1953 British Columbia general election

Last updated

1953 British Columbia general election
Flag of British Columbia.svg
←  1952 June 9, 1953 1956  →
48 seats of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
25 seats needed for a majority
 First partySecond party
  WAC Bennett - 1942.jpg
CCF
Leader W. A. C. Bennett Arnold Webster
Party Social Credit Co-operative Commonwealth
Leader since19521953
Leader's seat South Okanagan Vancouver East
Last election1918
Seats won2814
Seat changeIncrease2.svg9Decrease2.svg4
First count274,771224,513
  Percentage37.75%30.85%
  SwingIncrease2.svg10.55pp Increase2.svg0.07pp
Final count300,372194,414
  Percentage45.54%29.48%
 Third partyFourth party
  Canadas-Minister-of-Northern-Affairs-visit-to-Sweden-142352846895 (cropped).jpg
PC
Leader Arthur Laing Deane Finlayson
Party Liberal Progressive Conservative
Leader since19531952
Leader's seat Vancouver-Point Grey Ran in Oak Bay (lost)
Last election64
Seats won41
Seat changeDecrease2.svg2Decrease2.svg3
First count171,67140,780
  Percentage23.59%5.60%
  SwingIncrease2.svg0.13pp Decrease2.svg11.24pp
Final count154,0907,326
  Percentage23.36%1.11%
Premier before election

W. A. C. Bennett
Social Credit

Premier after election

W. A. C. Bennett
Social Credit

The 1953 British Columbia general election was the 24th 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 April 10, 1953, and held on June 9, 1953. The new legislature met for the first time on September 15, 1953.

Contents

The minority government formed in 1952 by the conservative Social Credit party of Premier W.A.C. Bennett lasted only nine months before new elections were called. Social Credit was re-elected with a majority in the legislature to a second term in government with almost 38% of the popular vote.

The social democratic Co-operative Commonwealth Federation formed the official opposition with the only significant opposition caucus (14 seats).

The British Columbia Liberal Party had a net loss of two of its six seats despite maintaining its 23% share of the popular vote. They lost five of the six seats they had won in 1952, but picked up three new seats.

The Progressive Conservative Party lost three of its four seats in the legislature, as its share of the popular vote fell from almost 17% to under 6%.

One seat was won by a Labour candidate.

Results

Elections to the 24th Legislative Assembly of British Columbia (1953) [1]
PartyLeaderCandidatesFirst Preference VotesSeats
Votes± % FPv± 1952 1953±
Social Credit League W. A. C. Bennett 48274,77165,722Increase2.svg37.7510.55Increase2.svg19
28 / 48
9Increase2.svg
Co-operative Commonwealth Arnold Webster 47224,51312,049Decrease2.svg30.850.07Increase2.svg18
14 / 48
4Decrease2.svg
Liberal Arthur Laing 48171,7618,528Decrease2.svg23.590.13Increase2.svg6
4 / 48
2Decrease2.svg
Progressive Conservative Deane Finlayson 3940,78088,659Decrease2.svg5.6011.24Decrease2.svg4
1 / 48
3Decrease2.svg
Labour Tom Uphill 11,601311Increase2.svg0.220.06Increase2.svg1
1 / 48
Steady2.svg
Labor-Progressive 257,4964,982Increase2.svg1.030.70Increase2.svg
Christian Democratic145,0362,140Decrease2.svg0.690.24Decrease2.svg
Independent [a 1] 71,971659Increase2.svg0.270.10Increase2.svg
Total229727,839100.00
Rejected ballots [2] 43,7661,883Decrease2.svg
Actual voters who voted [2] 522,05221,404Decrease2.svg70.55%2.02Increase2.svg
Registered voters [2] 740,00653,067Decrease2.svg
  1. ↑ Includes a People's Party of BC candidate in Delta.

MLAs elected


Synopsis of results

Results by riding - 1953 British Columbia general election (all districts) [1]
RidingFirst preference votesFinal countsWinning party
NameSCCCFLibPCLabLPPCDPIndTotal#SCCCFLibPCLabCDP 1952 1953
 
Alberni 1,6373,1162,022320–139––7,2344th–3,7152,811–––CCFCCF
Atlin 108553275–––––936Elected on 1st countCCFCCF
Burnaby 8,15112,6893,351641–367396–25,5952nd8,16112,9473,364646–401CCFCCF
Cariboo 2,7339921,050509––––5,284Elected on 1st countSCSC
Chilliwack 8,7762,4562,631589––––14,452Elected on 1st countSCSC
Columbia 924 [a 1] 48167680––––2,1613rd1,038–787–––SCSC
Comox 4,4205,4622,944378–357––13,5614th5,7626,717––––CCFCCF
Cowichan-Newcastle 2,6864,5172,330510–168–11810,3295th3,8785,345––––CCFCCF
Cranbrook 2,2192,9551,615–––––6,7892nd2,7563,460––––CCFCCF
Delta 13,07911,0955,500591–3903152030,9906th15,41713,108––––SCSC
Dewdney 7,3077,0033,715559–25072–18,9065th9,0668,310––––SCSC
Esquimalt 3,2643,0891,998480––––8,8313rd4,1473,848––––CCFSC
Fernie 702–1,229–1,601–––3,5322nd––1,402–1,793–LabLab
Fort George 3,1601,6771,802–––––6,639Elected on 1st countSCSC
Grand Forks-Greenwood 583995324177––––2,0792nd6181,016393–––CCFCCF
Kamloops 4,0371,3682,272427–80––8,1843rd4,1711,4342,503–––SCSC
Kaslo-Slocan 8671,481792–––––3,1402nd1,1651,692––––CCFCCF
Lillooet 1,0651,3721,103452––––3,9923rd–1,6941,830–––PCLib
Mackenzie 2,6874,4683,397230––––10,7823rd–5,1914,497–––CCFCCF
Nanaimo and the Islands 2,6263,6311,3752,046–115–329,8255th–4,358–4,376––PCPC
Nelson-Creston 3,4502,6361,803772–99––8,7604th4,1993,404––––SCSC
New Westminster 3,7874,9034,309––15789–13,2454th–5,9705,658–––CCFCCF
North Okanagan 4,3981,7492,071700–90––9,0083rd4,5781,8682,407–––SCSC
North Vancouver 7,7285,8206,3771,338–217182–21,6625th9,291–9,134–––LibSC
Oak Bay 3,2805083,1821,220––––8,1903rd3,681–4,110–––LibLib
Omineca 1,3909521,145172––––3,6593rd1,612–1,379–––SCSC
Peace River 2,4811,9211,378–––––5,7802nd3,0222,216––––SCSC
Prince Rupert 1,7312,0741,864–––––5,6692nd–2,5782,611–––CCFLib
Revelstoke 6391,009551––––5222,7213rd–1,2841,012–––CCFCCF
Rossland-Trail 4,1823,4702,899621––––11,1723rd5,7784,549––––SCSC
Saanich 6,6815,0374,256990––––16,9643rd8,8766,466––––CCFSC
Salmon Arm 1,6271,341623600–101––4,2924th2,0131,806––––SCSC
Similkameen 4,4653,4192,109323––––10,3163rd5,4184,105––––SCSC
Skeena 1,3721,7681,413220––––4,7733rd–2,1102,097–––LibCCF
South Okanagan 6,7562,4271,961403––––11,547Elected on 1st countSCSC
Yale 1,177835834107––––2,9533rd1,354–1,137–––SCSC
Vancouver-Burrard (A)11,5279,2165,9361,259–360658–28,9565th14,92411,360––––SCSC
Vancouver-Burrard (B)11,2739,3235,8581,276–367643–28,7405th14,67411,446––––SCSC
Vancouver Centre (A)7,0666,2384,079971–572505–19,4315th9,0167,757––––CCFSC
Vancouver Centre (B)6,7826,2833,9851,007–580480–19,1175th8,6797,707––––CCFSC
Vancouver East (A)13,22519,4755,272747–842743–40,3044th13,87219,9425,796–––CCFCCF
Vancouver East (B)12,91020,5834,727803–816351–40,190Elected on 1st countCCFCCF
Vancouver-Point Grey (A)19,76810,05814,6124,533–34819419349,7065th22,503–20,567–––PCSC
Vancouver-Point Grey (B)20,2059,55612,0227,373–3372126449,7696th24,144–18,928–––PCSC
Vancouver-Point Grey (C)19,0619,44117,4123,607–338196–50,0555th21,354–22,730–––SCLib
Victoria City (A)8,6164,8816,9151,227–126–1,02222,7875th9,999–8,869–––LibSC
Victoria City (B)9,131 [a 2] 5,2676,4841,383–153––22,4184th10,330–8,344–––LibSC
Victoria City (C)9,0324,9237,1931,139–127––22,4144th10,084–8,907–––LibSC
  1. ↑ Richard Orr Newton had resigned in order to provide a seat for Robert Bonner. Bonner stood for election in Vancouver-Point Grey in 1953, while Newton sought reelection in his old seat.
  2. ↑ William Chant was previously a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.


  = open seat
  = 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
  = previously an MP in the House of Commons of Canada
  = multiple candidates

Analysis

Parties ranked by preference [3]
First preferenceFinal count
Parties1st2nd3rd4th5th1st2nd3rd4th5th
█  Social Credit 30108––28101––
█  Co-operative Commonwealth 1715141–14175––
█  Liberal –23241–4215––
█  Progressive Conservative ––23521––41
█  Labour 1––––1––––
█  Labor-Progressive –––318–––1–
█ Christian Democratic––––4––––1
█  Independent –––11–––––
Party candidates in 2nd place (first preference) [3]
Party in 1st placeParty in 2nd placeTotal
SocredCCFLiberal
Social Credit –151530
Co-operative Commonwealth 10–717
Labour ––11
Total10152348
Party candidates in 2nd place (final count) [3]
Party in 1st placeParty in 2nd placeTotal
SocredCCFLiberal
Social Credit –141428
Co-operative Commonwealth 8–614
Liberal 22–4
Progressive Conservative –1–1
Labour ––11
Total1017211

See also

Further reading

  1. 1 2 Elections BC 1988, pp. 221–240, 243–262.
  2. 1 2 3 Elections BC 1988, p. 2.
  3. 1 2 3 Elections BC 1988, pp. 243–262.

Related Research Articles

BC United (BCU), known from 1903 until 2023 as the British Columbia Liberal Party or BC Liberals, is a provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada. The party has been described as conservative, neoliberal, and occupying a centre-right position on the left–right political spectrum. The party commonly describes itself as a "free enterprise coalition" and draws support from members of both the federal Liberal and Conservative parties. From the 1990s to 2024, BC United was the main centre-right opposition to the centre-left New Democratic Party (NDP). Once affiliated with the Liberal Party of Canada, the British Columbia Liberal Party became independent in 1987. The party changed its name to BC United on April 12, 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Columbia Social Credit Party</span> Political party in British Columbia, Canada

The British Columbia Social Credit Party was a conservative political party in British Columbia, Canada. It was the governing party of British Columbia for all but three years between the 1952 provincial election and the 1991 election. For four decades, the party dominated the British Columbian political scene, with the only break occurring between the 1972 and 1975 elections when the British Columbia New Democratic Party governed. Party members were known as Socreds.

The 1966 British Columbia general election was the 28th 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 August 5, 1966 and held on September 12, 1966. The new legislature met for the first time on January 24, 1967.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1963 British Columbia general election</span> Canadian provincial election

The 1963 British Columbia general election was the 27th 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 August 22, 1963, and held on September 30, 1963. The new legislature met for the first time on January 23, 1964.

The 1960 British Columbia general election was the 26th 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 August 3, 1960, and held on September 12, 1960. The new legislature met for the first time on January 26, 1961.

The 1956 British Columbia general election was the 25th 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 August 13, 1956, and held on September 19, 1956. The new legislature met for the first time on February 7, 1957.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1952 British Columbia general election</span> Canadian provincial election

The 1952 British Columbia general election was the 23rd general election in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, alongside a plebiscite on daylight saving time and liquor. The election was called on April 10, 1952, and held on June 12, 1952. The new legislature met for the first time on February 3, 1953.

The 1949 British Columbia general election was the 22nd 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 April 16, 1949, and held on June 15, 1949. The new legislature met for the first time on February 14, 1950.

The 1945 British Columbia general election was the 21st 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 August 31, 1945, and held on October 25, 1945. The new legislature met for the first time on February 21, 1946.

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.

The 1937 British Columbia general election was the nineteenth 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 April 14, 1937, and held on June 1, 1937. The new legislature met for the first time on October 26, 1937.

The 1933 British Columbia general election was the eighteenth 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 13, 1933, and held on November 2, 1933. The new legislature met for the first time on February 20, 1934.

The 1928 British Columbia general election was the seventeenth 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 June 7, 1928, and held on July 18, 1928. The new legislature met for the first time on January 22, 1929.

The 1924 British Columbia general election was the sixteenth general election in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. The election was called on May 10, 1924, and held on June 20, 1924. The new legislature met for the first time on November 3, 1924.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1920 British Columbia general election</span> Canadian provincial election

The 1920 British Columbia general election was the fifteenth 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 23, 1920, and held on December 1, 1920. The new legislature met for the first time on February 8, 1921.

The 1916 British Columbia general election was the fourteenth 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 July 5, 1916, and held on September 14, 1916. The new legislature met for the first time on March 1, 1917.

The 1912 British Columbia general election was the thirteenth 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 February 27, 1912, and held on March 28, 1912. The new legislature met for the first time on January 16, 1913.

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.

The 1907 British Columbia general election was the eleventh general election for the Province of British Columbia, Canada. It was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. The election called on December 24, 1906, and held on February 2, 1907. The new legislature met for the first time on March 7, 1907.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 British Columbia general election</span> Canadian provincial election

The 2009 British Columbia general election was held on May 12, 2009, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The British Columbia Liberal Party formed the government of the province prior to this general election under the leadership of Premier Gordon Campbell. The British Columbia New Democratic Party under the leadership of Carole James was the Official Opposition.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.