For over 30 years they were the governing party that dominated the British Columbian political scene. Beginning with the 1952 provincial election, the BC Social Credit Party, or Socreds as their members were known, would rule nearly uninterrupted for four decades until 1991.
Premiers such as W.A.C. “Wacky” Bennett, his son William R. Bennett, and the scandalous Bill Vander Zalm would see the party shift from their social credit ideology of monetary reform, in favour of becoming a political vehicle for fiscal, and later, social conservatism in B.C. Following their sound defeat at the hands of the NDP in the 1991 election, the party essentially collapsed.
Having sat out of the 2009 election, the BC Social Credit Party is making a comeback this year, though only a tiny one, fielding only one solitary candidate, Carrol Woolsey, in the Vancouver-Hastings riding. Woolsey is both the party’s president, and de facto leader, since no official leader has been selected in 13 years.
“Whatever the outcome here is, the BC Social Credit Party is not going away,” Woolsey stated.
So in 2013, with change being all the rage going into this election, what does the BC Social Credit Party stand for? Why should they get your vote? Answering those questions may be easier said than done, with few, if any, official platform press releases being issued, and their website not been updated since last year.
A realtor by trade, Woolsey has mentioned her interest in seeing the Property Transfer Tax scrapped however, as it makes it too difficult for first time home buyers to get into the market.
With vintage being in, come May 14, the Socreds may be hoping nostalgia holds their favor and grants them their long awaited return to Victoria.
Written and researched by Andrés Markwart, a Political Columnist at Vancity Buzz. Connect with Andrés on Twitter at @AMarkwart.
Image: Library and Archives Canada
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