The 1972 British Columbia general election for the Canadian province of British Columbia was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. The election was called on July 24, 1972, and held on August 30, 1972. The new legislature met for the first time on October 17, 1972. David Barrett led the social democratic New Democratic Party to victory, winning a majority government.
The Social Credit Party, led by Premier W. A. C. Bennett, were defeated after governing British Columbia since the 1952 election. Social Credit's share of the popular vote fell by over 15 percentage points, and the party lost 28 of the seats it had won in the previous election.
The Liberal Party held onto its five seats, while the Progressive Conservative Party, under the leadership of Derrill Warren, returned to the legislature for the first time since the 1953 election by winning two seats.
In four ridings and part of a fifth, a referendum was held on the question of daylight saving time and which time zone to use concurrently with the election.
Social Credit ran a lackluster campaign beset by gaffes. A week before the general election, cabinet minister Phil Gaglardi remarked to a newspaper that Bennett would resign after the election, calling him "an old man who doesn't understand what is happening with the young people of this province". The remark proved damaging, bringing the issue of whether Bennett and his party were worn out after 20 years in office to the forefront of the campaign. A pre-campaign visit by Bennett and his cabinet to New Westminster turned violent after they were confronted by demonstrators, who injured eight ministers, a melee for which Bennett tried to blame Barrett. Historian David J. Mitchell wrote, "The surprise was not just [the Social Credit] defeat, but its magnitude."
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See also
- List of British Columbia political parties