The Progressive Democratic Alliance (PDA) was a

centrist Centrism is the range of political ideologies that exist between left-wing politics and right-wing politics on the left–right political spectrum. It is associated with moderate politics, including people who strongly support moderate policie ...

political party in

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, Canada. It was founded by Gordon Wilson, who at the time of the party's founding in 1993 represented Powell River–Sunshine Coast in the Legislative Assembly. Wilson, previously the leader of the

British Columbia Liberal Party BC United (BCU), known from 1903 until 2023 as the British Columbia Liberal Party or BC Liberals, is a provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada. The party has been described as conservative, neoliberal, and occupying a centre-right ...

, led that party through a breakthrough in the provincial election of 1991, in which they rose from no parliamentary representation to

official opposition Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''t ...

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 Liberal Party believed that their relationship created at least the potential for a serious

conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple wikt:interest#Noun, interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates t ...

. After losing the leadership challenge to Gordon Campbell, who in turn would lead 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 was disbanded by Wilson in 1999 when he joined the ruling

New Democratic Party of British Columbia The New Democratic Party of British Columbia (BC NDP) is a social democracy, social democratic List of political parties in British Columbia, political party in British Columbia, Canada. The party sits on the Centre-left politics, centre-left of ...

to become a member of Cabinet. He later ran for the provincial NDP leadership, but lost to Ujjal Dosanjh. He lost his legislative seat in the 2001 provincial election. In 2004, former party activists attempted to resuscitate the PDA. Finding financial obstacles, they instead formed the British Columbia Democratic Alliance, billing it as a successor organization.

Electoral results

References

Further reading

See also