2003 British Columbia New Democratic Party leadership election
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November 23, 2003
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| Date | November 23, 2003 |
|---|---|
| Resigning leader | Ujjal Dosanjh |
| Won by | Carole James |
| Ballots | 2 |
| Candidates | 6 |
The 2003 British Columbia New Democratic Party leadership election was held on November 23, 2003, to elect a successor to Ujjal Dosanjh as leader of the British Columbia New Democratic Party (BC NDP). The election was necessary because Dosanjh had left the BC NDP following the party's defeat in the 2001 provincial election; leaving Joy MacPhail as interim leader. Carole James won on the second ballot, defeating Leonard Krog.
Following the 2001 provincial election, the BC NDP had been reduced from 39 to 2 seats in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. Neither of the BC NDP's two MLAs, Jenny Kwan and Joy MacPhail, expressed interest in running for leadership.
The candidates reflected a wide range of ideological positions within the party. Nils Jensen, a municipal councillor from Oak Bay, was a proponent of the centrist Third Way movement. Both Leonard Krog and Steve Orcherton represented more traditional elements of the party, with Orcherton being perceived as the most left-wing candidate on the ballot. James presented a relatively ideologically ambiguous position, neither as centrist as Jensen or leftist as Orcherton, but generally social democratic.[1][2]