Non-Partisan Association
municipal political party in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
The Non-Partisan Association (NPA) is a municipal political party in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It was established by the city's business leaders in 1937 to challenge the democratic socialist Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) in that year's municipal election. The party has historically been described as centre-right and drawn its strongest support from Vancouver's business community.
In the years following the 2018 municipal election, seven of the NPA's ten elected officials resigned from the party, claiming that it had become right-wing and undemocratic. Several other prominent members, such as the NPA's 2018 mayoral candidate Ken Sim, also resigned. Most of those departing later joined ABC Vancouver in the run-up to the 2022 municipal election, which saw Sim elected as mayor and the NPA lose all its remaining seats.
History
Early years
The NPA was established by Vancouver's business leaders on November 13, 1937, to counteract the growing influence of the CCF. Fearful of a CCF victory in the Vancouver municipal election on December 8, 1937, provincial politicians from the then-ruling BC Liberal Party launched an initiative to create a pro-business municipal party to challenge the CCF. The NPA's first chairman was Victor Odlum, a prominent member of Vancouver's business and political elite who had served as a Liberal MLA from 1924 to 1928. Other founding members of the NPA include W. C. Woodward of Woodward's department store, Victor Spencer of Spencer's department store, and industrialist Austin Taylor. Despite its party connections, the NPA claimed it was not a party, but rather a "free enterprise coalition" which "oppose[d] the introduction of party politics into Vancouver's civic administration".
The NPA first fielded candidates in the December 9, 1936, municipal election, which saw their mayoral candidate, George Miller, elected to office.
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