The 2013 British Columbia general election took place on May 14, 2013, to elect the 85 members of the 40th Parliament of British Columbia to the Legislative Assembly in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The British Columbia Liberal Party (BC Liberals) formed the government during the 39th Parliament prior to this general election, initially under the leadership of Premier Gordon Campbell then after his resignation, Christy Clark. The British Columbia New Democratic Party (BC NDP) under the leadership of Carole James, and then Adrian Dix, formed the Official Opposition. The BC Green Party under the leadership of Jane Sterk and the BC Conservative Party under John Cummins were also included in polling, although neither party had representation at the end of the 39th Parliament.

The Liberal Party won its fourth straight majority; Clark was defeated in her riding, but she was re-elected to the legislature in a subsequent by-election in Westside-Kelowna on July 10, 2013,"B.C.'s Premier Christy Clark wins byelection, returns to legislature" . Toronto Star, July 10, 2013. after Liberal MLA Ben Stewart stepped down on her behalf."Ben Stewart steps aside in Kelowna for B.C. Premier Christy Clark" . Vancouver Sun, June 5, 2013. The NDP remained the official opposition, losing two seats, and the Green Party won its first-ever seat with future leader Andrew Weaver being elected in the Victoria-area riding of Oak Bay-Gordon Head.

Clark's Liberals had consistently trailed the opposition New Democrats by multiple percentage points in every public opinion poll throughout the campaign."Why were polls so wrong about the B.C. election?" . CBC News, May 15, 2013. Even poll results released on the last day of the campaign suggested that the New Democrats had an eight to nine percentage point margin over the Liberals."Why were the polls completely wrong about the B.C. election?" . The Globe and Mail, May 15, 2013. Only one pollster, Forum Research, had released a poll which suggested that the Liberals were close enough that a victory was even possible for them, although even that poll had the New Democrats ahead by two percentage points. That the Liberals not only won an upset victory, but even slightly increased their majorities in the seat count and popular vote, led to significant media debate about the quality of opinion polling in Canadian elections; some, including former premier Mike Harcourt (who resigned from the NDP as a party member in the aftermath of the election), believed that the polls did not sufficiently register a late collapse in NDP support among working-class voters after Dix publicly opposed an expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline.

Timing Section 23 of British Columbia's Constitution Act provides that general elections occur on the second Tuesday in May of the fourth calendar year after the last election.Constitution Act, s. 23 . As an election was held on May 12, 2009, the next election was scheduled for May 14, 2013. The same section, though, makes the fixed election date subject to the Lieutenant Governor's right to dissolve the Legislative Assembly as he or she sees fit.

The writs were dropped April 16, 2013, and the general election was held on May 14, 2013, with advance voting made available on May 8 through 11.

Background After leading the BC Liberals for 17 years, Gordon Campbell announced he would resign as Premier and party leader in November 2010. This was seen as the result of opposition to the Harmonized Sales Tax, which was very unpopular with voters.

In the ensuing leadership campaign, Christy Clark, the eventual winner, suggested she would prefer to hold an election earlier than 2013 to secure her own mandate. She was believed to be preparing her party for an election as early as autumn 2011. However, due to the unfavourable result from the HST referendum, she decided to rule out an early election.

Political parties This is a list of political parties who ran candidates in the 2013 election: Party Leader Expenditures Requires navigation to political party. Notes British Columbia Liberal Party Christy Clark $11,740,241 The BC Liberals have formed a majority government since May 2001. With the resignation of party leader Gordon Campbell, the new party leader Christy Clark was selected on February 26, 2011. The party claims it is independent of the federal Liberals and the federal Conservatives. British Columbia New Democratic Party Adrian Dix $9,090,489 Affiliated with the federal NDP, the BC NDP held power from 1972–1975 and 1991–2001. On April 17, 2011, Adrian Dix was chosen as the party leader in their 2011 leadership convention. Green Party of British Columbia Jane Sterk $177,660 The party is based on the belief in sustainability and maintains a full policy platform. British Columbia Conservative Party John Cummins $154,502 Having last won a seat in 1978, the Conservative Party has re-emerged as a minor party. According to polling in March 2013, the party holds less than one-third of the centre-right vote (shared with the BC Liberals). The party received a temporary boost when, on March 26, 2012, Abbotsford South MLA John van Dongen announced that he was leaving the BC Liberals to join the BC Conservatives, providing the party with its first representative in decades. Van Dongen shortly quit the party to sit as an independent on September 22, 2012. Advocational International Democratic Party of British Columbia Michael Yawney $2,780 The party was registered in 2006 and despite accumulating over two million dollars in assets the party did not nominate any candidates in the 2009 election. British Columbia Party $0 A right-of-centre party which did not nominate any candidates in the last election and only 2 candidates in the 2005 election. Christian Heritage Party of British Columbia Wilfred Hanni $2,111 The party is based in the supremacy of God and rule of law and maintains a full policy platform. It was founded in 2010 as the BC Heritage Party but changed its name to the Christian Heritage Party in 2012 when it developed ties to the federal Christian Heritage Party. Communist Party of British Columbia Samuel Hammond $1,375 As a provincial branch of the federal Communist Party of Canada, party advocates a communist ideology, including labour rights and limits to corporate control. Active since 2001, the party nominated four candidates in 2001 and three in both the 2005 and 2009 elections. British Columbia Excalibur Party Michael Halliday $901 Founded in 2013, the party has developed an election platform. BC First Party Salvatore Vetro $1,768 Founded in 2010, the party advocates for democratic reforms, including the use of referendums, free votes, and at-large elections for the position of Premier. The party nominated a candidate in the 2011 by-election. Helping Hand Party Alan Saldanha Founded in 2011. The party is based on the belief "that helping others unconditionally provides for a meaningful existence" and intends to run only a single candidate, Alan Saldanha in Surrey-Newton. British Columbia Libertarian Party $1,994 The party advocates for libertarian principles including protecting civil liberties and private property rights, legalizing drugs, and ending government controls on economic activity. Active since the 1980s, the party nominated six candidates in both the 2005 and 2009 elections. British Columbia Marijuana Party Marc Emery $751 The party seeks to legalize marijuana. Active since 2000, the party nominated a full slate of candidates in 2001 and 44 candidates in 2005. The party endorsed the Green Party in the 2009 election but nominated one candidate regardless. Platinum Party of Employers Who Think and Act to Increase Awareness Espavo Sozo $0 Founded in 2005, the party advocates for government accountability. The party nominated 11 candidates in the 2005 election but none in 2009. British Columbia Social Credit Party The once dominant conservative party last formed the government under Bill Vander Zalm and Rita Johnston but has not elected an MLA since 1991. The party did not nominate any candidates in the 2009 election. Unparty: The Consensus-Building Party Michael Donovan $0 Founded in 2011, the party promotes consensus government over adversarial party politics. BC Vision Jagmohan Bhandari $179 Founded in 2013, the party has developed an election platform that includes technology development, environmental conservation, public health, cross-generational communication, senior education, and fiscal responsibility. Work Less Party of British Columbia Conrad Schmidt $9,420 The party seeks to legislate a 32-hour or four-day work week. Active since 2003, the party nominated 11 candidate in 2005 and two in 2009. Your Political Party of British Columbia James Filippelli $1,884 The party seeks to reduce the influence of political parties on government and increase public review of government operations, inclusive of crown corporations and local governments. They maintain a full platform which includes making all campaign promises legally binding. Active since 2002, the party nominated one candidate in 2005 and two in 2009.

Results +Elections to the 40th Legislative Assembly of British Columbia (2013)PartyLeaderCandidatesVotesSeats # ± % Change (pp) 2009 2013 ±Christy Clark 85 795,274 43,613 44.13 49Adrian Dix 85 715,855 24,291 39.72 351Jane Sterk 61 146,685 12,069 8.14 –1John Cummins 56 85,637 51,186 4.75 46 49,306 30,620 2.74 1 8 2,050 564 0.11 0.02Salvatore Vetro 2 1,275 1,275 0.07 NewMichael Halliday 6 995 995 0.06 NewJagmohan Bhandari 4 878 878 0.05 NewWilfred Hanni 2 828 828 0.05 ReturnedMarc Emery 2 766 405 0.04 0.02James Filippelli 2 528 193 0.03 0.01 3 445 445 0.02 ReturnedSamuel Hammond 4 389 44 0.02 0.00% 1 374 374 0.02 ReturnedAlan Saldanha 1 282 282 0.02 NewMichael Donovan 2 244 244 0.01 NewConrad Schmidt 2 145 177 0.01 −0.01Michael Yawney 2 137 137 0.01 NewEspavo Sozo 2 56 56 – ReturnedTotal 3761,802,149 100.00%

Vote and seat summaries

MLAs elected

Synopsis of results