1909 British Columbia general election

1909 British Columbia general election
← outgoing members elected members →
42 seats to the 12th Legislative Assembly of British Columbia ; 22 seats were needed for a majority
Premier before election; Richard McBride ; Conservative	Premier after election; Richard McBride ; Conservative

Last updated November 04, 2024

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.

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

^[4]

Elections to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia (1909)
Political party		Party leader	MLAs				Votes
Political party		Party leader	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

The following MLAs were elected:^[5]

Alberni: Harlan Carey Brewster

Atlin: Henry Esson Young

Cariboo: Michael Callanan

Cariboo: John Anderson Fraser

Chilliwhack: Samuel Arthur Cawley

Columbia: Henry George Parson

Comox: Michael Manson

Cowichan: William Henry Hayward

Cranbrook: Thomas Donald Caven

Delta: Francis James Anderson MacKenzie

Dewdney: William J. Manson

Esquimalt: John Jardine

Fernie: William Roderick Ross

Grand Forks: Ernest Miller

Greenwood: John Robert Jackson

The Islands: Albert Edward McPhillips

Kamloops: James Pearson Shaw

Kaslo: Neil Franklin MacKay

Lillooet: Archibald McDonald

Nanaimo City: James Hurst Hawthornthwaite

Nelson City: Harry Wright

Newcastle: Parker Williams

New Westminster City: Thomas Gifford

Okanagan: Price Ellison

Revelstoke: Thomas Taylor

Richmond: Francis Lovett Carter-Cotton

Rossland City: William Robert Braden

Saanich: David McEwen Eberts

Similkameen: Lytton Wilmot Shatford

Skeena: William Manson

Slocan: William Hunter

Vancouver City: Charles William John Bowser

Vancouver City: Alexander Henry Boswell MacGowan

Vancouver City: George Albert McGuire

Vancouver City: Charles Edward Tisdall

Vancouver City: Henry Holgate Watson

Victoria City: Henry Frederick William Behnsen

Victoria City: Frederick Davey

Victoria City: Richard McBride

Victoria City: Henry Broughton Thomson

Yale: Richard McBride ^{[lower-alpha 1]}

Ymir: James Hargrave Schofield

Synopsis of results

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
Name	1907		Party		Votes	Share	Margin #	Margin %						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
Party		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			–			–

Notes

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

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References

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

v t e Elections and referendums in British Columbia
General elections	1856 1860 1863 1866 1869 1871 1875 1878 1882 1886 1890 1894 1898 1900 1903 1907 1909 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1933 1937 1941 1945 1949 1952 1953 1956 1960 1963 1966 1969 1972 1975 1979 1983 1986 1991 1996 2001 2005 2009 2013 2017 2020 2024
Municipal elections	2005 2008 2011 2014 2018 2022
Referendums	1873 1909 1916 1920 1924 1937 1952 1972 1991 2002 2005 2009 2011 2018
See also: List of British Columbia by-elections