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Wilson had previously been the leader of the Liberal Party of British Columbia, and was primarily responsible for the party's surprising breaktrhough in the provincial election of 1991 (in which they moved from no parliamentary representation to official opposition status). He was unable to hold his caucus together, however, and was forced to call a leadership convention following revelations about his personal relationship with another member of the small Liberal caucus, Judi Tyabji, MLA for Okanagan East. Tyabji and Wilson were both married to others at the time; they subsequently divorced and married each other. Many in the party believed that this relationship created serious conflict of interest.
After losing the leadership challenge to Gordon Campbell, who later led the party to victory in the 2001 provincial election, Wilson and Tyabji left the party to establish the Progressive Democratic Alliance on December 5, 1993.
In the subsequent June 26, 1996 general election, Wilson retained his seat, while all 65 other PDA candidates, including Tyabji, were defeated. The party won a total of 90,797 votes, or 5.74% of the popular vote.
The PDA folded when Wilson joined the ruling New Democratic Party of British Columbia to become a member of Cabinet. He later ran for the provincial NDP leadership, but dropped out a few days before the vote when it was obvious that he could not win. He lost his legislative seat in the 2001 provincial election.
See also: List of Canadian political parties
British Columbia political parties