British Columbia general election, 1960

Last updated
British Columbia general election, 1960
Flag of British Columbia.svg
  1956 September 12, 1960 1963  

52 seats of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
27 seats were needed for a majority
 First partySecond party
 
Leader W. A. C. Bennett Robert Strachan
Party Social Credit Co-operative Commonwealth
Leader since19521956
Leader's seat South Okanagan Cowichan-Newcastle
Last election3910
Seats won3216
Seat changeDecrease2.svg7Increase2.svg6
Popular vote386,886326,094
Percentage38.8332.73
SwingDecrease2.svg7.01Increase2.svg4.41

 Third partyFourth party
 
Leader Ray Perrault Deane Finlayson
Party Liberal Progressive Conservative
Leader since19591952
Leader's seat North Vancouver Ran in North Vancouver (lost)
Last election20
Seats won40
Seat changeIncrease2.svg2Steady2.svg0
Popular vote208,24966,943
Percentage20.906.72
SwingDecrease2.svg0.87Increase2.svg3.61

Premier before election

W. A. C. Bennett
Social Credit

Premier-designate

W. A. C. Bennett
Social Credit

The British Columbia general election of 1960 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.

British Columbia Province of Canada

British Columbia is the westernmost province of Canada, located between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. With an estimated population of 5.016 million as of 2018, it is Canada's third-most populous province.

Canada Country in North America

Canada is a country in the northern part of North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering 9.98 million square kilometres, making it the world's second-largest country by total area. Canada's southern border with the United States is the world's longest bi-national land border. Its capital is Ottawa, and its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. As a whole, Canada is sparsely populated, the majority of its land area being dominated by forest and tundra. Consequently, its population is highly urbanized, with over 80 percent of its inhabitants concentrated in large and medium-sized cities, many near the southern border. Canada's climate varies widely across its vast area, ranging from arctic weather in the north, to hot summers in the southern regions, with four distinct seasons.

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia single house of the Parliament of British Columbia

The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is one of two components of the Parliament of British Columbia, while the other is Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, represented by the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia.

Contents

The conservative Social Credit of Premier W.A.C. Bennett was re-elected with a majority in the legislature to a fourth term in government despite losing seven percentage points of the popular vote and seven of its seats in the legislature.

British Columbia Social Credit Party political party

The British Columbia Social Credit Party, whose members are known as Socreds, was the governing political party of British Columbia, Canada, 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 New Democratic Party of British Columbia was in power.

A majority government refers to one or multiple governing parties that hold an absolute majority of seats in legislature. This is as opposed to a minority government, where the largest party in a legislature only has a plurality of seats.

The opposition Co-operative Commonwealth Federation increased both its share of the popular vote and its number of seats.

The British Columbia Liberal Party lost a small part of its popular vote, but managed to double its caucus from two to four members.

The British Columbia Liberal Party is a centre-right provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada. The base of the BC Liberal Party is made up of supporters of both the federal Liberal Party and Conservative Party, and its policies are a mixture of Liberal and Conservative. The party forms the Official Opposition. Andrew Wilkinson became leader of the party on February 3, 2018, after winning the Leadership Election on the fifth ballot, making him the Leader of the Official Opposition of British Columbia.

The Progressive Conservative Party doubled its share of the popular vote to almost 7%, but won no seats in the legislature.

The British Columbia Conservative Party, formerly the British Columbia Progressive Conservative Party, is a provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada. From the early 1900s until the 1950s, the Conservatives were, along with the British Columbia Liberal Party, one of the two major parties in the province. Since the 1950s, the party has gradually declined in prominence, last winning a seat in a 1978 by-election. The Conservatives enjoyed a brief resurgence after Liberal MLA John van Dongen joined the party in 2012, and won nearly 5% of the vote in the 2013 provincial election. The party plays a minor role in provincial politics today.

Results

32164
Social CreditCCFLiberal
PartyParty leader# of
candidates
SeatsPopular vote
1956 Elected% Change#%% Change
Social Credit W.A.C. Bennett 523932-17.9%386,88638.83%-7.01%
  CCF Bob Strachan 521016+60.0%326,09432.73%+4.41%
Liberal Ray Perrault 5024+100%208,24920.90%-0.87%
  Progressive Conservative Deane Finlayson 52---66,9436.72%+3.61%
Communist  19---5,6750.57%+0.16%
 Independent5---2,5570.25%-0.12%
Total2305252-996,404100% 
Sources: Elections BC

Note:

* Party did not nominate candidates in the previous election.

Results by riding

Results of British Columbia general election, 1960
GovernmentOpposition
MemberRiding
& party
Riding
& party
Member
     William Collins Speare
Cariboo
Social Credit
         Alberni
CCF
Stanley John Squire
    
     William Kenneth Kiernan
Chilliwack
Social Credit
         Atlin
CCF
Frank Arthur Calder     
     Richard Orr Newton
Columbia
Social Credit
         Burnaby
CCF
Cedric Cox     
     Daniel Robert John Campbell Comox
Social Credit
         Gordon Dowding     
     Herbert Joseph Bruch Esquimalt
Social Credit
         Cowichan-Newcastle
CCF
Robert Martin Strachan 2    
     Ray Gillis Williston Fort George
Social Credit
         Cranbrook
CCF
Leo Thomas Nimsick     
     Philip Arthur Gaglardi
Kamloops
Social Credit
         Delta
CCF
Camille Mather
    
     Donald Frederick Robinson Lillooet
Social Credit
         James Henry Rhodes     
     Earle Cathers Westwood Nanaimo and the Islands
Social Credit
         Dewdney
CCF
Dave Barrett     
     Wesley Drewett Black Nelson-Creston
Social Credit
         Grand Forks-Greenwood
CCF
Lois Haggen     
     Lorne Shantz North Okanagan
Social Credit
         Kaslo-Slocan
CCF
Randolph Harding     
     Jacob Francis Huhn North Peace River
Social Credit
         Mackenzie
CCF
Anthony John Gargrave     
     Cyril Morley Shelford Omineca
Social Credit
         New Westminster
CCF
Rae Eddie     
     William Harvey Murray Prince Rupert
Social Credit
         Revelstoke
CCF
George Hobbs     
     Donald Leslie Brothers Rossland-Trail
Social Credit
         Vancouver East
CCF
Alexander Barrett MacDonald     
     John Douglas Tidball Tisdalle Saanich
Social Credit
         Arthur James Turner     
     Willis Franklin Jefcoat Salmon Arm
Social Credit
         Fernie
Liberal
Henry Cartmell (Harry) McKay     
     Frank Richter, Jr.
Similkameen
Social Credit
         North Vancouver
Liberal
James Gordon Gibson     
     Dudley George Little Skeena
Social Credit
         Raymond Joseph Perrault     
     William Andrew Cecil Bennett 1 South Okanagan
Social Credit
         Oak Bay
Liberal
Alan Brock MacFarlane     
     Stanley Carnell
South Peace River
Social Credit
    
     Eric Charles Fitzgerald Martin
Vancouver-Burrard
Social Credit
    
     Herbert Price
    
     Alexander Small Matthew Vancouver Centre
Social Credit
    
     Leslie Raymond Peterson     
     Thomas Audley Bate Vancouver-Point Grey
Social Credit
    
     Robert William Bonner     
     Buda Hosmer Brown     
     William Neelands Chant Victoria City
Social Credit
    
     Waldo McTavish Skillings     
    John Donald Smith    
     Irvine Finlay Corbett
Yale
Social Credit
    
1 Premier-Elect2 Leader of the Opposition
Source: Elections BC

See also

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