GORDON CAMPBELL, 61, BRITISH COLUMBIA, LIBERAL; 3 out of 10 (with 10 being a high likelihood of a federal bid); His party is a coalition of Tories and Grits; who would he run for?JOHN LEHMANN
February, 1982 - With B.C. in the grip of recession, Social Credit premier Bill Bennett uses a 15-minute televised address to announce limits on public-service and government spending. "The choice we face today is simple. Either we ask every British Columbian to pull in his or her belt one notch or we ask some of our people to tighten theirs four or five," he says.
March, 1984 - Mr. Bennett, during a 20-minute televised speech, says his government will act to end an eight-week shutdown of the province's pulp and paper industry, promising legislation to end a lockout at 20 pulp and paper mills within 72 hours.
January, 1990 - After six straight by-election losses for his Social Credit party plus other controversies, premier William Vander Zalm gives a 23-minute TV address: He says he will remain in politics, attacks his critics and says B.C. is withdrawing support for the Meech Lake constitutional accord.
January, 1993 - Eighteen months after winning office, NDP premier Michael Harcourt uses a 27-minute televised address to urge sacrifice so the province can begin to cut its $8.2-billion debt. He says an election pledge to balance the budget may not be possible.
April, 1996 - In a half-hour television address, NDP premier Glen Clark says a budget due soon will maintain a three-year freeze on taxes and contain tax cuts for lower- and middle-income people and small businesses. The party-financed programming, timed to coincide with the release of a Finance Ministry economic forecast, also includes attacks on Liberal leader Gordon Campbell.
February, 2001 - NDP premier Ujjal Dosanjh uses a 30-minute televised speech to rally voter support in advance of a spring election, and also target Liberal leader Gordon Campbell for, allegedly, threatening health care and education with "Bush-style tax cuts."
February, 2003 - Liberal Premier Gordon Campbell, in a 30-minute televised address, touts the government's Heartlands Economic Strategy. The speech comes within a day of a Throne Speech that promised to bolster rural economies.
October, 2008 - In a 15-minute statement carried live on the Internet and the Legislature channel, Mr. Campbell. responding to concerns about a slowing economy, promises B.C. will be a "deficit-free zone" and announces a 10-point plan to cut taxes and boost spending. The effort comes as the Legislature is not in session because the Liberal government cancelled the fall sitting.