10 Longest Serving BC Premiers

This is a 1945 British news reel about the BC salmon fishery. Namu was once a very large salmon cannery owned by BC Packers.   Here is a site with some history of the company.

 

Table seiner Gospak in Namu harbour, July 1948

Opening of the Shuswap Lake General Hospital in Salmon Arm October 1958

A couple photos of the hospital when it was opened from the old files from the basement of Mary Martin's home.  Mary was the wife of Eric Martin who was the Social Credit Minister of Health from 1952 to 1966 when he retired

Late 40s federal Social Credit Brochure for talks about the philosophy of the party

Eric Martin was elected in 1952 for BC Social Credit and was a loyal member of the party till he died in 1973 even though the WAC Social Credit party in BC had nothing to do with the philiopsohy of Social Credit.  He served as minister of health from 1952 to 1966 and opened many of the hospitals in BC.  Eric Martin Institute at Royal Jubilee is named for him

He was very active with Social Credit and here is a card about his once a month talks on the subject on behalf of the federal Social Credit Party.  

City of Victoria invitation to the Freeman Ceremony for WAC Bennett Oct 17 1970

BC Social Credit brochure for the 1949 provincial election

Social Credit was not a factor in the 1949 BC election and in fact had split into three competing parities.   These are two of the nine Social Credit League candidates - the Social Credit Party ran 7 candidates and the Union of Electors ran 12.  Eric Martin ran again in 1952 and was elected to become one of the 19 MLAs that formed the first Socred government in BC.

The platform of the Social Credit League is interesting because it advocates for electoral reform and independent unions but at the same time against the government hospital insurance program

Boston Bar to North Bend Aerial Ferry