Glen Clark

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Glen David Clark
31st Premier of British Columbia
In office February 22, 1996 – August 25, 1999
Preceded by	Mike Harcourt
Succeeded by	Dan Miller

Born	November 22, 1957 Nanaimo, British Columbia
Political party	New Democratic Party of British Columbia

Glen David Clark (born Nanaimo November 22, 1957) is a former politician in British Columbia, Canada who served as the 31st Premier of British Columbia from 1996 to 1999.

Clark was first elected to the B.C. Legislative Assembly in the 1986 provincial election.

Clark served as finance minister under New Democratic Party of British Columbia (NDP) Premier Mike Harcourt. He earned a reputation for his often dynamic, socialist-style rhetoric. When Harcourt resigned amid scandal in 1995, Clark was elected by the NDP to replace him. Clark became BC's 31st premier.

Clark called an election in 1996 in which his party narrowly won a majority of seats, despite receiving fewer votes across the province than the second-place BC Liberal Party.

During his premiership, Clark worked hard to increase the accessibility of education by lowering tuition fees, and he successfully completed the Island Highway linking many communities on Vancouver Island.

The Clark government is most remembered for the "fast ferry fiasco". In an effort to develop a ship-building industry, Clark undertook the B.C. fast ferries initiative, which was designed to upgrade the existing BC Ferries fleet as well as jump start the shipbuilding industry in Vancouver. Although the ferries were eventually produced, the project proved a dismal failure with massive cost overruns, compromises on ship performance, and long delays. Clark's refusal to cancel the program became a focus of public criticism and severely damaged the NDP's popularity.

Another scandal that beset the NDP government occurred in the immediate aftermath of the 1996 election when it was revealed that provincial budget figures had been manipulated to show a surplus when in fact a deficit had been projected (the "Fudge-It Budget" scandal). This had been done to prevent the NDP's consecutive deficits from becoming an election issue in the 1996 campaign. After the election, the NDP admitted that the budget was in a deep deficit.

The NDP government's popularity also suffered as a result of a declining economy, growing unemployment throughout the province, and ballooning provincial budget deficits. For the first time in many years, British Columbia began to suffer from a net migration out of the province.

Clark resigned suddenly on the night of August 25, 1999 following allegations that he had accepted favours (in the form of free renovations worth $10,000) from Dimitrios Pilarinos in return for approving a casino application. He was later formally charged with committing a criminal offence. The subsequent investigation spawned a media circus, infamously highlighted with live coverage of a police raid on the Clark household.

Conflict of Interest Commissioner H.A.D. Oliver concluded[1]that Clark had violated Conflict of Interest laws in British Columbia. However, Clark was acquitted of all criminal charges in August 2002. The judge ruled that "there is nothing in his conduct that crosses the line from an act of folly to behaviour calling for criminal sanctions."

Clark was succeeded as Premier of B.C. by Deputy Premier Dan Miller, briefly, until a leadership convention selected Ujjal Dosanjh.

Clark left office as one of B.C.'s most unpopular premiers, and the unpopularity of his government was directly attributed to the landslide victory of the BC Liberal Party that swept Gordon Campbell to victory in 2001. The B.C. NDP party continues to work to distance itself from the legacy of the Clark years in order to regain the support of voters.

He is currently employed as Executive Vice President with the Jim Pattison Group, president of the Pattison Sign Group, president of The News Group Canada and president of Vancouver 24 Hours, a free daily newspaper.

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Preceded by Mike Harcourt	Premier of British Columbia 1996-1999	Succeeded by Dan Miller
Preceded by Michael Harcourt	Leader of the British Columbia New Democratic Party 1996–1999	Succeeded by Dan Miller