1933 British Columbia general election

The 1933 British Columbia general election was the eighteenth general election in the Province of British Columbia, Canada. It was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. The election was called on September 13, 1933, and held on November 2, 1933.[1] The new legislature met for the first time on February 20, 1934.

1933 British Columbia general election

← 1928 November 2, 1933 1937 →

47 seats of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
24 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party
 
CCF
Leader Thomas Dufferin Pattullo Robert Connell
Party Liberal Co-operative Commonwealth
Leader since 1928 1933
Leader's seat Prince Rupert Victoria City
Last election 12 pre-creation
Seats won 34 7
Seat change Increase22 Increase7
Popular vote 159,131 120,185
Percentage 41.74% 31.53%
Swing Increase1.70pp pre-creation

  Third party Fourth party
 
Leader William John Bowser[a] Simon Fraser Tolmie
Party Non-Partisan Independent Group Unionist
Leader since 1933 1933
Leader's seat Did not run[a] Saanich (lost re-election)
Last election Did not contest 35[b]
Seats won 2 1
Seat change Increase2 Decrease34[c]
Popular vote 38,836 15,445
Percentage 10.19% 4.05%
Swing new Decrease49.25pp[c]

Premier before election

Simon Fraser Tolmie
Conservative

Premier after election

Thomas Dufferin Pattullo
Liberal

The Liberal Party won a majority government.

The Official Opposition was formed by the social democratic Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, which was contesting its first election.

Because of internal discord, the provincial executive of the Conservative Party decided not to contest the election officially. Instead, each local association was to act on its own. Some candidates ran as Independents, some as Independent Conservatives. Those supporting the premier, Simon Fraser Tolmie, ran as Unionist Party of British Columbia, and those grouped around William John Bowser, a former premier, ran as the Non-Partisan Independent Group. When Bowser died on October 25, the elections in Vancouver Centre and Victoria City were postponed to November 27, and the following candidates withdrew:[2]

  • in Vancouver Centre, one each from the Unionists, NPIG and United Front
  • in Victoria City, one Unionist, three NPIG and one Independent

Other notable races include the election of Bridge River-Lillooet News publisher George Matheson Murray in Lillooet over Conservative Ernest Crawford Carson. Carson's brother Robert Henry Carson ran as a Liberal, winning Kamloops. Carson and his brother both served as cabinet ministers in later regimes. They were the sons of Robert Carson, an American who was one of the very few survivors of an Indian attack on a wagon train on the Oregon Trail and who went on to found one of the early ranches at Pavilion and whose holdings became part of the Diamond S Ranch.[3]

1932 redistribution of ridings

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An Act was passed in 1932, providing for a reduction of the seats in the Assembly from 48 to 47 upon the next election.[4] The following changes were made:

Abolished ridings New ridings
Drawn from other ridings
Merger of districts
Reorganization of districts

1934 post-election redistribution

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A 1934 Act increased the size of the Assembly from 47 to 48, by abolishing the district of Columbia-Revelstoke and reviving the previous districts of Columbia and Revelstoke, with immediate effect.[5] William Henry Sutherland was declared the MLA for Revelstoke,[6] and Thomas King (Liberal) was acclaimed in Columbia in the subsequent byelection.[7]

Results

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Elections to the 18th Legislative Assembly of British Columbia (1933)[8]
Political party Party leader MLAs Votes
Candidates 1928 1933 ± # ± % ± (pp)
Liberal Duff Pattullo 47 12 34 22  159,131 14,259  41.74 1.70 
Co-operative Commonwealth Robert Connell 46 7 7  120,185 120,185  31.53 New
  Conservative fragmention
 Non-Partisan Independent Group William John Bowser 30   2   38,836   10.19  
 Unionist Simon Fraser Tolmie 12 1 15,445 4.05
 Independent Conservative 6 7,114 1.87
 Independent 4 2,193 0.58
 Oxford Group 1 1 1,655 0.43
All Conservative factions 53 35 4 31  65,243 128,688  17.12 36.18 
Independent 24 1 1  25,658 22,000  6.73 5.72 
Labour (all factions) 4 1 1   2,357 15,867  0.62 4.42 
United Front (Workers and Farmers) 20 4,584 4,584  1.20 New
Independent Co-operative Commonwealth 8 2,266 2,266  0.59 New
Independent Liberal 2 1,076 75 0.28
Socialist 5 370 370  0.10 Returned
Progressive Liberal 1 353 353  0.09 New
Total 210 48 47 381,223 100.00%
Rejected ballots[9] 3,380[a 1] 121 
Actual voters who voted[9] 236,415 61,481  73.07% 1.74 
Registered voters[9] 323,540 78,300 
  1. ^ Incomplete
Seats and popular vote by party[8]
Party Seats Votes Change (pp)
 Liberal
34 / 47
41.74%
1.70 1.7
 
 Co-operative Commonwealth
7 / 47
31.53%
31.53 31.53
 
 Conservative (all factions)
4 / 47
17.12%
-36.18
 
 Independent
1 / 47
6.73%
5.72 5.72
 
 Labour
1 / 47
0.62%
-4.42
 
 Other
0 / 47
2.26%
1.65 1.65
 

MLAs elected

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Synopsis of results

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Results by riding - 1933 British Columbia general election (single-member districts)[10]
Riding Winning party Votes
Name 1928 Party Votes Share Margin
#
Margin
%
Lib CCF NP Un O-C UF Ind Oth Total
 
Alberni-Nanaimo New Lib 3,146 47.47% 793 11.96% 3,146 2,353 781 185 162 6,627
Atlin Lib Lib 419 32.63% 111 8.64% 419 308 136 421[a 1] 1,284
Burnaby Con CCF 4,548 39.27% 528 4.55% 4,020 4,548 519 1,051 694 22 726 11,580
Cariboo Con Lib 1,089 54.50% 578 28.92% 1,089 398 511 1,998
Chilliwack Con Lib 2,273 44.96% 618 12.23% 2,273 1,655 1,128 5,056
Columbia-Revelstoke New Lib 1,947 72.27% 1,200 44.54% 1,947 747 2,694
Comox Con Lib 2,204 49.94% 614 13.91% 2,204 1,590 259 84 276 4,413
Cowichan-Newcastle Con OG 1,655 40.88% 367 9.06% 520 1,288 2,240[a 2] 4,048
Cranbrook Lib Lib 2,951 69.53% 1,720 40.52% 2,951 1,231 62 4,244
Delta Con CCF 2,631 36.95% 538 7.55% 2,093 2,631 612[a 3] 49 1,735 7,120
Dewdney Con Lib 1,235 30.34% 166 4.08% 1,235 967 1,069 127 673 4,071
Esquimalt Con Un 1,466 39.03% 59 1.57% 1,407 525 358 1,466 3,756
Fernie ILP ILP 1,693 56.58% 394 13.16% 1,299 1,693 2,992
Fort George Con Lib 1,577 56.32% 952 34.00% 1,577 625 310 192 96 2,800
Grand Forks-Greenwood Con Lib 1,034 58.55% 523 29.61% 1,034 221 511 1,766
The Islands Con Lib 726 35.35% 57 2.78% 726 400 233 669 26 2,054
Kamloops Con Lib 1,836 44.76% 476 11.61% 1,836 1,360 906 4,102
Kaslo-Slocan Con Lib 1,250 45.05% 299 10.78% 1,250 574 951 2,775
Lillooet Con Lib 927 44.06% 222 10.55% 927 472 705 2,104
Mackenzie Con CCF 2,071 43.61% 685 14.42% 1,386 2,071 1,292 4,749
Nelson-Creston New Lib 2,489 49.19% 1,187 23.46% 2,489 1,161 1,302 125 5,060
New Westminster Lib Lib 2,694 46.98% 1,218 21.24% 2,694 1,476 125 1,439 5,734
North Okanagan Con Lib 2,322 48.01% 676 13.97% 2,322 868 1,646 4,836
North Vancouver Lib CCF 2,427 35.19% 643 9.32% 1,636 2,427 1,784 [a 4] 132 7 911[a 5] 6,897
Omineca Lib Lib 1,079 52.23% % 1,079 538 355 94 2,066
Peace River New NP 957 37.31% 157 6.12% 749 800 957 59 2,565
Prince Rupert Lib Lib 1,725 64.90% 1,060 39.88% 1,725 665 268 2,658
Rossland-Trail Con Lib 1,729 43.84% 415 10.52% 1,729 901 1,314 3,944
Saanich Con Lib 2,171 37.97% 348 6.09% 2,171 1,216 508 1,823 5,718
Salmon Arm Con NP 1,351 44.82% 463 15.36% 888 603 1,351 172 3,014
Similkameen Con Lib 1,765 43.23% 379 9.28% 1,765 730 1,386 202 4,083
Skeena Lib Lib 902 56.34% 451 28.17% 902 451 248 1,601
South Okanagan Con Lib 1,636 36.66% 191 4.28% 1,636 1,382 1,445 4,463
Yale Lib Lib 1,193 68.64% 881 50.69% 1,193 233 312 1,738
  1. ^ The incumbent Herbert Frederick Kergin received 267 votes.
  2. ^ The incumbent Cyril Francis Davie received 585 votes.
  3. ^ The incumbent John Walter Berry received 447 votes.
  4. ^ Jack Loutet had been elected as a Conservative in a 1930 byelection
  5. ^ John Melvin Bryan Sr., previously elected as a Liberal in 1924, ran as an Independent Liberal and received 846 votes
  = open seat
  = winning candidate was in previous Legislature
  = incumbent had switched allegiance
  = previously incumbent in another riding
  = not incumbent; was previously elected to the Legislature
  = incumbency arose from byelection gain
  = other incumbents renominated
  = Conservative factions
  = multiple candidates
Results by riding - 1933 British Columbia general election (multiple-member districts)[10]
Riding Winning party Votes
Name MLAs 1928 1933 Lib CCF NP Un O-C UF Ind Oth Total
Vancouver-Burrard 2 New
  2
19,139 12,857 5,642 1,733 235 616 40,222
Vancouver Centre 2 New
  2
13,648 10,454 2,741 646 834 28,323
Vancouver East 2 New
  2
14,171 21,991 2,450 404 1,002 418 656 41,092
Vancouver-Point Grey 3 New
  3
31,436 22,330 10,555 6,152 174 902 111 71,660
Victoria City 4
  4
  2
  1
  1
24,420 15,138 2,816 3,119 95 19,225 503 65,316
  = election day deferred

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b Bowser died prior to the election.
  2. ^ Result for the Conservative Party of British Columbia.
  3. ^ a b Compared to the Conservative Party of British Columbia.

References

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  1. ^ Elections BC 1988, p. 173.
  2. ^ Elections BC 1988, p. 180.
  3. ^ BCGNIS listing "Mount Carson"
  4. ^ Constitution Act Amendment Act, 1932, S.B.C. 1932, c. 8
  5. ^ Constitution Act Amendment Act, 1934, S.B.C. 1934, c. 15
  6. ^ 1934 Act, s. 11
  7. ^ Elections BC 1988, p. 181.
  8. ^ a b Elections BC 1988, pp. 159, 173.
  9. ^ a b c Elections BC 1988, p. 2.
  10. ^ a b Elections BC 1988, pp. 161–164, 175–180.

Further reading

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  • An Electoral History of British Columbia, 1871-1986 (PDF). Victoria: Elections British Columbia. 1988. ISBN 0-7718-8677-2.
  • The Canadian Annual Review of Public Affairs, 1933. Toronto: The Annual Review Company. 1934.