• Age: 15
• Grade: 10

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, Sky Train and BC Place Stadium to the province.

Bob Plecas spent more than twenty years in the BC provincial government as a career civil servant. He served under six premiers, in both Social Credit and NDP administrations, as deputy minister for some twenty-five ministers in ten portfolios. He is the author of over twenty major pieces of provincial legislation. He lives Victoria, British Columbia.

Bob Plecas' profile page

"If you lived through that turbulent time...Plecas' book is well worth a read, no matter which side of the barricades you were on in 1983."

Tyee Books

"This is a book for political junkies. Plecas meticulously elaborates the factors that influenced Bennett's decisions as premier, providing an inside look at a tumultuos and seminal era of B.C. politics."

Winnipeg Free Press

"A new book on a period in B.C. political history is not only a good read, but its also a timely reminder of just how much British Columbia has changed in the last 20 years."

North Shore News

Bill Bennett: A Mandarin’s View

While this book is neither an official nor complete biography of Bill Bennett, it does provide a fascinating account of his years in leadership in the BC Social Credit Party. Both his roles as leader of the opposition and then of the governing party of the province are described. Bennett’s policies, perspectives and programs as premier from 1975 to 1986 are documented and assessed from an “insider” viewpoint, for the author was for much of that time either a senior official or deputy minister in the government. After a brief description of W.A.C. Bennett’s years as premier, the story of the battles for power between the NDP and the Socreds are highlighted. Policies related to restraint and restructuring are given particular emphasis, as is Expo ’86.

Caution: includes some coarse language