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.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU.2429/5218 |
| Date | 05 1900 |
| Creators | McCarthy, William P.J. |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Relation | UBC Retrospective Theses Digitization Project [http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/retro_theses/] |
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