1909 British Columbia general election

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1909 British Columbia general election
Flag of British Columbia.svg
  1907 November 25, 1909 1912  

42 seats to the 12th Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
22 seats were needed for a majority
 First partySecond partyThird party
  Richard McBride (cropped).jpg JohnOliver.jpg
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 election26 seats, 48.70%13 seats, 37.15%3 seats, 8.87%
Seats won3822
Seat changeIncrease2.svg 12Decrease2.svg 11Decrease2.svg 1
Popular vote53,07433,67511,665
Percentage52.33%33.21%11.50%
SwingIncrease2.svg 3.63ppDecrease2.svg 3.94ppIncrease2.svg 2.63pp

Premier before election

Richard McBride
Conservative

Premier after election

Richard McBride
Conservative

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.

Contents

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

[4]

Elections to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia (1909)
Political partyParty leaderMLAsVotes
Candidates 1907 1909±#±%± (pp)
Conservative Richard McBride 42263812Increase2.svg53,07422,293Increase2.svg52.33%3.63Increase2.svg
Liberal John Oliver 3613211Decrease2.svg33,67510,194Increase2.svg33.21%3.94Decrease2.svg
Socialist 20321Decrease2.svg11,6656,062Increase2.svg11.50%2.63Increase2.svg
Independent 32,6252,478Increase2.svg2.59%2.36Increase2.svg
  Canadian Labour 11652,330Decrease2.svg0.16%3.79Decrease2.svg
Independent Conservative1154154Increase2.svg0.15%New
Independent Labour 157430Decrease2.svg0.06%0.71Decrease2.svg
Total1044242101,415100.00%
    Seats and popular vote by party [4]
    PartySeatsVotesChange (pp)
      Conservative
    38 / 42
    52.33%
    3.633.63
     
      Liberal
    2 / 42
    33.21%
    -3.94
     
      Socialist
    2 / 42
    11.50%
    2.632.63
     
      Labour
    0 / 42
    0.16%
    -3.79
     
     Other
    0 / 42
    2.80%
    1.471.47
     

    Results by riding

    The following MLAs were elected: [5]


    Synopsis of results

    Results by riding - 1909 British Columbia general election (single-member districts) [6]
    RidingWinning partyVotes
    Name 1907 PartyVotesShareMargin
    #
    Margin
    %
    ConLibSocIndOthTotal
     
    Alberni LibLib29353.37%376.74%256293549
    Atlin ConCon10762.21%4224.42%10765172
    Chilliwhack LibCon60454.07%918.14%6045131,117
    Columbia ConCon26251.68%173.36%262245507
    Comox ConCon45145.88%24524.92%451172206154983
    Cowichan ConCon36567.59%19035.18%365175540
    Cranbrook LibCon76154.16%26018.50%7615011431,405
    Delta LibCon76558.13%21416.26%7655511,316
    Dewdney ConCon62567.42%32334.84%625302927
    Esquimalt LibLib43654.64%749.28%362436798
    Fernie ConCon79543.00%1467.90%7954056491,849
    Grand Forks SocCon51651.60%18218.20%5161503341,000
    Greenwood LibCon26042.07%569.06%260154204618
    The Islands ConCon27056.60%6313.20%270207477
    Kamloops ConCon87264.40%39028.80%8724821,354
    Kaslo ConCon29368.62%15937.24%293134427
    Lillooet LibCon16758.80%5017.60%167117284
    Nanaimo City SocSoc78662.88%32225.76%4647861,250
    Nelson City LibCon56554.54%24223.36%5653231481,036
    Newcastle SocSoc37952.64%10514.58%27437967720
    New Westminster City ConCon88152.98%26425.88%8816171651,663
    Okanagan ConCon1,53862.34%79732.30%1,5387411882,467
    Revelstoke ConCon75862.18%41834.29%7581213401,219
    Richmond ConCon91857.92%25115.84%9186671,585
    Rossland City LibCon23738.60%203.26%237217160614
    Saanich ConCon41257.62%10915.24%412303715
    Similkameen ConCon44068.22%23536.44%440205645
    Skeena LibCon82260.35%44532.67%8223771631,362
    Slocan ConCon30957.43% %30917257538
    Yale LibCon45563.19%19026.38%455265720
    Ymir ConCon69965.63%33331.26%6993661,065
        = 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
      VotesShareChangeVotesShareChangeVotesShareChange
      Conservative 54063.01%19.13%25,71050.10%-1.28%10,32153.42%5.88%
      Liberal 31736.99%-19.13%18,61936.28%-0.03%6,12231.69%-3.97%
      Socialist 6,98713.62%3.57%6593.41%-0.12%
      Independent 2,21811.48%11.48%
        Canadian Labour -2.26%-13.28%
      Total857100.00%51,316100.00%19,320100.00%
      Seats won
        2
        5
        4
      Incumbents returned34
      Seat change
        2Decrease2.svg

      See also

      Notes

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

      References

      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. 1 2 Elections BC 1988, pp. 99, 109.
      5. Elections BC 1988, pp. 111–113.
      6. 1 2 Elections BC 1988, pp. 101–103, 111–113.


      Further reading