Editing BC United (section)

===Campbell government: 2001–2011===
[[File:British Columbia Liberal Party.svg|thumb|upright|right|Party logo during the 2001 and 2005 elections]]
After a scandal-filled second term for the BC NDP government, the BC Liberals won the [[2001 British Columbia general election|2001 election]] with the biggest landslide in BC history, taking 77 of 79 seats. They even managed to unseat Premier [[Ujjal Dosanjh]] in his own riding. Gordon Campbell became the seventh premier in ten years, and the first Liberal premier in almost 50 years. Campbell introduced a 25% cut in all provincial income taxes on the first day he was installed to office. The BC Liberals also reduced the [[corporate income tax]] and abolished the corporate capital tax for most businesses (a tax on investment and employment that had been introduced by the New Democrats).

Campbell's first term was also noted for fiscal [[austerity]], including reductions in [[welfare spending|welfare]] rolls and some [[social work|social service]]s, [[deregulation]], the sale of some government assets (in particular the [[Fast Ferry Scandal|"Fast ferries" built by the previous government]], which were sold off for a fraction of their price). Campbell also initiated the [[privatization]] of [[BC Rail]], which the Liberals had promised not to sell in order to win northern ridings which had rejected the party in 1996 but reversed this promise after election, with criminal investigations connected with the bidding process resulting in the 2003 [[British Columbia Legislature raids]] and the ensuing and still-pending court case. There were several significant labour disputes, some of which were settled through government legislation but which included confrontations with the province's doctors. Campbell also downsized the civil service, with staff cutbacks of more than fifty percent in some government departments, and despite promises of smaller government the size of cabinet was nearly doubled and parliamentary salaries raised. Governance was also re-arranged such that Deputy Ministers were now to report to the Chief of Staff in the premier's office, rather than to their respective ministers. In the course of the cuts, hospitals, courthouses and extended care facilities around the province were shut down, particularly in smaller communities, and enforcement staff such as the BC Conservation Service were reduced to marginal levels. Various provincial parks created during the previous NDP regime were also downgraded to protected area status, meaning they could be opened for resource exploitation, and fees for use of parks were raised.

In 2003, a drug investigation known as Operation Everwhichway led to raids on government offices in the [[British Columbia Parliament Buildings]] in relation to suspect dealings concerning the sale of BC Rail to CN in a scandal which became known as "Railgate" and the trial of four former ministerial aides for influence peddling, breach of trust and accepting bribes.
[[File:British Columbia Liberal Party 2009.svg|thumb|upright|right|Party logo during the 2009 campaign<ref name="NameChange2011"/>]]
The Liberals were re-elected in the [[2005 British Columbia general election|2005 election]] with a reduced majority of 7 seats (46–33). The Liberals were again re-elected in the [[2009 British Columbia general election|2009 election]].<!--more details needed - Dobell, Kinsella, Oppal/Huntington, Cardoso etc.-->

Shortly after this election the introduction of the HST was announced, contrary to promises made during the election campaign.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2010-05-25 |title=B.C. premier admits HST hugely unpopular |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/b-c-premier-admits-hst-hugely-unpopular-1.928013 |access-date=2024-09-14 |work=[[CBS News]] |agency=[[The Canadian Press]]}}</ref>

On November 3, 2010, facing an imminent caucus revolt over his management style and the political backlash against the [[Harmonized Sales Tax]] (HST) and the controversial end to the [[BC Legislature Raids|BC Rail corruption trial]] and with his approval rating as low as 9% in polls, Gordon Campbell announced his resignation.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/b-c-premier-campbell-stepping-down-1.911669 |title=B.C. Premier Campbell stepping down |work=CBC News |date=November 3, 2010 |access-date=April 11, 2011}}</ref>