Legislative Council of British Columbia

Last updated
Legislative Council of the United Colony of British Columbia
Type
Type
History
Founded1867 (1867)
Disbanded1871 (1871)
Preceded by Legislative Assembly of Vancouver Island
Colonial Assembly of British Columbia
Succeeded by Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
Meeting place
Legislative Hall
A group of members of the Legislative Council, circa 1867 A group of the Legislative Council, Victoria (crop).jpg
A group of members of the Legislative Council, circa 1867

The Legislative Council of British Columbia was an advisory body created in 1867 to the governor of the "new" Colony of British Columbia, which had been created from the merger of the old Colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia (a.k.a. the Mainland Colony, or the Gold Colony). The new colony, like its predecessors, did not have responsible government, and while its debates and resolutions carried considerable weight, executive power remained in the hands of the governor, who at the time of the council's founding was Frederick Seymour.

Contents

There were three groups of members: five senior officials of the colony, who also constituted its executive council, nine magistrates (some of whom, being popular in their districts, had been elevated to that post so as to please Whitehall's intent that there be a more democratic presence in the council), and nine elected members. The electoral members represented two seats in Victoria, one in Greater Victoria ("Victoria District"), New Westminster, Columbia River and Kootenay, Nanaimo, Yale and Lytton, Lillooet, Cariboo.

Initial composition

At the time of the council's creation, its members were:

Executive council
Magistrates
Elected members

Elected members were actually appointed by the governor and not mandated by their election, but appointed "in deference to the wishes of the people". George Wallace, the representative for Yale and Lytton, resigned his seat before the first session and a by-election was held which selected F.J. Barnard as his replacement. All members, including elected ones, had the right to use "the Honourable" before their name.

Other members included:

The council was abolished in 1871 when British Columbia became a province.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Robson (politician)</span> Canadian politician

John Robson was a Canadian journalist and politician, who served as the ninth premier of British Columbia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Index of British Columbia–related articles</span>

The following is an alphabetical list of articles related to the Canadian province of British Columbia.

The 1871 British Columbia general election was held from October to December 1871. Formerly a British colony, British Columbia became a province of Canada on July 20, 1871. An interim Cabinet was appointed by the lieutenant governor of British Columbia, and election writs for the first general election as a province of Canada were issued to choose 25 members of the first provincial legislature from 12 ridings. These ridings were:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yale, British Columbia</span> Town in British Columbia, Canada

Yale is an unincorporated town in the Canadian province of British Columbia, which grew in importance during the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Douglas (governor)</span> Governor of the Colony of British Columbia (1803–1877)

Sir James Douglas, was a Canadian fur trader and politician who became the first Governor of the Colony of British Columbia. He is often credited as "The Father of British Columbia". He was instrumental to the resettlement of 35 African Americans fleeing a life of racial persecution in San Francisco who arrived in the province aboard the steamship Commodore in what later became known as the Pioneer Committee. In 1863, Douglas was knighted by Queen Victoria for his services to the Crown.

Cariboo was a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1871 to 1892.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fraser Canyon Gold Rush</span> First main gold rush in British Columbia

The Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, began in 1858 after gold was discovered on the Thompson River in British Columbia at its confluence with the Nicoamen River a few miles upstream from the Thompson's confluence with the Fraser River at present-day Lytton. The rush overtook the region around the discovery and was centered on the Fraser Canyon from around Hope and Yale to Pavilion and Fountain, just north of Lillooet.

The 1875 British Columbia general election was held in 1875. Many of the politicians in the House had served with the Legislative Council or Assembly or the Executive Council, or had otherwise been stalwarts of the colonial era - some supporters of Confederation, others not. Some were ranchers or mining bosses from the Interior, others were colonial gentry from the Island and New Westminster, and others direct arrivals from Britain, Ireland or "Canada", which was still considered a different place not only in the minds of the politicians but in the language used in Hansard during this period.

The 1878 British Columbia general election was held in 1878.

The 1882 British Columbia general election was held in 1882.

The 1890 British Columbia general election was held in 1890. The number of members was increased for this election from 27 in the previous election to 33, although the number of ridings was decreased to 18.

The 1894 British Columbia general election was held in 1894. The number of members remained at 33 with the number of ridings increased to 26 as a result of the partition of the Yale and Westminster ridings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colony of British Columbia (1858–1866)</span> British crown colony in North America

The Colony of British Columbia was a crown colony in British North America from 1858 until 1866 that was founded by Richard Clement Moody, who was selected to 'found a second England on the shores of the Pacific', who was Chief Commissioner of Lands and Works for British Columbia and the first Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia. Prior to the arrival of Moody's Royal Engineers, Columbia Detachment, the Colony's supreme authority was its Governor James Douglas, who was the Governor of the neighbouring colony of Vancouver Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Columbia Provincial Police</span>

The British Columbia Provincial Police (BCPP) was the provincial police service of British Columbia, Canada, between 1858 and 1950.

An electoral redistribution was undertaken in 2008 in British Columbia in a process that began in late 2005 and was completed with the passage of the Electoral Districts Act, 2008 on April 10, 2008. The redistribution modified most electoral boundaries in the province and increased the number of MLAs from 79 to 85. The electoral boundaries created by the redistribution were first used in the 2009 provincial election.

The Legislative Council of British Columbia held its first election in 1866. BC was a colony formed by the union of the colony of Vancouver Island and the colony of British Columbia.

The Legislative Council of British Columbia held its second election in 1869. BC was a colony formed by the union of the colony of Vancouver Island and the colony of British Columbia..

References