Non-Partisan Association

The Non-Partisan Association (NPA) is a municipal political party in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It was established by the city's business leaders on November 13, 1937, to counteract the growing influence of the democratic socialist Co-operative Commonwealth Federation.[3][4] The party is generally perceived as centre-right within the Vancouver political spectrum and historically has drawn its strongest support from the business community and "corporate downtown".[1]

Non-Partisan Association
Active municipal party
AbbreviationNPA
PresidentDavid Mawhinney
FoundedNovember 13, 1937 (1937-11-13)
Ideology
Political positionCentre-right
ColoursPurple
Seats on City Council
4 / 11
Seats on Park Board
2 / 7
Seats on School Board
3 / 9
Website
npavancouver.ca

History

Early years

The NPA first fielded candidates in the December 9, 1936, municipal election, which saw their mayoral candidate, George Miller, elected to office.[4] Prior to the 1939 election, a member of the NPA's executive, Nelson Spencer, broke away from the party and ran independently after the NPA chose the then-incumbent Miller as its mayoral candidate instead of Spencer. The result was a right-wing vote was split, and CCF candidate Lyle Telford was elected.[4] Telford would only serve one term before NPA candidate Jack Cornett was elected in the 1940 election, beginning a decades-long period of NPA dominance on Vancouver City Council.[5]

21st century
The NPA's previous logo, in use until 2014

Jennifer Clarke was chosen to be the NPA's mayoral candidate for the 2002 municipal election, as opposed to the then-incumbent mayor Philip Owen. Owen had been in disagreement with the rest of the party leadership due to his support for harm reduction programs in the Downtown Eastside, although Clarke stated she was also in favour of such programs. The NPA ultimately lost the mayoral race, as well as its majority on city council, which it had maintained since 1986.[6]

Long-time city councillor Sam Sullivan was chosen as the NPA's candidate for the 2005 mayoral race,[7] which he later won. The NPA also regained its majority on city council, winning a total of six seats.[8]

Peter Ladner was the NPA's mayoral candidate for the 2008 municipal election but was defeated by Gregor Robertson, the candidate for Vision Vancouver.[9] The NPA's electoral platform during the 2008 election focused on reducing crime, improving housing affordability, leveraging the 2010 Winter Olympics, protecting the environment, advancing the city's arts and culture sector, and working collaboratively with senior levels of government, community groups, and the private sector.[10]

The party, led by Suzanne Anton as the NPA's mayoral candidate, once again lost to Robertson and Vision Vancouver in the 2011 municipal election but elected two members to Vancouver City Council. Two members also sat on the Parks Board, and three members sat on the Vancouver School Board.[11]

On October 16, 2016, provincial education minister Mike Bernier fired the school trustees elected during the 2014 municipal election for failing to pass a balanced budget.[12] NPA incumbent Fraser Ballantyne was re-elected in the subsequent 2017 municipal by-election, alongside newcomer Lisa Dominato.[13]

City councillor Rebecca Bligh announced on December 6, 2019 that she was leaving the NPA and would continue to serve as an independent.[14] She cited concerns over the NPA's newly elected executive team, which included members publicly opposed to the provincial sexual orientation and gender identification (SOGI) curriculum[15] and former staff of the far-right Rebel Media.[16][17] Other high profile NPA members, such as city councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung and 2018 mayoral candidate Ken Sim, also voiced concerns over the party's perceived shift to the right.[18]

Electoral results

The NPA held a majority on Vancouver City Council from 1941 to 1967, 1970 to 1972, 1978 to 1982, 1986 to 2002, and from 2005 to 2008. It held the mayor's office from 1941 to 1958, from 1963 to 1970, from 1986 to 2002, and from 2005 to 2008.[19] However, it has elected only three of the last eight mayors since 1972. Over the years, its opposition has been The Electors' Action Movement (TEAM) in the 1970s, the centre-left Coalition of Progressive Electors (COPE) in the 1980s and 1990s, and centre-left Vision Vancouver in the 2000s and 2010s.

There have been eleven NPA mayors of Vancouver:

Incumbent NPA office holders
  • Melissa De Genova, Council
  • Sarah Kirby-Yung, Council
  • Lisa Dominato, Council
  • Rebecca Bligh, Council
  • Colleen Hardwick, Council
  • John Coupar, Park Board
  • Tricia Barker, Park Board
  • Fraser Ballantyne, School Board
  • Carmen Cho, School Board
  • Oliver Hanson, School Board

Results since 1996
NPA election results for mayor of Vancouver, 1996 to present
Election year Candidate Votes % Position Result
1996 Philip Owen 50,969 53.15 1st Elected
1999 Philip Owen 51,085 54.19 1st Elected
2002 Jennifer Clarke 41,936 30.01 2nd Not elected
2005 Sam Sullivan 61,543 47.34 1st Elected
2008 Peter Ladner 48,794 39.26 2nd Not elected
2011 Suzanne Anton 58,152 40.15 2nd Not elected
2014 Kirk LaPointe 73,443 40.42 2nd Not elected
2018 Ken Sim 48,748 28.16 2nd Not elected
NPA election results for Vancouver City Council, 1996 to present
Election year Votes % Seats +/–
1996 422,118 –
11 / 11
1999 361,315 –
9 / 11
 2
2002 368,068 –
2 / 11
 7
2005 498,082 45.96
6 / 11
 4
2008 394,839 38.00
1 / 11
 5
2011 456,256 –
2 / 11
 1
2014 474,841 –
3 / 11
 1
2017[lower-alpha 1] 13,372 27.83
4 / 11
 1
2018 347,752 24.83
5 / 11
 1

See also

Notes
  1. Due to it being a by-election, voters were only asked to elect one councillor.

References
  1. Miller, Fern (1975). "Vancouver Civic Political Parties: Developing a Model of Party-system Change and Stabilization". BC Studies: The British Columbian Quarterly. Spring 1975 (25): 3–31.
  2. "ABOUT - NPA Vancouver". Non-Partisan Association. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  3. Smith, Andrea (1982). "The CCF, NPA and Civic Change: Provincial Forces Behind Vancouver Politics 1930-1940". BC Studies (53): 59. doi:10.14288/bcs.v0i53. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  4. MacKie, John (November 13, 2012). "THIS DAY IN HISTORY: NOVEMBER 13, 1937". The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  5. Paulsen, Monte (April 27, 2010). "'New' NPA to consider name change". The Tyee. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  6. Mutimer, David (2008). Canadian Annual Review of Politics and Public Affairs 2002. University of Toronto Press. p. 107. ISBN 978-0-8020-9819-1. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  7. "NPA mayoral race heats up". The Georgia Straight. September 15, 2005. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  8. "Election Summary Report: November 19, 2005". City of Vancouver. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  9. "Election summary - Election 2008 - City of Vancouver Elections". City of Vancouver. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
  10. NPA Action Plan Brochure
  11. "2011 election results". Vancouver.ca. Retrieved April 12, 2014.
  12. Shaw, Rob; Sherlock, Tracy (October 18, 2016). "B.C. education minister Bernier fires Vancouver school board". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  13. "2017 by-election results".
  14. Boynton, Sean (December 6, 2019). "Vancouver councillor Rebecca Bligh resigns from NPA over alleged anti-SOGI board members". Global News. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  15. Li, Wanyee (December 7, 2019). "Vancouver political party's 'veer to the right' not a winning strategy, say NPA party insiders". The Star. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  16. Fumano, Dan (December 7, 2019). "Vancouver councillor quits NPA, citing concerns over party's shift to 'far right'". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  17. Smith, Charlie (November 27, 2019). "NPA members elect a former Rebel Media bureau chief and the B.C. Conservatives president to party board". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  18. Bula, Frances (April 10, 2020). "Former Vancouver mayoral candidate Ken Sim alarmed at NPA swing to the right". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  19. "History of Vancouver - Mayors of Vancouver". www.vancouverhistory.ca. The History of Metropolitan Vancouver. Retrieved April 10, 2020.

Further reading
  • Andrea Barbara Smith (1981). "The Origins of the NPA: A Study in Vancouver Politics 1930–1940". MA thesis. University of British Columbia.
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