British Columbia general election, 2005

British Columbia general election, 2005

← 2001 May 17, 2005 2009 →
79 seats of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia 40 seats were needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Leader Gordon Campbell Carole James Adriane Carr Party Liberal New Democratic Green Leader since September 11, 1993 November 23, 2003 September 23, 2000 Leader's seat Vancouver-Point Grey Ran in Victoria-Beacon Hill Ran in Powell River-Sunshine Coast (lost) Last election 77 2 0 Seats won 46 33 0 Seat change 31 31 0 Popular vote 807,118 731,719 161,849 Percentage 45.80% 41.52% 9.18% Swing 11.82% 19.96% 3.22%
Popular vote map by riding. Traditional areas of NDP support returned to the party fold after the preceding wipeout. Colourblind-friendly version
Premier before election Gordon Campbell Liberal Premier-designate Gordon Campbell Liberal

Gordon Campbell
Liberal

Gordon Campbell
Liberal

The 38th British Columbia general election was held on May 17, 2005, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) of the Province of British Columbia (BC), Canada. The British Columbia Liberal Party (BC Liberals) formed the government of the province prior to this general election under the leadership of Premier Gordon Campbell. The main opposition was the British Columbia New Democratic Party (BC NDP), whose electoral representation has been reduced to two MLAs in the previous provincial election in 2001.

The BC Liberals retained power, with a reduced majority of 46 out of 79 seats, down from the record 77 out of 79 in 2001. Voter turnout was 58.2 per cent.

Under amendments to the BC Constitution Act passed in 2001, BC elections are now held on fixed dates: the second Tuesday in May every four years. This was the first provincial election for which elector data in the provincial elector list was synchronised with the National Register of Electors.

The BC electoral reform referendum was held in conjunction with this election. This referendum asked voters whether or not they support the proposed electoral reforms of the Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform, which included switching to a single transferable vote (STV) system. Had it been approved by 60% of voters in 60% of ridings), the new electoral system would have been implemented for the general election in 2009. Although the proposed reform attracted a clear majority (58% of the popular vote in favour, with 77 out of 79 ridings showing majority support), the level of support was just short of that required for mandatory implementation. A new vote on a revamped version of STV was held in conjunction with the 2009 British Columbia general election.