2 Premier

Though leader of a nominally Liberal party, Campbell is usually identified as being small-c conservative, particularly in matters of business and economics, and socially liberal. The Liberals presented a detailed program of campaign commitments in 2001, but Campbell's main message to voters was that B.C. needed lower taxes and a smaller, streamlined provincial government in order to attract investment and grow its economy. As a first step in government, Campbell announced a 25 per cent reduction in personal income taxes, cutting the income tax rate for the bottom two tax brackets to the lowest level in Canada, and reducing taxes on the first $60,000 of income. Campbell predicted that the measure would soon pay for itself. In the following months, the government reduced the staff complement in its ministries, and announced a plan to eliminate one-third of all regulations then in force. By 2004 British Columbia's economic growth rate ranked fifth among the ten provinces, rather than tenth place ranking the Liberal Government had achieved during the previous years of its mandate.

The Province of British Columbia stands astride an economic and political chasm which has divided the Urban and Rural areas, cyncically referred to as "604" and "250", named for the area codes of those regions. While the Urban areas have been the beneficiaries of many Federal and Provincial Government intitiatives the Rural areas have suffered through the longest and deepest period of economic depression in modern times, resulting in depopulation of small resource based communities, removal of government services such as courts, healthcare facilities and the outright closure of nearly 120 public schools.

Campbell has demonstrated an ongoing interest in political reform . Early in its term, his administration introduced fixed-term elections for B.C., departing from the standard British parliamentary procedure, to ensure that the governing party would not be able to use political objectives to determine election dates. British Columbians will go to the polls in May 2005 , exactly four years after the last election.

Campbell also founded a Citizens' Assembly composed of randomly-selected British Columbians from around the province. The Assembly has advised adopting the Single Transferable Vote system in future elections, which will be put to a province-wide referendum.

Campbell removed the six year long tuition freeze that was placed on the B.C. universities and colleges by the NDP government. Through inflation the tuition freeze had made B.C. tuition rates among the lowest in Canada. In 2002, Campbell also introduced the "double the opportunity" initiative, the goal of which was to double enrollment in electrical and computer engineering, computer science, and medicine in the next four years. The unfortunate fallout of this intitiative has been a tripling of tuition costs, resulting in huge drops in enrollment at non-lower mainland based post-secondary institutions.

On January 9, 2003, Campbell became the first premier in Canadian history to be arrested while in office when he was caught by police on holiday in Maui, Hawaii while driving under the influence of alcohol. He apologized to the people of Maui and British Columbia, pled no contest to the offence, and swore to abstain from alcohol and driving. The opposition attacked him for not resigning his position given his earlier promises that any cabinet minister under criminal investigation or subject to conflict of interest allegations would resign. The controversy surrounding this matter was intense; complete with the sale of T-shirts and other souvenirs bearing Campbell's mug shots[1].

Premier Campbell was a key figure, endorsing the Glen Clark - NDP led intiative, in Vancouver's successful bid to host the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, he led British Columbians in celebration when the International Olympic Committee announced the selection of Vancouver/Whistler in July 2003. The popularity of his government declined through late 2003 and early 2004. In spring 2003, surveys showed the Liberals trailing the NDP in public opinion for the first time since 1994. What Campbell has called "tough decisions" riled some voters; these decisions have resulted in public service layoffs, strikes, hospital closures, courthouse closures and service cuts. An agreement to lease the Crown-owned BC Rail property to a CN Rail for 999 years has also been controversial, because it had broke a long-standing BC Liberal Party promise not to sell the BC Rail.

The 2001 tax cuts, although arguably an impetus of BC's economic renewal, have been largely offset by increased gasoline taxes and user fees. Since taking office the Liberal government has faced a number of calamities such as the imposition of unlawful tariffs by the U.S. government on the importation of BC softwood, devastating forest fires, an ongoing 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.

In each year of its mandate the Campbell government has barely kept pace with the rate of inflation as it increased healthcare funding and infrastructure, while eliminating government subsidies to businesses. The government assumed two-years of balanced budgets when it took over reigns from the previous NDP, went on to rack up record deficits in 2001, 2003 and 2003 but appears on its way to reaching a balanced budget by 2004. The BC government raised BC’s sales tax to 7.5% but have lowered back to its 7% rate as they predicted their first budget surplus in four years.

Campbell has scored lower in poll ratings than his opponent, the NDP's Carole James. Later polls indicate Campbell has re-taken some lost ground, although his party was devastated in a recent bi-election. The 2005 provincial election is expected to see a weaker Liberal majority, retaining much of its urban support and expecting major rural losses due to the damaging economic and political stratagies.

Preceded by: Ujjal Dosanjh 2000-2001

Premier of British Columbia since 2001

Succeeded by: in office

Campbell, Gordon Campbell, Gordon Campbell, Gordon

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