# 30th Parliament of British Columbia

The 30th Legislative Assembly of British Columbia sat from 1972 to 1975. The members were elected in the British Columbia general election held in August 1972. The New Democratic Party (NDP) led by Dave Barrett formed the government. The Social Credit Party led by W. A. C. Bennett formed the official opposition. Bill Bennett was elected Social Credit party leader in November 1973 after his father resigned his seat in the assembly in June 1973.
Gordon Dowding served as speaker for the assembly.

## Members of the 30th General Assembly

The following members were elected to the assembly in 1972:
| Member | Electoral district | Party | First elected / previously elected |
| Robert Evans Skelly | Alberni | NDP | 1972 |
| Frank Arthur Calder | Atlin | NDP | 1949, 1960 |
| Frank Arthur Calder | Atlin | Social Credit | 1949, 1960 |
| Francis Xavier Richter | Boundary-Similkameen | Social Credit | 1953 |
| Gordon Dowding | Burnaby-Edmonds | NDP | 1956 |
| Eileen Dailly | Burnaby North | NDP | 1966 |
| James Gibson Lorimer | Burnaby-Willingdon | NDP | 1969 |
| Alexander Vaughan Fraser | Cariboo | Social Credit | 1969 |
| Harvey Schroeder | Chilliwack | Social Credit | 1972 |
| James Roland Chabot | Columbia River | Social Credit | 1963 |
| Karen Elizabeth Sanford | Comox | NDP | 1972 |
| David Barrett | Coquitlam | NDP | 1960 |
| Robert Martin Strachan | Cowichan-Malahat | NDP | 1952 |
| Carl Liden | Delta | NDP | 1972 |
| Peter Rolston | Dewdney | NDP | 1972 |
| James Henry Gorst | Esquimalt | NDP | 1972 |
| Allan Alfred Nunweiler | Fort George | NDP | 1972 |
| Gerald Hamilton Anderson | Kamloops | NDP | 1972 |
| Leo Thomas Nimsick | Kootenay | NDP | 1949 |
| Robert Howard McClelland | Langley | Social Credit | 1972 |
| Don Lockstead | Mackenzie | NDP | 1972 |
| David Daniel Stupich | Nanaimo | NDP | 1963, 1972 |
| Lorne Nicolson | Nelson-Creston | NDP | 1972 |
| Dennis Geoffrey Cocke | New Westminster | NDP | 1969 |
| Patricia Jordan | North Okanagan | Social Credit | 1966 |
| Dean Edward Smith | North Peace River | Social Credit | 1966 |
| David Maurice Brousson | North Vancouver-Capilano | Liberal | 1968 |
| Gordon Fulerton Gibson (1974) | North Vancouver-Capilano | Liberal | 1974 |
| Colin Gabelmann | North Vancouver-Seymour | NDP | 1972 |
| George Scott Wallace | Oak Bay | Progressive Conservative | 1969 |
| Douglas Tynwald Kelly | Omineca | NDP | 1972 |
| Graham Lea | Prince Rupert | NDP | 1972 |
| William Stewart King | Revelstoke-Slocan | NDP | 1968, 1972 |
| Harold Leslie Steves | Richmond | NDP | 1972 |
| Christopher D'Arcy | Rossland-Trail | NDP | 1972 |
| Hugh Austin Curtis | Saanich and the Islands | Progressive Conservative | 1972 |
| Hugh Austin Curtis | Saanich and the Islands | Social Credit | 1972 |
| Donald Emerson Lewis | Shuswap | NDP | 1972 |
| Hartley Douglas Dent | Skeena | NDP | 1972 |
| William Andrew Cecil Bennett | South Okanagan | Social Credit | 1941, 1949 |
| William Richards Bennett (1973) | South Okanagan | Social Credit | 1973 |
| Donald McGray Phillips | South Peace River | Social Credit | 1966, 1972 |
| Ernest Hall | Surrey | NDP | 1966 |
| Rosemary Brown | Vancouver-Burrard | NDP | 1972 |
| Norman Levi | Vancouver-Burrard | NDP | 1968, 1972 |
| Emery Oakland Barnes | Vancouver Centre | NDP | 1972 |
| Gary Lauk | Vancouver Centre | NDP | 1972 |
| Alexander Barrett MacDonald | Vancouver East | NDP | 1960 |
| Robert Arthur Williams | Vancouver East | NDP | 1966 |
| Roy Thomas Cummings | Vancouver-Little Mountain | NDP | 1972 |
| Phyllis Florence Young | Vancouver-Little Mountain | NDP | 1972 |
| Garde Basil Gardom | Vancouver-Point Grey | Liberal | 1966 |
| Garde Basil Gardom | Vancouver-Point Grey | Social Credit | 1966 |
| Patrick Lucey McGeer | Vancouver-Point Grey | Liberal | 1962 |
| Patrick Lucey McGeer | Vancouver-Point Grey | Social Credit | 1962 |
| Jack A. Radford | Vancouver South | NDP | 1972 |
| Daisy Webster | Vancouver South | NDP | 1972 |
| David Alexander Anderson | Victoria | Liberal | 1972 |
| Newell Orrin Ruston Morrison | Victoria | Social Credit | 1972 |
| Louis Allan Williams | West Vancouver-Howe Sound | Liberal | 1966 |
| Louis Allan Williams | West Vancouver-Howe Sound | Social Credit | 1966 |
| William Leonard Hartley | Yale-Lillooet | NDP | 1972 |

## Party standings

| Affiliation | Affiliation | Members |
| | New Democratic | 38 |
| | Social Credit | 10 |
| | Liberal | 5 |
| | Progressive Conservative | 2 |
| Total | Total | 55 |
| Government Majority | Government Majority | 21 |

## By-elections

By-elections were held to replace members for various reasons:
| Electoral district | Member elected | Party | Election date | Reason |
| South Okanagan | William Richards Bennett | Social Credit | September 7, 1973 | W.A.C. Bennett resigned June 5, 1973; retired from politics |
| North Vancouver-Capilano | Gordon Fulerton Gibson | Liberal | February 5, 1974 | D.M. Brousson resigned October 23, 1973, to look after business interests |

## Other changes

* Hugh Austin Curtis joins Social Credit October 25, 1974.
* Patrick McGeer and Louis Allan Williams become Independents on May 9, 1975. They are followed by Garde Gardom on May 20. On September 30 all three join Social Credit.
* Cowichan-Malahat (res. Robert Strachan October 5, 1975)