From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The British Columbia Social Credit Party, whose members are known as Socreds, was the governing party of British Columbia for more than 30 years between 1952 and 1991, although there was a break between 1972 and 1975 while the NDP was in power.
Though obstensively the British Columbia wing of the Canadian social credit movement, the party with W. A. C. Bennett at the helm shed its Social Credit ideology in favour of a mixture of populism and conservaitsm and became a political vehicle for opponents of the socialist Co-operative Commonwealth Federation to unite and keep the CCF and its successor, the New Democratic Party out of power.
Under the leadership of "Wacky" Bennett's son, William R. Bennett the party put populism behind and became an uneasy coalition of Christian conservatives from the province's Bible Belt and fiscal conservatives from the corporate sector with the latter firmly in control. Under Bennett's successor, Bill Vander Zalm, control of the party shifted from urban fiscal conservatives to social conservatives causing the coalition to unravel. This process was exacerbated by Vander Zalm's eccentricity and the mounting scandals which plagued his government.
The 1991 election saw Social Credit's defeat and the formation of an NDP government while moderate former Socred voters switched their support to the BC Liberal Party relegating the Socreds to third place.
Following its election defeat the party sank into obscurity as most of its remaining members joined the socially conservative British Columbia Reform Party or British Columbia Unity Party.
Party leaders
W. A. C. Bennett (1951-1972)
William R. Bennett (1972-1986)
William Vander Zalm (1986-1991)
Rita Johnston (1991-1992)
Grace McCarthy (1992-1994)
Larry Gillanders (1994-1996)
