Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Bill Bennett
William Richards Bennett, PC OBC (April 14, 1932 – December 3, 2015) was a Canadian politician who was the 27th premier of British Columbia from 1975 to 1986.
Bennett was the son of Annie Elizabeth May (Richards) and former premier W. A. C. Bennett. His father was also named William but was usually called "W. A. C." in the media or "Cece" by his friends. To distinguish the son from his father, he was usually called "Bill."
Following his father's resignation, Bill Bennett was elected on September 7, 1973, as the British Columbia Social Credit Party member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly for South Okanagan.
Bennett was elected the leader of the Socred Party in November 1973 at a convention in Whistler, British Columbia. Bennett set about establishing a political organization modelled closely on and using staff lent by Bill Davis's Ontario "Big Blue Machine." Bennett's organization was called the "Baby Blue Machine." He embraced a new coalition of Liberals, social conservatives, and the corporate sector, unlike his father, who had appealed to the populist base.
He became premier of the province in the 1975 election when his party defeated the New Democratic Party of Premier David Barrett. In the election of May 10, 1979, the Social Credit Party was re-elected with a reduced majority, followed by winning a larger majority in the 1983 election. He served until August 6, 1986.
In 1978, Bennett was instrumental in establishing the BC Winter Games and BC Summer Games. As a result, an award was named in his honour in which he presented the award in 2008 in his hometown, Kelowna, where the BC Summer Games were being hosted that year.
His cabinet included politicians such as Pat McGeer, Grace McCarthy, Bill Vander Zalm, Garde Gardom, Rafe Mair, and Jim Nielsen.
Bennett's government spent hundreds of millions of dollars to bring Expo 86 and related projects to Vancouver, including BC Place, the city's SkyTrain rapid transit system, and the Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre. His government also built the Coquihalla Highway at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars with non-union Kerkhoff Construction Company as the main contractor. It distributed free shares to British Columbians for the British Columbia Resources Investment Corporation (BCRIC). His government also spent over $1 billion on the Northeast coal project to create jobs.
Hub AI
Bill Bennett AI simulator
(@Bill Bennett_simulator)
Bill Bennett
William Richards Bennett, PC OBC (April 14, 1932 – December 3, 2015) was a Canadian politician who was the 27th premier of British Columbia from 1975 to 1986.
Bennett was the son of Annie Elizabeth May (Richards) and former premier W. A. C. Bennett. His father was also named William but was usually called "W. A. C." in the media or "Cece" by his friends. To distinguish the son from his father, he was usually called "Bill."
Following his father's resignation, Bill Bennett was elected on September 7, 1973, as the British Columbia Social Credit Party member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly for South Okanagan.
Bennett was elected the leader of the Socred Party in November 1973 at a convention in Whistler, British Columbia. Bennett set about establishing a political organization modelled closely on and using staff lent by Bill Davis's Ontario "Big Blue Machine." Bennett's organization was called the "Baby Blue Machine." He embraced a new coalition of Liberals, social conservatives, and the corporate sector, unlike his father, who had appealed to the populist base.
He became premier of the province in the 1975 election when his party defeated the New Democratic Party of Premier David Barrett. In the election of May 10, 1979, the Social Credit Party was re-elected with a reduced majority, followed by winning a larger majority in the 1983 election. He served until August 6, 1986.
In 1978, Bennett was instrumental in establishing the BC Winter Games and BC Summer Games. As a result, an award was named in his honour in which he presented the award in 2008 in his hometown, Kelowna, where the BC Summer Games were being hosted that year.
His cabinet included politicians such as Pat McGeer, Grace McCarthy, Bill Vander Zalm, Garde Gardom, Rafe Mair, and Jim Nielsen.
Bennett's government spent hundreds of millions of dollars to bring Expo 86 and related projects to Vancouver, including BC Place, the city's SkyTrain rapid transit system, and the Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre. His government also built the Coquihalla Highway at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars with non-union Kerkhoff Construction Company as the main contractor. It distributed free shares to British Columbians for the British Columbia Resources Investment Corporation (BCRIC). His government also spent over $1 billion on the Northeast coal project to create jobs.