Gordon Wilson (British Columbia politician)

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Gordon Wilson
British Columbia Legislative Assembly
for Powell River-Sunshine Coast
In office
17 October 1991 – 16 May 2001
Preceded byRiding Established
Succeeded byHarold Long
Personal details
Born (1949-01-02) 2 January 1949 (age 75)
British Columbia Liberal Party (1987–1993, 2013–present)
Progressive Democratic Alliance (1993–1999)
British Columbia New Democratic Party (1999–2013)
Spouse(s)Judi Tyabji (1994–2022)
Elizabeth Wilson (−1994)

Gordon Wilson (born 2 January 1949) is a former provincial politician in

2000 BC New Democratic Party leadership race. During the 2013 British Columbia provincial election, Wilson endorsed Liberal Premier Christy Clark for re-election over the NDP's Adrian Dix.[1]

Background

Wilson was born in

resource economics.[2]

He raised two children with his wife Elizabeth in the Middlepoint area of BC's

Capilano College (North Vancouver
), where he also served as president of the faculty association.

Political career

In 1987, Wilson took over as leader of the

BC NDP leader Mike Harcourt, Wilson famously said, "Here's a classic example of why nothing ever gets done in the province of British Columbia."[3] It would become the campaign's most successful sound bite
.

As a consequence, he led the Liberal Party to win 17 seats, its highest total since 1949. He was largely helped by moderate Socreds crossing over to vote Liberal. The Liberals vaulted from no seats to the

Official Opposition in the legislature, relegating the ruling Social Credit Party to a distant third with seven seats. Wilson won his own seat in Powell River-Sunshine Coast
.

In 1993, Wilson's leadership of the Liberals was challenged after it came to light that he was having an

House Leader.[4][5]
In a Liberal Party leadership review that had been called soon afterward, Wilson was defeated by Vancouver mayor Gordon Campbell. Within weeks, he and Tyabji left the Liberal caucus and formed a new party, the Progressive Democratic Alliance (PDA).

In the 1996 provincial election, Wilson retained his seat, while Tyabji, whom he later married, lost hers.[5]

In 1999, Wilson shocked many in his party when he disbanded it and crossed the floor to join the governing NDP. As part of the deal, he joined Premier Glen Clark's cabinet as Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Minister Responsible for BC Ferries.[4][5] He was later appointed Minister of Finance after the resignation of Joy MacPhail, and then Minister of Education.

He ran for the NDP's party leadership at a convention in February 2000, but pulled out of the race shortly before the voting began. He threw his support to candidate Corky Evans, who in turn lost to Ujjal Dosanjh. In the 2001 provincial election, he lost his seat to BC Liberal candidate Harold Long, previously a Social Credit MLA whom Wilson had defeated in 1991 when running for the BC Liberals.

After endorsing the BC Liberals in the

The Vancouver Sun and Times Colonist who had all reported on the termination and subsequent comments.[9] In June 2019, the case judge dismissed the portions claimed to have been lost acting as a future consultant or advocate for government or LNG-related organizations but permitted the case to be further considered to examine loss of income from the LNG – Buy BC Advocate position and costs of counselling.[10][11]

Other work

He has written A Civilized Revolution (1994) about his views on politics and public policy, and wrote, directed and produced Serving Thyme, a television comedy based on the west coast. After leaving politics, Wilson settled back in Powell River, and became chairman of the board of a software company. He is chairman of Blackberry Coast Capital Inc.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b Wilson, Gordon (8 May 2013). "Here's why Gordon Wilson supports Christy Clark". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Hon. Gordon Wilson – Members at dissolution of 36th Parliament". Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. 18 April 2001. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
  3. ^ "1991: Gordon Wilson's debate triumph – CBC Archives". CBC.ca. CBC News. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  4. ^ a b Kamath, A P (18 November 1999). "More 'Desi' Connections in BC Election". Rediff.com. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
  5. ^
    The Historica Dominion Institute
    . Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  6. ^ CBC. "NDP fires B.C. LNG advocate Gordon Wilson from $150K job", CBC News, Victoria, 1 August 2017. Retrieved on 1 August 2017.
  7. ^ Order-in-Council 237-2017 1 August 2017.
  8. ^ Meuse, Matt (17 August 2017). "Former LNG advocate Gordon Wilson sues B.C. Premier John Horgan for defamation in $5M lawsuit". CBC News. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  9. ^ Zussman, Richard (13 March 2018). "B.C. government won't disclose Gordon Wilson lawsuit costs". Global News. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  10. ^ "Gordon Wilson defamation suit: B.C. court strikes out damage claims". Vancouver Sun. 28 June 2019. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  11. ^ "2019 BCSC 1049 Wilson v. HMTQ".
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