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1909 British Columbia general election

The 1909 British Columbia general election was the twelfth general election for the Province of British Columbia, Canada. It was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. The election was called on October 20, 1909, and held on November 25, 1909. The new legislature met for the first time on January 20, 1910.

1909 British Columbia general election
← 1907 November 25, 1909 1912 →
42 seats to the 12th Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
22 seats were needed for a majority
  First party Second party Third party
 
SPC
Leader Sir Richard McBride John Oliver No leader
Party Conservative Liberal Socialist
Leader's seat Victoria City
Yale 		Ran in Delta (lost)
Victoria City (lost)
Last election 26 seats, 48.70% 13 seats, 37.15% 3 seats, 8.87%
Seats won 38 2 2
Seat change Increase 12 Decrease 11 Decrease 1
Popular vote 53,074 33,675 11,665
Percentage 52.33% 33.21% 11.50%
Swing Increase 3.63pp Decrease 3.94pp Increase 2.63pp
Premier before election

Richard McBride
Conservative

Premier after election

Richard McBride
Conservative

The governing Conservative Party won its third consecutive term in government with over half of the popular vote and all but four of the 42 seats in the legislature, effectively a rout for the popular incumbent Premier, Sir Richard McBride.

Ten days after the dissolution of the Legislature, James Alexander MacDonald announced his retirement from the leadership of the Liberal Party to become Chief Justice of the British Columbia Supreme Court, and John Oliver was selected to take his place.[1] Despite winning almost one-third of the popular vote, the Liberals won only two seats, the same number won by the Socialist Party with only 11.5% of the vote.

The first-past-the-post allocation of seats, combined with the multi-member constituencies in effect at the time, ensured that the Conservatives won with a lead of 34 seats, instead of only a lead of two seats that its proportion of the popular vote should have granted it.[2]

Two candidates campaigned in multiple ridings. McBride won in both Yale and Victoria City, while Oliver was defeated in Delta and Victoria City.[3]

Results

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Elections to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia (1909)[4]
Political party Party leader MLAs Votes
Candidates 1907 1909 ± # ± % ± (pp)
Conservative Richard McBride 42 26 38 12  53,074 22,293  52.33% 3.63 
Liberal John Oliver 36 13 2 11  33,675 10,194  33.21% 3.94 
Socialist 20 3 2 1  11,665 6,062  11.50% 2.63 
Independent 3 – – – 2,625 2,478  2.59% 2.36 
  Canadian Labour 1 – – – 165 2,330  0.16% 3.79 
Independent Conservative 1 – – – 154 154  0.15% New
Independent Labour 1 – – – 57 430  0.06% 0.71 
Total 104 42 42 101,415 100.00%
Seats and popular vote by party[4]
Party Seats Votes Change (pp)
█ Conservative
38 / 42
52.33%
 3.63 3.63
 
█ Liberal
2 / 42
33.21%
 -3.94
 
█ Socialist
2 / 42
11.50%
 2.63 2.63
 
█ Labour
0 / 42
0.16%
 -3.79
 
█ Other
0 / 42
2.80%
 1.47 1.47
 

Results by riding

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The following MLAs were elected:[5]


Synopsis of results

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Results by riding - 1909 British Columbia general election (single-member districts)[6]
Riding Winning party Votes
Name 1907 Party Votes Share Margin
# 		Margin
% 		Con Lib Soc Ind Oth Total
 
Alberni Lib Lib 293 53.37% 37 6.74% 256 293 – – – 549
Atlin Con Con 107 62.21% 42 24.42% 107 65 – – – 172
Chilliwhack Lib Con 604 54.07% 91 8.14% 604 513 – – – 1,117
Columbia Con Con 262 51.68% 17 3.36% 262 245 – – – 507
Comox Con Con 451 45.88% 245 24.92% 451 172 206 – 154 983
Cowichan Con Con 365 67.59% 190 35.18% 365 175 – – – 540
Cranbrook Lib Con 761 54.16% 260 18.50% 761 501 143 – – 1,405
Delta Lib Con 765 58.13% 214 16.26% 765 551 – – – 1,316
Dewdney Con Con 625 67.42% 323 34.84% 625 302 – – – 927
Esquimalt Lib Lib 436 54.64% 74 9.28% 362 436 – – – 798
Fernie Con Con 795 43.00% 146 7.90% 795 405 649 – – 1,849
Grand Forks Soc Con 516 51.60% 182 18.20% 516 150 334 – – 1,000
Greenwood Lib Con 260 42.07% 56 9.06% 260 154 204 – – 618
The Islands Con Con 270 56.60% 63 13.20% 270 207 – – – 477
Kamloops Con Con 872 64.40% 390 28.80% 872 482 – – – 1,354
Kaslo Con Con 293 68.62% 159 37.24% 293 134 – – – 427
Lillooet Lib Con 167 58.80% 50 17.60% 167 117 – – – 284
Nanaimo City Soc Soc 786 62.88% 322 25.76% 464 – 786 – – 1,250
Nelson City Lib Con 565 54.54% 242 23.36% 565 323 148 – – 1,036
Newcastle Soc Soc 379 52.64% 105 14.58% 274 – 379 67 – 720
New Westminster City Con Con 881 52.98% 264 25.88% 881 617 – – 165 1,663
Okanagan Con Con 1,538 62.34% 797 32.30% 1,538 741 188 – – 2,467
Revelstoke Con Con 758 62.18% 418 34.29% 758 – 121 340 – 1,219
Richmond Con Con 918 57.92% 251 15.84% 918 667 – – – 1,585
Rossland City Lib Con 237 38.60% 20 3.26% 237 217 160 – – 614
Saanich Con Con 412 57.62% 109 15.24% 412 303 – – – 715
Similkameen Con Con 440 68.22% 235 36.44% 440 205 – – – 645
Skeena Lib Con 822 60.35% 445 32.67% 822 377 163 – – 1,362
Slocan Con Con 309 57.43% % 309 – 172 – 57 538
Yale Lib Con 455 63.19% 190 26.38% 455 265 – – – 720
Ymir Con Con 699 65.63% 333 31.26% 699 – 366 – – 1,065
  = open seat
  = turnout is above provincial average
  = winning candidate was in previous Legislature
  = incumbent had switched allegiance
  = not incumbent; was previously elected to the Legislature
  = incumbency arose from byelection gain
  = other incumbents renominated
  = endorsed by the Liberals
  = multiple candidates
Results by riding - 1909 British Columbia general election (multiple-member districts)[6]
Party Cariboo Vancouver City Victoria City
Votes Share Change Votes Share Change Votes Share Change
Conservative 540 63.01% 19.13% 25,710 50.10% -1.28% 10,321 53.42% 5.88%
Liberal 317 36.99% -19.13% 18,619 36.28% -0.03% 6,122 31.69% -3.97%
Socialist – – – 6,987 13.62% 3.57% 659 3.41% -0.12%
Independent – – – – – – 2,218 11.48% 11.48%
  Canadian Labour – – – – – -2.26% – – -13.28%
Total 857 100.00% 51,316 100.00% 19,320 100.00%
Seats won
  2
  5
  4
Incumbents returned – 3 4
Seat change
  2 
 – –

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ McBride also won a seat in Victoria. He renounced Yale, and Alexander Lucas (Con) would win in the subsequent byelection.

References

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  1. ^ Hopkins 1910, p. 590.
  2. ^ Hooper, R.H. (September 29, 1915). "Proportional Representation". Grain Growers Guide. Winnipeg. p. 7.
  3. ^ Hopkins 1910, p. 593.
  4. ^ a b Elections BC 1988, pp. 99, 109.
  5. ^ Elections BC 1988, pp. 111–113.
  6. ^ a b Elections BC 1988, pp. 101–103, 111–113.


Further reading

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