Bill Vander Zalm

Early Life and Entry into Politics

Wilhelmus Nicholaas Theodore Marie van der Zalm was born in Noordwijkerhout, Netherlands, on May 29, 1934. He emigrated to Canada with his family after the Second World War, settling in British Columbia's Fraser Valley in 1947. After completing high school, he entered the horticulture business, selling tulip bulbs and eventually purchasing a nursery in Surrey following his marriage to Lillian Mihalic. Vander Zalm was first elected as an alderman in Surrey in 1965 and served as the municipality's mayor from 1969 to 1975. His early political career was defined by a hardline approach to municipal welfare, which was a local responsibility until the early 1970s. He ran unsuccessfully for the House of Commons as a Liberal in the 1968 federal election in Surrey, losing by 4,445 votes to NDP candidate Barry Mather. He lost the provincial Liberal leadership to David Anderson in 1972 and was defeated as the Liberal candidate in Surrey in that year's provincial election, losing to incumbent NDP MLA Ernest Hall. He joined the BC Social Credit Party in 1974.

Rise in Social Credit and Cabinet Minister

Vander Zalm was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia as the Social Credit MLA for Surrey in the 1975 election, which returned the Socreds to power under Premier Bill Bennett after a three-year hiatus. He was immediately appointed Minister of Human Resources, where he continued his crusade against perceived welfare fraud. In 1978, he launched a libel lawsuit, Vander Zalm v. Times Publishers, against the Victoria Daily Times over a political cartoon by Bob Bierman depicting him as a sadist pulling wings off flies. He initially won $3,500 in damages in BC Supreme Court, but the ruling was overturned by the BC Court of Appeal in 1980. The original cartoon was purchased by the National Archives of Canada for $350. After being reassigned as Minister of Municipal Affairs in December 1978, he held that portfolio following his re-election in 1979. In August 1982, he became Minister of Education. In 1983, he publicly called on the Smithers school board to suspend teacher Madeleine Sauve without pay after she distributed a questionnaire concerning mutual masturbation and oral sex to Grade 8 students without parental or school board permission. Vander Zalm chose not to run in the May 1983 provincial election. In 1984, he bought Fantasy Garden World, a theme park in Richmond. The same year, he ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Vancouver as the Non-Partisan Association candidate, losing to incumbent Mike Harcourt.

Premiership and "Vandermania"

When Premier Bill Bennett announced his retirement in 1986, Vander Zalm entered the Social Credit leadership race. He generated considerable media attention and prevailed over 11 other candidates, including future prime minister Kim Campbell, on the fourth ballot at a convention in Whistler. Sworn in as premier on August 6, 1986, he immediately called an election. A wave of "Vandermania" swept the province, and the Socreds easily won another majority, with Vander Zalm himself re-entering the legislature by winning one of the two seats in Richmond. He promised a fresh start, filling most cabinet slots with MLAs who had been on the backbench under Bennett. He decided to release the normally secret list of cabinet appointments to two Vancouver Sun reporters hours before the official announcement. Under his watch, the government took a more social conservative hue, alienating moderate Socreds who began drifting to the BC Liberals. Key policy decisions included the introduction of the Health Statutes Amendment Act (Bill 34) in July 1987 by health minister Peter Dueck, which proposed quarantine procedures for individuals with serious reportable communicable diseases. The bill sparked massive protests from groups like ACT UP, the Vancouver Lesbian Connection, and the Vancouver Persons With AIDS Coalition, leading to the formation of the Coalition for Responsible Health Legislation. The bill received Royal Assent on December 17, 1987. His government refused to fund the 1990 Gay Games in Vancouver, citing inappropriate usage of public resources. Following the Supreme Court of Canada's 1988 R v Morgentaler decision, Vander Zalm's government chose not to extend provincial medical coverage to abortion, deeming it an elective procedure.

Fantasy Gardens Scandal and Resignation

Vander Zalm's premiership unravelled over the sale of his Fantasy Gardens theme park. The controversy centred on an alleged conflict of interest, as the Taiwanese buyer, Tan Yu, was provided VIP treatment by members of the Vander Zalm government prior to the sale. The broker of the deal, Faye Leung, secretly recorded conversations with the premier and later leaked them to the media, calling Vander Zalm a "bad man". A provincial conflict of interest inquiry led by former judge Ted Hughes found that Vander Zalm had mixed his private business with his public office. Facing the report's damning conclusions, Vander Zalm resigned as premier on April 2, 1991. He was subsequently charged with criminal breach of trust but was acquitted in BC Supreme Court in 1992. The judge ruled that while his actions were "foolish, ill-advised and in apparent or real conflict of interest or breach of ethics," the prosecution had not proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt. During the trial, it was revealed Vander Zalm had accepted a $20,000 cash payment from the buyer, which he said was for travel and expenses. For her part, Faye Leung was later convicted in 1995 by the BC Court of Appeal of four counts of secret commissions, one count of theft, and two counts of fraud. His resignation precipitated the swift collapse of the Social Credit Party. He was succeeded as premier by Deputy Premier Rita Johnston, who defeated Grace McCarthy in the race to replace him as Socred leader. The party was reduced to a distant third in the 1991 election, with the NDP returning to government and the Liberals becoming official opposition. The Social Credit Party was completely shut out of the legislature in the 1996 election and never again won seats.

Later Political Activism and the HST Campaign

After leaving provincial politics, Vander Zalm remained a vocal commentator. He returned to formal politics in November 1999 when he was acclaimed as leader of the Reform Party of British Columbia. He lost a December 1999 provincial by-election in Delta South, finishing second with 32.91 percent of the vote to BC Liberal candidate Val Roddick's 59.63 percent. The BC Green Party came in third place and the governing NDP finished a distant fourth with just 2.44 percent, their worst showing ever. He attempted to orchestrate a merger of the Reform Party with other right-wing parties, running into stiff opposition. Vander Zalm and supporters later merged with several other small right-wing parties to form the British Columbia Unity Party. The Reform Party was deregistered as a BC political party in 2001. Vander Zalm's most significant post-premier political achievement began in 2009 when he emerged as a leading critic of the provincial Liberal government's plan to replace the Provincial Sales Tax with the Harmonized Sales Tax. Alongside strategist Bill Tieleman, he became the official proponent of an initiative petition under the Recall and Initiative Act. His FightHST campaign established a website and held populist rallies. The petition required signatures from 10 percent of registered voters in each riding. On June 30, 2010, he delivered 705,643 signatures from voters in every riding across the province, representing about 45 percent of votes cast in the 2009 provincial election. Elections BC verified the petition on August 11, 2010. Chief Justice Robert J. Bauman ruled the petition valid on August 20, 2010. A referendum was announced for September 24, 2011, with Premier Gordon Campbell stating a simple majority would be sufficient to cancel the HST. The referendum was conducted by mail-in ballot throughout June and July 2011. On August 26, 2011, Elections BC revealed that 55 percent of 1.6 million voters were in favour of abolishing the HST. The BC Liberals revealed a plan to reinstate the GST/PST system within 18 months, with a target date of March 31, 2013. Following the petition, the anti-HST campaign turned its attention to a recall campaign for Liberal MLAs, though initial attempts were unsuccessful.

Legal Challenges and Continued Public Profile

Vander Zalm's later years included further legal entanglements related to his time in office. In 2012, a BC Supreme Court judge and jury heard a defamation lawsuit lodged against him by retired conflict-of-interest commissioner Ted Hughes. Hughes alleged he had been defamed in Vander Zalm's 2008 self-published autobiography, For The People. The book suggested that Hughes, then in an interim appointment, may have conducted an unfair inquiry of Vander Zalm in 1991 by the prospect of achieving permanent employment. Vander Zalm defended the statements as fair comments made in the public interest. The jury found him liable and ordered him to pay $60,000 in damages to Hughes, with Hughes to pay his own costs. Beyond legal matters, Vander Zalm has remained a fixture in BC political discourse. He authored a book about his immigrant experience titled Vander Zalm: From Immigrant to Premier, published in 1986. Other books about his tenure include Fantasyland: Inside the reign of Bill Vander Zalm (1989) and Breach of Promise: Socred Ethics Under Vander Zalm (1991). He holds the distinction of being the oldest lived premier in British Columbia history and the first to reach the age of 92. He now lives in Ladner, British Columbia.

• He served as Minister of Human Resources from 1975 to 1978, Minister of Municipal Affairs from 1978 to 1982, and Minister of Education from 1982 to 1983.
• He became premier on August 6, 1986, after winning the Social Credit leadership race at a convention in Whistler.
• His government's Health Statutes Amendment Act received Royal Assent on December 17, 1987, after protests from AIDS activist groups.
• He resigned on April 2, 1991, following the conflict of interest report by Ted Hughes.
• He led the FightHST petition which gathered 705,643 signatures by June 2010.
• The 2011 HST referendum saw 1.6 million voters participate, with 55 percent voting to abolish the tax.

Questions about Bill Vander Zalm

Why did Bill Vander Zalm resign as premier of British Columbia?

Bill Vander Zalm resigned as premier on April 2, 1991, following a report by conflict of interest commissioner Ted Hughes. The report found he had mixed his private business interests with his public office during the sale of his Fantasy Garden World theme park to Taiwanese businessman Tan Yu. The scandal involved VIP treatment for the buyer and a secret $20,000 cash payment to Vander Zalm. He was later acquitted of criminal breach of trust charges in 1992.

What were some of the key social policies of the Vander Zalm government?

The Vander Zalm government pursued socially conservative policies. It introduced the Health Statutes Amendment Act in 1987, which included quarantine measures for certain communicable diseases, drawing opposition from HIV/AIDS activists like ACT UP and the Vancouver Persons With AIDS Coalition. The government refused to fund the 1990 Gay Games in Vancouver. After the 1988 Morgentaler decision, it declined to extend provincial medical coverage to abortion, deeming it an elective and not medically necessary procedure.

What happened to the Social Credit Party after Vander Zalm resigned?

After Vander Zalm's resignation, the Social Credit Party rapidly collapsed. He was succeeded by Deputy Premier Rita Johnston. The party fell to a distant third place in the 1991 provincial election behind the victorious NDP and the official opposition Liberals. It was completely shut out of the legislature in the subsequent 1996 election and never again won a seat in the Legislative Assembly, ending a dynasty that had governed for most of the preceding four decades.

Has Bill Vander Zalm held any political office since being premier?

Bill Vander Zalm was acclaimed leader of the Reform Party of British Columbia in November 1999. He ran in a December 1999 by-election in Delta South but finished second to BC Liberal Val Roddick. He later worked to merge right-wing parties into the British Columbia Unity Party before the Reform Party was deregistered in 2001. He has not held elected office since his premiership.

What was Bill Vander Zalm's role in the fight against the HST?

Bill Vander Zalm was the official proponent of the initiative petition to repeal the Harmonized Sales Tax. His FightHST campaign, alongside Bill Tieleman, secured 705,643 signatures from voters in every riding by June 30, 2010, forcing a referendum under the Recall and Initiative Act. In the 2011 mail-in referendum, 55 percent of 1.6 million voters favoured abolishing the HST. This led the BC Liberal government to announce a plan to reinstate the PST and GST system by March 31, 2013.

How did Bill Vander Zalm first get elected to provincial politics?

Bill Vander Zalm was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 1975 provincial election. He won the riding of Surrey as a member of the BC Social Credit Party, which he had joined in 1974. This victory came after he had lost previous campaigns as a Liberal candidate in the 1972 provincial election in Surrey and the 1968 federal election. Following the Social Credit win in 1975, Premier Bill Bennett appointed Vander Zalm as the Minister of Human Resources.

Sources and further reading

• Bill Vander Zalm (Wikipedia)
• Vander Zalm is Back (thecanadianencyclopedia.ca)

Checked by the Nosy Mag desk. Last updated 2026-10-31.