British Columbia General Election, 2009

British Columbia General Election, 2009

The 39th British Columbia general election was held on May 12, 2009, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The BC Liberal Party formed the government of the province prior to this general election under the leadership of Premier Gordon Campbell. The New Democratic Party under the leadership of Carole James is the Official Opposition.

The election was the first contested on a new electoral map completed in 2008, with the total number of constituencies increased from 79 in the previous legislature to 85. Under amendments to the BC Constitution Act passed in 2001, BC elections are now held on fixed dates which are the second Tuesday in May every four years.

A second referendum on electoral reform was held in conjunction with the election.

The election did not produce a significant change in the province's political landscape. The Liberals, who have been in power since the 2001 election, were returned to power, constituting the first time in 23 years a party has won three elections in a row. As a result of the seat redistribution, both the Liberals and the New Democrats gained seats, and both parties increased their popular vote by less than one per cent over 2005. Each party lost two incumbent MLAs: the NDP's Jenn McGinn and Charlie Wyse, and the Liberals' John Nuraney and Wally Oppal were defeated. All other seat changes in the election resulted from the new seats or from retiring incumbents.