Creditleadership. (6 The questions concerned which candidate was best able to manage the affairsof the province and provide strong leadership. Finally, the key questions was asked, “whowould have the best chance of winning the next election?” Vander Zalm won convincingly,106with 50.2% Grace McCarthy trailed badly at 23.4%, while Brian Smith gathered 7% andBud Smith 5.2%. The remaining eight candidates managed but 13.37% between them. Theresults were similar for the other eight questions: Vander Zaim with a sizable lead followedby McCarthy with at least double digit responses, then well back Brian Smith and BudSmith. The remaining candidates received usually less than 1% each. While these pollsmeasured little more than name recognition (in fact Vander Zaim “won” half the polls,“don’t know, etc.”, the other half), they helped foster the growing feeling that Vander Zalmwas indeed the candidate to win the province. As one northern delegate said, “the man inthe street wants Vander Zaim, and we’d be crazier than hell if we didn’t give them him. “The Vander Zaim campaign was quick to flaunt the poll results, including them intheir handouts and the “premier” edition of the “Vander Zaim Leader”, their four pageconvention tabloid. While the Vander Zaim supporters may have been critical of theproliferation and reliance on pollsters and polls by the outgoing regime, they neverthelesscapitalized on this extremely beneficial Vancouver Sun poll published two days before thevoting.The SpeechesThe candidates had previously determined their speaking order by the draws of lotson July 18. The order for the July 29 speeches would be:107TABLE 14Order of Candidate SpeechesJuly 29, 19865:00 p.m.- 5:20 p.m. Jim Nielsen5:20 p.m. - 5:40 p.m. Bill Ritchie5:40 p.m.- 6:00 p.m. Bob Wenman6:00p.m. -6:15p.m. BREAK6:15 p.m. - 6:35 p.m. Bud Smith6:35 p.m. - 6:55 p.m. Cliff Michael6:55 p.m. - 7:15 p.m. Mel Couvelier7:15p.m. -7:35p.m. StephenRogers7:35 p.m. - 7:55 p.m. Grace McCarthy7:55 p.m. - 8:15 p.m. John Reynolds8:35 p.m. - 8:55 p.m. Brian Smith8:55p.m. -9:15p.m. Bill VanderZalmSOURCE: 1986 Social Credit Leadership Convention GuidelinesWhile most delegates had decided upon who to support well before the conventionitself the main speeches (preceding the balloting by just a few hours) presented one finalattempt for the candidate to sway a delegates vote. On Tuesday night, for almost five hours,preaching before the converted, the twelve candidates would strive for the votes that wouldeither mean a real chance at victory, or for most,a “moral victory”, and enough votes so asnot embarrassment when the ballots were tallied.The rules stipulated that each candidate would have twenty minutes in which to stagea “demonstration” of candidate support, be nominated, accept nomination, and finally speak.The candidates would not only be speaking to the convention, but the province via livetelevision. Not surprisingly, the candidates tailored their words to the ears of the partyfaithful:108Common themes ran through all the speeches: a love ofeverything British Columbian that isn’t socialist, theimportance of party unity, the virtues of free enterprise, andthe need for a strong B.C. voice in the free trade talks. (7Jim Nielsen spoke first, after being guided into the hail by the “Indiana Jones” movietheme and his loyal band of young Socreds. After explaining why he felt compelled to bein the race, an obviously bitter Nielsen attacked the front runners, saying that, “there is nobig machine driving Jim Nielsen and there are no backroom boys or image makers makingdecisions for me, or even cutting my sideburns”. In his only reply to his personalproblems, Nielsen quickly mentioned that there are “no perfect candidates” (Th• He spokeas if he was resigned to the fate that would be assigned to him by the delegates the next day.Bill Ritchie entered the hall to bag pipes and girl gymnasts. He again described hispet project, P.R.I.D.E. (profit returns in developing excellence), and stated that he wouldserve as his own education minister if elected premier. Ritchie also had copies of his speechdistributed for delegates, but few would either seriously absorb his delivery of it or botheredto re-read it before voting. He received polite applause.Next up was Bob Wenman, desperately trying to revive a campaign that never reallydeveloped. He failed miserably. Although a professional politician for twenty yearsdelegates and observers were shocked at his high, hard to follow speaking voice and woodenmovements at the podium. When he tried to lower his voice and almost whisper for effect,many in the audience began to talk. Despite calling himself the “renewal with experienceunity candidate,” (74) and mentioning W.A.C. Bennett four times, Wenman’s performanceanswered the question for those wondering why he was a permanent backbencher.109After listening to three also rans, delegates sat up when Bud Smith’s enthusiasticsupporters and delegates entered the hail. Introduced by Don Phillips, who reminded thedelegates that he had nominated the inexperienced W.R. Bennett for the party’s leadershipalmost thirteen years ago, and that if indeed legislative experience was all that was necessaryto be a good leader “Dave Barrett would have been one hell of a premier”, (75) it was Bud’sturn. He performed well. His speech was well crafted, using phrases such “mainstreet,mainstream B.C.”, (76) and describing the Party as being “centre-forward” politically. Withthe television continually on a smiling Premier Bennett, Smith told the delegates and doubtersthat once in the premier’s chair, “this only experience that really matters is the experiencethat you can get by only serving the office itself.” For those who had relied on thenewspaper for their image of Bud Smith, his performance was surprising, as well asencouraging to his supporters.After being led into the hall by the Vernon Girls Trumpet Band, Cliff Michaelproudly declared his campaign to be “on target and on budget.” It was the first of severalgenuine rounds of applause for the candidate who said he had “not one enemy in theParty. “° Michael summed up his “issues and ideas based campaign” with this his pledgeto adhere to W.A.C. Bennett’s philosophy of “pay as you go and you’ll never owe.”Next up was “the town pump kinda guy” , Mel Couvelier, realizing he could notstage a vigorous floor demonstration he simply appeared on stage to the sounds of the Expo86 theme, “Somethings Happening Here.” Couvelier spoke well and was received politelyby the delegates who realized he would be a formidable candidate for the party’s nextelection.The final six speakers were led by Stephen Rogers, who was heralded in by atuxedoed brass quintet. Wearing his by then coveted “dark horse” lapel button, Rogers,usually one of the party’s liveliest and wittiest speakers, was somewhat flat, as though he110was conceding any possible chance at creating an impact on tomorrow’s vote. GraceMcCarthy reinforced the image of her high-tech, big budgeted, “operation grassroots”campaign when she again used her speech to assail the “machines” (five suchreferences) - after following an introductory video presentation estimated to have cost at least$25,000.00. (Delegates received video tapes from McCarthy and Jim Nielsen and audiotapes from John Reynolds and Brian Smith). Her comments that the party should “continueto be party beholden to none but the people of B.C. “, received applause, as did hercomments and efforts to accentuate her traditional role of being a “positive thinker, apossibility thinker.”John Reynolds’ twenty minutes failed to alleviate delegate’s concerns about his image.He opened with too much family on stage with him and failed in his attempt to create theallusion that because he had ten delegates from ten regions nominate him his candidacy hadhe massive province wide support. He spoke too fast and over played his three electionvictories. (Two of the twelve candidates also had three political victories, while six hadmore. His frequent referrals to his electoral performance also raised two concerns: manyfelt he had abandoned his federal seat for a radio “hotliners” salary, and the perception thathe had highjacked the safe West Vancouver-Howe Sound seat from a young candidateendorsed by the respected outgoing MLA lingered.) When Reynolds proceeded to talk aboutthe maligned Vancouver Stock Exchange, many winced. His well-financed campaign failedto attract the established membership who feared his “wheeler dealer” image. The careersalesman was unable to sell himself to his new party.Kim Campbell also played up her ethnic roots and was piped into the hall. Herspeech was well written and delivered smoothly. She created a minor stir when sheaddressed the front running Vander Zaim and stated “charisma without substance is adangerous thing,” which would become the most controversial and lasting quote of the111entire campaign. Like Michael, Campbell would receive warm applause, and like Couvelier,delegates seemed pleased she would be a candidate in the next provincial election.Before the eleventh speaker began, the convention hail darkened and then was quicklyfilled by lasers and the Brian Smith campaign song. Smith, despite appearing as though hismotions and cadence were not yet comfortably rehearsed, spoke effectively, even generatingthe best laugh of the evening when he followed his boast about ridding the West End ofVancouver from hookers with his pledge to be a “hands on premier.” Smith hadrehearsed his best lines that morning at the candidate’s forums, including his attack on theNDP’s forest policy that would leave the province’s economically crucial timber suppliesalone until the “year 2100 . . . where it would remain in ecological reserves for littlesocialists to look at.” His address successfully down-played his reputation of being dourand cold, enough so that following the speeches, many were anticipating a Vander Zaimversus Brian Smith showdown, with the anti-Vander Zaim forces coalescing around theattorney general.With the unexpectedly strong performance of Brian Smith concluded, delegatesanticipated a vintage performance from Vander Zalm, perhaps the best stump speaker in theprovince. And while still an effective presentation, Vander Zalm’s somewhat flat anduneven effort surprised many. The reason for this was that unlike his usual ad-libbing,Vander Zalm delivered a prepared speech:The speech was the thing I regret most about my entirecampaign. I should have just winged it, like normal . . . butmy campaign was afraid I would say something controversial,like I did when I ran for the Liberal Leadership and called forthe lash to be used on drug dealers. So to calm them down, Iwrote the speech I finally delivered. I felt awkward reading itto the convention. (90)112Despite this, Vander Zaim still managed some familiar lines:If I had viewed the problem bureaucratically, I would still behoeing daffodils as I did at the age of 12. Instead I was ableto take a loan of $3,200.00 that I took out at the age ofseventeen and build what’s now the greatest, largest nurserychain in Canada, the largest lettuce greenhouse growingcomplex in Canada, and we’re building the finest touristattraction in western Canada.Vander Zalm then attacked the pollsters, telling the party members that “my best pollingcompany will be you.” Next he reiterated his statement that he was not part of any deals,stating firmly that a cabinet post or a consulting job won’t be traded, it will be earned.”Finally, and wisely, Vander Zaim addressed his primary fear, a “stop Vander Zalm”coalition. Reminding delegates that Premier Bennett had recently stated that if he had notwon the 1973 convention on the first ballot, he may have fallen to a stop Bennett alliance,Vander Zaim told the delegates that he “could be faced with a similar problem”, and that,“this Bill also needs that first ballot,” because “the first ballot is the most important, it setsthe trend.” Depending on whether or not you were a supporter, Vander Zaim’s plea waseither a call for unity and possible first ballot victory, or concern about his delegate strength.First BallotOn Wednesday, July 30, 1986, the seventy day campaign would conclude with theselection of the party’s third leader. After being deluged by phone calls, candidate literature,invitations to social events, and the extravagance of Whistler, thirteen hundred delegatesalone would approach a ballot box and deposit their interpretation of renewal.William Vander Zalm began the day with several brief meetings with other candidatesor their representatives. He also met for half an hour with Grace McCarthy. The twowould talk in general terms, but Vander Zalm left the meeting fully expecting that the oneof them who was trailing on subsequent ballots would move to support the one who was in113a higher position. “It’s what Grace and I had agreed to before I entered the leadershiprace”, commented Vander Zalm.’Premier Bennett, determined to see the party leave its dynastic origins united andfunctioning, called the twelve candidates alone to his hotel suite for a pre-voting breakfastof bacon and eggs. While they ate, their supporters were already massing outside theconvention centre, waiting to bolt into the hail when the doors were opened and stake Outthe most advantageous sites to hang signs and hold pickets.Voting was scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m., but began half an hour late. From hissimple eight-foot by ten-foot stage, which was elevated two feet , Bill and Lillian VanderZaim, like royalty seeing troops off to battle, shook hands and kissed the pink clad delegatesas they filed past to vote. (Vander Zalm’s campaign colours were pink). For one hour thedelegates voted. For another one hundred minutes they waited while the charteredaccountant firm of Dunwoody and Company tallied the votes.Both the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and the radio station CKNW (theprovince’s largest) were carrying the convention live. In their efforts to fill the time betweenthe balloting, their reporters began reporting and commenting on many developments,regardless of their relevance, with most of the focus being in the possibility of an allianceto stop the acknowledged front runner, William Vander Zalm.About forty minutes before the first ballot results were announced, and in responseto a CBC’s reporter’s question on who he expected to win on the first ballot, and about thepossibility of an alliance against him, Vander Zaim replied:I think we’re going to make a great showing on the first ballot,and I think we’ll see some majors coming over to Bill VanderZaim perhaps even before the second ballot. So I have nodoubt that on the second ballot we’ll do okay - and I’m notblowing my own horn, I’m saying I’m tremendously optimisticfrom the feel I get here among the crowd. My gut feeling tellsme we’re doing great.114When the reporter again tried to focus on the alliance of the other candidates and thegovernment caucus against him, Vander Zaim was perceptive about the actions and attitudesof the delegates.I don’t think they can do it. I think there could be a caucuscoalition perhaps among a few I’m not sure how many.. . butits not really going to effect the outcome. The people knowhow they want to go . . These are real, independent peoplethey’ve done their homework and know where they wantto go. They’ve got their minds made up and so its lookinggreat.Following this response, Vander Zaim then showed his impulsive nature, and withoutbeing prompted offered specific predictions for his first ballot results:Well, I said I was going to have 438 (votes), maybe myestimate was a bit pessimistic. My optimistic was 480 . . . soif that’s it I think that perhaps the next contender will be about150 behind. .. so it’s a good gap.Not only would Vander Zaim’s pessimistic and optimistic predictions both beconsiderably off (short by 71 and 113 votes respectively), but his anticipation of being atleast 150 votes ahead of the next contender (who would be Grace McCarthy) was short by27 (367 to 244 votes). By setting his targets so high, Vander Zaim, and his organizerswould temporarily be demoralized and panic-stricken following the announcement of the firstballot results. Fortunately for Vander Zalm, however, he was correct reading theindependence of the delegate on subsequent ballots.When the first ballot results were finally announced, the audience remained silent fora few moments, trying to digest and comprehend the significance of the numbers:115TABLE 15Results of the First Ballot (Votes and Percentage Received)Vander Zaim 367 (28.36%)McCarthy 244 (18.86%)Bud Smith 202 (15.61%)Brian Smith 196 (15. 15%)Nielsen 54 (4.17%)Reynolds 54 (4.17%)Rogers 43 (3.32%)Wenman 40 (3.09%)Michael 32 (2.47%)Ritchie 28 (2.16%)Couvelier 20 (1.55%)Campbell 14 (1.08%)1,294SOURCE: Official Social Credit party records.One set of dynamics of a leadership race occur after the first ballot when the initial impactof the totals sink in. In this case, the first surprise was how poorly the bottom eightcandidates had done. Collectively they had managed but 22%, and they would each losetheir $2,500.00 deposit, and some, their reputations. Kim Campbell, who received the exactfourteen votes pledged to her by her Vancouver Centre riding was the only candidateofficially eliminated. She quickly moved to Brian Smith, “lawyer to lawyer,” commentedJack Davis. (101) Bill Vander Zaim was able to counter this when Mel Couvelier declared for“the man who can win the next election.” ° When asked when he had decided uponsupporting Vander Zalm, Couvelier responded, “two seconds ago.”The Campbell and Couvelier moves were almost immediate. The attention now turnedtowards the other also ran. Once the first ballot results were known, Nielsen, Ritchie,Reynolds, Rogers, and Bob Wenman met in one of their trailers parked beside the116convention centre. Cliff Michael missed the meeting by a few minutes. The discussion wasfrank, the questions simple: “Do we support one of our own, as planned?” “If so, who?”“Do we go en masse to one of the front runners, and again if so, who?” No consensus couldbe reached.° Despite pledges of solidarity, built upon years of working together ascolleagues, the “caucus five”, the creation of their own allusions of importance and themedia’s speculation, disintegrated in a trailer at Whistler. As one delegate said, “the othercandidates hated themselves more than Vander Zaim.” “° As a result, seemingly obliviousto the futility of their entire campaigns, Jim Nielsen and John Reynolds, each with but 54votes stayed on the ballot.John Reynolds, who expected between 125-175 first ballot votes stayed on to “provea point” °° although he did not elaborate on this statement. His fellow caucus mates hadbeen stubborn in refusing to support him on the second ballot, so Reynolds would fight onto have the personal satisfaction of finishing fifth. This was assured when Cliff Michaeldeclared his personal support for Reynolds in a move based upon a gentleman’s agreementmade when Reynolds offered Michael a ride in a plane he had chartered to take him froma delegate meeting in Campbell River to one in Williams Lake. (The agreement was thatwhoever placed higher, the other would support). Michael, who had gained at least eightvotes other than his own constituency, (if all voted for him) kept his word, although headmitted that just about all of his own constituency delegates were moving to VanderZa1m.°Jim Nielsen’s decision to stay on for another ballot despite having but 54 votes wasas difficult to understand as his decision to enter the race in the first place. Even with thesupport of five members of caucus (three of whom were long serving cabinet ministers),Nielsen could manage but a handful of the delegates from these constituencies. His decisionto fight another ballot was foolish as was his comment that “the silly tie” might still allow117“John or Ito pick up the middle ground.” Nielsen the fighter declared that “I’m not goingto give it away, (the premiership), let them earn it.”The remaining members of the “caucus five” were determined to stop Vander Zaim.There was too much antagonism towards Bud Smith, and while they respected her, they didnot think McCarthy could win the election. That left Brian Smith, whose momentum hadbuilt throughout the campaign, culminating with his speech the night before. To his platformwent Ritchie, Rogers and Wenman. Wenman’s actions surprised the convention. Hisdelegates, especially from the Fraser Valley, were natural Vander Zalm supporters. If hewas not supporting Vander Zalm, then most thought he surely would have supportedMcCarthy who Wenman had entered the provincial legislature with in 1966, and who wasalso godmother to one of his children.Bud Smith, who knew sometime before the convention that his candidacy was stalled,finished well below his anticipated 240 votes om•Grace McCarthy was second, as expected, but 123 votes behind Vander Zaim, whosedelegates were also her most likely supporters. Despite her constant attacks on “machines”and “backroom operators”, McCarthy held a private meeting with Bud Smith after the firstballot at his suite above Tapley’s Hotel. Any chance of a Bud Smith Grace McCarthyalliance ended when an angry McCarthy told Smith that it “was highly inappropriate that hewas in the race in the first place.” (112)Outwardly confident, Vander ZaIm supporters were devastated by the 367 vote total.While talk of a first ballot victory or 500 plus votes could be dismissed as being overlyoptimistic, Vander Zalm himself had said on television about an hour from the vote beingannounced his original guess of 438 votes was “perhaps pessimistic”, and that 480 might bemore realistic. Behind the scenes, Vander ZaIm’s organizers were horrified. Chief delegatetracker John Leyland felt “we were finished.” “‘ Only after returning to their own118command post trailer was Leyland again optimistic. “Our projections said that largenumbers of delegates had voted with their hearts on the first ballot and that they would usetheir head on the second and come to us. I kept telling myself that these were smart peoplevoting.” (114) The Vander Zaim delegate trackers assumptions were well founded. Assubsequently revealed by the University of British Columbia survey and analyses:Amongst Socred delegates one pattern stands Out. Delegatesfreed early in the convention (after the first ballot) were morelikely to flee than follow their candidate’s signal, while thereverse was true for those released later in the process.Vander Zaim himself showed no signs of despair following the first ballot results:Even when I saw the concern of my supporters, I just did notbelieve I would lose, although I do remember standing on mystage looking over the entire convention and thinking even ifthings did not work out (and I lost), I had a wonderful and fulllife to go back to - unlike many of the others candidates.°1If there was to be no concerted post-first ballot effort to stop Vander Zaim, then trying todo so after future ballots would be impossible. Again, it was the delegate selection processthat prevented such an event from happening. The independent and individualistic delegatesused their own judgement in selecting their leader, eliminating the possibility of non-electedparty power brokers most opposed to Vander Zaim anointing another candidate. Otherleadership conventions reveal how non-elected delegates can effect the outcome:Ex officio delegates are especially well placed to manipulatethe convention . . . if constituency delegates exhibit scatteringand uncoordinated preferences, collusion in ex officio rankswill give the latter group influence far out of proportion to itsnumbers.If indeed Bud Smith was the choice of the outgoing party establishment, and if caucusmembers feared the thought of a Vander Zaim victory, there was nothing they could do,other than try to persuade enough of the 1 ,300 democratically elected delegates to take their119advice, something most delegates had repeatedly declined to do. The following table, whichshows the reasons behind a delegate first ballot vote show that Vander Zaim’s supporterswere both impressed by his personal qualities and public appeal (including electability), thestrongest reasons to stay with him on successive ballots.TABLE 16Reasons for First-Ballot VoteCandidateBud Brian Vander AllReasons for vote McCarthy Smith Smith Zalm candidatesPersonal qualities 36.2 41.7 34.1 49.5 35.9Personal ties 6.9 8.3 7.3 4.2 8.5Party benefits 10.3 13.9 4.9 8.4 7.5Personal/regional benefits 3.4 5.6 0.0 1.1 4.9Policy/philosophyof candidate 1.7 13.9 19.5 5.2 10.5Experience/ability 41.3 19.4 43.9 14.7 28.1Public appeal 17.2 5.6 4.9 37.9 17.6Negative/strategic reason 0.0 2.8 0.0 2.1 2.3Other 1.7 11.1 2.4 15.8 9.5(N) (58) (36) (41) (95) (306)NOTE: Percentages exceed 100 because as many as three reasons for vote were recorded for each respondent.Source: D.E. Blake, R. K. Carty, L. Erickson, “Ratification or Repudiation”, Canadian Journal of PoliticalScience, September 1988, page 531.In retrospect, the period between the announcing of the first ballot results and thestart of the next ballot may have been the only opportunity, however slight, for thoseopposed to Vander Zalm to stop his election.While Vander Zaim was in first place, both he and his key advisers were shocked bythe results. Not only were his 367 votes almost 20% below his own guess of 438 votes, itwas well short of his campaign organizers’ estimate of close to 500 first ballot votes.However, the abysmal showing of the bottom eight candidates meant that theirinfluence or impact on the convention either as candidates or king makers was virtually nil.120As for Grace McCarthy (second place with 18.86% of the votes), Bud Smith (thirdplace with 15.61% of the votes), and Brian Smith (fourth place with 15.15% of the vote),all were aware from their own polling that they would face a monumental task to overtakeVander Zaim, despite his lower than expected first ballot result. Nevertheless, none of thesestrong-willed individuals were open to, nor prepared to assist another become leader, evenif it meant the eventual selection of Vander Zaim.These personal factors preventing any real coalition against Vander Zalm weresupplemented by physical factors. There was only thirty minutes between the first ballotresults and the start of the second balloting. Also, the size and layout of the Whistlerconvention center was prohibitive for either any of the usual dramatic soliciting of othercandidate’s supporters, or endorsements where one candidate and their supporters move toother’s platform. With so many delegates, observers and media in such a small structure(and with a low ceiling), the delegates had difficulty receiving any instructions from theircandidates respective campaign organizers, or in viewing the actual events on the conventionfloor.However, even if these delegates were able to communicate freely with theirorganizations, subsequent information reveals that the delegates were largely independentthinking in their voting decisions, and that Vander Zaim was also the second choice for manydelegates after their initial vote. Also confirmed by an analysis of the voting results, whichin turn confirmed initial speculation and analysis, was that Vander Zaim had the widest rangeof support throughout the province on the first ballot, making himself virtually unassailableto a coalition attack, and instead, and extremely well positioned to grow on the next ballot:121TABLE 17First Ballot Support by Region(Horizontal Percentages)LOWER FRASER INTERIOR! NORTH!ISLAND MAINLAND VALLEY KOOTENAY OKANAGAN PEACE R.Candidate:McCarthy 15.3 52.5-- 6.8 16.9 8.5Brian Smith 47.8 10.9-- 17.4 15.2 8.7Bud Smith 10.5 10.5-- 7.9 44.7 26.3Vander ZaIm 17.0 27.0 9.0 13.0 27.0 7.022.5 31.1 4.3 10.2 21.8 10.2SOURCE: D.E. Blake, R.K. Carty and L. Erickson, Grassroots Politicians: Party Activists in BritishColumbia, Vancouver, University of British Columbia Press, page 103.Second BallotAt 3:45 p.m. the second ballot results were announced:TABLE 18Results of the Second Ballot (Votes and Percentage Received)Vander Zalm 457 (35.70%)McCarthy 280 (21.88%)Brian Smith 255 (19.22%)Bud Smith 219 (17.11%)Reynolds 39 (3.05%)Nielsen (2.34%)1,280SOURCE: Official Social Credit party records.Vander Zaim had gained 90 votes and grown 25%. McCarthy 36 votes (15%), Brian Smith59 (30%), and Bud Smith 17 votes, or 8%. The figures told the story. Vander ZaIm wasfar from dead, in fact he had moved .177 ahead of second place McCarthy, and was 183122votes from victory. McCarthy had essentially stalled, as had Bud Smith. Only Brian Smithhad made a significant gain. While Brian Smith was heading towards a final ballotshowdown with Vander Zaim, several delegates and most media over estimated his 30%growth and its ramifications. Former Social Credit cabinet minister turned radio “hotliner”Rafe Mair, who favoured his former campaign manager Bud Smith, declared Brian Smithas good as elected despite his being 202 votes behind Vander Zaim. Such assumptionswere based on the “coughdrop” coalition actually occurring and the candidates and caucusmembers supporting Brian Smith being able to attract and hold delegates. When Jim Nielsenwas finally forced off the ballot and his remaining caucus supporters moved to Brian Smith,the attorney general’s cramped stage contained half the leadership candidates and almost one-third of the government caucus. Instead of this solidarity being beneficial, the caucusliability factor again came into effect. To most, Brian Smith and his new supporters did notappear to represent renewal, especially to these delegates who in effect were seeking changesnot only in premier’s office, but also within caucus and cabinet, both of which containedmembers whose personal and political judgement had harmed the party.In terms of delegates, it was apparent from the migration to Brian Smith after the firstballot that those candidates moving to him were coming without the bulk of their supporters,or that of their caucus supporters who were unable to control even their own ridings. Thefour candidates who moved to Smith on the second ballot garnered 125 first ballot votes.On the second ballot, Smith’s vote total rose only 59. If the leadership candidates and theircaucus supporters had been able to bring even their home constituency delegates with them,Brian Smith may have won on the third ballot.While media commentators were electing Brian Smith, The other Smith was meetingwith his “true and trusted friends” Ul9 in his Tapley’s Hotel suite. There Bud Smithdisclosed to his campaign executive what he had told his wife alone one week before:123I knew before the convention that it was over. It was now mydecision go to the other “outsider”, Vander Zalm. I explainedmy reasons and they all agreed. The only decision was “do Iwalk the floor?” My gut instinct said yes.Smith re-entered the hall, reassembled his group around his stage, then made the trek toVander Zaim, a fifty meter walk Smith said felt like “intense slow motion,” 2I) especiallywhen he became concerned for his wife’s safety as Vander Zaim delegates merged withSmith’s. Once on Vander Zalm’s platform Smith was greeted by a bear hug he “wasn’texpecting” ° from the candidate Smith claimed the party grassroots demanded lead them.Vander Zalm himself was not as surprised by Bud Smith’s decision as others were:I sensed alot of Bud’s support was similar to mine. We bothwere strong in the Okanagan and North. While I didn’t knowBud well before the campaign, we hit it off well together whenwe were at the same events. In fact, I enjoyed his company somuch that if I had to share a parachute with any of myopponents, it would be Bud.Bud Smith’s walk provided the big surprise of the convention. Countless mediastories had conditioned observers to expect a Smith-Smith alliance. Even the two candidate’smanagers were openly predicting such an outcome. As Bud Smith began his move to VanderZaim, Brenda Kinsella, the wife of Brian Smith’s campaign manager Patrick Kinsella,angrily said, “that’s the politics of bitterness. That f--cker!” 24) When Bud Smith spoke tothe media immediately after the excitement, he said, “for fifty-two days I have been sayingno deals with Brian Smith. Now I hope you guys in the media will believe me.” °Quickly the somewhat embarrassed media tried to explain why they had been sowrong. Some claimed Bud Smith was still upset with Patrick Kinsella over his boast thatthe government’s restraint program of the 1980s was more a result of his personaltransformation of Bill Bennett into “tough guy” out of political expediency, not economicnecessity. ° Also cited was the fact that so much of a caucus that was largely anti-Bud124Smith was now on Brian Smith’s stage. Few would consider his explanation of grassrootswisdom and his decision to support Vander Zalm. Rafe Mair said either his friend had somesort of deal (including the right to run in the South Peace River by-election) in place or else“Bud Smith is a fool.”Veteran New Democratic Party campaign manager Yvonne Cooke called the moveand the imminent election of Vander Zaim “suicide” ° for the party. Grace McCarthy,resigned to her fate said “who can understand it? I don’t.” ° Her only possible hope, andthat of Brian Smith, was that Bud Smith delegates would not go to Vander Zaim - something72% would do.°Third BallotWith the death of any perceived Smith alliance, Bill Vander Zalm was assuredvictory. Bud Smith’s decision to publicly declare for Vander Zaim as much a symbolicgesture as it was transferring of actual votes. Most of his delegates were already in theVander Zaim camp. The arrival of John Reynolds and Cliff Michael at this point, regardlessof their earlier professed support of Vander Zaim was seen as opportunistic, althoughMichael had Stated on television after the first ballot that he would eventually wind up withVander Zalm. While Brian Smith had the bulk of the government caucus and cabinet withhim, he had not convinced enough delegates that his victory would indeed be party renewal.Grace McCarthy continued to retain the support of her fiercely loyal followers, but with hernatural source of delegate growth already with Vander Zalm, she knew her campaign wouldsoon end.125TABLE 19Results of the Third Ballot (Votes and Percentage Received)Vander Zaim 625 (49.14%)Smith 342 (26.89%)McCarthy 3Q5 (23.98%)1,272Source: Official Social Credit party records.Vander Zaim had grown 168 votes, an increase of 37% over the last ballot. Smith hadgrown 34%, but had actually gained only 62 votes. McCarthy who had increased 50 votes,or 9% was forced off the ballot, a ballot made necessary by Vander Zaim being 12 votesshort of victory.After the third ballot results were announced, with Vander Zaim certain of victory,the convention and media focused on Grace McCarthy, who had just been eliminated.Would she make a political statement by moving to and endorsing either Vander Zaim orBrian Smith? While the subsequent release of her delegates seemed in keeping with publicpronouncements, Vander Zaim, privy to information no others had, expected somethingdifferent:I had told everyone that prior to my entering the leadershiprace, I had talked with Grace, and she had encouraged me torun. What I didn’t reveal that a few days before I made mydecision, Lillian and I went to Grace’s (Vancouver) house andtalked about the race with her and (husband) Ray. We spokefor three and a half hours. Grace was very concerned aboutthe two Smith campaigns, especially their organizations. Shewas afraid that unless I ran and siphoned off votes and tooksome focus off the Smiths, she would be caught in the middle,and lose. She obviously thought she would beat me. I left thatmeeting telling Grace that if I ran, I would run to win, but thatif she was ahead of me in the standings, or vice versa wewould support one another. She agreed. 03D126Vander Zaim also stated he met with McCarthy for about half an hour on the morningof the vote, in advance of the candidates breakfast with Premier Bennett. “While we didn’ttalk about the upcoming vote, and Grace seemed down. Enough was said that I assumed ourarrangement would still be in effect” When the third ballot was over and McCarthyreleased her delegates, Vander Zaim was incredulous:I was very, very disappointed Grace didn’t come to me as wehad talked. I considered myself honour bound to move to herif the results were reversed. I don’t know why she did whatshe did. We never discussed this matter again, but thingsbetween Grace and I were not the same after the campaign.While Vander Zaim was surprised and disappointed in McCarthy’s failure to endorsehim after the third ballot, then McCarthy herself must have been stunned by not only howthe day’s voting had gone, but the entire campaign. For if she had indeed encouragedVander Zaim to enter the race in the first place to thwart the campaign organization and votepotential of Brian Smith and Bud Smith, then McCarthy had made the political blunder ofher career.If the media driven Smith-Smith alliance was the McCarthy campaign’s greatest fear,and they thought Vander Zaim’s candidacy would assist theirs, then they had made amonumental political blunder. It appears that the great sums of money expended on hercampaign did not include either any polling or analysis into the political attitudes and votingintentions of the potential delegates to the leadership contest, for if they had done so, theMcCarthy campaign would have known that many of their potential supporters were evenmore predisposed to vote for Vander Zaim. With this critical information, Grace McCarthy,who was often lauded for her own political instincts, would have wanted William VanderZalm to have remained at Fantasy Gardens, not contesting for the leadership she so coveted.127This ballots results further confirm that “once the balloting started the candidate’sendorsements had little impact”. The independence of the Social Credit delegates wasevident throughout the four ballots, as they “knew who they wanted to win and, having casttheir first vote for a host of personal and other local reasons, moved directly to their realchoice”. (‘35)The following table shows the delegate movement between the first three ballots. Itreveals how little impact a candidate’s endorsement of another candidate had on the delegatesactual voting pattern:TABLE 20Delegate Movement by Candidate(Horizontal Percentages)SupportersCandidate Moved to Follow EiBallots 1- >2Campbell Brian Smith 25.0 75.0 (8)Couvelier Vander Zaim 37.5 62.5 (8)Michael Reynolds 100.0 (4)Ritchie Brian Smith 16.7 83.3 (6)Rogers Brian Smith 53.8 46.2 (13)Wenman Brian Smith 64.3 35.7 (14)Ballots 2- >3Nielson Brian Smith 80.0 20.0 (5)Reynolds Vander ZaIm 62.5 37.5 (8)Bud Smith Vander Zaim 72.3 17.6 (47)SOURCE: Blake, D.E., Carty, R.K. and Erickson, L., Grassroots Politicians: PartyActivists in British Columbia, Vancouver, University of British Columbia Press, page 106.The fact that the bottom eight candidates only received 285 (22%) of the valid votesfurther reduced these candidates ability to influence events, especially as their control over128their delegates was by in large restricted to the first ballot further reduced their role in theconventions outcome.The Fourth BallotWith Vander Zaim’s victory now inevitable, the only issue was whether Brian Smithand his followers would cross the floor prior to the fourth ballot to acclaim Vander Zaim thevictor in a show of party unity. This speculation was quickly dismissed when Smith statedthat his supporters deserved the opportunity to go down fighting. The additional ballot toconfirm the Vander Zaim victory took two hours:TABLE 21Results of the Fourth Ballot (Votes and Percentage Received)Vander Zaim 801 (63.8%)Smith 42 (36.18%)1,255Source: Official Social Credit party records.Vander Zaim’s additional 176 votes gave him 64% of the convention delegates. (He hadstarted with 28% on the first ballot). Despite the hopelessness of his cause, Brian Smith stillgained 112 delegate votes. Forty-five delegates refused to vote, either not casting or spoilingtheir ballot. When the results were announced, Vander Zaim exclaimed what became histrademark comment, “Fantastic” •At 8:13 p.m. on July 30, 1986, William N. Vander Zaim became the third leader ofthe British Columbia Social Credit party. On August 6, he would be sworn in as BritishColumbia’s 27th premier.129Chapter III Footnotes‘A survey of the delegates showed 44.4% agreed that there were too many candidates,while 44.7% disagreed. University of British Columbia Department of Political Science,“British Columbia Leadership Study 1986 Summary Results”, Section E, Question 10.2”Speeches didn’t meet the Stars”, Vancouver Sun, 30 July 1986.3John Reynolds campaign material.4”Nielsen: He’s no front runner but cabinet minister comes out swinging”,Vancouver Sun, 11 July 1986.5The young socreds would provide the balance of support and energy for the Nielsencampaign. Half of the twenty-five member Nielsen campaign organization were youngsocreds- whose vice-president was the candidate’s son Darin.6”His character (Humphrey Bogart) exemplified what I admire in people, he wasstraightforward, he was honest, he didn’t smile very much but he stuck to his word”,commented Nielsen in a written introduction to a Humphrey Bogart film retrospective hiscampaign hosted at Whistler. (Nielsen also bore a resemblance to the actor).7David Mitchell, Succession, Vancouver, Douglas and McIntyre, 1987, page 95.8Bill Ritchie also hoped to secure some delegates from the Vancouver Island ridingof Esquimak, for which he was the Social Credit “Buddy-MLA”. (Ridings represented bythe opposition were covered-off by Social Credit MLAs who were to support and assist thelocal Social Credit constituency association).9The writer was a delegate to the convention, and retained all campaign mailouts.‘°“MP sees himself as Living Legacy of W.A.C. Bennett Era”, Vancouver Sun, 7 July1986, page Bi.“Pierre Normandin (ed.), 1985 Canadian Parliamentary Guide, Ottawa, 1985.‘2”MP sees himself as living legacy of W.A.C. Bennett Era”, Vancouver Sun, 7 July1986.‘3”Hustler unsettles Socreds”, Vancouver Sun, 4 July 1986.‘4Discussion with Vancouver Sun Victoria bureau reporter Keith Baldry, 16 July1987.‘3”Wenman Jumps into Socred Race”, Vancouver Sun, 28 May 1986.13016Ibid.‘7An indication of how poorly his campaign had gone was a reminder issued on July20, 1986 to Wenman from the Social Credit campaign committee that his nomination paperswere not acceptable as he had yet to sign up 100 valid party members. This was only eightdays prior to the start of the convention. Wenman would have to rely on assorted fund-raisers organized by his supporters, as well as the mortgaging of his home to pay off hiscampaign debts.18Shortly before his departure as Premier Bennett’s principal secretary, it was BudSmith, not a MLA who was assigned by the Premier to meeting with younger members oflocal constituency associations in an effort to recruit new party members. Critics would latercharge that Bennett was trying to introduce Smith to key constituency members in an effortto gain their confidence and support prior to the start of the campaign.‘9Bud Smith’s campaign was endorsed by MLAs (and Bill Bennett loyalists) JimChabot, Don Phillips, and Tom Waterland, as well as former party Presidents PeterHyndman and Meldy Harris.“Remark Spurs Socred Furore”, Vancouver Sun, 28 May 1986.21Michael defeated the incumbent NDP MLA Bill King, who had served as labourminister in the Barrett government. King would finish third in the NDP’s 1984 provincialleadership contest.Interview with Cliff Michael, 15 July 1987, Victoria, B.C.Letter to the author from Mel Couvelier, 4 August 1987.Ibid.Stephen Roger campaign literature.Interview with Stephen Rogers, 14 July 1987, Victoria, B.C.27lnterview with Kim Campbell, 14 July 1987, Victoria, B.C.“Intel1ectual lawyer sees her politics as a chance to enlighten”, Vancouver Sun, 3July 1986.Interview with Kim Campbell, 14 July 1987, Victoria, B.C.30Blake, Carty, Erickson, Grassroots Politicians, page 6.31There would be some discussion (usually from other campaigns) that McCarthy wasactually two years older, which would make her 60 at the time of the convention.3ZWhile exact campaign costs are not known for all the candidates, all reviews put theMcCarthy campaign first with expenditures in the $500,000.00-$600,000 range.13133Considered dull and uninspiring, Brian Smith’s concerted effort to liven his imageand speaking style was one of the major surprises of the campaign.Patrick Kinsella was one of the group of political operatives recruited by premierBennett from the Ontario Progressive Conservative party in the early 1980s. Kinsella wouldalso serve as Bennett’s deputy premier in 1981-82.351’Brian! . . . the best we can be!” was the Brian Smith campaign slogan.“Garry Bànnerman Show”, Radio Station CKNW, 20 June 1987.“Ibid.University of British Columbia, British Columbia Leadership Study 1986. SummaryResults, Section E, Question 7.39Discussion with Elwood Veitch 15 July 1987, Victoria, B.C.Blake, Carty and Erickson, “Ratification or Repudiation”, Canadian Journal ofPolitical Science, page 513.4Twigg, Vander Zaim, page 163.‘2Named for twenty swing ridings in British Columbia, twenty seats critical to SocialCredit’s ability to form government, the so-called “Top Twenty” group was formed byPremier Bennett and his new group of party operatives following the party’s near defeat inthe 1979 provincial election (Social Credit won 31 seats to the New Democrat’s 26. Therewas only a 2.3% difference in the popular vote).Approximately sixty prominent business people comprised the Top Twenty. Each membercontributed at least $5,000.00 annually to the party, which met periodically for lunch andother meetings with the Premier and other cabinet ministers.For a list of the 1986 Top Twenty group members, and their occupations, see DavidMitchell’s Succession.43Bud Smith interview, 14 July 1987, Victoria, B.C.“Power and Money Behind the Socreds”, Vancouver Sun, 24 June 1986.45Blake, Carty and Erickson, “Ratification or Repudiation”, Canadian Journal ofPolitical Science, page 523.“Leadership Drive Begins in Earnest”, Vancouver Sun, 21 June 1986.41John Reynolds interview, 15 July 1987, Victoria, B.C.In addition to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, radio station CKNW, theProvince’s largest, also provided live coverage of the convention.13249Comments of R.K. Carty on Radio Station CKNW, 10 July 1987.°Ibid.511n particular CKNW radio talk show host Rafe Mair (a former Social Credit cabinetminister), extolled the candidacy of his former campaign manager, Bud Smith, whileVancouver Sun newspaper columnist Majorie Nicholls favoured Grace McCarthy.524’First Ballot Support”, Vancouver Sun, 10 July 1986.53This account of the Coquitlam meeting of the so-called “caucus five” was providedby Stephen Rogers during an interview on 14 July 1987. It was confirmed by members ofthe other involved campaigns.54The meeting of the caucus five candidates and campaign, held in a trailer outsidethe convention centre after the first ballot, was contentious. One attendee, who asked notto be identified stated “that these former political big shots were in shock, firstly about howbadly they had all done, and about how little influence they might have either over theconvention - or in the party afterwards”.55That most of Bud Smith’s delegates considered William Vander Zaim as their secondchoice was subsequently confirmed by the University of British Columbia survey of thedelegates.Bud Smith interview, 14 July 1987, Victoria, B.C.57”Fundamentally Lotus Land”, MacLeans, 11 August 1986.“Whistler Socred Convention site”, Vancouver Sun, 26 May 1986.59Lorne Valensky interview, 20 September 1986.Stephen Rogers Campaign literature distributed at Whistler.6tSee Chapter II, Footnote 70 for estimates of the various campaign expenditures.62University of British Columbia, British Columbia Leadership Study 1986, SummaryResults, Section E, Question 10.63Canadian Broadcasting Corporation “Social Credit Party Leadership ConventionTelevision Coverage”, 30 July 1986.The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s British Columbia region carried live on theirtelevision channel much of the Social Credit party convention, including the candidatesspeeches on July 27, 1986, and the entire July 30, 1986 election day. The writer videotaped these events. All cited quotations have been extracted from these tape recordings.TMBoth mentioned the possibility of withdrawal to the author (Kim Campbell duringher 14 July 1987 interview, and Mel Couvelier in his letter of 4 August 1987).133MAccording to the restaurant proprietor, Wenman paid $1,000 per day for the use ofthe restaurant as his campaign headquarters.6Tickets to the two hour tribute to Premier Bennett cost $50.00. Bennett was salutedby B.C. Hydro Chairman Chester Johnson, Cabinet Minister Don Philips, businessman andExpo ‘86 chairman Jim Pattison, and Alberta Premier Peter Lougheed. The Social Creditparty presented Bennett with a speed boat and the 1975 Chevrolet car he had used since 1975for government business.67e402 persons asked 11 questions in Marktrend Poll”, Vancouver Sun, 26 July 1986,page 1.Ibid.Author’s notes taken July 29, 1986 while at the convention.700n1y 18.5% of delegates said they made their decision on who to support once atthe convention; 49.4% decided when the candidates announced; 24.9% between theirselection and the convention; and 6.8% when they were selected as a delegate.University of British Columbia, British Columbia Leadership Study 1986, Summary Results,Section E, Question 8.71”A-G Smith Upstages his Rivals”, Vancouver Sun, 30 July 1986, page 13.“Social Credit Leadership Convention: Candidate Speeches”, Canadian BroadcastingCorporation, 29 July 1986.Ibid.74Ibid.75Ibid.76Ibid.77Ibid.Ibid.Ibid.Ibid.81Ibid.9bid.83Ibid.134Author’s notes taken 29 July 1986 while at the convention.85”Candidate Speeches”, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 29 July 1986.9bid.87Ibid.9bid.9bid.90William Vander Zaim interview, 7 September 1993, Ladner, B.C.91”Candidate Speeches”, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 29 July 1986.9bid.3Ibid.Ibid.95William Vander Zaim interview, 7 September 1993, Ladner, B.C.Other candidates had far more elaborate stage setups. Grace McCarthy’s resembleda fortress, while both Brian Smith and Bud Smith’s had an elevation device so that thecandidate could be raised along with his subsequent vote totals.“Socia1 Credit Leadership Convention: Election Day”, Canadian BroadcastingCorporation, 30 July 1986.9bid.9bid.1Section 12(C)(ii) of The Social Credit Party Constitution outlined the process wherecandidates are eliminated from future ballots.‘°‘Jack Davis interview, 13 July 1987, Victoria, B.C.102”Election Day”, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 30 July 1986.‘°3lbid.!o4Stephen Rogers interview, 14 July 1986, Victoria, B.C.Author’s notes 30 July 1986.t9ohn Reynolds interview, 15 July 1987, Victoria, B.C.. Reynolds did not wish to135elaborate on what point we was trying to make.‘°7Cliff Michael interview, 15 July 1987, Victoria, B.C.‘°“Election Day”, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 30 July 1986.‘9bid.“°Ibid.“Bud Smith interview, 14 July 1987, Victoria, B.C.“2lbjd“3John Leyland interview, 11 September 1987, North Vancouver, B.C.“4lbid.“5Blake, Carty and Erickson, “Ratification or Repudiation”, Canadian Journal ofPolitical Science, pages 528-529.Wi1Iiam Vander Zaim interview, September 7, 1993, Ladner, B.C.“7George Perlin (ed.), Party Democracy in Canada: The Politics of NationalConventions, Scarborough, Prentice Hall Inc., 1987, page 207.“8”Election Day”, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 30 July 1986.“9Bud Smith interview, 14 July 1987, Victoria, B.C.‘Ibid.‘2’Ibid.‘9bid.‘Wi11iam Vander Zaim interview, 7 September 1993, Ladner, B.C.Twigg, Vander Zaim, page 197.‘“E1ection Day”, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 30 July 1986.See Allen Garr’s Tough Guy.‘27”Election Day”, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 30 July 1986.‘Ibid.‘Ibid.136°B1ake, Carty and Erickson, “Ratification or Repudiation”, Canadian Journal ofPolitical Science, page 529.William Vander Zaim interview, 7 September 1993, Ladner, B.C.‘32Ibid.‘33Ibid.Blake, Carty and Erickson, Grassroots Politicians, page 106.‘35Ibid.“Election Night”, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 30 July 1986.137CHAPTER IVCONCLUSION AND EPILOGUE:ANALYSIS OF THE VANDER ZALM VICTORY AND ITS CONSEQUENCESTO THE BRITISH COLUMBIA SOCIAL CREDIT PARTYConclusionOn the final ballot the delegates to the 1986 Social Credit leadership convention werepresented with a clear choice between two candidates with distinct personal and politicalstyles, a choice that “came down to a choice between Vander Zaim, a millionaire workingclass hero, and Brian Smith, a remote Victoria lawyer, who personified a remotegovernment.” “ While these delegates respected and admired the personal efforts of PremierW.R. Bennett, they wanted to halt the course he had set for their party:The selection of William Vander Zaim appeared to represent,in part at least, a repudiation of the Bennett style, aspects ofhis political agenda, and some attempts to modernize the partyorganization. (2)More than anything, this leadership convention was about the future form and direction theSocial Credit party would take, either back to W.A.C. Bennett’s populism or a continuationof the modern machine style practiced in the last years of W.R. Bennett’s tenure. There wasan obvious fear amongst delegates that once W.R. Bennett relinquished the reins of power,and the Kelowna dynasty formally ended, the unique and politically independent nature ofthe Social Credit party would be lost. For many delegates if the centralization of the party’sleadership and agenda proceeded, then the grassroots input and influence that had marked138the party’s origins would be gone forever. It was this fear of downtown concrete pavingover the grassroots that led the delegates away from the future and back to the morecomfortable past.In order to reassert themselves, the party’s membership needed the largely open anddemocratic delegate selection process. While very few were aware of it at the time of W.R.Bennett’s resignation, the party’s existing constitution outlined rules for delegate selectionprovided just such a mechanism. In the party’s thirty-four year history, party leadershiprules were seldom considered, and the guidelines used in 1986 had never had a real test run.The party had always been led by a Bennett, and the current Premier was only 53 years old.(His father had been 73 when he finally resigned). While no one expected the son to matchthe father’s longevity, few thought he would leave so abruptly.When W.R. Bennett did resign, party members, scholars, the media, and potentialleadership candidates and their supporters were sent scrambling to the party’s seldomreferred to constitution. There on page 12 Bylaw 10(c) the voting procedures stated clearlywho could vote for delegates (party members deemed to be in good standing) and the totalnumber of delegates permitted at the leadership convention itself. (Minimum 25 perconstituency, one extra for each 100 members over 1,000 a riding had). Nothing more.Those wishing to become Social Credit delegates had but one route available, and thisrequired the approval of their fellow constituency members. If the party’s leadership ruleshad of been manipulated to include various delegate categories, then Vander Zaim, theoutsider running against the bulk of the party’s establishment and definitely against thewishes of the existing caucus, would have had little chance of success. While several of his139grassroots loyalists would have emerged through some of the delegate categories to be in aposition to support him, this block of votes would have been countered by delegates fromthe other categories, especially the ex-officio ones, who would be most concerned aboutretaining their current positions and power. Instead, with an open convention, Vander Zalmknew that with even half the campaign over and little organization or strategy in place hecould still enter the race and win:The delegate selection process turned out to be the key. WhenI attended some candidate’s meetings before I declared and sawthe support I was getting, and when I received hundreds ofphone calls and letters from around the province also urgingme to run, I knew that the grassroots were still with me.When I realized these were the people who would be voting atWhistler, not the big shots, I knew I had a very good chance.Without the delegate (selection) process, I would’ve been deadin the water. (4)The 1986 Social Credit leadership campaign was largely about one man, WilliamVander Zalm. All of the Vander Zaim’s perceived attributes, self-discipline, work ethic,morality, and populism, the most familiar adjectives used when describing the man, wereusually lumped into one word, style. While this style was not easy to describe, the SocialCredit delegates were comfortable enough with it that even previous blunders or concernsabout the man’s depth were put aside.Since he was seventeen Vander Zaim had been a salesman. First as a nurserymanthen as a politician. Whether he was selling flowers or himself, he has been very, verygood. As his campaign press agent Charlie Giordano, who witnessed Vander Zaim’s styleand its results on delegates and voters throughout the province, stated:140He’s the ideal candidate. His charisma is sincere and whenpeople see that face and hear that voice they believe what hesays. (5)While being often criticized by the press and other candidates for providing “charismawithout substance”, enough delegates felt otherwise. To them his success in the freeenterprise market place and his efforts at actually implementing party policy and opinionwhen in office was the practical substance these voters could appreciate. Vander Zaim’scharismatic approach to politics and policy was something the delegates were comfortablewith:In appealing to populists, suspicious of bureaucracy andimpatient with delay, and long time party activists, many ofwhom were attracted to Social Credit during the W.A.C.Bennett era, Vander Zalm was offering a style with which theywere familiar. (6)By simply being himself Vander Zaim captured the mood of the convention and its delegates.Those candidates who tried to create the illusion of leadership and image by spendingexorbitant sums of money themselves for charges of being artificial and controlled bypollsters and consultants. Far from allowing them to compete with Vander Zaim, these high-tech, high finance campaigns instead highlighted Vander Zalm’s self reliance.The delegates attending were smart people who knew what they were doing. Thefirst priority of the Social Credit delegates was to select a leader they had confidence in andwho could win the next election. The I ,300 Social Credit delegates had been given141enormous responsibility and power. They seized this chance to determine the destiny of theirparty. They were not about to lose this opportunity. As political commentator Dalton Camphas stated, leadership selection is one of the few remaining areas where party activists canhave influence over their party:Now that the parties don’t have any influence left in the policyarea, the only power left to a party is to elect a leader and theonly power left to the constituency organizations is to say whogets nominated if you take that away everyone becomes aeunuch. ()It is somewhat ironic that outgoing Premier W.R. Bennett coupled his resignationwith a clear call for party renewal. While each of the twelve candidates claimed to be justwhat the Premier had in mind, it seems apparent that the W.R. Bennett era establishmentequated renewal with more modernization and new faces. Their political revitalizationincluded the political gadgetry of the computer age, constant poll taldng, consulting reports,and networking. Even the party president said Social Credit was looking to attract the “BudSmiths”, of society. What happened instead is irony. Premier W.R. Bennett began to relyheavily on polls and paid organizers in the early 1980’s in an attempt to keep Social Creditin power after the close call of the 1979 provincial election. Before this election, during hisfirst term in office, the same Bennett had once remarked:I don’t need polls to tell me what the guy in the beer parlor isthinking. I just walk down the halls and talk to VanderZalm.Polls over populism marked the style of the last years of the W.R. Bennett142government. Without Vander Zaim in cabinet and with a premier who was never abacksiapping campaigner, instead consumed by projects such as Expo 86 and northeast coal,the government grew distant from its roots. The 1983 election was a personal triumph andvindication for W.R. Bennett. He had several pians for his last term in office and with hisconvincing mandate he intended to govern. While party members and the general publicmay have agreed with many of his government’s policies, they quite often had difficulty withhow it was presented.In summary, the Vander Valm victory was due to four factors.First, Vander Zaim’s persona and political record earned him the loyalty of theparty’s grassroots and distinguished him from his eleven competitors.Second, the simple and open delegate selection process and the short campaignprevented either any influx of new members who may have diluted Vander Zaim’s coreconstituency, as well as the manipulation of multiple delegate categories (as witnessed inseveral other party conventions). (10)Third, the delegates and party as a whole wanted to select the candidate with the bestchance to change their then political fortunes and win the next provincial election. Variouspolls and surveys during the campaign consistently pointed to Vander Zalm as their best hope(which it turned out was true).And finally, besides wanting to win the next election, these delegates saw theselection of Vander Zaim as their best way to repudiate and halt the modernization effortsof W.R. Bennett and in effect return the party back to its populist traditions.143For those delegates predisposed to the Vander Zaim candidacy, they would not onlyhave the opportunity to vote for the candidate they personally admired and who they werepolitically aligned with, but who could also rejuvenate the party and win the upcomingprovincial election:(But) as in other Canadian party systems, electoral competitionin British Columbia focuses much on the personalities andcharacter of the party leaders. And party members know it.When asked to indicate the importance of a series of factors indetermining their choice for leader, delegates at the 1986Social Credit leadership convention chose ‘ability to win thenext election’ more often than any other factor; personalcharacteristics of the candidates were second. (WFor Vander Zaim to have won, all of these four factors had to either occur or be inplace. As they were a candidate with little organization and less strategy, with minimalcaucus support, and who did not enter the campaign until eleven others had done so and afterthe race was almost half over, won convincingly. Politics revolve around personalities, andin British Columbia in 1986 this meant Vander Zalm:The grassroots of British Columbia’s Social Credit reclaimedtheir party and their government last week, kicked out thecoterie of imported Ontario bureaucrats and power pedlars whohad come to surround it, lifted a defiant middle finger to thenation’s media and intellectual elite, declared war on unionism,legislated biculturalism, socialism, and Ottawa-packagedpatriotism, and proclaimed to the world that, in BritishColumbia anyway, Social Credit is once again a movement.In other words, they named as premier-designate of theirprovince a man who in the space of a 17-year political careerhas figuratively mooned just about every icon on the liberalaltar. His name is Bill Vander Zaim. (12)144EpilogueThe election of William Vander Zaim as the third leader of the British ColumbiaSocial Credit party began one of the most tumultuous tenures a Canadian political leader hasendured.During the five and a half year period from the resignation announcement of W.R.Bennett until the 1991 provincial election, both Vander Zaim and his party met withsignificant political triumphants and ultimately great political failure.On August 6, 1986, one week after his selection as Social Credit leader, WilliamVander Zaim was formally sworn in as British Columbia’ twenty-seventh premier.On October 22, 1986, and despite running a campaign as disorganized as hisleadership bid, Vander Zaim led Social Credit to a decisive victory in the provincial generalelection. Enough voters were either enamoured with, or trusting enough of Vander Zaimto give Social Credit their second highest popular vote ever (49.7%) and their third highestpercentage of seats (47 of 69 seats, or 68%). What was most impressive about this victoryis that exactly five months earlier when Premier W.R. Bennett announced that he wasretiring, the party appeared headed for defeat at the next election. (14)The 1986 Social Credit general election victory was waged under a campaign slogancalling for a “fresh start”. For over a year after their win, it seemed that the unorthodoxVander Zalm would provide just that for both his party and the province.145This was not to be the case. Vander Zalm’s inability to refrain from speaking hismind (especially on abortion), considering in advance the consequences of his comments oractions, and his poor selection of government officials and friends led to a steady erosionof his public and party support that neither would be able to recover from.The final years of the Vander Zaim premiership were ones which saw a leaderincreasingly besieged by internal party strife and a public tiring of the same populism it hadonce found appealing.In the end, it was Vander Zaim himself who brought about his own downfall.Despite stating throughout his leadership campaign and his subsequent term as premier thathe would sell his Fantasy Garden development so as to avoid any political conflict ofinterest, Vander Zalm continually delayed doing so. Finally, when he did manage to sellthe gardens, (at the start of his fifth year as premier), a subsequent investigation initiated bythe Premier himself found him to be in conflict of interest over the actual sale eventsthemselves.On April 2, 1991, the day the investigative report on his sale of Fantasy Gardens wasreleased, William Vander Zaim became the first premier in Canadian history forced to resignover a conflict of interest.On July 20, 1991, in the third and last Social Credit leadership race contested underthe same rules and processes that had led to Vander Zalm’s victory , Rita Johnston, (whohad been elected by the Social Credit caucus as their interim leader on the date Vander Zalm146resigned), was elected by party members as their fourth leader, defeating Grace McCarthyon the second ballot.Unlike 1986, this leadership change did not provide an electoral boost for the troubledparty. Rather, the party was clearly divided and polarized before, during, and after theconvention. On October 17, 1991, in a provincial election held only five days less than fiveyears after the Vander Zalm triumphant, the once omnipotent party was humiliated, finishinga distant third in the standings. As of this papers submission, the future of the party remainsvery much in doubt.There has been much written and said about the rise and fall of William Vander Zaimand his political career. What cannot be disputed is that on July 30, 1986, the last candidateto enter the most crowded leadership race in Canadian history, who began running only afterthe race was half over, and who ran perhaps the worst campaign ever conducted by thewinner of a major Canadian leadership contest, took full advantage of the timing, process,and available delegates, and won the leadership of the Social Credit party, and with it thepremiership of British Columbia.No matter what has been written on, or may yet be written about William VanderZalm,°8 he cannot be denied his moment on July 30, 1986 at Whistler, British Columbia.147Chapter IV Footnotes“An electoral shock”, Maclean’s, 11 August 1986, page 2.2Blake, Carty and Erickson, “Ratification or Repudiation”, Canadian Journal ofPolitical Science, page 513.3A11 leadership candidates interviewed expected W.R. Bennett to run again. Whilesome indicated an electoral victory would be difficult, most thought, like the 1983 campaignwhere the party trailed up until the final days, the Bennett led Social Credit party wouldagain win a majority government. William Vander Zaim was “shocked.. .1 thought Bill(Bennett) would run once more”.4William Vander Zalm, interview in Richmond, 25 September 1987.5”Vander Zaim: Outspoken populist says he wants to cut government red tape”,Vancouver Sun, 18 July 1986, page Bi.6Blake, Carty and Erickson, “Ratification or Repudiation”, Canadian Journal ofPolitical Science, page 534.7Lynch, Charles, Race for the Rose, Toronto, Methuen, 1984, page 98.81’The Coughdrops’ fatal flaw”, The Province, 3 August 1986, page 31.perhaps the best example of the W.R. Bennett’s government’s poor handling of agovernment policy is with regards to “restraint”, the issue the party campaigned on duringthe 1983 campaign. According to the U.B.C. delegate survey (Section A, question 2), 55%of the delegates rate the government’s performance with regards to restraint “very good”,while another 35.6% stated “fairly good”. Section B, question I indicates that 51.2% of thedelegates thought “the provincial restraint program was well intentioned but not wellimplemented”.‘°Courtney, John, “Leadership Convention and the Development of the NationalPolitical Community in Canada”, in Carty, R.K., and Ward, W. Peter, National Politics andCommunity in Canada, Vancouver, University of British Columbia Press, 1986. Also,Patrick, Grey, and Perlins, Contenders, vividly chronicles the abuses of the 1983 federalProgressive Conversation Leadership campaign delegate selection process.“Blake, Carty and Erickson, Grassroots Politicians, page 86.‘2”The Vander Zaim Zap”, Western Report, 11 August 1986, page 6.148The only Social Credit election victories with a higher popular vote than the 1986Vander Zaim victory of 49.32% was the 1983 total of 49.76%.The only victories with a higher percentage of Social Credit seats attained than the 1986total of 68% were the 1956 (75%) and 1969 (69%) totals.‘4David K. Stewart and R.K. Carty, “Does Changing the Party Leader Provide anElectoral Boost? A Study of Canadian Provincial Parties: 1960 - 1992”, Canadian Journalof Political Science, June 1993, Volume XXVI:2, pages 313- 330.In this article, the authors review, analyze, and reveal several interesting trends andconclusions with regards to provincial election results following changes in partyleadership. This paper shows that the mere change of leadership is far from a guarantee ofsucceeding electoral success nor are they a panacea for an unpopular governing party”. (page329) Furthermore, the paper shows that “of all scenarios, a competitive convention and aquick election are most conducive to electoral success. New premiers who fight hard to wintheir jobs, and quickly ask the public for an endorsement, have the best change ofsweeping the electorate off its feet”. (page 330) Vander Zaim’s selection and thesubsequent Social Credit party victory in the 1986 provincial election is a case in point.‘5E.N. Hughes, Revort of the Honourable E.N. Hughes. O.C.. on the Sale of FantasyGarden World Inc., Victoria, Province of British Columbia, April 2, 1991.‘6Many opponents of William Vander Zaim within the Social Credit party, includingseveral failed leadership candidates, blamed the party’s then leadership selection processwith providing Vander Zaim with an advantage. This discontent, which was most evidentat subsequent annual conventions of the party, saw Social Credit amend its constitution toimplement a universal ballot procedure for future selection of their leaders. (What manyof Vander Zaim’s critics fall to realize, or refuse to accept, is that it is equally likely thatVander Zaim would have won in 1986 even if the universal ballot had been in place).The subsequent fate of the twelve 1986 British Columbia Social Credit leadershipcandidates reveals the unpredictability and surprises that are so often associated withpoliticians and leadership candidates.149KIM CAMPBELL - The twelve and last place finisher, who won but 1 .08% of thevotes at Whistler, was elected an MLA in the Vander Zalm led victory of 1986,a Member of Parliament in 1988, and leader of the federal Progressive Conservativeparty. Following her election as Conservative leader, she served as Prime Ministerof Canada for four months before leading the party to a massive defeat in the 1993federal election.MEL COUVELIER - The eleventh place finisher was elected an MLA in 1986.He would subsequently resign from Vander Zaim’s cabinet in 1991 and run in thatyear’s Social Credit leadersnip race. Not a candidate in the 1991 general election,he would return to private enterprise as a small business consultant.WILLIAM RITCHIE - The tenth place finisher would retire from politics in 1986.(It was unlikely he would have been re-nominated as the Social Credit candidate inhis former riding).CLIFF MICHAEL- The ninth place finisher would win re-election in 1986. Hewould be a member of Vander Zaim’s cabinet until forced to resign over combininghis political office with personal business interests. Michael did not seek reelection in 1991.ROBERT WENMAN - The eighth place finisher did not run provincially for SocialCredit as he had indicated. Instead, he would be re-elected for the ProgressiveConservatives in the 1988 federal election. Wenman, who was forced to sell hishome to pay off debts from his ill-fated leadership campaign would close his twenty-seven year political career when he did not run in the 1993 federal election.STEPHEN ROGERS - The seventh place finisher would, despite his earlierstatements to the contrary, serve in the Vander Zaim cabinet. He would end hissixteen year political career as Speaker of the Legislature. Not a candidate in the1991 general election, Rogers would return to his pre-political career as an airlinepilot. He would unsuccessfully run for the presidency of the Social Credit Party in1993.JIM NIELSEN- The sixth place finisher retired from politics in 1986. Despitenominating Vander Zalm to succeed him as the candidate in Richmond constituency,and later accepting a $200,000.00 a year appointment from him as head of theprovincial Workers Compensation Board, Nielsen would become a bitter andoutspoken critic of Vander Zalm. Leaving the WCB after less than two years,Nielsen works as a political commentator and consultant.150JOHN REYNOLDS- After finishing fifth, Reynolds was re-elected in 1986.Initially appointed Speaker, Reynolds would also serve as environment minister,before resigning late in the Vander Zaim mandate. Defeated in the 1991 election,Reynolds moved to Scottsdale, Arizona, and is involved in various business and stockventures.BUD SMITH - The fourth place finisher won a seat in the 1986 election and wasappointed Attorney General in 1988. His seemingly bright political future wasderailed when a relationship with a female reporter was revealed. Smith completedhis only term on the backbench. He did not run in the 1991 election, and returnedto private life in Kamloops.GRACE McCARTHY- The third place finisher would be re-elected in the 1986election, but resign from Vander Zalm’s cabinet in 1988 (and henceforth be a focalpoint for growing dissent against the Premier). McCarthy would run in the 1991leadership race, finishing second to Rita Johnston. She would not seek re-electionin 1991. She was elected leader of the Social Credit party in November 1993.BRIAN SMITH - The runner-up was re-elected in 1986 and served as AttorneyGeneral. Differences with Vander Zalm would see Smith resign his cabinet seat in1988. He would later resign his seat in 1989, accepting an appointment from primeminister Muironey to become chairman of Canadian National Railway with an annualsalary in excess of $200,000.00.WILLIAM VANDER ZALM - Elected the third leader of the B.C. Social Creditparty on July 30, 1986, Vander Zaim was sworn in as the province’s twenty-seventhpremier one week later. Vander Zaim would lead his party to an overwhelmingelectoral victory on October 22, 1986. Forced to resign as premier and party leaderon April 2, 1991 due to conflict of interest involving his Fantasy Gardendevelopment, Vander Zalm would remain an MLA until the October 17, 1991provincial election, which saw the Social Credit party decimated. Following a courtcase concerning criminal breach of trust (again over the sale of Fantasy Garden),which was dismissed, Vander Zaim returned to various business matters. He wouldresign as a member of the Social Credit party in 1992. In November 1993 he joinedthe fledgling Family Coalition Party.1518The interest on and impact of William Vander Zalm on British Columbia politicscan be seen in the number of books written on or about him.W.A.C. Bennett, party leader for twenty-one years and premier for twenty, had two majorbiographies written about him (Paddy Sherman’s Bennett, 1966 and David Mitchell’sW.A.C. Bennett, 1993). There are also three other books, which are reminisces byassociates. (Ronald Worley’s 1971 Wonderful World of W.A.C. Bennett, photographer JimRyan’s 1980 My Friend, and Roger Keene and David Humphrey’s 1980 Conversations withW.A.C. Bennett).William R. Bennett, party leader for thirteen years, premier for eleven, was profiledin three books (Stan Perskey’s 1989 Son of Socred and 1983 Bennett II, and Allen Garr’s1985 Tough Guy). There have also been two books by academics reviewing the W.R.Bennett years (The New Reality, published in 1984, and After Bennett, which was issued in1986).William Vander Zaim, who was Social Credit leader and premier less than five years, hashad six books written about him and his government. (Graham Leslie’s Breach of Promise,1991; Gary Mason and Keith Baidrey’s Fantasyland, 1989; David Mitchell’s Succession,1987; Stan Perskey’s Fantasy Government, 1989; Alan Twigg’s Vander Zalm: FromImmigrant to Premier, 1986; and former Vander ZaIm assistant, Bill Kay’s The Zaim and,1994). There is an autobiograpical book (written with community newspaper journalistPaul Nielsen) ready for print, if a publisher can be secured.152SOURCES CONSULTEDBooksBlake, Donald Two Political Worlds: Parties and Voting in British Columbia.Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 1985.Blake, Donald, Carty, R.K., and Erickson, Lynda. Grassroots Politicians.Vancouver: U.B.C. Press, 1991.Boyles, T. Patrick. Elections British Columbia II. Vancouver: Lions Gate Press, 1986.Province of British Columbia, Statement of Votes: General Elections 1941-86.Victoria: Queens’ Printer.Cahill, Jack. John Turner: The Long Run. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1984.Carty, R.K., and Ward, W. Peter. National Politics and Community in Canada.University of British Columbia Press, 1986.Courtenay, John. The Selection of National Party Leaders in Canada.Toronto: Macmillan, 1973.Dawson, R. MacGregor, The Government of Canada, Toronto, University of Toronto Press,1963.Davis, Jack. Popular Politics. Vancouver: Friesen Printers, 1984.Elkins, David and Simeon, Richard. Small Worlds: Provinces and Parties in CanadianPolitical Life. Toronto: Methuen, 1980.Garr, Allen. Tough Guy. Toronto: Key Porter, 1985.Hoy, Claire. Margin of Error. Toronto: Key Porter Books, 1989.Hurmuses, Paul. Power Without Glory. Vancouver: Balsam Press Limited, 1976.Humphreys, David, and Keene, Roger. Conversations with W.A.C. Bennett.Toronto: Methuen Press, 1980.Jackman, Michael. Crown’s Book of Political Ouotations.New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1982153Kavic, Lorne, and Nixon, G.B. The 1200 Days.Coquitlam: Kaen Publishers, 1978Laschinger, John and Stevens, Geoffrey. Leaders & Lesser Mortal.Toronto: Key Porter Books Limited, 1992.Leslie, Graham. Breach of Promise. Madiera Park, B.C.: Harbour Publishing, 1991.Lynch, Charles. The Race for the Rose. Toronto: Methuen, 1984.MacDonald, L. Ian. Muironey: The Making of the Prime Minister.Toronto: McCleIland and Stewart, 1984.Martin; Patrick; Greg; Allan; Perlin; George. Contenders.Scarborough: Prentice Hall Inc. 1983.Mason, Gary and Baidrey, Keith. Fantasyland. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 1989.McGeer, Pathck. Politics in Paradise.Toronto: Peter Martin Associates 1972.Mitchell, David. WAC Bennett and the Rise of British Columbia.Vancouver: Douglas and McIntyre, 1983.Mitchell, David. Succession. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 1987.Morely, J.T.; Ruff, N.J.; Swainson, N.A.; Wilson, R.J.; Young, W.D. The Reins ofPower. Vancouver: Douglas and McIntyre 1983.Normandin, Pierre, ed. Canadian Parliamentary Guide.Ottawa: 1979, 1982-83, 1985, 1991 and 1992 editions.Perlin, George, ed. Party Democracy in Canada: The Politics of National PartyConventions. Scarborough: Prentice Hall Inc. 1987.Persky, Stan. Son of Socred.Vancouver: New Star Books 1979.Persky, Stan. Bennett II.Vancouver: New Star Books, 1983.Persky, Stan. Fantasy Government. Vancouver: New Star Books, 1989.154Robin, Martin. Pillars of Profit.Toronto: McClelland and Stewart 1973.Robin, Martin. Canadian Provincial Politics. Scarborough, Ontario:Prentice-Hall of Canada, Ltd., 1978.Sherman, Paddy. Bennett. Toronto: McCleIIand and Stewart 1966.Simpson, Jeffery. Discipline of Power. Toronto: Personal Library 1980.Sullivan, Martin. Mandate ‘68. Toronto: Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1968.Treleaven, G.F. The Surrey Story. Surrey: Surrey Museum and Historical Society, 1978.Twigg, Alan. Vander Zalm: From Immigrant to Premier.M iiera Park, British Columbia: Harbour Publishing Co. Ltd. 1986.Webster, Daisy. Growth of the NDP in B.C.. Vancouver: New Democratic Party, 1970.Woodcock, George. British Columbia. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 1990.ArticlesBlake, Donald; Carty, R.K.; Erickson, Lynda “Leaders, Parties and Polarized Politics:British Columbia.” Conference on Parties and Party Leadership in the Provinces,Vancouver, April 1989.Blake, Donald; Carty, R.K.; Erickson, Lynda “Ratification or Repudiation: Social CreditLeadership Section in British Columbia,” Canadian Journal of Political Science,21:513-37, 1988.Blake, Donald; Carty, R.K.; Erickson, Lynda, “Federalism, Conservation and the SocialCredit Party in B.C.”, B.C. Studies, 81:3-23, 1989.Carty, R.K., “Campaigning in the Trenches: The Transformation of Constituency Politics”,George Perlin, ed., Party Democracy in Canada: The Politics of NationalConventions, Scarborough, Ontario, Prentice-Hall, 1988.McCarthy, William, “A Constituency in Convention: An Account and Analysis of theBurnaby-Willingdon Delegates to the 1986 British Columbia Social Credit PartyLeadership Convention”, Term Paper. Political Science 503, University of BritishColumbia (Dr. R.K. Carty), May 1987.155Stewart, David K. and Carty, R.K. “Does Changing the Party Leader Provide an ElectoralBoost? A Study of Canadian Provincial Partys: 1960- 1992”, Canadian Journal ofPolitical Science, June 1993, Volume XXVI:2, pages 313- 330.InterviewsCampbell, Kim (M.L.A. and leadership candidate), interview July 14, 1987, ParliamentBuildings, Victoria, B.C.Couvelier, Mel, (M.L.A. and leadership candidate) witten response byletter dated August 4, 1987Davis, Jack (M.L.A. and Vander Zaim campaign organizer and supporter)Interview July 13, 1987, Parliament Buildings, Victoria, B.C.Johnston, Rita (M.L.A. and Vander Zaim campaign organizer and supporter)Interview July 16, 1987, Parliament Buildings, Victoria, B.C.Kelly, Roberta (Vander Zaim campaign organizer) Interview August 12, 1987,Vancouver, B.C.Leyland, John (Vander Zaim campaign organizer responsible for delegate tracking)Interview September 11, 1987, North Vancouver, B.C.Michael, Cliff (M.L.A. and leadership candidate), Interview July 15, 1987,Parliament Buildings, Victoria, B.C.Reid, Bill (M.L.A. and Vander Zaim campaign organizer and supporter)Interview July 13, 1987, Parliament Buildings, Victoria, B.C.Reynolds, John (M.L.A. and leadership candidate), Interview July 15, 1987,Parliament Buildings, Victoria, B.C.Rogers, Stephen (M.L.A. and leadership candidate), Interview July 14, 1987,Parliament Buildings, Victoria, B.C.Smith, Bud (M.L.A. and leadership candidate), Interview July 14, 1987,Parliament Buildings, Victoria, B.C.Valensky, Lorne, (Interim Social Credit party executive director), interviewed throughoutSeptember 1987.156Vander Zaim, William, (M.L.A. and leadership candidate),Interview September 25, 1987, Richmond, B.C.Interview September 7, 1993, Ladner, B.C.Veitch, Elwood (M.L.A. and Grace McCarthy campaign organizer and supporter)Several interviews and informal discussions since 1986.NOTE: The author of this thesis has been a member of the Burnaby-Willingdon SocialCredit constituency board of directors since 1983 and president since 1987. I also servedon the Social Credit Party of British Columbia’s board of directors (representing the Burnabyand North Shore constituencies) from October 1989- January 1992. During this periodseveral formal and informal discussions and interviews with Social Credit M.L.A.s, partyofficials and members have occurred, and many insights and perspectives contained withinthis thesis, are derived from these sessions.Province of British Columbia ReportsChief Electoral Officer Province of British Columbia, Statement of Votes (Provincial GeneralElections Report Since 19521, Province of British Columbia, 1952-1991.Fisher, Honourable Judge Thomas K. Fisher, Commissioner, Report of the RoyalCommission on Electoral Boundaries for British Columbia, Victoria, Queen’s Printer,December 1988Hughes, E.N., Report of the Honourable E.N. Hughes. O.C.. on the Sale of Fantasy GardenWorld Inc., Victoria, Province of British Columbia, 1991.Ombudsman of British Columbia, An Investigation into the Licensing of the Knight Street, Public Report No. 12, Victoria, Province of British Columbia, August 1988.Owen, Stephen (Inquiry Commissioners), Discretion to Prosecute Inquiry, Volumes One andTwo, Province of British Columbia, 1990.Supreme Court of British Columbia Rulings:Ron Gray, David Donovan and 208 others (herein referred to as the “Grassroots”), thePetitioners, and Nicole Parton and the British Columbia Social Credit Party, theRespondents, Supreme Court of British Columbia, October 25, 1990.157Van Nurseries Inc., Petitioner and Faye Leung et al, Respondents, Supreme Court of BritishColumbia, June 25, 1992.Her Majesty the Queen against William Vander Zaim, Supreme Court of British Columbia,June 25, 1992.158APPENDIX 1Chronology of thePolitical Career of William Vander Zalm1934- 199 1PART ONE: 1934 - 1985 THE RISE OF WILLIAM VANDER ZALM1934 On May 29th, Wilhelrnus Nicholaas Theordoros Maria Vander Zaim is born inNoordwijkehovit, Zvid, Holland.1947 Vander Zaim arrives with his mother and siblings in Canada. His father, hadbeen separated from his family during the Second World War and had spent thewar in Canada. The family settled in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia,where they established a nursery and related businesses.1952 Vander Zaim becomes a Canadian citizen.1956 On June 27th, Vander Zalrn marries Lillian. Four children are born: Jeff (1957),Juanita (1959), Wirn (1962), and Lucia (1965).1956 Vander Zaim purchases from Art Knapp a nursery, which he expands into severalstores and other business ventures.1964 In December, in his first political contest, Vander Zairn narrowly loses a Surreyaldermanic seat.1965 In his second campaign Vander Zairn wins a seat on Surrey council, finishingsecond. He is re-elected two years later topping the polls.1968 In the June 25th federal general election, Liberal candidate, Vander Zalm isdefeated by the NDP candidate in the riding of Surrey.1969 In December, at age 34, William Vander Zaim is elected mayor of Surrey. Hewill serve three terms until his election in 1975 to the provincial legislature.1972 In May, Vander Zalm loses his first contest for the leadership of a B.C.provincial political party as David Anderson defeats him to become leader of theB.C. Liberal party.1591972 On August 30th, after twenty years in office and seven straight election victories,the Social Credit government of W.A.C. Bennett is defeated by the NewDemocratic Party, led by new leader David Barrett. In Surrey, running for theLiberals, Vander Zalm is defeated. (Provincial election results: New DemocraticParty 38 seats; Social Credit 10 seats; Liberal 5 seats; Progressive Conservative2 seats).1973 On June 5th, after 32 years as the MLA for South Okanagan, and twenty aspremier, W. A. C. Bennett resigns.1973 On September 7th, William R. Bennett is elected in a by-election, succeeding hisfather as MLA for South Okanagan.1973 On November 24th, in the Hotel Vancouver (where nineteen years earlier the firstSocial Credit caucus formally elected his father as leader), William R. Bennettis elected leader by delegates to the first Social Credit party leadershipconvention. Bennett received 56% of the vote, winning the leadership on thefirst ballot.1974 On May 31st Vander Zaim joins the British Columbia Social Credit party.1975 On December 11th, as Social Credit wins the provincial general election, VanderZalm is elected as the Member of the Legislative Assembly for Surrey. (Provincialelection results: Social Credit 35 seats; New Democratic Party 18 seats;Liberal 1 seat; Progressive Conservative 1 seat.)1975 On December 22nd, Vander Zalm is appointed Minister of Human Resources inthe first cabinet of premier William R. Bennett.1978 On December 4th, Vander Zaim is appointed Minister of Municipal Affairs.1979 On February 23rd, in his 79th years W.A.C. Bennett dies in Kelowna.1979 On May 10th, the Social Credit party wins the provincial general election.Vander Zaim is re-elected MLA for Surrey. His running mate in the dualmember riding is defeated. (Provincial election results: Social Credit 31seats; New Democratic Party 26 seats).1982 On August 10th, Vander Zalrn is appointed Minister of Education.1983 On April 1st, Vander ZaIrn announces he will not be a candidate in the pendingprovincial election and instead will take a “political sabbatical”.1601983 On May 5th, despite initial forecasts indicating defeat, the Social Credit party isre-elected government following the provincial general election. Having basedhis campaign on the need for restraint, Premier Bennett then acts, instituting aseries of related policies. (Provincial Election Results: Social Credit party 35seats; New Democratic Party 22 seats).1984 Out of politics less than a year, speculation abounds that Vander Zalm willbe a candidate in either the pending federal election (which was held on September4th) or in the November municipal elections. While not a resident of the city,nor with significant business interests therein, Vander Zaim and his supportersencourage speculation that he will run for mayor of Vancouver.1984 On May 20th, Alberni MLA Robert Skelley, 41, succeeds David Barrett as theleader of the British Columbia New Democratic Party. Skelley wins on the fifthballot, having not led on the previous four.1984 In his most public venture since the 1983 provincial election, Vander Zalm assistswith organization of the Papal visit of Pope John Paul II.1984 On November 17th Michael Harcourt defeats Vander Zalm for the mayoralty ofVancouver.1984 Through one of his companies, Vander Zalm purchases for $1.7 million a 8.5hectare botanical garden in Richmond, B.C. The property is renamed “FantasyGardens”. From the time of its purchase until his return to provincial politics inmid-1986, the gardens will become the focus of the Vander Zalm’s time,attention, and capital, as the botanical garden is expanded, and additional landconverted to parking lots, a retail development, a conservatory (for banquets), aminiature zoo, a railway, and a biblical theme park.1985 With the pending openings of Expo ‘86, Skytrain, and the apparent wind-downof the restraint program, Vander Zalm hints he may consider a return toprovincial politics.1985 On December 11th, the tenth anniversary of his government’s first electionvictory, Premier William Bennett officially inaugurates “Skytrain”, the lowermainland’s elevated rapid transit system.PART TWO: 1986: THE HIGH WATER MARK OF WILLIAM VANDER ZALMFebruary During the first weeks of the new year, premier Bennett meets individually withhis cabinet ministers. During these discussions, Bennett inquires about theirpersonal plans to seek re-election. In February he makes his final cabinet shuffle,including the removal of long term and loyal members Jim Chabot and DonPhillips (both who will not seek re-election).161May 2 At B.C. Place Stadium, premier Bennett hosts the Prince and Princess ofWales, prime minister Muironey and 60,000 others at the opening of Expo ‘86.May 16 Premier Bennett, in a yellow convertible, cruises down the first phase of theCoquihalla highway, officially opening the newest and fastest route from thelower mainland to the Okanagan. On this day, William R. Bennett most clearlyfollowed his father’s path in linking the Province’s diverse regions and economiesby highways. The fact that the Coquihalla’s northern terminus was the Bennett’sKelowna home was all the more reason to savour the moment. On this day, thePremier stated “I can now die happily”. (Mitchell, David, Succession, page 75)THE 1986 SOCIAL CREDIT LEADERSHIP RACE:May 22 Premier Bennett stuns the province and the Social Credit party by announcing hewill step down as party leader and premier in the summer. Bennett states he isleaving because he has accomplished all he set out to do, and that the mood ofthe province was positive. He also states that “there must be political renewal(and) there must be political change within parties”. When asked who he thoughtmight succeed him, Bennett states he “could think of 20 candidates”. (VancouverSun, May 22, 1986). Immediate speculation that William Vander Zalm will tryto succeed Bennett begins. Other potential contenders, party members, MLAsand media agree that Vander Zaim would be a formidable candidate.May 23 Social Credit party president Hope Wotherspoon creates the first majorcontroversy of the campaign when she states that the renewal of the party willinclude attracting new members, she refers to as the “Bud Smiths”. Smith theformer principal secretary to premier Bennett is expected to shortly declare hiscandidacy and Wotherspoon’s comments lead many to believe that he is thepreferred choice of both Bennett and the party insiders.May 26 The Social Credit party announces that the leadership convention will be heldJuly 28- 30 in the ski village of Whistler, 90 miles north of Vancouver.May 28 Former Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament and current SocialCredit, MLA John Reynolds, 44, becomes the first declared candidate to succeedPremier Bennett.June 4 Jim Nielsen, 47, MLA for Richmond, and a cabinet minister since the inauguralWilliam R. Bennett cabinet, becomes the second candidate to declare for theleadership.June 6 Municipal Affairs Minister, William Ritchie, 59, becomes the second cabinetminister and third candidate to declare his leadership intention.June 7 The Social Credit party announces that there will be no spending limits on theindividual leadership campaigns.162June 9 Robert Wenman, 46, Member of Parliament for Fraser Valley West since 1974,and former Social Credit MLA (1966 - 1972) becomes the fourth candidate forthe Social Credit party leadership.June 9 Stephen Rogers, MLA for Vancouver South, and until recently, a cabinetminister, becomes the fifth declared candidate.June 9 Bud Smith, 40, the declared Social Credit candidate for the Kamloopsconstituency for the next provincial election and former principal secretary topremier Bennett, becomes the sixth candidate for the Social Credit leadership(and third this day).June 10 Cliff Michael, 52, a former member of the New Democratic party and currentMLA for Shuswap-Revelstoke becomes the eighth candidate.June 10 Mel Couvelier, 55, the mayor of Saanich for the past ten years, and formerpresident of the Liberal party of British Columbia, becomes the ninth contestant.June 12 Kim Campbell, 39, a senior policy advisor in premier Bennett’s office, andformer chair of the Vancouver School Board, becomes the ninth candidate, andfirst female, to announce her leadership candidacy.June 14 At a Social Credit leadership forum held in Prince George, attended bycandidates John Reynolds, Bud Smith and Bob Wenman, non-candidate BillVander Zalm receives the loudest cheers.June 13 Grace McCarthy, 58, MLA and cabinet minister for seventeen of the pasttwenty years, and the person most synonymous with the Social Credit Partybecomes the tenth candidate for the party’s leadership.June 17 Attorney General, Brian Smith, 52, MLA since 1979 for Oak Bay - GordonHead becomes the fourth cabinet minister and eleventh candidate for theleadership of the Social Credit party.June 18 With mounting speculation that he will formally enter the leadership race, BillVander Zalrn says that with the possibility of conflicts of interest, concerning hisFantasy Gardens project, he may not run. “I’m not sure my business wouldget a fair break if I place myself in a position where I was continually beingscrutinized”, Vander Zaim comments. (Vancouver Sun, June 18, 1986).June 20 Almost a month after Premier Bennett’s surprise resignation announcement,William Vander Zalm, 52, becomes the twelfth and final candidate to succeedhim. With the actual vote only forty days away, Vander Zalm’s entry leadsfellow candidate Jim Nielsen to state, “I think its fair to say the real campaignbegan this week”. (Vancouver Sun, June 21, 1986).163June 30 The 50 Social Credit party constituency associations officially begin theleadership convention delegate selection process. Each constituency will sendat least 25 delegates to the convention, with additional constituency delegateseligible from ridings with memberships in excess of 1,000.In the subsequent delegate selection meetings individual campaigns will attemptto run slates of delegates, who are supposed to support their candidate. Whilesome efforts are successful, many are not as these slates often exclude (andalienate) long-term party members, while others incorrectly include delegates whoare not committed to their candidate.July 7 On the same night Vander Zaim wins all 27 delegates from the Surreyconstituency, he also wins 21 of the 25 delegates from Richmond, leaving thesitting MLA, Jim Nielsen with only one additional delegate other than himself.July 10 The Vancouver Sun projects that after 49 of 50 delegate selection meetings, thatGrace McCarthy leads the race, with Bud Smith and William Vander Zaim in “aclose battle for second place, well ahead of the other nine Social Creditleadership candidates.” (Vancouver Sun, July 10, 1986).July 11 The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation announces they will cover live, ontelevision the leadership convention from Whistler, British Columbia.July 16 With all delegate selection meetings completed, there are exactly 1,300 delegateselected to vote at the leadership convention. Of these delegates, 886 (68%) aremen, while 414 (32%) are women.July 18 The speaking order at the leadership convention is determined by drawing lots.William Vander Zaim will speak last.July 19 In Kelowna, at the last of his annual garden parties, Premier Bennett hosts 15,000well-wishers and nine of the leadership candidates. William Vander Zalmgathers the most attention of the candidates present.July 22 In a meeting with the editorial board of the Vancouver Sun, William VanderZalm states that if he is elected party leader he will likely sell Fantasy GardenWorld.July 22 Jim Nielsen becomes the second leadership candidate in two days to state hewould be reluctant to serve in a William Vander ZaIm cabinet. (StephenRogers had also stated he would not serve with Vander Zalm).July 23 The Vander Zalm campaign unveil their theme song. “The Growing Sensation”is both written and sung by Vander Zaim’s 26 year old daughter, Juanita.164July 26 The Vancouver Sun endorse either Brian Smith or Grace McCarthy for SocialCredit leader. (Vancouver Sun, July 26, 1986).July 27 On the eve of the leadership convention, the Vancouver Sun prints the leadstory, “Vander Zaim tops Sun Poll as People’s Choice for Leader”. Vander Zaimis the clear choice of the 402 people poiied in dealing with relevant issues, and,most importantly, winning the next provincial election. Vander Zalm is the choiceof 46.5% of the respondents to lead the Social Credit party (Grace McCarthy issecond at 18.7%), while 50.2% state Vander Zalrn has the best chance of anycandidate to win the next election. The other front runners, Grace McCarthy(23.4%), Brian Smith (7%), Bud Smith (5.2%) are well back. (Vancouver Sun,July 27, 1986).THE LEADERSHIP CONVENTIONJuly 2810:00 a.m. The leadership convention officially opens at Whistler, British Columbia.Delegates and observers can tour the candidate’s village (huge tenants set up ondriving range) or other outlets set up throughout the village. Of themajor candidates, the Vander Zaim tent and venue is the least extravagant.8:00 p.m. A formal tribute to retiring premier William Bennett is held.July 296:00 a.m. In its editorial, the Toronto based Globe and Mail newspaper endorses Bud Smith.Even Smith’s supporters agree this development will not help and will add to thesuspicion that their candidate is the choice of the Ontario based “big bluemachine” of the Progressive Conservative party.7:00 a.m. A candidate’s breakfast is held in the village square.8:00 a.m. Delegate registration opens and will go until 9:00 p.m.9:30 a.m. For the next three hours the candidates will rotate to three forums on theeconomy, social policy and leadership.5:00 p.m. The candidate speeches begin. Of the four leading contenders, Brian Smith andBud Smith delivered better than expected, while Grace McCarthy and WilliamVander Zaim efforts are solid, but not as effective as expected.165July 306:00 a.m. The Vancouver Province does not endorse a candidate, but runs beside theirEditorial a cartoon of Grace McCarthy in robes stating “Madame Premier is soformal. A simple your Grace will do”. (Vancouver Province, June 30, 1986).7:30 a.m. Premier Bennett and the twelve leadership candidates have breakfast together.Bennett again stresses that the unity of the party prevail after the day’s voting.0:30 a.m. Thirty minutes late, convention chairman Les Peterson, announces the start of thevoting.1:40 p.m. The first ballot results are announced:W. Vander Zaim 367Grace McCarthy 244Bud Smith 202Brian Smith 196Jim Nielsen 54John Reynolds 54Stephen Rogers 43Bob Wenman 40Cliff Michael 32Bill Ritchie 28Mel Couvelier 20Kim Campbell 14The top four candidates have received 78% of the votes cast. The remaining eightlose their $2,500.00 deposits by failing to receive a minimum 100 votes.Under the party’s election rules Kim Campbell is eliminated. She endorses BrianSmith. Stephen Rogers and Bob Wenman both withdraw from the race and moveto Brian Smith’s box.Mel Couvelier withdraws and endorses Vander Zaim.Jim Nielsen and John Reynolds reject any alliance, and both stay on the Ballot.Cliff Michael withdraws and endorses John Reynolds.Bud Smith and Grace McCarthy hold a pre-arranged meeting. Their talk is heatedand ends in five minutes.In the most overblown event of the convention, Vander Zalm supporters PeterToigo and Edgar Kaiser (Bank of B.C. Chairman) meet with other candidatesand managers in a kitchen meeting room beneath the convention hail. Duringthese brief talks, Toigo and Kaiser urge the other candidates to support VanderZalm.1663:45 p.m. The second ballot results are announced:W. Vander Zairn 457 (+90)Grace McCarthy 280 (+ 36)Brian Smith 255 (+59)Bud Smith 219 (+23)John Reynolds 39 (-15)Nielsen 30 (-24)The top four candidates now have 97% of the votes cast. John Reynolds and JimNielsen are eliminated. Nielsen immediately moves to and endorses Brian Smith.Brian Smith is now supported by half of the leadership candidates and over a thirdof the Social Credit caucus. Media commentator and former Social CreditMLA Rafe Mair predicts a Brian Smith victory.John Reynolds and Cliff Michaels endorse Vander Zalm.In the most unexpected move of the entire leadership race, Bud Smith withdrawsand endorses Vander ZaIrn.6:00 p.m. The third ballot results are announced:W. Vander Zalm 625 (+ 168)Brian Smith 342 (+ 62)McCarthy 305 (+50)Vander Zairn is twelve votes short of victory.Grace McCarthy is eliminated. She releases her delegates without endorsingeither of the two remaining candidates.8:15 p.m. The fourth ballot results are announced:W. Vander Zalm 801 (+176)Brian Smith 454 (+ 112)Vander Zalm takes 64% of the vote to Smith’s 36%.As runner-up Brian Smith makes the traditional motion to make the decisionunanimous, he states “we will all be together, Bill,” while Grace McCarthy says“the NDP must be eating its heart out right now.” (Mitchell, David, Succession,page 123).167Premier of British ColumbiaAugust 6 William Vander Zalrn is sworn in as British Columbia’s twenty-seventh Premier.Vander Zaim speaks of introducing “a spirit of cooperation” and states that“mistakes will be made, there will be errors, but I tell you now they will behonest errors.” (Mitchell, Succession, pages 142-143).August Throughout the month of August, Vander Zaim (often only with his wife Lillianand a few aides), tours the province. Election speculation mounts as “VanderZalm mania” continues to grow.September 24 Listening to his pollsters and advisors, but mostly his own instincts, Vander Zaimcalls a provincial general election for October 22nd.The Social Credit party’s campaign slogan is “A Fresh Start”.The Social Credit campaign is based entirely on the Vander Zaim persona. NDPleader Robert Skelley perhaps conducts the worst campaign in recent provincialhistory.October 22 Seventeen minutes after the polls close, British Columbia Television declaresSocial Credit the election winner. Social Credit captures 49.32% of the popularvote and 47 of 69 seats, while the NDP receive 42.2% of the vote and 22 seats.Vander Zalm, who put his prediction of 47 Social Credit seats in a sealedenvelope on election eve, says on election night, “there’s just one way to describeit. Faaantastic!” (Mitchell, Succession, page 159).December 31 As his year of triumphs end, Vander Zaim and his government retain most of theirpopularity.PART THREE: 1987- 1991 THE FALL OF WILLIAM VANDER ZALM1987March 2 Environment Minister Stephen Rogers, resigns over a conflict of interestconcerning the ownership of shares in a pulp mill company.March 6 Vander Zalm fires Minister of Forests, Jack Kempf, over irregularities concerninghis expenses.168April 8 Businessman and close Vander Zaim friend Peter Toigo learns he is underinvestigation by the RCMP concerning his relationship with the Premier andwhether he received preferential and confidential information concerning pendingbids to purchase the former Expo ‘86 lands. (He will ultimately be cleared,but the perception of favouritism from Vander Zalm lingers).April Vander Zaim invites some reporters to his office to watch him watch a video onAIDS which is scheduled to be shown in Vancouver high schools. Vander Zaimcalls the video the world’s “longest condom ad” and says it should not be shown.While his religious convictions are well known to the public, Vander Zalm’smixing of religion with politics will upset many.April 12 Former Vancouver mayor and current MLA, Michael Harcourt is acclaimedleader of the New B.C. Democratic Party, replacing Robert Skelley who hadresigned.April 15 Senior cabinet minister Grace McCarthy announces Hong Kong businessman LiKa Shing has won the bid to purchase the Expo ‘86 lands. The transaction,regarded as extremely favourable to the buyer, is poorly received by the public.June 2-3 Vander Zaim and his fellow premiers prepare their amendments to theMeech Lake Constitutional Accord. The Accord is not well received in B.C.July 1 A one-day general strike is held by 200,000 union members in protest to Bill 19,the Vander Zairn government’s new Industrial Relations Act.July 21 Social Credit MLA and former Speaker of the House, Walter Davidson, isfound guilty of unlawfully counselling the owner of a printing company to commita forgery during the 1986 provincial election. While disgraced, Davidsoncompletes his term as MLA (It is later disclosed that Vander Zaim authorizesthe use of some Social Credit party funds to cover Davidson’s legal bills).July 24 Widely respected Advanced Education Minister, Stan Hagan, resigns when it isrevealed that he has technically breached the premier’s new conflict of interestguidelines when his cement company wins a provincial contract.October While there are noticable strains in government, Vander Zalm is warmly22-24 received at the Hotel Vancouver as the Social Credit party holds its firstconvention since 1985. Policy is secondary as the party celebrates thefirst anniversary of its election victory.November 12 Transportation Minister Cliff Michaels resigns when it is revealed he discussedhis personal business interests with members of a business delegation.1691988February 6 Just before midnight, after returning after a vacation in Hawaii, Vander Zaimarrives at Vancouver International Airport. In an impromptu conference, and inresponse to the Supreme Court of Canada’s January 28th decision to throw outthe country’s existing abortion law, the premier states, “I will recommend tocabinet tomorrow that the government no longer pay for any abortions, save thosein emergency situations . . . I want to free taxpayers from abortions. Abortionsdiminish society’s respect for human life.” (Mason and Baidrey, Fantasyland,page 180).Perhaps more than any single issue contributing to his fall, Vander Zaim’scontinual mixing of religion with politics, and the way (without consultation andreview) in which he announced his government’s abortion policy, began the slideof his support towards the point of no return.June 8 The Social Credit party lose the Boundary-Similkameen riding in a by-election.For the first time in the riding’s history the party loses as the NDP wins taking53% of the vote to Social Credits 35 %. The Social Credit vote total is down10,000 from the 1986 election.June 28 Attorney General Brian Smith resigns stating he can “no longer carry out myduties as I clearly do not have the support of the premier and his office, who donot appreciate the unique independence that is the cornerstone of the attorneygeneral’s responsibilities in a free parliamentary democracy.” (Mason andBaidrey, Fantasyland, page 253).June 29 The British Columbia legislature ratifies the Meech Lake Accord as both theSocial Credit government and NDP opposition support it. Despite this legislativeapproval, the accord is not popular with the B.C. (or Canadian) public. Inparticular, many Social Credit members and supporters are dismayed by PremierVander Zaim’s prompt endorsement without public consultation of the accord.July 5 Economic Development Minister Grace McCarthy resigns over the role of DavidPoole in the government and her dissatisfaction with Vander Zalm. She warnshim that he will lead the party to defeat if he does not adopt a consultativeapproach to the administration of the Government. It is the first time thatMcCarthy will be absent from a Social Credit cabinet since her election as anM.L.A. in 1966. McCarthy’s resignation is the most serious blow to the Premieras she is the only other Social Credit member capable of drawing and retainingsupport and loyalty similar to Vander Zalm. It will be McCarthy loyalists andpatronage recipients who begin in earnest the dissent movement against VanderZaim.170July 11 Former Vander Zaim cabinet minister Russ Fraser becomes the first SocialCredit MLA to call for a review of Vander Zaim’s leadership. Fraser statesthat seven other MLAs (Graham Bruce, Kim Campbell, Carol Gran, GraceMcCarthy, Dave Mercier, Stephen Rogers and Brian Smith) agree with him.August 17 Ombudsman Stephen Owen, releases his enquiry into the licensing of the KnightStreet Pub. The report is extremely critical of long time Vander Zalm friend andadvisor Charles Giordano, friend Peter Toigo, (who had a financial stake in thepub) and principal secretary David Poole. This report destroys Vander Zaim’sprevious claims that political favouritism will not occur during his tenure.August 22 David Poole, the beleagured principal secretary to premier Vander Zaim resignsfollowing the negative fall-out of the ombudsman’s Knight Street Pub enquiry.Outrage will occur seven months later when it is finally disclosed that Poole’sseverance package for two years service is worth $172,500.00. (In one of themany ironies concerning Vander Zaim aides and friends, David Poole will brieflyhold a senior executive position in Ontario with a Peter Toigo business. Shortlythereafter, Toigo will fire Poole who in turn will sue for wrongful dismissal andthe size of his severance package. Eventually Poole will move back to B.C.,where the man previously called the most powerful civil servant in provincialhistory declares bankruptcy).October 1 Prime Minister Muironey calls a federal election for November 21st. SocialCredit MLA (Vancouver-Point Grey) Kim Campbell, who had challengedVander Zairn for the party’s leadership and had become one of his primeantagonists, resigns her seat to run for the Progressive Conservatives inVancouver Centre. The Conservatives will win their second consecutive majority,while Campbell will win her seat by 269 votes (out of 63, 429 cast), defeatingNDP president Joanna den Hertog, who had been campaigning for the past twoyears.October20 - 22 The Social Credit party annual convention in Penticton reveals the growingopposition within the party to Vander Zaim. These opponents, most oftenreferred to as dissidents, fail in their efforts to have the traditional vote ofconfidence in the leader done by secret ballot.While not given the attention at this convention by party members or the media,the delegates do vote to establish a committee to review and amend the party’sconstitution and bylaws. While no one knows it at the time, this process will goon for four years, and have significant consequences.November 19 The Social Credit party loses its second straight by-election as the NDP retaintheir Alberni seat. (Former NDP leader Robert Skelley had resigned and laterran successfully for parliament).1711989March 15 The Social Credit party loses by-elections in the white collar riding of Vancouver-Point Grey and the blue collar riding of Nanairno.July Vander Zalm carries out his pledge to reform B.C. ‘s election system. Followinga royal commission the entire province is redistributed into 75 newconstituencies (which will be contested at the next election). Gone are all of theprevious two-member seats and much of the gerrymandering (both actions willfurther hurt Social Credit re-election chances).September 20 The Social Credit party loses their fifth straight by-election, this time in theirpreviously thought to be unbeatable stronghold of the Cariboo.September 20 Minister of Tourism and Provincial Secretary William Reid resigns over thegranting of provincial lottery funds to two friends and campaign workers for theimplementation of a recycling program.October26- 28 For the first time the Social Credit party holds its annual convention at theVancouver Trade and Convention Centre. While opposition to Vander Zaimgrows within the party, there is not the visible animosity seen at the previousyear’s convention in Penticton.December 13 The Social Credit party loses their sixth straight by-election to the NDP inVancouver Island’s most conservative riding, Oak Bay-Gordon Head. Followingthe election results, Vander Zalm announces he will reflect on his future, leadingto speculation that he will soon resign.1990January 17 In a province-wide television address the one which many speculated he wouldannounce his resignation, Vander Zalrn outlines his government’s achievements,then concludes by stating, “I ran for office to do a job, not to get a job. I’m nota quitter. I never was a quitter and I never will be a quitter. I’ll quit when thejob is done.” (Transcript of an address by Premier William N. Vander Zalm,January 17, 1990, Province of British Columbia).The speech is vintage Vander Zaim, whose popularity rises temporarily, haltingmuch of the dissent within his own party. It will be the last major highlight ofhis premiership.172July 12 Attorney General Bud Smith resigns when his actions in the handling of potentialcharges in the William Reid affair is disclosed by the release of taped cellularphone calls by NDP MLA Moe Sihota. While Bud Smith is cleared of anywrong-doing, (charges against Sihota for disclosing personal conversations arerecommended but not pursued), the married Smith’s political career is finishedwhen other taped phone calls indicate a personal relationship with a news reporter.August 1 The premier and Mrs. Vander Zaim meet for the first time the proposed purchaserof Fantasy Gardens, Tan Yu. Also in attendance at the Bayshore Hotel meetingis realtor Faye Leung, who had introduced the parties.August 2 Tan Yu and his entourage tour Fantasy Gardens.August 3 In a meeting that lasts from 7:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. the following morning, theVander Zairn’s and Tan Yu conclude the basics of the sale agreement. TanYu has changed the deal significantly from their initial agreements, and in theprocess making it far less attractive for the Vander Zalms, who neverthelessaccept the offer.September 6 The Vander Zalms escort the Tan Yu party (including Faye Leung) to Victoriavia ferry. While in Victoria, Vander Zalm arranges a meeting for Tan Yu withFinance Minister Mel Couvelier. He later hosts a luncheon for the Party atGovernment House.September 7 Lillian Vander Zairn announces the sale of Fantasy Gardens in a public contractsigning. Tan Yu is represented by his daughter. The sale will close on October17th.October11 - 13 The Social Credit party holds its annual convention at the Vancouver Trade andConvention Centre. While the Vander Zalm opposition is present, the mood ofthe convention is low-key, as most attendees anticipate that with the partyapproaching the fourth anniversary of its mandate, they will have Vander Zalmagain lead them in the next election.October 25 A B.C. Supreme Court Justice rules that due to possible irregularities at the firstnomination meeting held August 27, 1990, another nomination meeting must beheld in the riding of Burnaby-Edmonds. While high profile candidate (andnewspaper columnist) Nicole Parton again wins the second nomination meeting,she will eventually quit as a candidate.November 21 Ombudsman Stephen Owen, releases his report concerning the decision not toprosecute William Reid for his involvement in the granting of provincial lotteryfunds to his friends. While no formal charges are laid, the public are appalledby this latest case of favouritism and misuse of public funds.173November Those Social Credit members opposed to the leadership of William Vander Zaimbegin what is referred to within party circles as the dissent campaign. Theobjective of this group is to force Vander Zalm to resign on his own, or failingthis, to use the two avenues to this end available under the party’s constitutionand bylaws to force a leadership convention. (A leadership convention can becalled by either the party board of directors convening a leadership convention,or at least ten constituency associations an extraordinary party convention to voteon holding a leadership convention).1991January 29 Just over a year since his last province-wide television address Premier VanderZalm again speaks to the citizens of B.C. announcing the “taxpayer’s protectionplan”. However, unlike the previous year’s address, Vander Zalm’s speech isfollowed by a live question and answer session with selected reporters who focusmost of their attention on Fantasy Garden. While the 1990 television addressrecharged Vander Zaim and buoyed his supporters, his 1991 performance showsa leader in distress.February 14 Premier Vander Zalrn hastily convenes a press conference where he states thatE.N. Hughes, former deputy Attorney General and acting Conflict of InterestCommissioner will undertake an investigation of the sale of Fantasy Gardens.February 15 Hughes confirms he has accepted the job only after Vander Zalrn gives hisassurance that no general election will be called during the investigation. Hughesalso consults with leader of the opposition, Michael Harcourt, who also approvesof the investigation.March 6 Stating he cannot sit in cabinet while the premier is under investigation, FinanceMinister Mel Couvelier resigns.March 22 While the Hughes inquiry is still in progress, Faye Leung’s then attorney releasesa taped telephone conversation between Vander Zalm and herself in which a$20,000.00 cash payment from the garden’s purchaser, Tan Yu, is mentioned.March 27 Commissioner Hughes announces his report will be released April 2, 1992.March 29 On Good Friday, premier Vander Zairn announces he will resign as premier assoon as the Social Credit party can elect his successor. (Under the Social Creditparty constitution, a minimum 60 days).April 2 At 11:15 a.m. Commissioner Hughes presents premier Vander Zalm and MikeHarcourt with the first copies of his report, which finds Vander Zalm in a conflictof interest over the sale of Fantasy Gardens.174At 1:45 p.m., before his caucus colleagues have received the Hughes report,Vander Zairn informs them he will resign immediately.At 2:00 p.m. copies of the report are made available to the two legislativecaucuses and the media.At 2:15 p.m. at a quickly convened press conference, Vander Zaim informs thepublic he will resign immediately.That afternoon, after four ballots, the Social Credit caucus elects deputy premierRita Johnston as interim leader. The Social Credit party board, which has alsobeen meeting all day in Victoria confirms the decision. At 6:00 p.m. atGovernment House Rita Johnston is sworn in as British Columbia’s 28th Premier.April 3 The Social Credit party board of directors announces that a leadershipconvention will be held July 18 - 10, at the Vancouver Trade and ConventionCentre.April 6 In a futile attempt to become a free enterprise alternative to Social Credit, theBritish Columbia Pacific Party holds its founding convention in Vander Zaim’sRichmond constituency.April 17 After considerable review and pressure to adopt a universal ballot, the SocialCredit party board of directors announced that the pending leadershipconvention and delegate selection procedure will be conducted under the existingformat as outlined in the party’s constitution and by-laws.July 18 The third Social Credit party leadership convention opens. There are fivecandidates for leader, all of whom are sitting MLAs. They are interim partyleader and current premier Rita Johnston, current or former cabinet ministers, MelCouvelier, Norm Jacobsen and Grace McCarthy, and backbencher Duane Crandal.July 20 Premier Rita Johnston comes from behind to win the party leadership on thesecond ballot. The voting results are as follows:BallotsCandidate IRita Johnston 652 941Grace McCarthy 659 881Mel Couvelier 331Norm Jacobsen 169Duane Crandall1,846 1,822The convention has shown the party to be badly polarized, with seemingly moreantagonism directed between fellow party members than towards the NDP, whothey must face within three months in a provincial election.175September 12 In a final blow, former premier William Vander ZaIm is charged by the Crownpursuant to Section 122 of the Criminal Code in that he “did unlawfully commita breach of trust in connection with the duties of his by using his public officeto assist or promote his personal and financial interest in the sale of the propertyknown as Fantasy Gardens”. (Her Majesty the Queen against William VanderZaim, Supreme Court of British Columbia, June 25, 1992, page 1).September 13 The province launches a lawsuit against former cabinet minister William Reidand his friends in an effort to regain the money Reid had authorized released tothem to start a recycling program.September 19 With only four days left before an election must be called, Premier Rita Johnstoncalls a provincial general election for October 17, 1991. The campaign will bea disaster for the Social Credit party, as they go from crisis to crisis.On this same day, William Vander Zaim makes his first court appearance. (Histrial will take place in Vancouver between May 19- June 2, 1992. He will beacquitted).September 22 The media reveals that John Ball, the candidate selected to succeed Vander Zaimin the Richmond East riding has been associated with neo-Nazi Ernst Zundel.This same day Social Credit’s campaign polling reveals that the gap between themand the NDP has gone from 6 to 17 points within the last two weeks. SimilarSocial Credit polling had showed that since March 1988, the average gap betweenthem and the NDP averaged 14 points. This had dropped to six points just beforethe election call, briefly giving the party insiders some optimism. (Ketchurn, Jess,Election Campaign Report to the Social Credit Board of Directors, October 23,1991).September 25 Former cabinet minister and current Social Credit candidate Jack Kempf ischarged with breach of trust and theft. In a very public series of events, PremierJohnston and the Social Credit party board revoke Kempf’s Social Creditnomination, leaving the party without a candidate in Bulkley Valley - Stikine.September 28 The media reveals that Social Credit candidate Rodney Glynn-Morris had beenoffered money if he did not seek re-nomination as the party’s candidate in WestVancouver - Garibaldi. Despite Glynn-Morris’ rejection of the offer, this incidentis seen as another dubious Social Credit affair.October 5 With the campaign half over, Social Credit polling now shows the NDP 24 pointsahead.October 8 Social Credit and New Democratic Party Leaders Rita Johnston and MichaelHarcourt are joined by Liberal party leader Gordon Wilson in a televised debate.(Original debate plans do not include Wilson, as the Liberals had no seats in thelegislature, and were not considered a real factor in the election).176While Johnston barely out performs Harcourt, the surprise is Wilson, whosespirited effort is the story of the evening.October 10 Two days after the debate, Social Credit party polling shows that the Liberalparty, 14 points behind them the day before the debate, are now 8 points ahead.It is apparent that the majority of non-NDP voters who are fed up with the SocialCredit Party, are quickly turning to the Liberals. For the balance of thecampaign, the media will focus on the rise of the previously disregarded Liberals.October 17 Five days short of the fifth anniversary of perhaps their greatest election victory,the discreditted Social Credit party suffers its worst election showing eversince its first victory in 1952:Seats Popular VoteNew Democrats 51 41 %Liberal 17 34%Social Credit 7 24%Despite a virtual free ride as opposition and during the election campaign, theNDP only manages 41 % of the vote (but wins 68% of seats, several as a resultof vote-splitting between the Liberal and Social Credit candidates).Based largely upon a credible performance by its leader in a television debate onlynine days before the vote, the Liberal party becomes the official opposition.Much of the electorate have chosen to punish the Social Credit party, and in theprocess vote for the Liberals, the other free enterprise option on the ballot.As much as anything, the 1991 provincial election is a refendum against a personwho is not even a candidate, but who nevertheless haunts the campaign, WilliamVander Zalrn.177APPENDIX 2Summary of William Vander ZalmElectoral RecordAs of October 22, 1986, when he led the British Columbia Social Credit party to victory in theprovincial general election, the electoral record of William Vander Zaim is as follows:(A). Municipal Politics:(1). Vander Zalm ran three times (1964, 1965 and 1967) for Surrey council. He wonin 1965 and 1967.(2). Vander ZaIm ran successfully three times for mayor of Surrey (1969, 1971,1973).(3). Vander ZaIm ran for mayor of Vancouver in 1984. He was defeated by MichaelHarcourt who wins 62% of the vote to Vander Zaim’s 38%.(B). Federal Politics:Vander Zalm has run once for parliament, as a Liberal candidate during the“Trudeaumania” election of 1968. To date, the federal level is the only one in whichVander Zalm has not won elected office. The results of his one federal campaign are asfollows:(1). June 25, 1968 (Surrey Electoral District)Barry Mathers (New Democrat) 16,186 (44.6%) XWilliam Vander Zaim (Liberal) 11,666 (32.2%)Ronald Harvey (Conservative) 5,986 (16.5%)Delbert Doll (Social Credit) 2,445 (6.7%)178(C). Provincial Politics:Vander Zaim has run four times for the provincial legislature (1972, 1975, 1979 and1986). He won all but his first campaign in 1972, when he ran as Liberal.(Subsequent campaigns were as a Social Credit candidate). The election results of hisfour provincial campaigns are as follows. (X denotes elected):(1). August 30, 1972 (Surrey Electoral District)Ernie Hall (New Democrat) 12,574 (52.49%) XJames Wallace (Social Credit) 5,877 (24.53%)William Vander Zaim (Liberal) 3,995 (16.68%)William Reid (Conservative) 1,415 (5.91%)Frederick Bianco (Communist) 95 (0.40%)(2). December 1, 1975 (Surrey Electoral District)William Vander Zalm (Social Credit) 14,341 (53.35%) XErnie Hall (New Democrat) 11,214 (41.72%)Donald Ross (Liberal) 1,257 (4.68%)Frederick Bianco (Communist) 67 (0.25%)(3). May 10, 1979 (Surrey Electoral District)William Vander Zalm (Social Credit) 29,693 (24.88%) XErnie Hall (New Democrat) 28,644 (24%) XGarry Watkins (New Democrat) 28,497 (23.87%)Dalton Jones (Social Credit) 26,306 (22.04%)Brian Westwood (Conservative) 5,834 (4.89%)George Gidora (Communist) 204 (0.17%)Josephine Arland (Communist) 183 (0.15%)NOTE: Following redistribution Surrey was now a dual-member counstituency.(4). October 22, 1986 (Richmond Electoral District)William Vander Zaim (Social Credit) 29,762 (30.83%) XNick Loenen (Social Credit) 25,983 (26.91%) XDouglas Sandberg (New Democrat) 16,542 (17.13%)Arthur Kube (New Democrat) 15,580 (16.14%)David Chambers (Liberal) 4,028 (4.17%)Steve Mullan (Liberal) 3,803 ( 3.97%)Clinton Davy (Independent) 822 (0.85%)179NOTE: Following redistribution, Richmond was a dual-member constituency.(D). British Columbia Provincial Political Party Leadership Contests:William Vander Zalm has run for the leadership of both the provincial Liberal party(1972) and the Social Credit party (1986).(1). British Columbia Liberal Party(May 22, 1972 at Penticton, British Columbia)David Anderson 388 (69%) XWilliam Vander Zaim 171 (31%)(2). British Columbia Social Credit Party(July 30, 1986 at Whistler, British Columbia)Candidate 1 2 4William Vander Zaim 367 (28%) 457 (36%) 625 (49%) 801 (64%)XBrian Smith 196 (15%) 255 (22%) 342 (27%) 454 (36%)Grace McCarthy 244 (19%) 280 (19%) 305 (24%)Bud Smith 202 (15%) 219 (17%)John Reynolds 54 (4%) 39 (3%)Jim Nielsen 54 (4%) 30 (2%)Stephen Rogers 43 (3%)Robert Wenman 40 (3%)Cliff Michael 32 (3%)William Ritchie 28 (2%)Mel Couvelier 20 (2%)Kim Campbell 14 (1 %) ———1,294 1,280 1,272 1,255180(E). William Vander ZaIm’s Political Career: SummaryMunicipal Provincial Federal Provincial PartyYear Elections Elections Elections Leadership1964 Surrey Aldermanic1965 Surrey Aldermanic X1967 Surrey Aldernianic X1968 Liberal Candidate1969 Surrey Mayoralty X1971 Surrey Mayoralty X1972 Liberal Liberal Party1973 Surrey Mayoralty X1975 Social Credit X1979 Social Credit X1984 Vancouver Mayoralty1986 Social Credit X Social Cdit PaxtyX7 contests 4 contests 1 contest 2 contests5 elections 3 elections 0 elections 1 electionX Denotes electoral victoryDuring the twenty-two years between William Vander Zaim’s first political contest (1964 Surreyaldermanic) and his 1986 election as both Social Credit party leader and premier, he ran infourteen political campaigns, at each of the three levels of our country’s political system.Vander Zaim won nine times (65%).181APPENDIX 31986 Social Credit Leadership ConventionDelegate Selection ProcessEach constituency was responsible for electing delegates to represent their individual ridings.These delegate selection meetings were held in each of local constituencies.In order to stand and be elected a delegate, the individual had to meet three general criteria,as outlined in the party’s constitution and bylaws:1. MEMBERSHIP: Section 1 of the party constitution states a delegate must be at least16 years of age. If of voting age, they must be eligible to vote in a provincialelection.2. GOOD STANDING: Members must ensure that their membership is valid and hasnot expired.3. RESIDENCY: Section 2(a) of the party constitution states a delegate must qualifyas a resident in the constituency they seek election from.Each of the provinces 50 ridings were entitled to send a minimum 25 delegates to theconvention. If their constituency exceeds 1,000 members, then they are permitted one extradelegate for every 100 members over this base. Nine ridings received extra delegates underthis formula. The number of delegates that the constituency association sent to the 1986leadership convention were:Central Fraser Valley 40 delegatesSouth Okanagan 37South Peace River 31Surrey 29Cariboo 29Dewdney 27Okanagan North 27West Vancouver-Howe Sound 2741 Constituencies (25 each) 1.0251,300 Total DelegatesOf these 1,300 delegates, 68% were men (886), while 32% were women (416).The geographic breakdown of the delegates was:Lower Mainland (17 tidings) 431 (33.2%)Vancouver Island (9 tidings) 225 (17.3%)Fraser Valley (4 tidings) 117 (9.0%)Southern B.C. (11 tidings) 292 (22.5%)Central-Northern B.C. (9 tidings) 235 (18.0%)182APPENDIX 4Summary of Votes1986 Social Credit Leadership ConventionPremier W.R. Bennett resigns1. John Reynolds2. Jim Nielsen3. William Ritchie4. Stephen Rogers5. Bud Smith6. Robert Wenman7. Cliff Michael8. Mel Couvelier9. Kim Campbell10. Grace McCarthy11. Brian Smith12. William Vander ZalmVoting DayMay 22, 1986May 28, 1986June 4, 1986June 6, 1986June 9, 1986June 9, 1986June 9, 1986June 10, 1986June 10, 1986June 12, 1986June 13, 1986June 17, 1986June 20, 1986July 30, 1986W. Vander ZaImG. McCarthyBud SmithBrian SmithJ. Nielsen3. ReynoldsS. RogersR. WenmanC. MichaelW. RitchieM. CouvelierK. CampbellDelegates Voting: 1,299Spoiled Ballots: 5Accepted Votes: 1,294367244202196545443403228201428.36%18.86%15.6 1%15. 15%4.17%4.17%3.32%3.09%2.47%2.16%1.55%1.08%Candidates Entry into the Leadership ContestCandidateDate EntersCampaj2nDay ofCampaign17141619191920202223273070First BallotVotes % of VotesKim CampbeLl is eliminated. She endorses Brian Smith.William Ritchie, Stephen Rogers, and Robert Wenman withdraw and endorse Brian Smith.Mel Couvelier withdraws and endorses William Vander Zaim.Cliff Michael withdraws and endorses John Reynolds.183Second BallotVotes % of Votes Vote IncreaseW. Vander Zalm 457 35.70% + 90G. McCarthy 280 21.88% + 36Brian Smith 255 19.92% + 53Bud Smith 219 17.11% + 233. Reynolds 39 3.05%- 15J. Nielsen 30 2.34%- 24Delegates Voting: 1,297Spoiled Ballots: 17Accepted Votes: 1,280Jim Nielsen and John Reynolds are eliminated.Reynold and Cliff Michael endorse Vander Zalm, while Nielsen endorses Brian Smith.Bud Smith withdraws and endorses William Vander Zaim.Third BallotVotes % of Votes Vote IncreaseW. Vander ZaIm 625 49. 14% + 168Brian Smith 342 26.89% + 62G. McCarthy 305 23.98% + 50Delegates Voting: 1,294Spoiled Ballots: 22Accepted Votes: 1,272Grace McCarthy is eliminated. She releases her delegates without endorsing either of thetwo remaining candidates.184Fourth BallotVotes % of Votes Vote IncreaseW. Vander ZaIm 801 63.8% + 176Brian Smith 454 36.18% + 112Delegates Voting: 1,275Spoiled Ballots: 20Accepted Votes: 1,255Ballot by Ballot SummaryBallot and Votes CastCandidate 1 2 3 4William Vander Zaim 367 457 625 801Brian Smith 196 255 342 454Grace McCarthy 244 280 305Bud Smith 202 219John Reynolds 54 39Jim Nielson 54 30Stephen Rogers 43Robert Wenman 40Cliff Michael 32William Ritchie 28Mel Couvelier 20Kim Campbell 14 — — —1,294 1,280 1,272 1,255William Vander Zaim is elected Leader of the British Columbia Social Credit party.185APPENDIX 51986 SOCIAL CREDIT PARTY LEADERSHIP CONVENTION PROGRAMMESHIPIG186LIADERSHIPIGFROM THE PREMIERDear Friends:Over the past twelve and a half years. have had the honour andpleasure to serve you as Leader of the British Columbia Sociai CreditParty.With the support and encouragement of so many decent and unse!fisBritish Columbians. we were able together to return our Province togood government, and steer an optimistic and responsible course frthe future.Our dedication to our belief that a healthy, free enterprise economy is___________________________________the best assurance of continued and expanded social programs hasgiven us an enviable record of introducing and maintaining qualityservices for our people during good times and bad.We have seized opportunities with vigour and faced problems withcourage.-L. Today, I believe, we are at a turning point in our Provinces history.Increasingly, people from all walks of life in British Columbia arerecognizing the signs of renewal in our economy— and appreciatingthat our course has been the right one.Because we have remained steadfast to our common ideals and vision.we are today in a position to move forward rapidly into the excitingchallenges of a new kind of industrial revolution.Together, we can work to build a new British Columbia, a Provincewhich presents our families and our communities with unparalleledopportunities through the application of new technologies andknowledge that will better the lives of all.As we take part in this exciting convention, and move towards achallenging new era for Social Credit, let me thank you all from thebottom of my heart for your warmth and kindness.Your loyalty and friendship are legacies I will always remember andtreasure.187SHIP’BEFROM THE PRESIDENTFor more than 30 years, the Bennett family have been dedicated to alife of public service which has benefited all British Columbians.Now, Bill Bennett has called on us to select a new Leader, one whowill value the foundation he has built and use it wisely for our futurewell being.To that end, we have gathered in Convention from all parts of theprovince, drawn from all walks of life, representing all BritishColumbians dedicated to the principles of individual initiative and equalopportunity.The person we choose as our Leader and Premier must be responsivenot only to the wishes of Party members, but also to the needs andaspirations of all our citizens.The Bennetts have shown us how to meet those responsibilities withcourage, with optimism and with pride.We thank them for that.FROM THE CONVENTION CHAIRMANI am pleased to report that with the able assistance of staff and many,many volunteers, we are prepared to carry out the important agenda ofthis Leadership Convention.As you know, it was the Premier’s wish that we meet in Convention assoon as possible after his retirement announcement in recognition ofthe importance of a speedy transfer of responsibilities in the continuingoperation of Government.My congratulations to the Party staff and volunteers, to the Chairmenof the Convention Sub-Committees and their members and to theLeadership Candidates on a job well done, within very restricted timelimitations.May I also take this opportunity to express my appreciation for thehonour of Chairing this, perhaps the most important Convention in ourParty’s history.Finally, my thanks and very best wishes to Bill and Audrey Bennett.Their sense of duty and service stands as an inspiring example for allto emulate.188HIPIGB.C. SOCIAL CREDIT PARTYBOARD OF DIRECTORSHon. Bill Bennett Premier & Party Leader140P VheSpC0 PresidentMeldy Hams Past President (on leave)Ed KislingVice PresidentDavid Stone Treasurer ComptrollerDarn Nielsen Young Socred President (on leave)Danny Redding lmen’s Auxiliary Presidenl (on leave)Jerry Lampert Principal Secretary to the PremierCIII? MIchael Caucus Liaison (on leave)Joan Dickinson Director. Region IGary Huston Director, Region 2GICIgS littlerector. Region 3Ron Stewart Director, Region 4Ray Feenstra Director, Region 5rector, RegionSPhil Brooks Director °eq’on 70ev OIly Director egion 8DennIs Jackson Director. Region 9Gail TOmPSOn Director. Region toPaula Anderson Director. Region 11 (on leave)H.T. Galbreath Director, Region 12Ella Hembroff SecretarySOCIAL CREDIT CAUCUSHon. 8)11 BennettHon. Tony BrummetJim ChabotHon. Hugh CurtisHon. ¶.Witer DavidsonJack DavisHon. Alex FraserHon. Russ FraserHon. Garde GardoniHon. Jack HeinrlchHon. Jim HewittRita JohnstonHon. Jack Kemp?Hon. Grace McCarthyHon. Bob McClellandHon. PatrIck McG.erCliff MichaelDoug MowatHon. Jim NielsenJohn ParksAl PassarellHon. Austin PattonAngus FieeBill ReidJohn ReynoldsHon. Claude RichmondHon. Bill RitchieStephen RogersHarvey SchroederHon. Terry SegartyHon. Bflan SmithBruce StrachanHon. Elwood WitchHon. Tom WatertandPremier Okanagan SouthMInister of Energy, Mines & Petroleum Resources . . North Peace RiverM.L.A Columbia RiverMinister of FInance Saanich & the IslandsSpeaker DeltaM.L.A N. Vancouver-SeymourMinister of Transportation & Highways CanbooMinister 01 Post-Secondary Education Vancouver-SouthMinister of Intergovernmental Relations Vancouver-Point GreyMinister of Forests Prince George-NorthMInister of Education BoundarySimilkameenM.L.A SurreyMinister at Lands. Parks & Housing OminecaProvincial Secretary &Minister of Government Services Vancouver-Little MountainMinister of naustry & Small Business Development LangleyMinister of )nternatlonal Trade, Scienceand Investment Vancouver-Point GreyM.LA Shuswap-RevelslokeM.L.A Vancouver-Little MountainMinister 0? Health & Human Resources RichmondM.LA Maillardville-CoquitlamM.L.A AtlinMinister at Environment DewdneyM.L.A N. Vancouver•CapilanoM.L.A SurreyM.L.A W. Vancouver-Howe SoundMinister of Tourism KarnloopsMInister of Municipal Affairs Central Fraser ValleyM.L.A Vancouver-SouthM.L.A ChilliwackMinister of Labour KootenayAttorney General Oak Bay-Gordon HeadDeputy Speaker Pnnce George-SouthMinister of Consumer & Corporate Affairs Burnaby-WillingdonMinister of Agriculture Yale-Lillooet189SHIPB!LEADERSHIP CONVENTION COMMITTEECHAIRMANLes PetersonPARTY PRESIDENTHope WotherspoonPARTY VICE PRESIDENTEd KislingPARTY TREASURERDavid StonePRINCIPAL SECRETARY TO THE PREMIERJerry LampertCON VENTION MANAGERBill AugheySECRETARY TO THE CONVENTION COMMITTEEKen TolmieMEDIA RELATIONSCraig AspinallCHAIRMAN, ELECTION RULESAllan WilliamsCHAIRMAN, CREDENTIALSBill EsselmontCHAIRMAN, CANDIDATE LIAISONBruce Strachan, MLACHAIRMAN, STAGINGLynne UptonCHAIRMAN, MEDIAStuart HendersonCHAIRMAN, FINANCEMichael BurnsCHAIRMAN, ACCOMMODATION & TRAVELGary HustonCHAIRMAN, SPECIAL EVENTSBruce RozenhartRECORDING SECRETARYKaren Ward0190SHIP’IIBALLOTING PROCEDURESAlt De1egas to the British Columbia Social Credfl Party Leadership Convention are hereby advised Thatthe following procedures shall goxern the balloting process at the Leadership Convention. It is theresponsibllty at each voting Delegate to be familiar wittt the rules and procedures governing theballoting process and to ensure they follow this process. No exceptions shall be made.Delegates and Alternates are to gather at the Convention Hall not later than 930 am. onWednesday. July 30. 1986. (Please note that it may be a long day dress comfortably.)2. Al 9:45 am, the Convention Chairman shall open this session and Inform me Convention of thenames of the Candidates eligible on the first ballot.3. The Convention Chairman will Then read the rules pertaining to “leetlen it Candidates on lii.C.mpWten of Each Baet— flglby W Subsiqireet Ballets” which detail the process by whichCandidates will be elIminated front subsequent ballots.4, The Convention Chairman will then instruct the Convention on the procedure Delegates must taketo vote. These procedures an, as follows:a) You are to proceed to the South Exit (Main Exit) anti circle to the left of the ConvenlionCentre until you reacit the entrance to the voting tent.b) Only Delegates may go beyond This po.nt and uiy if they exhibit The Delegate badge whichwas received at registration.c) When Inside the voting tent you shall go to tile votIng line which corresponds to the first twodigits on your Delegate badge.d) An Elections Official stationed at the beginning of each line will check your badge to ensureyou are In ttti proper voting line.e) At the end of each line an Elections Official will again check your badge and then allow you torocee one at a time, to the approonate table stalled by a Deputy Returning Officer and af) At this table the ORb shall again check your badge and authorize the Poll Clerk to issue aballot If your name is on the voters list. Each delegate must sign the poll book betorereceiving a ballot.g) You must then proceed to an empty voting booth at a table which corresponds to the line youwere in.h) In the booth please mark a cross “Xiii the square opposite tire name at the Candidate forwhom you wish to vote. Vote for only one Candidate.I) It you use any other mark than a cross X”, vote for more than one Candidate, place anymark outside the square opposite a Candidates nan• or make iy mark which may identitythe voter, the ballot will be decLared spoiled.j) It you spoil your ballot you may return to the ORb at the table corresponding to your votingtine number, surrender the spoiled ballot paper and receive a replacement ballot afterre-signing 1h Poll Book.k) Altvyouhavemai’lcedtheballoq,prcceedtotheballotboxwhlchcorrespondstoyourlinenumber and hand your folded ballot to the Auditor at that Dcx. Before placing your ballot inthe box, the Auditor shall check your badge number to ensure you are at the proper box.Please remain at the box until the ballot has been placed in the box.I) After completing the voting process, please leave the voting tent at the marked exits.m) Delegates may not carry or distrIbute any pamphlets, brochures, tabloids, signs or any otherdistributable materill In support of any Candidat. or promote any Candidate while in thevoting tent.n) It is your responsiblllty to return to the Convention Hall In time Jar the beglnmng of the nextba (it necessary).STATUS UPGRADE PROCEDURE1. The purpose of thIs procedure is to ensure that all constituencies exercise their lull votingentitlement while at the sante time respecting the order of priority of Alternates.2. Ills the responsIbIlIty of Individual Alternates to apply to have their status upgraded to that ofDelegate.3, Any Alternate who wIshes to request that their status be upgraded must complete an Applicationfor Status Change and hand It in to the CredentIals CommIttee at the Assistance Desk in theRegistration building. All Applications must be received by the Committee before the close ofregistration on Tuesday, July 29 al 9:00 p.m.4. The CredentIals Committee will meet Tuesday night to review the Applications received andauthorize those Applications which are to be upgraded.5. On Wednesday, July 30. from 8:00 am. to 10:00 am., registered Alternates may come to theRegistration building to see if their Application for Status Change was approved by the CredentialsCommittee. If the ApplIcation was indeed approved, tile Alternate will turn in their Alternate badge.receive a Delegate badge card with the newly assigned voter number, and have a new phototaken.8. Should tire ApplIcatIons approved not be picked up by the Individual Alternates by 10:00 am, OnWednesday, July 30. that Delegate position will renwin empty.7. The onus is fully on tire Alternates to apply for up-pradlng and present themselves to completethis process.191KIM CAMPBELLPersonal: Aoe 39. Born in Port Alberni. Schooled in Burnaby.Vancouver anc Victoria: cegrees in Arts and Law,University of B.C. Canaca Councl DoctoralFellowship (1970). Engaged (Howard Eddy, lawyerl.Business? Political science teacher. University of B.C. andCommunity: Vancouver Community College. Lawyer. LadnerDowns. Founding Mernoer anc Sharenoider. BridgesRestaurant.Political: Member. Vancouver School Board 1980-1983 anoChairman. 1982-1983. Social Creoit candidate inVancouver Centre. May. 1983 Executive DirectorOffice of the Premier, 1985-1986 with responsibilitiesfor policy developmentMEL COUVELIERPersonal: Age 55. Born in Vancouver. Ecucated as a Certif:edGeneral Accountant. Marrieo Millyl. three childrenBusiness? Senior Cost Accountant with Crown Zelleroach.Community: Owner of Maplewood Poultry Processors. Victoria.since 1960. Member Islands ‘86. Business ano!noustrial Deveioment Commission of Vrc:ora.Political: Entered municipal oolitics in 1974: five terms asMayor of Saanich Executive member of Union of B.C.Municipalities. Greater Victoria Labour ReiationsAssociation, Association of Vancouver IslandMunicipalities. Federation of Canadian Municioaiities.Urban Transit AuthorityGRACE McCARTHYPersonal: Age 58 Born and educatea in Vancouver Maruieo(Ray). two children.Business? Owner and President of Grayce Florists Ltd. untICommunity: 1978 Advisory Board, Salvation Army DirectorCanadian Council of Christians and JewsPolitical: First elected as a Vancouver Parks BoaroCommissioner in 1961. Elected M L.A for Vancouver-Little Mountain in 1966. Has served as DeputyPremier. House Leader. Minister of Tourism. Ministerof Human Resources. Chairman ot the CabinetCommittee on Economic Development, Director of theinsurance Corporation of B.C. Currently ProvincialSecretary and Minister of Government Services, andMinister Responsible for B.C. Transit.CLIFF MICHAELPersonal: Age 52. Born in Lashburn Saskatchewan RaiseOand educated in Port Alberrri. Victoria. Graduate of tneBanff School of AdvanceO Management. MarriedlDilysl. four children.Business! Served as Business Agent and Financial Secretary ofCommunity: Local 1-4 17 of the International Woodworkers ofAmerica. 1959-65 before joining Federateo Co-ooLimited in Salmon Arm as odustrial RelationsManager. Active in Scouts. Rotary. ChamOer ofCommerce. Minor Hockey.Political: First elected to the Shuswap School Board n :978.Chairman 1980-83. Elected M L.A. for ShuswaoRevelsoke in 1983. Serves as Parliamentary Secretaryto the Minister of Forests and Chairrr,an of te SocialCredit caucus.Age 47 Born in Moose Jaw. Saskatchewan EducatecMoose Jaw and Richmond. Married iJeanl. ninechildren.Radio news director and commentator from1960-1975.Progressive Conservative candidate :n BurnacySeymour in 1974 Federal Election. EFec:eO M L.A forRichmond in 1975 Has served as Minister ofEnvironment. Minister of Consumer ano CoroorateAffairs Currently Minister of Heaith ano Mnister of-luman Resources. Deouty House Leaner anoMinister Responsible for the insurance Corocratior. ofB.C.JOHN REYNOLDSPersonal: Age 44. Born in Toronto. Educated in Toronto andMontreal. Married (YvonneI. seven chnorenBusiness! Sales and marketing career in buidin sys:ems.Community: greeting card incustry ano rneOicai suopl:es °.aCiohost. 19781983 ano currently active as an nvestcrentreDreneur A founding memoer ann Charman ofthe Gordie Howe Foundation for Dsab!ed AtnetesServed as Progressive Conservative MemOer ofParliament for 8urnaDy-ichmono-Deta. 1972-78Elected M.L.A. for West Vancouver-Howe Souna in1983. Has served as Chairman of the AgricultureCommittee and member of the Public AccountsCommittee. Currently Parliamentary Secretary to theMinister of Health.192JIM NIELSENPersonal:Business!Community:Political:I. -Political:193BILL RITCHIEPersonal: Age 56. Born and educated in Glasgow. Scotland.Served with the Royal Navy in World War Two.Emigrated to Canada in 1952 and B.C. in 1957.Married (Maud), four children.Business! President of Ritchie-Smith Feeds Inc. Has been activeCommunity: in the Canadian Feed Industry Association, CanadianTurkey Marketing Agency. B.C. Poultry IndustriesCouncil. Active in Rotary, Chamber of Commerce andFraser Valley College Council.Political: Elected M.L.A. for Central Fraser Valley in 1979.Appointed Minister of Municipal Affairs in 1983.Responsible for the Provincial-Municipal PartnershipProgram. Serves as Minister Responsible for B.C.Buildings Corporation.Age 44. Born and educated in Vancouver. Graduate ofRCAF Central Officers’ School (Flying), Ontario.Diploma in Finance and Investment from VancouverCity College. Separated (Margaret), two sons.Joined Air Canada as a pilot in 1966, until his entryinto politics.Elected M.L.A. for Vancouver South in 1975. Hasserved as Deputy Speaker, Minister of Environment.Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources,Minister of Health. Has served as MinisterResponsible for B.C. Place: and on the boards of B.C.Hydro, B.C. Petroleum and B.C. Utilities Commission.Age 52. Born and educated in Victoria. Arts and Lawdegrees from University of B.C. Masters in Historyfrom Queen’s University. Two children.Business! Civil and criminal lawyer. 1964-79. Part-time lecturerCommunity: at University of Victoria and a founder of theUniversity’s law school.Entered municipal politics in 1969: served as Mayorof Oak Bay 1973-79. Elected M.L.A. for Oak Bay-Gordon Head in 1979. Has served as Minister ofEducation and Minister of Energy, Mines andPetroleum Resources. Currently serves as Attorney-General.STEPHEN ROGERSPersonal:Business!Community:Political:BRIAN SMITHPersonal:Political:194BUD SMITHPersonal: Age 40. Born in Kamloops. Arts degree (PoliticalScience and Urban Geography) trom University ofVictoria: Law degree from University of B.C. Married(Daphne), three children aged 7. 5 and 3.Business! Lawyer with Mair. Janowsky and Blair, Kamloops.Community: Director, Mortgage Investment Corporation: Directorand Officer, Property Management and HouseConstruction Corporation.Political: Campaign manager for Rate Mair I 1975 ana c:auoeRichmond (1981). Campaign Tour Director tor PremierBennett (1983). Served as Principal Secretarv to thePremier 1984-86: ana a Director of BC. DevelopmentCorporation.BOB WENMANPersonal: Age 46. Born in Maidstone. Saskatchewan TeachingCertificate, Saskatoon. Married (Donna). fourchildrenBusiness! Career as a high school teacher and later, aCommunity: stockbroker with Pemberlon Securities before enteringfederal politics.Political: Elected Social Credit M.L.A. for Delta in 1966.Elected Alderman in Surrey. 1972. Sat as ProgressiveConservative Member of Parliament. 1974-1986Served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minster ofDefence. 1985-1986.BILL VANDER ZALMPersonal: Age 52. Born in Holland and educated in Holland.Bradner. Mt. Lehman and Abbotsford Married(Lillian), four children.Business! President of Fantasy Garden World ana Secretary ofCommunity: Art Knapp Nurseries Ltd. Presicent of the B.C.Chamber of Commerce. President of Western ettuceNow Inc. and an active member of tne Kinsmen.Lions Club, Kiwanis Club. Knights of Coiumous andthe Council of Canadian Unity.Political: Served as an Alderman in Surrey. 1965-69. Mayor ofSurrey from 1969-75. Elected M L.A. for Surrey in1975. Served as Minister of Human Resources.Minister of Education and Minister of MunicipalAffairs. In order to devote his time to the familybusinesses, he did not seek re-election in 1983.....U=IIIi———MAINTENT=196PROGRAMMONDAY, JULY 2510:00 a.m.-i0:00 p.m.8:00 p,m.-9:00 p.m.9:00 p.m-i :00 am.TUESDAY, JULY 297:00 a.m.-9:O0 am.Afternoon4:00 p.m.5:00 p.m.•9:00 p.m.EveningWEDNESDAY, JULY 308:00 a.m.-l0:00 am.10:00 am.am/p.m.EveningRiglatritlo. NeorsMonday, July 28Tuesday, July 29FunctionRegistrationFormal Tribute toPremier BennettConvention Centreopens for seatingCandidates’ NominationSpeeches andAcceptance SpeechesCandidates’ ActivitiesStatus Upgrading,Alternates and DelegatesConvention Chairmanopens voting session10:00 am, to 10:00 p.m.8:00 am, to 9:00 p.m.Myrtle Philip Elementary School,across the highway west 01 theConvention Centre.Open seating in the Main Hall,Atrium and Rainbow Theatre on afiret-comi. first-served basis. Pro.purchased ticket rsqwt.d for eatny.Tribute will be relayed live to videoscreens in the Alnum and RainbowTheatre.Main Tent on parking lot adiacenl toConvention Centre.Village SquaresMyrtle Philip Elementary SchoolSimultaneous in Main Hall. Atriumand Main rent. See Bulletin Boardsfor Schedule.Hospitality suites: and Candidates’Village located on driving rangebelow Delta Hotel,Accua to Main Hall restricted toDelegates and Media. PltoteIdentIfication must hi wore.Proceedings will be relayed liveto video screens in the Atrium.Rainbow theatre and Main Tent.Candidates’ Village andhospitality suites.Myrtle Philip Elementary SchoolMain Hall Access restricted toDel.gates, AIt.rnate md Media.Photo Identification must be worn.0bserers and spouses have accessto the Atrium and Rainbow Theatre.Photo identification must be worn.Balloting will continue until a newLeader is elected.Candidales’ Village open all day.Main Tent, immediately followingelection of new Leader[HSHIPIG8:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m.9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.Tribute PartyCandidates’ Breakfast—sponsored byBlackcomb MountainRegistrationCandidate ForumsCandidates’ ActivitiesCandidates’ activitiesNew Leader’s PartyF—You must have registered before 9:00 p.m. Tuesday evening in order to participate inWednesday’s events.Status Upgrading OnlyWednesday, July 30 8:00 am. to 10:00 am.1’C.,-l I m I C)m m C)-4 C)-C198SHIP’!!WHISTLER VILLAGE FACILITIESEmergency Services:932-5111Police (RCMP) 932-2044Medical Services:A First Aid Station is located in the Convention Centre. An ambulanceservice and medical clinic are located off Village Gate Boulevard at thenortheast side of Whistler Village.Dr. Rob BurgessOr. Christine RodgersPublic Health UnitAmbulanceDentalTransportation:The Party is providing a shuttle bus service from accommodations Outside the main Village area. A schedule is available from the Party of-ice in the Conference Centre.Avis car rentals 932-4870Parking:Public parking is available at the municipal lots located on the northeast side of the Village. The parking lots immediately adjacent to theConvention Centre are reserved.Activities:LFire932-3977-5338-4911-3044/4233-3677IWater slide and spa 932-2340 Fishing tours 932-5850Whistler Golf Course -4544 Helicopter tours -4105Mini-golf -3434 River rafting -3784Bicycle rentals-3928 Bus tours -3290Canoe/kayak rentals -3389 Trail rides -3033Chair lift rides -3434Booking service: Leisure Connection: 932-5850199VARichmond Headquarters270-9290LZALMMIERSurrey Satellite590.1182APPENDIX 6WILLIAM N. VANDER ZALM 1986 CAMPAIGN MATERIALBILNDERFOR PREWe invite all members of the Social Credit Party to unitetogether to support former MLA and Cabinet MinisterBill Vander Zaim to become our next Party Leader andPremier of our Province.B.C. needs a Premier and a Cabinet with the desire andexperience to put our Province on the road to the future.WE NEEDBILL VANDER ZALM!1 -800-663-0897oozc..JcxC’Jc30)14-)CJ(DcDQ)(Dt-.J(014czüjO)LILLJL4C)LLcDuJaL/)DearDelegate...CongratulationsonyourelectiontoourSocial CreditPartyLeadershipConvention at Whistler.I’mlookingforward tomeeting youthere.IfI don’tget throughtoyoubeforehand(facetoface oronthetelephone),I hope youwillcallme.I canusuallybereached at1-800-663-0897or270-9290.i%.tJtP-{a-,PUt03/i34L--,L-t-,&c,v(/1-ge7Our Province needsastrongleader.rtI canbethat leaderçt202A VANDER ZALM“The Growing Sensation”Bill Vander Zalm — Campaign ‘86There comes a time in this land of ours when we’ve got to choosesomeone new.We need someone, who’s not afraid to speak what’s really true.I know a man, who’ll take the lead to make this province run.Re makes the best of it, no matter what you say of it, this manis number one!CHORUSHe’s a growing sensationIt’s a new generationBill Vander Zaim — He’s our man!I know he seems to make the crowds follow him whereever he does.And if he’s had a bad day his smile won’t let it show, so,Come on my friends, the time is now to make this party grow.We need a man who’ll take the lead, he’s someone we all know.CHORUS-LRe’s a growing sensationIt’s a new generationBill Vander Za].m — He’s our man! (Repeat all three lines)Bill Vander Zaim — Bill Vander ZaimBill Vander Zaim — He’s our man!203-LVANDERZALMBILL VANDER ZALM IS:* happily married to his wife of 30 years, Lillian.Born in Holland on May 29, 193I, Bill Vander Zalm wasraised and educated in B.C. As a longtime member ofthe Social Credit party, he has solid grass rootssupport throughout the province.* an experienced political leader. He served threeyears as Minister of Municipal Affairs, two yearsas Minister of Education, three years as Minister ofHuman Resources, six years as Mayor of Surrey, andfour years as Alderman in Surrey.* recognized as one of British Columbia’s most popularpoliticians.* a person of integrity whose ability to “dig In andget the job done” is well known throughout B.C.* a conscientious businessman who has the capabilityto utilize realistic marketing strategies to ensurethe future financial success of B.C.* a dynamic, forceful, thought—provoking and entertaining speaker.* a man whose moral convictions have caused him to returnto public life.* a politician who travels light without a wad ofI.O.tJ.’s. His campaign team is a group of hardworking Social Credit volunteers.* not controlled by any backroom manipulators.* a leader who brings a refreshing new approach to government.* a parent who recognizes that the best investment in ourfuture is in our children.* a sensitive listener who is able to respond to the needsof people in every region of the province.* able to fully comprehend the challenging problemswhich need to be resolved.* convinced that the least amount of government is the bestgovernment. He believes in decentralization of governmentto bring decision—making closer to the people of B.C.* committed to the revitalization of all of British Columbia.* the Best Choice for the position of Premier of BritishColumbia.204Welcome to Whistler and to a challenging iexciting time in Social Credit historc ByWednesday night. yOU will have selected ipar leader and the next Premier of BnrsJ!You will be considering twelve dedicatedindividuals. Each of us believes, of course howe are the candidate best suited to provide ticleadership required to win the next generalelection and govern in the name olfreeenterprise in this province.It is your responsibility and, in fact. votrs •lar and compelling priority to choose t1in‘idual with the proven abilit to resrxmissues with decisive and effective action. Inthese hours before the critical first ballot. Iurge you to absorb, reflect, read, and searchout as much information as possible on eachof us. Then, at some point before the vote ,‘isome quiet time to do two things. First, decdefor yourself which one of us most deservesyour support. Second. reflect that ourdemocratic process can, and wil!, yield thebest individual; then, commit to stand behindthat person for the greater benefit of the Parr’.and the Province. With this perspective, weare all assured a bright and prosperous futureDear Friend:Columbia.Sincerely,205Bill Vander ZaimJ have a long experience ingovernment and I’ve also hadthe advantage of being awayfrom government for three,vears, taking care of mybusinesses, signing payrollcheques, and generally dealingwith those concerns facingbusiness throughout BritishColumbia. It’s an addedperspective that many othercandidates do not share.”E Born in Holland, May 29, 1934E Married 30 years to Lillian; four childrenEducated in AbbotsfordZ Started business career selling shrubs byauction from the back of an old truckE Built Art Knapp Plantland to a businesswith 18 stores in British ColumbiaE Established Western Lettuce, WesternCanada’s largest with eight acres ofgreenhousesOwner of Fantasy Garden World inRichmond, one of North America’sfinest tourist attractions after only twoyears of operationE Served four years as Alderman in SurreyF layor of Surrey for six yearsLi Three years as B.C. Minister of HumanResourcesfl Three years as Minister of MunicipalAffairs and Transit Authority (Made thedecision on the SkyTrain ALRT)Li Two years as Minister of EducationLi Served on many Boards andCommissions over the years206...On Social CreditThe Social Credit Party servesthe needs ofall the people ofBritish Columbia, whatevertheir economic status.Under our leadership, the broadest rangeof social programs available in Canadahave been implemented. We have amongthe highest, if not the highest, standard ofhealth care. And, we have fostered anenvironment that encourages the growthof business in the province.There are challenges still to be met. Theneeds of our two and a half millinn peopleway out west beyond the mountains” arenot considered as often as they should beby the central government. As BritishColumbjans, we need a strong voice inOttawa to convey our unique provincialmessage.The British Cilumbia Social Credit Party isthe vehicle. The Party must be a broadprovincial movement, not the extension ofa federal party, because we are a provincewhere the opposition holds over 40% ofthe vote— possibly the highest percentageof any province in Canada. We mustencompass the concerns of all of the freeenterprise people of the province. We mustwork toward fuller Party participation indeveloping effective provincial goals andobjectives to promote these needs....On Free EnterpriseFree enterprise is the system which affordsthe individual the greatest opportunity tocontribute economically to the people andthe welfare of the province. It recognizesthat the individual is society’s greatestasset, and that when given the freeopportunity to realize his or her dreams,it is the community as a whole that willper.The role of government is to be a guidingand governing force, rather than a bodythat takes over and may even get intocompeting situations with the entrepreneur. It is bureaucratic rigidity thatbreaks the camel’s back of free enterprisein this province. It is our job to remove thestumbling blocks and cut the red tape.Government must create a climate whichallows things to happen because peopletake the initiative, not because it isimposed from above.Ifyou believe in free enterpriseyou fight for it, even when theodds appear to be against you.207...On EmploymentBritish Columbia is a resource provinceand therefore dependent on majorindustries. Yet these have to be balancedwith small business. It is the little businessthat gives us economic stability in the longrun, “hanging in” even when times aredifficult. We have to open up employmentopportunities lay encouraging smallbusiness and by providing the resourceand assistance they need to make thingshappen.Don’t be duped by those who say thesimple solution to employment is justbetter education and retraining. That’s partof itbut only part. The employmentproblem is here. . right now. We needmore jobs for tiüners, for farmers, formiliworkers.. as weH as jobs for thosewith specialized training. And the solutionto that is economic growth in the privatesector.Employment opportunities will come witha government that emphasizes thedevelopment of new markets, freer tradeand more trading partners, more resourcesavailable to small business, lessbureaucracy and red tape, a commitmentto work together with the unions and,ultimately, the promotion of a positiveentrepreneurial attitude in the Provinca’...On Labour RelationsIn a healthy economy, we all enjoy ahigher standard of living. Both labour andmanagement benefit. No one benefits fromunemployment. . . whatever the cause.And, no one whether government,business, or labour should bully its way att! :xpense of others— especially at theexpense of British Columbia.I want people working, union or nonunion. Working together, working inconcert for the benefit of a stable, healthyeconomy in British Columbia. During thelast several years, many have sufferedmuch from uncertainty and dispute. Whatis needed in this province is someone whocan bring the issues to the table in a spiritof cooperation, dealing fairly andforthrightly with all interests— with theinterests of the people of British Columbiaat heart.Employment issues in theProvince are our number onepriority!I intend to make it my priorityto bring all sides together toassure the greatest possibledegree of labour peace, with asmany as possible working.208...On The Governing ProcessDecisions with respect to thedevelopment of legislation, andregulation ofpolicy ingovernment, should really comefrom the grassroots up — ratherthan from the top down.If we do that, with good input, then we’llget legislation which has a body ofsupport right from the outset. And in thefinal analysis, of course, it’s the wholegovernment— not just the Premier— whogets it together and brings about results.When government is flexible, it worksbetter for everyone. We have to recognizeregional opportunities. There is a need forus to decentralize and, in fact, haveeconomic initiatives which have impactthroughout the province. Each area differsin its needs. Some are tourist-oriented,others are agricultural, and others mig’ ‘egreat areas for forestry. Unfortunately, toomany decisions affecting the economy ofthe regions are still being made centrally.I think the best decision-making can comefrom the concerned area. As a result, weneed better relationships with themunicipalities.Similarly, Ottawa is developing economicprograms in isolation from the province) and our particular needs. We need to workwith both the federal and local levels ofgovernment to bring about an economicstrategy that is coordinated between all ofthe players. I cant stress enough theimportance of good intergovernmentalrelations...n you’ll find government using abulldozer where a lawnmower will do.With all-encompassing, “big umbrellalegislation, things can get tied up to thepoint where nothing happens. We needless bureaucracy and more flexibility. Veryoften these abuses aren’t in the act, the’/rein the application of the act. That’s wherethe problems are with legislation at alllevels.We need more open government, morepartnerships with the regions, and widei lines of communication between thegOvernment and labour and business. Weall have to re-assess our roles. It’s timeto put democracy back into the governingprocess.209...On Social ProgramsThe number one priority, as faras I’m concerned, is the basicsfructure in society— thefamily.Programs adopted by government shouldbe geared to first provide an opportunityfor people to care for individuals— anymember of the family in need of assistanceat home.Secondly, we should be viewing manysocial support programs as things whicFcan frequently be delivered locally, or froma community level rather than fromVictoria or Ottawa.Thirdly, if things can be done privatelyinvolving the community chances are theywill be more humane and done withgreater feeling.And while I believe that we should have abroad range of programs they should bei that people dont develop anunnecessary dependence on them. Rightnow, too many programs are operated in away that does make people too dependent.210...On EducationI’m izot convinced that weshould be coizcen trating solelyon funding, as has been theemphasis recently.The often asked question is whether weshould pump more money into education.Tm not suggesting for the moment thatsomehow there needs to be a continuedfreeze. It may be that things ought to beloosened up when the economy permits it.The education system deals with twothings: fact and opinion, and oftentimesopinion is taught as fact, and this presentsa problem. I think it’s what we teach, andhow we tech it, that becomes important.The comnunity should have someopportunity to give priorities to what it isthey ‘would want to see taught in theirparticular areas. And we should giveyoung people the choice to detemiinehether it’s an academic course or avocational route which the1/d prefer totake. There ought to be enough flexibilityin the educational system to permit this tohappen. And as it exists today, this isn’talways the case..1• ..... “..:1.211...On Economic GrowthEconomic growth has to come,in part, through the process ofdecentralization.Too many decisions are made for theprovince in Victoria and downtownVancouver, without due consideration ofwhat the many small needs are in the areaswhere they could make a big difference.British Columbia is the size of westernEurope and it’s governed from one cornerof the province without enough consideration to the different concerns of thevarious regions. Sensible economic gro.can only be thought out and brought aboutat the local levul. If you go into acommunity like Smithers and ask thepeople themselves what is needed to gettheir community working, they have somegood suggestions which might not havebeen readily apparent from Victoria.Another thing we’re going to have to do isget out and market this province. Not justsell. . . not just take orders, but actually getout in the world and develop new marketsand develop opportunities for the selling ofour resources and products.We also have to provide opportunities forsecondary manufacturing. There arethousands of small entrepreneurs whohave good ideas which never come tofruition. Why? Because they are either tooremoved from the central scene, or they donot have the resource material to make. ithappen. We must have a bank ofinformation and resources for these peopleavailable. As a government, we should bea facilitator. . . making things availablethat can lead to economic growth....On LeadershipAt this time in histoiy, it is mostimportant that we select theleader who is best able tocommunicate the message to allof the people.People generally in our country havebecome distrustful of government; they’veheard politicians say things and yet neverreally come through with what they’vepromised. A leader is needed who isdecisive and convinced of that which theya rying to do; a person who is willing tocarry through with the knowledge that theend result and the honesty of the attemptwill overcome any temporary differencesthat exist. During difficult times you’vegot three choices: you capitulate, youcompromise, or you act decisively and seethings done.I’ve always believed in action. I think thatone of the problems with most people inpolitics is that once they get involved theyget overpowered by the bureaucratic viewthat everything is so complicated. I haven’tchanged my view that the basics haven’tchanged — it’s just that the bureaucracy,the consultants, and all the people whostand to gain from the complications tendto elaborate them.The job of government should be to openup the process, making it more accessibleto the grassroots, and to encourageipation. Decisive leadership willen..re that the team is in place to achievethis.212Vander ZaimAnd we need the Party of free enterprise toremain in power. Our ability to help bringabout a better British Columbia requires aleader who can gain the support of a clearmajority among all B.C. voters.More than any other candidate, I believe thatI could bring together the widest cross-seeof people in British Columbia to lead the - .rtvto victory.We need a strong leader. One who canprovide a vision and motivation for the peopleof British Columbia. one who can bring aspirit of cooperation to balancing the needs ofdiverse groups; one who can see through thecomplexities of issues and mobilize thegovernment into action; one who will listen toall the people. . . not just special interestgroups. I believe I am that leader.(LIZ-1-—?L—Cd=2•:9:;:;-= ‘.- >- Ca9. 21—Ca-=:; =$-.—Ca’-Ia, a, c__a --a,<= E a= ca = = -= ==C..=ca c.=- aa,= Caa, —a, = =Caa, I-= i—-= = _a— ca -1—-= ==._,Ca =,a,—,•— =-,.=- = ca ---= ,a,-==.Ca—=,•©ca-.9-= C.3• ca — = ,.. Ca c.-=,a, a,;I>-= =--E-==9 = C,,LL c.2 .. .a,=a) —a,-= =1..,a)— =- a,== ca= == = >-C..,—C,, .a .__J a)J17ItPREMIER EDITIONTHEVANDER ZALMLEADERNUMBER 1 JLILY 29, 1986It is 4me for a fresh approach to leading the Social Credit Party in British Columbia. It is time to seekreasonable soIufons to the problems we are all facing. It is time for this party to represent the needs and concerns of allits members.I believe that I am the best candidate to serve as your new leader. I know that you will find my approach arefreshing change.Many of you are aware of some of my beliefs: I believe in law and order. I believe in moral integrity. I believein fairness for all people in society. I believe we must help the disadvantaged. I believe we must all work together as prouBritish Columbians.The selection of the new leader requires your careful consideration. In the midst of all the activities hereat the Convention I hope that you will set aside some time for your own private decision making.[v’l VANDER ZALMDear Delegate.Welcome to the Whistler Convention.I look forward to meeting you and sharing your concerns.Silvd2Bill Vander Zalm216-I.Bill end L,’iIdn lead the way in a parade to register as delegates Tuesday. Lad bya is piece band, their parade attracted excellent attention in Whistler TownSqud e end got the Vender ZaIm campaii off to a rouwrsg startl/L---Have you been dwotagh ZALM’S Hospitality Tern yet?If you have, you probably saw Herb Weins, who spent a busy weekorganizing and coordinating the Entertainment division for our man ‘BILL’Kicking off the festivities were the “Vander Jams”, a group of Itt year studentsfront UBC. who lad Bill end Lillian Vander ZaIm’s parade to registration.These kids are very enthusiastic and are followed everywhere they go by hugethrongs of Bills supporters. Rick Colquon, Cam McQueen, Duncan Errtngton.Dave McCormick, Debbie Kerr and Jenie EIy will be busy “jamming’ for Billat the tent, and throughout the village for the next 2 days.So I figure, we elect Vander ZaIm on the firstballot and we’ve got all Wednesday to enjoy Whistler”Dear Bill:You have my full support in your campaignfor le”derolthe Social Credit Party. As a divisional chairman at V.V.l.I recall that when you were Minister of Education you visitec’V.V.I. (Vancouver Community Collegel on two occasions:1. To open the renovated facility and2. To tour the campusYou took the time to assess the situation at V.V.l. sothat you had a thorough understanding of the operation of 11wvaried programs.I feel confident that as our new leader you will financally support vocational education in the future.Good Luck with your campaiars.Dear Mr. Vander Zalm.SincerelyTony WoodRichmond, B.C.1 am a card carrying member of the N.O.P. Party. Mywife end feel that you have the highest morals, integrity andbusiness sense along with a true concern for the people of BC.I want yew to know that if you win the leadership of your Party,that my wife and I will give up our N.D.P. memberships and loinyou and your Party. We also feel that you will bring new andexciting ideas to the province. I will tell you, Bill, it sure is niceto agree with my brother, who is a socred — you are the bestman for the job.Best Wishes and Good LuckMr. & Mrs. T. StewartBurnaby, B.C.As a career public servant for some twenty years now, Iwas delighted to watch the RCTV news coverage of your addressto the Fraser Valley delegate nomination meeting recently.Right ont I wholeheartedly agree that “Big Govern.mans” now so complex and extended that much of our energiesas employees are consumed in needless bureaucratic triviaEspecially within the last ten years I have witnessed an invasionby middle level managers who seem intent only in pursuingunrealistic self. perpefuating goals and of course padding theiradministrative support systems.It has now reached the point where lust a short timeago I had to remind our local managers that the public weresuffering and hence our mane was in sharp decline. Consequently,these last weeks I have been engaged in a “smarten up talkto our front line staff, reiterating that we are here to assist andserve the public . funny thing is though . many of our resourcemanaaers seem to think the licensees, permitees and the publicat large are there to assist THEM in achieving THEIR variøusmission,’I wish you every success in your endeavours.Yours Truly,Kenneth G. WeirWilliams Lake B.C.21/Deer Bill Vender Zaim,Li VANDER218BILL IS TREMENDOUSLY GOOD NATURED; NO MOODINESSTO HIM AT ALL, HE’S ALWAYS UP; NEVER UPS AND DOWNS.THAT’S NEAT TO WORK WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE UP”GRACE McCARTHYVancouver Magazine, April ‘83Bill Vander Zaim seems to be destined to be a leader in British Columbia.“Vander ZaIm” means ‘of the salmon’ • an intriguing coincidence for the mento be our next premier.For all the delegates at Whistler, this is Bill Vender Zalm* Happily married to his wife of thirty years. Lillian. Born in Holland onMay 29th, 1934. Bill Vander ZaIm was raised and educated in B.C. As alongtime member of the Sociial Credit Party, he has solid grass roots supportthroughout the province.* an experienced political leader. He served three years as Minister ofMunicipal Affairs, two years as Minister of Education, three years as Ministerof Human Resources, six years as Mayor of Surrey, and four years as Alder.man of Surrey.* recognized as one of British Columbia’s most popular politicians.* a person of integrity whose ability to ‘dig in and get the job done’ is wellknown throughout B.C.* aconscientiousbusinessman who has the capability to utilize realistic market•ing strategies to ensure the future financial success of B.C.a dynamic, forcefull, thought provoking and entertaining speaker.* a man whose moral convictions have caused him to return to public life.* a politician who travels light without a wad of IOU’s. His campaign groupis a team of hardworking Social Credit volunteers.* not controlled by any backroom manipulators* a leader who brings a fresh new approach to government.* a parent who recognizes the best investment in our future is in our children.* a sensitive listener who is able to respond to the needs of people in everyregion of the Province.* able to fully comprehend the challenging problems that need to be resolved.• convinced that the least amount of government is the best government.He believes in decentralization of government to bring decision. makingcloser to the people of B.C.* committed tothe revitalization of all of B.C.• the Best Choice for the position of Premier of British Columbia.[j VANDER ZALMJTHE PREMIER EDITIONVANDERLEADERNUMBER 1 JULY 30, 1986VOTE VANDER ZALM FIRSTPOLLS SAY BILL IS NUMBER 1BdI Vender Zalm is e poeple’s choice to become leader.Thu fact was strongly evident in the Vancouver Sun which published the results of a pollconducted by Marketrend Marketing Research Inc.This poll, accurate to within 4.3 percent, clearly states that Bill is the one person who canwin the next election,Topis polled included the candidate most trustworthy, most caring for r, elderly anddis ntaged, strongest leadership, ability to end confrontation, repr tion of B.C. interestsfederally, and able to deal with organized labor. On every topic Bill Va er Zalm led by sucha margin that other candidates clearly are not being considered for ttse powtion of Premierof British Columbia by the general public.BC. cbnducted their own survey on Saturday and Sunday. Their quea,.n: How about: yourchoice for Premier? The answer: Bill Vander ZaIm 46.7%, Grace McCarthy 20.7%, Brian Smith6.1%, Bud Smith 5.3%.The second question in 8CTV’s survey was “who would you support in an election againstBob Skelly?” 56.8 percent of people polled would support Social Credit, if, and only if. BillVander Zalm was the leader.Good news does not come in bits & pieces. The Victoria straw poll by the Victoria Social Creditconstituency asked 1050 citizens who they wanted f or premier. The results. Vender Zaim ‘ 589.the next closest candidates, Brian Smith . 178, Grace McCarthy . 165 (see accompanying picture)The message is clear, In every corner of this huge province citizens are stating their preferencefor. premier. Bill Vander Zaim is their choice.Be Smart! Mark Bill Vender ZaIm your choice on the first ballot. Win with the winner!a WhIch of the candidates Is the most trustworthy?NarneVwiderZakn 30.7IditCaithy 16.9Bflan Smith 5.0Bud Smith 3.7Wenman 2.0NIelsen 1.7Pgam 1.50.7Couvelier 0.5Ritchie 0.5Reo 02Michael 0.0Don knew, etc 36.5W B.st at providingstrong Is.d.rshlp for theprovince:NameVender ZaIm 50.0McCastfly 16.9Btsait Smith 7.5Bud Smith 3.7Nielsen 1.7Pg 1.5Wenman 1.0Couveber 0.5Campbell 0.5Rltchee 02Reo 0.2Michael 0.0Don’t know. etc. 16.1s’ Best at managing native Indian claims:hamsVander Zalm 23.4McCarthy 10.9Brian Smith 8.0Bud Smith 32Nielsen 2.0Wenman 1.0Rogere 0.7Ritctiie 0.7Couvater 02Roynolds 02CameU 0.0Michael 0.0Dontknow,,tc. 49.5Best at dealing withthe unions:NameVander ZaIm 36.8McCarthy 92Brian Smith 6.2Bud Smith 4.2Nielsen 3.5Wenman 1.00.7Reynolds 0.5Rogers 0.502Campbell 0.0Couvelier’ 0.0Don! know, etC. 40.0— Best at r.pr.s.ntlngB.C’s interests with 01-tawa:NameVender ZaIm 33.6McCarthy 1L7Brian Smith 7.0Bud Smith 52Wenman 3.2Nielsen 2.5Rogers 22RiIct’iie 0.5Reynolds 0.5Couveber 0.2Campbell 0.0Michael 0.0Donlknow,elc 28.3— Best at ending ttss atmosphere of confronts-lion In th. province.NameVender Zaka 39.1McCarthy 14.9Brian Smuts 7.0Bud SI’TIeI 4.5Wenman 2.0Nielsen 1.7Rogere 1.7C.atnpbeU 0.7Couveuec 0.5Peyno 0.5Michael 0.5RWu 0.5Ocnsknow, etc. 28.3ri VANDER I MORE POLLS — PAGE 3ZALM2201Nancy Greene Raine, World Cup Champion, Olympic Champion and Whistler Mountainresident and developer knows awinner. This letter to Bill Vander Zaim shows thekind of feelings that Bill generates from the people of B.C. who appreciate hiscontributions and actions in making our province better.Mr. and Mrs. Bill Van der ZalmSocial Credit Leadership ConventionWhistler, British ColumbiaDear Bill and Lillian:Welcome to our hotell we are very pleased that youchose to stay iit is.. during this .excitin.g event.is heartwarming to bOable to welcome you back toWhistler with much of the Village now completed. Ithas been more than six years since you, as Ministerof Municipal Affairs, helped launch the community watersystem which allowed the Resort Municipality of Whistlerto realize its ‘Village’ dream.At the time when Whistler Village was still a vision,we were greatly encouraged by your ability to see itspotential for tourism. In those days there were veryfew believers and you were often criticized for yoursupport of a new concept in resort development.We appreciate your role in the birth of Whistler andwill never forget the encouragement and enthusiasmyou gave to us during Whistler’s darkest hours.Again, welcome to Whistler. We look forward tohaving you both as our guests.Sincerely,Al and Nancy RaineNancy Greene’s Olympic LodgeP.O. Box 280, Whistler, British Columbia. Canada VON IBO Telephone: (604) 932-2221 Telex: 04-51208I jvl VANDER ZALMJuly 25th, 1986BCTV POLLSURVEY TAKEN SATURDAY & SUNDAYAMONG THE GENERAL PUBLICYour Choice for Prmter?Bill Vander Zelm 46.7Grace McCarthy 20.7Brian Smith 6 1Bud Smith s.iAll others 21.2VVho would YOU support n art election aoainst Son Skelly)Bill Grace Brian BudSocred Leader S6 8 480 449 39.5Bob Skelly 40 1 47 5 46.8 50.5Undecided 3.1 4.5 8.3 10.0% Support among the NDPBill Grace Brian Bud19.1 17,7 9.0 N/APictured here are the results of the straw poll conductedPoll Conducted Among Representative Sample (673) Of The Voting by the Victoria Social Credit Constituency officePublic In All Arees Of The Province.asking people which candidate they preferred aspremier. Votes for Bill were more than 3 times__________________________________that of his closeit rivall-t —‘..--The ?ander Zaim campaign picked up more momentum on Wednesday. At acandidates breakfast, Bill & Lillian served coffee and pancakes & took time out for ashort jive!The Vander Zaim campaign continued strong with .ne days largest and bestreceived parie which filled the town centre, with Bill.again leading the way..Even ‘Al’ the alternate robot candidate got into ti act.Bill’s grassroots support have made his campaign - nuge success at Whistler.BILLVANDER ZALM‘DELEGATESMEET THISMORNING@ 8:30 ATTHE VANDERZALM TENTTHIS. IS VERYIMPORTANT SOPLEASE BETHERE. LET’S‘“VOTE’ BILL INON THE FIRSTBALLOT!REMEMBER TO VOTE VANOER ZALM FIRST TODAY!222BILL’S RECORD AS A LEOLATOR AND ADMINISTRATORSPEAKS FOR ITSELF. DURING HIS TERM AS MINISTER OF HUMANRESOURCES HE UNDERTOOK THE FOLLOWING INITIATIVES:• Proclamation of the GAIN Act• Introduction of a policy of employmentrehabilitation for welfare clients• lntro’tucsron of an Internal Audit Team• Introduction of the inspectors programfor the prevention & detection of fraud• Establishment of the Community LivingSociety for the mentally retardedAs Minister of Municipal Affairs he was responsible forthe following:• The ALAT Prefect• The ongoing work on land use regulation reform• Introduction of Part >( of the building code,which helps insure that buildings are accessibleto the disabled• Conversion guidelines for older buildings• Building Safety Standards Act• Downtown revitalization Program• Expansion of conventional transit andtransit sersices for the disabled• The extra homeowner grant forthe disabled• Changed the emphasis from child welfareto family support services, with programssuch as the family support workers program• Arranged the Continuation of medicalcoverage to assist the handicapped to gainindependence after leaving income assistance.thereby encouraging them to seek employmentin the community• Creation of an integrated service deliverysystem within the ministry of human resourcesAs Minister of Education he was responsible for• The re-introduction of provincialgovernment examinations• The school district administration cotsprogram• The training access program• The deregulation discussion paperLEEEII vl VANDER ZALMVOTE VANDER ZALM FIRST223BILL PERSONAL DIARYVANDER ZALMSOCIAL CREDITLEADERSHIPCONVENTIONWHISTLER, BRITISH COLUMBIAJULY 28th- 30th, 1966THE ONLY CANDIDATEWHO CAN OVERWHELMINGLYWIN THE NEXTPROVINCIAL ELECTION!COMPLIMENTS OF:BILL VAN DER ZALMSI-I..•.•.‘....•.....-._c.• S•..I U, -H r rn U, -H rn > -Qt) t)225EVENTS EVENTSMONDAY, JULY 28th, 1986 TUESDAY, JULY 29th, 198610:00 AM - 10:00 PM 9:00 AM- 9:00 PMREGISTRATION REGISTRATIONSCHOOL GYM7:00 AM- 9:00 AMPANCAKE BREAKFASTVILLAGE SQUARELeadership Candidates are Your Chefs!(This is a Comp(imentarv Breakiast8:00 PM - 9:00 PM 9:30 AM - 12:30 PMPREMIER’S TRIBUTE CANDIDATES’ FORUMSCONVENTION HALL These wi/I take place simultaneous/v in 3 locations:CONVENTION CENTRE 1. THE CONVENTION HALL2. THE CONVENTION ATRIUM3. THE SOCIAL CREDIT PARTY TENT-L (Candidates will move between areas.I12:30 PM - 5:00 PM“FREE” TIMETime to visit Candidates’ Village!!9:00PM- 1:00 AMTRIBUTE PARTY 5:00 PM - 9:15 PMSOCIAL CREDIT PARTY TENT CAN DI DATES’ SPE ECH ES(Cash Bar) CONVENTION HALL-LEVENTS226ADDRESSES & PHONE NO.’SWEDNESDAY, JULY 30th, 19864AME8:00 AM 10:00 AMDELEGATE STATUS UPGRADINGSCHOOL GYMADDRESS- NAME_.ADDRESSPHONE___________NAME —ADDRESSPHONE____10:00 AM - TO COMPLETIONBALLOTINGCONVENTION HALL. TENT NAME —ADORE SSPHONE__PHONE_AT COMPLETIONLEADER’S PARTYSOCIAL CREDIT PARTY TENTADDRESSPHONENAMEADDRESSPHONE____(iicJk)> 0 z C) (f-i C -I (1-iADDRESSES & PHONE NO.’S NOTESNAMEADDRESSPHONENAMEADDRESSPHONENAMEADDRESSPHONENAMEADDRESSPHONENAMEADDRESSPHONENAMEADDRESS228PHONE____________229-1ITINERARY ITINERARYMONDAY, JULY 28th, 1986 TUESDAY, JULY 29th, 19867AM AM___8AM 8AM9AM 9AMlOAM lOAM___11AM 11AMNOON NOON_1PM 1PM2PM 2PM__3PM___3PM4PM________________________4PM5PM_5PM6PM_7PM 7PM8PM 8PM9PM PM...10PM 1OPM_11 PM_, 11 PM_MIDNIGHT____________________MIDNIGHT230ITINERARYAUTOGRAPHSWEDNESDAY, JULY 30th, 19867 AM__________________________8 AM__________9 AM__10 AM________11AM_NOON1 PM__ _______2PM3PM4PM—5 PM6PM-7 PM__8 PM_9 PM___1 PM_11PMCOMPLIMENTS OF:MIDNIGHT BILL VANDER ZALM231APPENDIX 7The Selection and Election ofSocial Credit Party of British Columbia Leaders1952 - 1993Since the 1952 provincial general election, the British Columbia Social Credit party haschosen six leaders. The first, fourth and fifth leaders were selected by their caucuscolleagues, with the fourth having her selection confirmed at a full party leadershipconvention. To date, the party has had three leadership conventions, (1973, 1986, 1991)where the voting delegate had been elected by their constituency associations. In 1993, theparty leader was elected by universal ballot.The six Social Credit party leaders have been selected or elected as follows:THE FIRST LEADER: WILLIAM A.C. BENNETTJuly 15. 1992 (Hotel Vancouver. Vancouver. B.C.)Two weeks before the final results of the 1952 provincial general election are known,the Social Credit candidates meet at the Hotel Vancouver to select their Leader. (Theparty had campaigned during the election without an official leader, although W.A.C.Bennett acted as its de facto leader).The voting procedures are determined that day. Unsuccessful candidates cannot vote,but they could be nominated for the position. The winner must receive 50% of thevote, plus one.Nominated by their fellow candidates are MLA - elects W.A.C. Bennett (OkanaganSouth), Philip Gaglardi (Kamloops), Thomas Irwin (Delta) and J.A. Reid (SalmonArm). Peer Paynter, an unsuccessful candidate in the provincial election also wasnominated.The voting results, which launched W.A.C. Bennett’s twenty year premiership were:W.A.C. Bennett 14Philip Gaglardi 1Thomas Irwin 1Peer Paynter 2J.A. Reid192322. THE SECOND LEADER: WILLIAM R. BENNETI’November 24. 1973 (Hotel Vancouver. Vancouver. B.C.)In the party’s first leadership convention, former premier W.A.C.Bennett’s second son, William is elected party leader on the first ballot. The votingprocedures are those outlined in the Social Credit party constitution. Thosedelegates selected by their constituency associations vote as follows:William R. Bennett 833Robert McClelland 269Harvey Schroeder 204Jim Chabot 97Ed Smith 74James Mason 101,4873. THE THIRD LEADER: WILLIAM VANDER ZALMJuly 30. 1986 (Whistler Trade and Convention Centre. Whistler. B.C.’)The Social Credit party held its second leadership convention in 1986, withdelegates again being selected by their respective constituency associations.Candidate 1 2 4William Vander Zaim 367 457 625 801Brian Smith 196 255 342 454Grace McCarthy 244 280 305Bud Smith 202 219John Reynolds 54 39Jim Nielsen 54 30Stephen Rogers 43Robert Wenman 40Cliff Michael 32William Ritchie 28Mel Couvelier 20Kim Campbell———1,294 1,280 1,272 1,2552334. THE FOURTH LEADER: RITA JOHNSTON(A). April 2. 1991 (Parliament Buildings. Victoria. B.C.)On the same day that William Vander Zaim resigned as premier, Rita Johnston isselected interim leader of the Social Credit caucus by her fellow MLAs. Thecaucus decision is quickly ratified by the party’s board of directors, which wasmeeting in Victoria. That evening, Johnston is officially sworn in as premier by theprovince’s Lieutenant Governor.(B). July 20. 1991 (Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre. Vancouver. B.C.)109 days after the Social Credit caucus elected Rita Johnston their interim leader,the delegates at the third Social Credit party leadership convention elected her asparty leader.For the last time, the party elected its leader by the procedures outlined in the party’sconstitution. (Throughout the leadership campaign, there was an active movementto drop the existing leadership procedures in favour of a yet to be defined universalballot procedure. While unsuccessful in changing the rules for the 1991 contest, theuniversal ballot procedure was finally accepted by the party at its 1992 convention).The results of the 1991 leadership race are as follows:BallotsCandidate 1 2Rita Johnston 652 941Grace McCarthy 659 881Mel Couvelier 331Norm Jacobsen 169Duane Crandall—1,846 1,822After the first ballot, Mel Couvelier moved to and endorsed Rita Johnston. DuaneCrandall moved likewise to endorse Grace McCarthy.2345. THE FIFTH LEADER: JACK WEISGERBERMarch 7. 1992 (Social Credit party offices. Richmond. B.C.)Following the Social Credit party’s massive defeat in the October 17, 1991provincial general election, the party was reduced to only seven M.L.A.s (forty lessthan their 1986 election results. This number would be reduced to six when MLAPeter Dueck left the caucus to sit as an independent). Among the defeated was partyleader Rita Johnston, who shortly thereafter announced she would neither try toretain the party leadership, or be a candidate in any future leadership race.Following Johnston’s announcement, MLA and former Cabinet Minister JackWeisgerber announced that he would be a candidate for the interim leadership ofthe party. No other candidates declared, and so at a party board of directors meetingheld in Richmond on March 7, 1992, Jack Weisgerber was acclaimed by the caucusand other board members as the party’s interim leader. (Weisgerber sought andreceived confirmation of his interim leadership from the Social Credit constituencyassociation’s at their respective 1992 annual general meetings when the ridingassociations passed special resolutions of support).6. THE SIXTH LEADER: GRACE McCARTHYAfter over five years of often acrimonious debate, the Social Credit party finallyimplemented the universal ballot process for selecting their sixth leader.All party members in good standing (estimated between 40,000 - 50,000) wereeligible to cast a transferable ballot at polling stations at an advance poll (October 23,1993) or at more than 125, polling stations in the province’s seventy-fiveconstituencies on the November 6, 1993 election day.There was no leadership convention for this contest. The candidate’s were, however,able to participate in a question and answer session and make speeches at the party’sannual general meeting, held the week before the vote in Kamloops, B.C.There were four contestants in the 1993 contest. Three were former MLAs; GrahamBruce (MLA 1986 - 1991), Grace McCarthy (MLA 1966 - 1972 and 1975 - 1991)and Claude Richmond (MLA 1981 - 1991). All had served in cabinet. The finalcontestant was Vancouver businessman Jim Turner. (Widely respected interim leaderJack Weisgerber declined to enter the race).The transferable ballot allowed party members to vote, in their order of preference,for one of all four candidates. In the event their preferred candidate(s) wereeliminated, and they had stipulated another choice, then their votes would be235transferred to this other candidate on subsequent ballots. A winner would require50% plus one vote to win. The process was somewhat confusing, and it took threeballots and over seven hours to tabulate the votes before 66 year old Grace McCarthywon the party’s leadership, after failing to do so in the last two contests.Candidate Second ThirdG. McCarthy 7,338 7,351 7,790G. Bruce 5,321 5,352 6,245C. Richmond 2,083 2,0993. Turner 91Spoiled 182TOTAL 15,015236APPENDIX 8British Columbia Provincial Election Results1952 - 1991Contested by the British Columbia Social Credit PartyJuly 31. 1952 (Final CounO:PARTY SEATS POPULAR VOTESocial Credit (A) 19 30.18%New Democratic 18 34.30%Liberals 6 25.26%Conservatives 4 9.66%Labour 12. June 9. 1953:Social Credit (A) 28 45.54%New Democratic 14 29.48%Liberals 4 23.36%Conservatives 1 1.11 %Labour 1 0.12%3. September 19. 1956:Social Credit (A) 39 46%New Democratic 10 28%Liberals 2 22%Labour 1 3%4. September 12. 1960:Social Credit (A) 32 39%New Democratic 16 32%Liberals 4 21%5. September 30. 1963:Social Credit (A) 34 41%New Democratic 13 28%Liberals 5 20%6. September 12. 1966:Social Credit (A) 33 45.5%New Democratic 16 33.8%Liberals 6 20.0%2377. August 27. 1969:Social Credit (A) 38 46.8%New Democratic 12 33.9%Liberals 5 19.0%8. August 30. 1972:New Democratic 38 39.2%Social Credit (A) 10 31.8%Liberals 5 16.2%Conservatives 2 12.6%9. December 11. 1975:Social Credit (B) 36 49.2%New Democratic 17 39.0%Liberals 1 7.2%Conservatives 1 4.1 %10. May 10. 1979:Social Credit (B) 31 48.2%New Democratic 26 45.9%11. May 5. 1983:Social Credit (B) 35 49.76%New Democratic 22 44.94%12. October 22. 1986:Social Credit (C) 47 49.32%New Democratic 22 42.60%13. 1991:New Democratic 51 40.71%Liberal 17 33.25%Social Credit (D). 7 24.05%NOTES:(A). Denotes elections where the Social Credit party was led by William A.C. Bennett.(B). Denotes elections where the Social Credit party was led by William R. Bennett.(C). Denotes elections where the Social Credit party was led by William N. Vander Zaim.(D). Denoted elections where the Social Credit party was led by Rita Johnston.Source: Chief Electoral Officer for British Columbia, Statement of Votes for Elections1952-199 1, Province of British Columbia, Victoria."@en ; edm:hasType "Thesis/Dissertation"@en ; vivo:dateIssued "1994-05"@en ; edm:isShownAt "10.14288/1.0087535"@en ; dcterms:language "eng"@en ; ns0:degreeDiscipline "Political Science"@en ; edm:provider "Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library"@en ; dcterms:publisher "University of British Columbia"@en ; dcterms:rights "For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use."@en ; ns0:scholarLevel "Graduate"@en ; dcterms:title "The 1986 election of W.N. Vander Zalm as leader of the B.C. Social Credit party"@en ; dcterms:type "Text"@en ; ns0:identifierURI "http://hdl.handle.net/2429/5218"@en .