Federalism, Conservatism, and the Social Credit Party in B.C.

Abstract

In British Columbia federalism has had a very visible impact on party politics. The effects of federal pressures and the strength of the left have driven national and provincial party systems so far apart that there are, in effect, two distinct party systems in federal and provincial politics. The Social Credit Party focuses exclusively on provincial politics, the NDP is strong at both levels and the Liberals and Conservatives are competitive in national elections but have little support provincially. It has been argued that Social Credit simply provides a cover for federal Conservatives in provincial politics since the two parties share the support of a large part of the same electorate in British Columbia. On the other hand, the legislative ranks of Social Credit have contained many individuals with known connections to the Liberal Party, and in provincial elections the Social Credit Party depends on the support of many who vote Liberal nationally. This paper examines an important dimension of the linkages between the provincial Social Credit Party and the national Liberals and Progressive Conservatives by looking at ideology among activists in the three parties. Comparing the attitudes of provincial Social Credit and national Liberal and Conservative Party activists allows us to measure one aspect of the strength of ideological ties between these parties and to assess the extent to which B.C.'s governing party represents an ideological coalition of the two federal parties. Our focus is on activists because they represent a stratum of political parties that plays a pivotal but often neglected role. While political scientists have focused considerable attention on the characteristics and behaviour of politicians on one hand, and voters on the other, little attention has been paid to the intermediary group of party activists. Yet party activists are the working core of any party; they exert considerable influence over the composition and perhaps the behaviour of the office-holding