This thesis explores the effects of the federal
political system upon the organization of the Liberal
Party of British Columbia by means of an examination of
those manifestations of disunity and conflict which can
be related to the changing balance of power between the
federal and provincial segments of the party. Although
both parts of a Canadian political party generally
recognize the value of a unified and closely integrated
organization, their separate interests and requirements
frequently create internal conflicts. These sources of
strain between the federal and provincial wings of
Canadian political parties may well reveal those distinctive attributes of Canadian party organization which
are derived from participation within a federal system.
Within the Liberal Party of British Columbia the
changing pattern of federal-provincial party relations
have been closely associated with the relative electoral
strength of the two wings of the party. Challenges to
the leadership and control of the provincial Association
have-generally occurred when, the balance of political
power was not adequately represented in the leadership
of the Association. Since a combination of administrative and policy differences between the two groups provided the main sources of friction, the changing
electoral fortunes of the two wings also affected the
emergence and intensity of federal-provincial strains.
With the exception of a five year period between
1928 and 1933, the provincial wing of the party held
power in Victoria from 1916 to 1952 and the provincial
leader maintained effective control of the Liberal
organization in British Columbia. Although the federal
party also held power throughout most of this period, the
federal wing never demanded control of the provincial
organization. Confrontations between strong Liberal
premiers and a Liberal Prime Minister were frequently
responsible for internal party friction since the sectional policies pursued by Liberal premiers of British
Columbia often involved challenges to federal government
policy. Although the provincial coalition with the
Progressive Conservatives, between 1941 and 1952,
eventually initiated severe federal-provincial strains,
the campaign by federal leaders to discredit the coalition Liberals was also directed at a specific provincial
leader rather than at the principle of the provincial
control of the organization.
The electoral eclipse of the party's provincial
wing after 1952 for the first time placed the federal wing in a dominant position within the provincial party.
Although the federal leaders in the province sought no
official change In the party's organization, they attempted
to extend their Influence within the Association.
The realignment of the federal and provincial wings of
the party in turn affected the sources and expression of
federal-provincial strains. Although effective control
of the Association has shifted from the provincial to
the federal leaderships over the past decade, the Liberals
In British Columbia have maintained a unified provincial
organization. But while the party has always recognized
the advantages of a unified organization which serves
the needs of both wings of the party, the federal
political system has, nevertheless, profoundly influenced
the organization and fortunes of the party. The
conflicting Interests created by the federal division of
power not only affect the formal organization of the
political party but also determine the pattern of intra-party relations. / Arts, Faculty of / Political Science, Department of / Graduate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UBC/oai:circle.library.ubc.ca:2429/41703 |
| Date | January 1966 |
| Creators | Ward, Judith Barbara |
| Publisher | University of British Columbia |
| Source Sets | University of British Columbia |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis/Dissertation |
| 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. |
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