Gordon Campbell (Canadian politician)
- For the recipient of the Victoria Cross and MP, see Gordon Campbell, VC
- For the Scottish Conservative politician, see Gordon Campbell, Baron Campbell of Croy
Gordon Muir Campbell | |
|---|---|
| File:Gordon campbell.jpg Hon. Gordon Muir Campbell | |
| 34th Premier of British Columbia | |
| Assumed office June 5, 2001 | |
| Preceded by | Ujjal Dosanjh |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 12, 1948 Vancouver, British Columbia |
| Political party | BC Liberal |
| Spouse | Nancy Campbell |
Gordon Muir Campbell, BA, MBA, MLA, (born January 12, 1948) is the 34th Premier of British Columbia. He is the leader of the British Columbia Liberal Party, which holds a majority in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia.
Early life
Though born into a well-off Vancouver family, Campbell was forced into quite different circumstances by the suicide of his father when Campbell was 13 years old. His mother was left to raise him and three siblings on a reduced income in a small apartment.
He attended public school (University Hill Secondary School) in Vancouver. Campbell then went to Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, studying urban management and earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. He later earned a Master of Business Administration degree in 1978 through night study at Simon Fraser University.
Campbell spent two years in Yola, Nigeria, where he taught in a local secondary school as a volunteer for Canadian University Service Overseas. On his return to Canada he worked as an executive assistant to Art Phillips, then mayor of Vancouver, from 1973 to 1976. Campbell then left to become a realty developer, eventually building two Vancouver hotels.
Campbell and his wife Nancy, a school principal at Howe Sound Secondary School in Squamish, BC, have been married since 1970. They have two sons, Geoffrey and Nicholas.
Vancouver Councillor and Mayor
Campbell was elected to the Vancouver city council in 1984, and from 1986 to 1993, Campbell served as the mayor of Vancouver for three successive terms. Campbell's tenure is most noted for the development of the Expo lands, the re-development of the Yaletown neighbourhood, and the foundation of the Coal Harbour residential community. Campbell's most significant public works during his term were the construction of the new Vancouver Public Library.
He also served as chair of the Greater Vancouver Regional District and president of the Union of British Columbia Municipalities.
BC Liberal Leader
Campbell became leader of the BC Liberal Party in 1993, and was elected to the Legislative Assembly next year in a Vancouver-Quilchena by-election. He has represented the Vancouver-Point Grey riding since 1996. He lost the 1996 BC provincial election despite winning more votes, and he remained opposition leader under New Democratic Party Premiers Glen Clark, Dan Miller and Ujjal Dosanjh.
Clark's government was beset by controversy and difficult economic and fiscal conditions. After the NDP's approval rating dropped to historic lows, in the BC election of 2001 Campbell's Liberals defeated them, taking 77 of 79 seats in the legislature. This was the largest majority of seats, and the second-largest majority of the popular vote in BC history.
Although he is leader of a nominally liberal party, Campbell is better identified as a small-c conservative. The BC Liberal Party has no formal ties to the Liberal Party of Canada, and is essentially a centre-right coalition opposed to the New Democratic Party of British Columbia.
Campbell's First Term
Policy Changes
In 2001, Campbell campaigned on a promise to significantly reduce income taxes. A day after taking office, Campbell reduced personal income tax for all taxpayers by 25 per cent over two years. Cuts were applied to every tax bracket; the tax rate on the first $30,000 of income was cut by 2 points from 8.4% to 6.05%, while the top tax rate for income over $85,000 was cut by 5 points from 19.7% to 14.7%. Following the cuts, British Columbia was tied with Ontario for the lowest provincial income tax rates for people earning up to $60,000.[1]
Campbell stated that the tax cuts would stimulate the economy by encouraging consumer spending. To what extent these tax cuts contributed to BC's considerable economic growth in the ensuing years has been subject to debate, however there is no debate that BC's economy greatly improved in the years since 2001. Unemployment declined to levels not experienced since the 1960's, as commodity prices increased and the mineral resource sector recovered.
Coinciding with the tax cuts, the Campbell government reduced some areas of government spending by reducing the staff complement in its ministries and by reducing or eliminating some programs and services. Total government spending continued to increase, however.
The popularity of his government declined by 2004 as the austerity measures took hold. Campbell also faced a number of issues including the imposition of tariffs by the U.S. government on the importation of BC softwood, forest fires, a growing infestation in central BC forests of the Mountain Pine Beetle, and a downturn in tourism following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the outbreak in Vancouver of SARS in the spring of 2003.
Labour Strife
A second noteworthy aspect of Campbell's first administration was the prevalent labour strife in the public sector. To reduce program costs, the government embarked on a policy to hold most public sector unions to "zero, zero and zero" percent wage increases over three years. However, the powerful Hospital Employees' Union (HEU)-- the major donor to the NDP -- was singled out for specific reductions.
While the HEU reached a tentative agreement to reduce costs with the government, it was rejected by a vote of its members. Therefore, in April/May 2004, Campbell introduced legislation to force striking HEU workers back on the job, and imposed a 14% retroactive wage rollback and extension of the workweek for some workers. Because the imposed contract provided for the outsourcing of some union jobs (primarly cleaning positions), the HEU suffered a significant reduction in membership as many of its members were replaced by contracted-out workers.
The passing of the legislation led to increasing strikes throughout BC, in both the public and private sectors. The BC Federation of Labour announced plans for a phased-in general strike, however Mr. Justice Robert Bowman of the BC Supreme Court ruled that the healthcare unions were in contempt for continuing the withdrawal of services. Due to the threat of large fines, the HEU signed a new compromise with the government and the strike was called off.
Personal Controversy and Political Scandal
Campbell has also had to deal with a several controversies, both personal and governmental. In January 2003, Campbell was arrested for drunk driving while vacationing in Hawaii. According to court records Campbell's blood-alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit.
Speaking to reporters after returning to BC, Campbell apologized, stating "I have made a serious mistake, and I want to apologize to everyone including my family, my colleagues and the people of British Columbia."
As is customary in the United States, Campbell's mugshot was provided to the media by Hawaiian police. The image of a smiling Campbell has proved to be a lasting embarrassment, frequently used by detractors to effect.
Other controversies brought the government closer to scandal. Doug Walls, a relation of Campbell by marriage, was inappropriately awarded a government contract, which resulted in Gordon Hogg (the MLA for Surrey-White Rock, and Minister of Children and Families) taking reponsibility and resigning from cabinet in 2003. Also in 2003, the Legislative buildings were raided, and two Liberal staffers were charged with drug and corruption-related crimes. As of 2006, the trials had not yet taken place.
Electoral Reform
Prior to the 2001 election, Campbell made political reform and electoral reform a campaign promise. The 2001 election demonstrated the non-proportional nature of the electoral system when he received 57% percent of the popular vote, but won 97% of the seats.
Following through with their promises of reform, the new Campbell administration introduced fixed-term elections for BC, departing from the standard British parliamentary procedure. Campbell also founded a Citizens' Assembly composed of randomly-selected British Columbians from around the province. The Assembly advised adopting the Single Transferable Vote system in future elections. Whether or not to adopt BC-STV was put to a province-wide referendum; the 57.4% in favour fell slightly short of the sixty percent required to pass.[2]
A second referendum has been promised for 2008.
Tuition Increase
Campbell removed the six-year long tuition freeze that was placed on the BC universities and colleges by the previous NDP government. Since then, tuition fees have risen by an average of 88%, however are still within Canadian averages. [3]
Although tuition fees rose, the government also embarked upon the largest expansion of BC's post-secondary education system since the foundation of Simon Fraser University in 1965. In 2004, the government announced that 25,000 new post-secondary places would be established between 2004 and 2010. The most significant areas to benefit from the expansion are the Fraser Valley (8,000 places) and the Okanagan/Central Interior (6,300 places).
Election of 2005
Campbell campaigned on the slogan "Our Plan is Working", alluding to BC's recovered economic conditions and lower unemployment. In the May 17, 2005, election, Campbell and the BC Liberals won a second majority government (with significantly fewer seats), making him the first premier of BC to be re-elected in 22 years.
Campbell's Second Term
2010 Olympics
After Campbell's re-election, major construction work for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games got underway. This includes a significant road contruction programme on the Sea-to-Sky Highway to Whistler. While the public continues to support the Olympics, there is mounting concern over cost overruns on major construction projects as the cost of labour and raw materials rise beyond initial projections.
Labour Strife and Labour Peace
In the middle of October 2005, the BC Teachers' Federation held an illegal strike in violation of Bill 12, which shut down all public school services in the province for two weeks. Campbell and his ministers held firm, as did the teachers, and not until mediator Vince Ready was called in, after multiple contempt-of-court orders against the BCTF, was the strike ended. Political polls taken at the time indicated a high level of public sympathy for the striking teachers.
In the ensuing months, as labour contracts expired, the government changed its strategy in dealing with public sector unions. It adopted a novel approach of paying signing bonuses of between $3,500 and $4,000 per employee if contracts were signed by March 31, 2006 (June 30, 2006 in the case of the BCTF). The strategy succeeded beyond most observers' highest expectations: virtually all public sector contracts have now been extended to after the 2009 election and 2010 Olympics.
External links
- Official biography (PDF file)
- Gordon Campbell's official MLA site
- Canadian Encyclopedia entry on Gordon Campbell
- Maclean's interview with Campbell, 1999
- "Campbell Contradiction" (Globe and Mail profile, April 2005)
- CBC profile, April 2005
- B.C. premier fined for drunk driving
