1903 British Columbia general election

1903 British Columbia general election

←  1900 October 3, 1903 (1903-10-03) 1907  →
←  outgoing members elected members  →
42 seats in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia 22 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader Richard McBride Joseph Martin (de facto only) [a] Party Conservative Liberal Leader since June 1, 1903 October 3, 1903 Leader's seat Dewdney Vancouver City (lost seat) Seats won 22 17 Popular vote 27,913 22,715 Percentage 46.43% 37.78%   Third party Fourth party   Leader unknown vacant Party Socialist Labour Leader since unknown vacant Seats won 2 1 Popular vote 4,787 4,421 Percentage 7.96% 7.36%
Premier before election Richard McBride Conservative Premier after election Richard McBride Conservative

The 1903 British Columbia general election was the tenth general election for the Canadian province of British Columbia. It was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia (MLAs). The election was called on September 5, 1903, and held on October 3, 1903. The new legislature met for the first time on November 26, 1903.

This was the first election in British Columbia that was fought by political parties. ^[2] Prior to this election, British Columbia politics were non-partisan.

The first election was dominated by the BC Conservative and Liberal parties, which were affiliated with existing parties at the federal level. ^[b]

The Conservative Party won over 46% of the popular vote and a slim majority of the seats in the legislature.

An act was passed in 1902 to provide for an Assembly of 42 members, ^[3] of which 31 were elected in single-member districts. ^[4] Of the multi-member districts, Cariboo returned two MLAs, Victoria City four, and Vancouver City five. ^[3] Each voter could cast as many votes as there were seats to fill in the multi-member districts.

Results

^[5]

Elections to the Legislative Assembly (1903)

Political party		Party leader	MLAs		Votes
			Candidates [c]	1903	#	%
	Conservative	Richard McBride	41	22	27,913	46.43%
	Liberal [d] [a]	Joseph Martin	39	17	22,715	37.78%
	Socialist		10	2	4,787	7.96%
	Labour [e]		5	1	4,421	7.36%
	Socialist Labor		1	–	284	0.47%
Total			95	42	60,120	100.00%
Acclamations [6]			█  Conservative	1
			█  Liberal	1

Seats and popular vote by party

Party	Seats	Votes
█  Conservative	22 / 42	46.43%
█  Liberal	17 / 42	37.78%
█  Socialist	2 / 42	7.96%
█  Labour	1 / 42	7.36%
█  Socialist Labor	0 / 42	0.47%

Results by riding

The following MLAs were elected: ^[7]

Alberni: William Wallace Burns McInnes    Atlin: Henry Esson Young    Cariboo: Harry Jones    Cariboo: James Murphy    Chilliwhack: Charles William Munro    Columbia: Wilmer Cleveland Wells    Comox: Robert Grant    Cowichan: John Newell Evans    Cranbrook: James Horace King    Delta: John Oliver    Dewdney: Richard McBride    Esquimalt: Charles Edward Pooley    Fernie: William Roderick Ross    Grand Forks: George Arthur Fraser

Greenwood: John Robert Brown    The Islands: Thomas Wilson Paterson    Kamloops: Frederick John Fulton    Kaslo: Robert Francis Green    Lillooet: Archibald McDonald [f]    Nanaimo City: James Hurst Hawthornthwaite    Nelson City: John Houston    Newcastle: Parker Williams    New Westminster City: Thomas Gifford    Okanagan: Price Ellison    Revelstoke: Thomas Taylor    Richmond: Francis Lovett Carter-Cotton    Rossland City: James Alexander MacDonald    Saanich: Henry Ernest Tanner

Similkameen: Lytton Wilmot Shatford    Skeena: Charles William Digby Clifford    Slocan: William Davidson    Vancouver City: Charles William John Bowser    Vancouver City: James Ford Garden    Vancouver City: Alexander Henry Boswell MacGowan    Vancouver City: Robert Garnett Tatlow    Vancouver City: Charles Wilson    Victoria City: William George Cameron    Victoria City: Robert Low Drury    Victoria City: Richard Hall    Victoria City: James Dugald McNiven (L-L)    Yale: Stuart Alexander Henderson    Ymir: Harry Wright

See also

• List of political parties in Canada § British Columbia

Notes

1. Martin resigned leadership on June 3, 1903. Party opted to not call a leadership convention in anticipation of imminent election call, leaving leadership question for the post election caucus to decide. ^[1]
2. See Conservative Party of Canada and Liberal Party of Canada.
3. First election with candidates nominated by organized political parties
4. Three candidates campaigned under the Liberal–Labour banner
5. Organized only at the riding level
6. Election declared void at the end of the first session of the new Legislature. ^[8] McDonald would win the subsequent byelection.

References

1. "A LIBERAL PLATFOM: ARTY IN BRITISH COLUMBIA PREPARES FOR FIGHT The Question of Leadership Has Been Left in Abeyance Until After the Election". The Globe. August 22, 1903. p. 16.
2. Hopkins 1904, p. 215.
3. Redistribution Act, 1902 , S.B.C. 1902, c. 58
4. Elections BC 1988, p. 535.
5. Elections BC 1988, p. 91.
6. Elections BC 1988, pp. 93–94.
7. Elections BC 1988, pp. 93–96.
8. An Act to qualify Archibald McDonald to represent the Lillooet Electoral District in the present Session of the Legislative Assembly , S.B.C. 1903-4, c. 32

Further reading

• In the Sea of Sterile Mountains: The Chinese in British Columbia , Joseph Morton, J.J. Douglas, Vancouver (1974).
• Hopkins, J. Castell (1904). The Canadian Annual Review of Public Affairs, 1903. Toronto: The Annual Review Publishing Company.
• Electoral History of British Columbia, 1871–1986 (PDF). Elections BC. 1988. ISBN   0-7718-8677-2.