The upcoming B.C. provincial election will be unlike anything voters in this province have experienced in more than 120 years.

Traditionally, the vast majority of those elected to the B.C. Legislature ran under the banner of a political party. This year, there will be a significant number of independent and unaffiliated candidates.

The result could be a legislative structure reminiscent of the late 19th century.

This potential change comes because of a move from B.C. United leader Kevin Falcon, in late August. At that time, he shut down the party鈥檚 campaign and chose not to field any candidates in the upcoming election. Instead, he said B.C. United would work with the Conservative Party of B.C. to have a single right-of-centre alternative to the governing New Democratic Party.

However, not all B.C. United candidates dropped out of the race to make room for B.C. Conservative candidates. Some will be running as independent or unaffiliated candidates instead.

This changes everything.

Under British Columbia鈥檚 partisan model, the vast majority of those elected are under the banner of one of several dominant political parties. Under a party system, voters do not just select a candidate, but also the platform and leadership of his or her party. 

It hasn鈥檛 always been this way.

British Columbia joined the confederation in 1871, but the party system did not come into place in this province until 1903. The first 14 premiers did not have partisan affiliation and the candidates in those were elected as independents.

Voters were able to choose the candidate they wanted, without party labels entering the equation.

Today, the federal government, each of the 10 provinces and the Yukon Territory have partisan government systems in place. The Northwest Territories and Nunavut are the exceptions, using a consensus government model.

One could argue that a system in place in the late 19th century would not be workable today. In 1901, the last census before British Columbia went to a partisan legislature, the province had a population of 178,657. In the most recent census in 2021, British Columbia was home to 5,000,879 people.

There is no way the province could or should function as it did at the end of the 1800s and the beginning of the 1900s.

However, it is possible to govern a large population without political parties.

Toronto鈥檚 city council, governing a population of around 2.7 million, does not use a party system. The same holds true for most cities and towns across Canada. (The greater Vancouver area is the notable exception.)

Candidates in almost all Canadian communities run independently, campaigning on their own platforms and values rather than under a party banner.

Without a party system, those seeking office campaign on their own platforms and values. The election outcome is based on the character and connection to the constituents.

At this point, British Columbia is not about to instantly abandon its system of partisan provincial politics.

Instead, the list of candidates in this upcoming election, with a strong showing of independent and unaffiliated candidates, could result in some changes in the legislature.

Legislative members who are not under a party鈥檚 banner are not bound by party doctrine or party discipline. This can allow for a different form of discussion about key decisions.

If voters elect a significant number of independent and unaffiliated candidates, and if these members prove effective in the legislature, it could change the way politics is done at the provincial level.

Of course, all of this is speculation at present. The provincial election is still several weeks away, and there is no way to predict the outcome.

Still, this election could have some surprises, and the results could have far-reaching effects.

John Arendt is the editor of the Summerland Review.