In the 1996 campaign, Campbell was elected to the Vancouver-Point Grey riding, which he held until 2010. The Liberals entered the election leading in the polls because of a fundraising scandal in the New Democratic Party (NDP). His party gained 16 seats and won a slight plurality of the popular vote, but the NDP retained enough seats to continue as the majority government. He stayed on as leader of the Opposition, opposing NDP premiers Glen Clark, Dan Miller and Ujjal Dosanjh.