What followed was an unprecedented string of six NDP byelection victories. First up, Bill Barlee won the Boundary-Similkameen seat for the NDP in June 1988 by-election. Then Gerard Janssen won in Alberni, in the seat previously held by Bob Skelly. In March 1989, Jan Pullinger won the NDP seat of Nanaimo, and Tom Perry took Vancouver Point Grey from the Socreds. That was followed by another upset when the NDP’s David Zirnhelt won Cariboo from the Socreds in September 1989, and then Elizabeth Cull (absent from this photo) took Oak-Bay Gordon Head in December that year. Social Credit was in disarray. The scandals finally caught up with Bill VanderZalm (including his own) and he too resigned without completing his term.
The by-election six pack
