1941 British Columbia general election

The 1941 British Columbia general election was the twentieth 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 9, 1941, and held on October 21, 1941.

1941 British Columbia general election

← 1937 October 21, 1941 1945 →

48 seats of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
25 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party Third party
 
CCF
Leader John Hart[a] Harold Winch Royal Lethington Maitland
Party Liberal Co-operative Commonwealth Conservative
Leader since 1928 1938 1938
Leader's seat Victoria City Vancouver East Vancouver-Point Grey
Last election 31 7 8
Seats won 21 14 12
Seat change Decrease10 Increase7 Increase4
Popular vote 149,525 151,440 140,282
Percentage 32.94% 33.36% 30.91%
Swing Decrease4.40pp Increase4.79pp Increase2.31pp

Premier before election

Duff Pattullo
Liberal

Premier after election

John Hart
Coalition

After the election, a Coalition government was formed by the Conservative and Liberal members. Liberal Party leader Thomas Dufferin Pattullo objected, stepped down, and sat as a Liberal, giving the Coalition thirty two seats.

1938 redistribution of ridings

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An Act was passed in 1938 providing for a rearrangement of certain seats in the Assembly, maintaining the total at 48, upon the next election.[1] The following changes were made:

Abolished ridings New ridings
Reorganization of districts
Division of district

Results

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Elections to the 20th Legislative Assembly of British Columbia (1941)[2]
Political party Party leader MLAs Votes
Candidates 1937 1941 ± # ± % ± (pp)
  Coalition
 Liberal John Hart[b] 47 31 20 11  147,844 8,230  32.57 4.77 
 Conservative Royal Maitland 43 8 12 4  140,282 20,761  30.91 2.31 
Coalition total 32 7  288,126 12,531  63.48 2.46 
Co-operative Commonwealth Harold Winch 45 7 14 7  151,440 32,040  33.36 4.79 
Liberal 1 1 1  1,681 1,681  0.37 Not part of Coalition
Labour (all factions) 6 1 1   7,141 5,354  1.57 1.14 
Official Conservative[c] 1 2,161 2,161  0.48 New
Independent 4 1 1  1,638 5,703  0.36 1.40 
Socialist Labour 4 683 683  0.15 New
Independent Farmer 1 388 388  0.09 New
Emancipation 1 265 265  0.06 New
Victory Without Debt 1 209 209  0.05 New
Religious Political Brotherhood 1 105 105  0.02 New
Independent Socialist 1 56 56  0.01 Returned
Total 156 48 48 453,893 100.00%
Rejected ballots[3] 4,797 654 
Actual voters who voted[3] 303,901 38,455  72.73% 1.53 
Registered voters[3] 417,839 45,058 
Seats and popular vote by party[2]
Party Seats Votes Change (pp)
 Coalition
32 / 48
63.48%
-2.46
 
 Co-operative Commonwealth
14 / 48
33.36%
4.79 4.79
 
 Social Constructive
0 / 48
0%
-1.93
 
 Social Credit League
0 / 48
0%
-1.15
 
 Other
2 / 48
3.16%
0.75 0.75
 

MLAs elected

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Synopsis of results

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Results by riding - 1941 British Columbia general election (single-member districts)[4]
Riding Winning party Votes
Name 1937 Party Votes Share Margin
#
Margin
%
Lib Con CCF Ind Oth Total
 
Alberni New Lib 2,067 49.17% 164 3.90% 2,067 1,903 234 4,204
Atlin Lib Lib 454 54.83% 80 9.66% 454 374 828
Burnaby CCF CCF 6,444 49.50% 2,682 20.60% 3,762 2,707 6,444 105 13,018
Cariboo Lib Lib 1,429 50.16% 1,008 35.38% 1,429 421 338 661 2,849
Chilliwack Con Con 2,704 37.78% 60 0.84% 2,644 2,704 1,810 7,158
Columbia Lib Lib 648 42.66% 161 10.60% 648 384 487 1,519
Comox CCF CCF 3,126 45.31% 968 14.03% 2,158 1,615 3,126 6,899
Cowichan-Newcastle CCF CCF 2,757 47.22% 1,018 17.44% 1,739 1,343 2,757 5,839
Cranbrook Lib Con 1,615 35.35% 67 1.46% 1,405 1,615 1,548 4,568
Delta CCF CCF 5,153 42.29% 1,599 13.12% 3,554 3,478 5,153 12,185
Dewdney Con Con 2,995 37.13% 456 5.65% 2,532 2,995 2,539 8,066
Esquimalt Con Con 1,554 40.42% 206 5.36% 1,348 1,554 943 3,845
Fernie ILP ILP 1,719 53.39% 505 15.69% 1,214 287 1,719 3,220
Fort George Lib Lib 1,334 51.15% 406 15.57% 1,334 346 928 2,608
Grand Forks-Greenwood Lib Con 642 39.05% 5 0.30% 637 642 365 1,644
Kamloops Lib Lib 1,933 40.14% 221 4.59% 1,933 1,138 1,712 14 19 4,816
Kaslo-Slocan Lib Lib 941 42.18% 187 8.38% 941 754 536 2,231
Lillooet Lib Con 1,017 38.39% 176 6.64% 791 1,017 841 2,649
Mackenzie Lib CCF 2,909 45.75% 830 13.05% 2,079 1,370 2,909 6,358
Nanaimo and the Islands New Lib 2,175 43.52% 560 11.21% 2,175 1,208 1,615 4,998
Nelson-Creston Lib Lib 2,144 33.46% 4 0.25% 2,144 2,140 2,124 6,408
New Westminster Lib Lib 3,694 41.74% 1,307 14.77% 3,694 1,923 2,387 845 8,849
North Okanagan Lib Lib 2,508 42.52% 188 3.19% 2,508 2,320 1,071 5,899
North Vancouver CCF CCF 4,209 40.37% 1,264 12.13% 2,945[a 1] 1,056[a 2] 4,209 2,217[a 3] 10,427
Oak Bay New Con 2,676 55.88% 1,156 24.14% 1,520 2,676 593 4,789
Omineca Lib Lib 839 49.50% 285 16.82% 839 302 554 1,695
Peace River Lib Lib 1,436 51.16% 453 16.14% 1,436 983 388 2,807
Prince Rupert Lib Lib 1,681 51.82% 118 3.64% 1,681 1,563 3,244
Revelstoke Lib Lib 1,065 49.08% 387 17.84% 1,065 427 678 2,170
Rossland-Trail Lib CCF 3,621 49.40% 1,738 23.71% 1,789 1,883 3,621 37 7,330
Saanich Lib Lib 3,017 36.17% 78 0.93% 3,017 2,939 2,385 8,341
Salmon Arm Ind Con 1,561 60.22% 998 38.50% 468 1,561 563 2,592
Similkameen Lib CCF 2,601 41.16% 636 10.06% 1,965 1,753 2,601 6,319
Skeena Lib Lib 877 61.89% 337 23.78% 877 540 1,417
South Okanagan Lib Con 2,009 37.69% 240 4.50% 1,769 2,009 1,552 5,330
Yale Lib Lib 1,148 65.08% 532 30.16% 1,148 616 1,764
  1. ^ Francis Walker was previously an MLA in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.
  2. ^ Joshua Hinchcliffe had previously been an MLA for Victoria City
  3. ^ A.H. Bayne, the Official Conservative candidate supported by the Conservative Party, received 2,161 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
  = candidate repudiated by party
  = multiple candidates
Results by riding - 1941 British Columbia general election (multiple-member districts)[4]
Riding Winning party Votes
Name MLAs 1937 1941 Lib Con CCF Ind Oth Total
Vancouver-Burrard 2
  2
  2
14,781 16,564 18,998 267 50,610
Vancouver Centre 2
  2
  2
13,723 12,523 14,805 602 41,653
Vancouver East 2
  2
  2
9,495 7,332 23,328 3,936 44,091
Vancouver-Point Grey 3
  2
  1
  3
29,046 42,400 23,448 265 95,159
Victoria City 3
  2
  2
  3
18,771 14,027 9,736 963 43,497

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Took over as party leader and Premier after Duff Pattullo refused to be part of the new Coalition.
  2. ^ Duff Pattullo stepped aside as party leader and Premier, after refusing to participate in the formation of the Coalition. He would remain as a Liberal outside that group as MLA for Prince Rupert. 1941 Liberal numbers are adjusted to reflect the departure.
  3. ^ Joshua Hinchcliffe was nominated by the North Vancouver Conservative Association, but when he disagreed with the party's road policy, he was repudiated by Maitland. A group called the Conservative Active Club nominated A. H. Bayne who received the party's support. Bayne, however, could not run as a Conservative since Hinchcliffe's nomination papers had already been filed.

References

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  1. ^ Constitution Act Amendment Act, 1938, S.B.C. 1938, c. 8
  2. ^ a b Elections BC 1988, pp. 173, 183.
  3. ^ a b c Elections BC 1988, p. 2.
  4. ^ a b Elections BC 1988, pp. 175–180, 185–189.

Sources

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  • Electoral History of British Columbia, 1871–1986 (PDF). Elections BC. 1988. ISBN 0-7718-8677-2.