Bill Vander Zalm
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Wilhelmus Nicholaas Theodore Marie Vander Zalm
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| In office August 6, 1986 – April 2, 1991 |
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| Preceded by | Bill Bennett |
| Succeeded by | Rita Johnston |
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| Born | May 29, 1934 Noordwijkerhout, Netherlands |
| Political party | Social Credit Party |
| Spouse | Lillian Vander Zalm |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Wilhelmus Nicholaas Theodore Marie "Bill" Vander Zalm (born May 29, 1934 in Noordwijkerhout, South Holland)[1] is a politician and entrepreneur in British Columbia, Canada. He was the 28th Premier of British Columbia from 1986 to 1991.
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[edit] Early life
He was born and raised in the Netherlands and emigrated to Canada after World War II, settling in the Fraser Valley in 1947. After dropping out of high school, he sold tulip bulbs and ultimately established himself in the nursery and gardening business and also invested in real estate.
[edit] Career
Vander Zalm was elected alderman of Surrey in 1965, and served as the city's mayor from 1969 to 1975. His tenure was marked by his crackdown on welfare "deadbeats" (at the time, welfare in BC was a municipal responsibility). He became widely known almost overnight for his off the cuff remark that all welfare recipients ought to be given a shovel and put to work.
[edit] Politics
Vander Zalm was originally a supporter of both the Liberal Party of Canada and the British Columbia Liberal Party. He sought election to the Canadian House of Commons in the 1968 federal election as a Liberal from Surrey. He lost by 5,000 votes. He was also a candidate at the 1972 provincial Liberal leadership convention, where he lost to David Anderson. He joined the British Columbia Social Credit Party in 1974.
He was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 1975 election, in which Social Credit won back power after a three-year hiatus. He served in the cabinet of Premier Bill Bennett as Minister of Human Resources from 1975 to 1978, where he continued his crusade against welfare fraud. He also served as Minister of Municipal Affairs from 1978 to 1981 and as Minister of Education from 1981-1983. He was forced from Cabinet in 1983 after he called Bennett and his ministers "gutless".
In 1984, he bought Fantasy Garden World, a theme park. That same year, he ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Vancouver, as the candidate for the Non-Partisan Association, losing to Mike Harcourt, who would serve as provincial NDP leader during most of Vander Zalm's tenure as premier.
[edit] 1986 Election
In 1986, Bennett announced he was retiring. Vander Zalm attracted considerable attention as he considered whether he would run for the leadership of the Social Credit Party. He generated more press out of the race than the other candidates did in it. At the party's convention in Whistler, British Columbia, he won the leadership easily and became premier just a month before the 1986 election
During the campaign, "Vandermania" swept BC, and the Socreds easily won another term over the opposition New Democratic Party. Bill and his wife, Lillian, attracted public adoration with their high-voltage smiles, positivity and charisma.
The party and its leader had no public plan for when they were elected for the long term. However, the main clear goal was to have a "fresh start" after the confrontational Bennett years.
[edit] Cabinet Appointees
Once elected with a majority, Vander Zalm selected his cabinet, mostly backbenchers who had languished under Bill Bennett. Oddly, Vander Zalm decided to release the normally secret list of cabinet appointments to two Vancouver Sun reporters hours before the official announcement was to be made.
The Social Credit Party had been a tenuous alliance between supporters of the federal Liberals, urban fiscal conservatives and Christian conservatives in the province's Bible Belt. Fiscal conservatives had dominated the party for over a decade, but under Vander Zalm social conservatives took control. Vander Zalm himself was a social conservative, and his government once tried to cut public funding for abortions that were not medically necessary. The resulting uproar forced Vander Zalm to drop the program. His government also had a confrontational relationship with labour unions.
As well, he appointed David Poole, a close friend, to be his "Principal Secretary". Before resigning in 1989, Poole had become the second most powerful person in the province despite never having been elected. This naturally attracted the anger of numerous cabinet ministers, such as Grace McCarthy, an influential SoCred MLA who resigned in protest from Vander Zalm's cabinet in 1988.
[edit] Controversies
He was accused of influence peddling with his close friend Peter Toigo in the sale of the Expo 86 site.
Vander Zalm became embroiled in a conflict of interest controversy over the sale of his Fantasy Gardens flower garden and theme park. The conflict of interest arose because the Taiwanese buyer, Tan Yu, was provided VIP treatment and lunch with the Lieutenant-Governor prior to the sale. Vander Zalm claimed that control over the theme park was his wife's responsibility. Adding fuel to the fire, Faye Leung, a colourful Chinese-Canadian entrepreneur and the woman who brokered the deal, thought that Vander Zalm was a "bad man" since they day she first met him and secretly recorded conversations she had with him, and was happily willing to speak to the media and provide copies of her audio tapes.
Vander Zalm resigned as premier in 1991 when a provincial conflict of interest report found he had mixed private business with his public office in the sale of the gardens. He was charged with criminal breach of trust, but found not guilty in B.C. Supreme Court in 1992. The court ruled that while Vander Zalm had put himself in a conflict of interest, he had not done anything illegal. He was succeeded as Premier of BC by Rita Johnston. In the British Columbia general election, 1991, the Social Credit party was reduced to 7 seats, and has not won a seat in any election since.
[edit] 1999 Election
After many years out of the spotlight, Vander Zalm again took a stab at office by running in Delta-South in a by-election in 1999 for the British Columbia Reform Party, which had been formed after the Social Credit Party had collapsed. This by-election was notable for many reasons, including the incredibly low support the governing NDP received (coming in fourth), and marking the absolute low point for the NDP's electoral support. NDP candidate Richard Tones received just 2.44% of the vote. Vander Zalm finished second with 32.91% of the vote to Liberal Val Roddick who received 59.63%. Vander Zalm retired from politics and now resides in Ladner.
Since his retirement, he has appeared in advertisements, including TV spots for ICBC and "Way to Grow" garden supplements.
Vander Zalm is Dutch for "from the salmon".
[edit] Recommended reading
- Fantasyland: Inside the reign of Bill Vander Zalm, Gary Mason (ISBN 0-07-549868-5)
[edit] External links
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