Bill Bennett: A Mandarin's View

BILL BENNETT IS AN EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT of B.C. premier W.R. (Bill) Bennett’s eleven years in power, from 1975 to 1986. Never seen as a populist or a great communicator, Bennett nevertheless won three elections in a row, a feat surpassed only by his father, W.A.C. Bennett, who won six. The younger Bennett also twice captured the highest percentage of the popular vote of any premier since the Second World War. Among his very significant and undervalued achievements, Bennett dramatically changed the way British Columbia is governed and the way in which it came to be perceived on the world stage; chaired Canada’s provincial premiers during the repatriation of the constitution; built the Coquihalla highway; created the Whistler ski resort; and brought the Port of Prince Rupert, SkyTrain and B.C. Place Stadium to the province.