After 16 years in government, the B.C. Liberals are still using the "Lost Decade" to refer to the NDP's last period of governance in order to scare voters. Was the economy under the NDP in the '90s that bad? People on the street said in the '90s they were able to buy a house, but nowadays even professionals are not able to.

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Prior to the last provincial election in 2013, the Business Council of British Columbia released a study called "A Decade by Decade Review of British Columbia's Economic Performance." It compared the economic indicators of the three decades governed respectively by the Social Credit Party, the NDP and the B.C. Liberals. The result is that by certain measures the NDP of the '90s actually had the best economic performance.

Here are the conclusions of the study:

GDP growth: The Social Credit decade had an average growth rate of 2.12 per cent, the the Liberals 2.36 per cent and the NDP 2.72 per cent. The NDP decade is the best of the three.

Job creation: Under the Liberals jobs grew by 1.58 per cent, under the Social Credit Party 1.91 per cent and under the NDP by 2.17 per cent. The NDP decade also had better performance.

Unemployment: Social Credit had an average rate of 11.48 per cent, NDP 8.87 per cent and the Liberals 6.63 per cent. The Liberals scored.

Business investment (non-private residential investment): As regards non-private residential investment, the Social Credit growth was 0.81 per cent, NDP got three per cent and the Liberals had 5.53 per cent.

Export: B.C.'s exports remained generally unchanged over the past three decades, fluctuating between 42 and 43 per cent of the GDP. However, the study notes that the NDP's decade in power had the strongest export performance, whereas the Liberals' had the weakest.

The Liberals' so-called "Lost Decade" is contrary to the facts.

For the above five economic indicators, the NDP's governing decade recorded the best performance on three counts: economic growth, job creation and (arguably) exports, whereas the Liberals were better in business investment (non-private residential investment) and unemployment.

The Liberals' so-called "Lost Decade" is contrary to the facts.

During the Liberals' governing years, the debt load increase has been alarming.

When Liberal Premier Gordon Campbell stepped down, I wrote an article "Gordon Campbell's $100-billion debt legacy." The B.C. debt load at that time was $53.4 billion, plus $80.2 billion in contractual obligations.