1903 British Columbia general election

The 1903 British Columbia general election was the tenth general election for the Canadian province of British Columbia. It was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia (MLAs). The election was called on September 5, 1903, and held on October 3, 1903. The new legislature met for the first time on November 26, 1903.

1903 British Columbia general election

October 3, 1903 (1903-10-03)
42 seats in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia 22 seats were needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader Richard McBride James Alexander MacDonald Party Conservative Liberal Leader since June 1, 1903 October 3, 1903 Leader's seat Dewdney Rossland City Seats won 22 17 Popular vote 27,913 22,715 Percentage 46.43% 37.78%   Third party Fourth party   Leader unknown vacant Party Socialist Labour Leader since unknown vacant Seats won 2 1 Popular vote 4,787 4,421 Percentage 7.96% 7.36%
Premier before election Richard McBride Conservative Premier after election Richard McBride Conservative

This was the first election in British Columbia that was fought by political parties.[1] Prior to this election, British Columbia politics were non-partisan.

The first election was dominated by the BC Conservative and Liberal parties, which were affiliated with existing parties at the federal level.[lower-alpha 1]

The Conservative Party won over 46% of the popular vote and a slim majority of the seats in the legislature.

An act was passed in 1902 to provide for an Assembly of 42 members,[2] of which 31 were elected in single-member districts.[3] Of the multi-member districts, Cariboo returned two MLAs, Victoria City four, and Vancouver City five.[2] Each voter could cast as many votes as there were seats to fill in the multi-member districts.