1916 British Columbia general election
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.
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47 seats of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia 24 seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A 1916 Act of the Legislature[1] provided for the life of the Assembly to be extended to five years,[2] and members of the clergy were no longer disqualified from being elected as MLAs.[3]
The Liberal Party defeated the governing Conservative Party, winning 50% of the vote, almost double its share from the previous election. The Liberals won 36 of the 47 seats in the legislature.
The Conservatives' popular vote fell from almost 60% to just over 40%, and took nine seats, forming the Official Opposition.
Two other seats were won by independents.
Soldiers serving overseas were able to vote in the election,[4] and their votes were cast between August 5 and Election Day.[5]
Two referendums were also held on Election Day (concerning Prohibition and women's suffrage), but their results were not announced until later in the year.[6]
1915 redistribution of ridings
An Act was passed in 1915, providing for an increase in the seats in the Assembly from 42 to 47 upon the next election. [7] The following changes were made:
| Abolished ridings | New ridings |
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| Abolition of multi-member district | |
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| Merger of districts | |
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| Division of districts | |
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| Renaming of districts | |
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Results
| Political party | Party leader | MLAs | Votes | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | 1912 | 1916 | ± | # | ± | % | ± (pp) | |||
| Liberal | Harlan Brewster | 45 | – | 36 | 36 | 89,892 | 68,459 | 50.00 | 24.63 | |
| Conservative | William Bowser | 46 | 39 | 9 | 30 | 72,842 | 22,419 | 40.52 | 19.13 | |
| Independent | 7 | – | 1 | 1 | 4,926 | 3,413 | 2.74 | 0.95 | ||
| Independent Socialist | 3 | – | 1 | 1 | 1,321 | 1,321 | 0.74 | New | ||
| Independent Conservative | 4 | 1 | – | 1 | 3,014 | 1,851 | 1.68 | 0.31 | ||
| Socialist | 4 | 1 | – | 1 | 2,106 | 7,260 | 1.17 | 9.91 | ||
| Social Democratic | 3 | 1 | – | 1 | 1,012 | 391 | 0.56 | 0.18 | ||
| Independent Labour | 2 | – | – | – | 2,985 | 2,985 | 1.66 | New | ||
| Independent Liberal | 1 | – | – | – | 1,518 | 1,518 | 0.84 | New | ||
| Independent Progressive | 1 | – | – | – | 158 | 158 | 0.09 | New | ||
| Total | 116 | 42 | 47 | 179,774 | 100.00% | |||||
| Party | Seats | Votes | Change (pp) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| █ Liberal | 36 / 47 |
50.00% |
24.63 | ||
| █ Conservative | 9 / 47 |
40.52% |
-19.13 | ||
| █ Socialist | 0 / 47 |
1.17% |
-9.91 | ||
| █ Other | 2 / 47 |
8.31% |
4.41 | ||
Results by riding
The following MLAs were elected:[9]
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Alberni: Harlan Carey Brewster
Atlin: Frank Harry Mobley
Cariboo: John MacKay Yorston
Chilliwhack: Edward Dodsley Barrow
Columbia: John Andrew Buckham
Comox: Hugh Stewart
Cowichan: William Henry Hayward (Ind)
Delta: Francis James Anderson MacKenzie
Esquimalt: Robert Henry Pooley
Fernie: Alexander Ingram Fisher
Fort George: William Roderick Ross
Grand Forks: James Edwin Wallace Thompson
Greenwood: John Duncan MacLean
The Islands: Malcolm Bruce Jackson |
Kamloops: Frederick William Anderson
Kaslo: John Keen
Lillooet: Archibald McDonald
Nelson: William Oliver Rose
Newcastle: Parker Williams (Ind-Soc)
North Okanagan: Kenneth Cattanach MacDonald
North Vancouver: George Samuel Hanes
Omineca: Alexander Malcolm Manson
Revelstoke: William Henry Sutherland
Rossland: William David Wilson
Saanich: Frederick Arthur Pauline
Similkameen: Lytton Wilmot Shatford |
Slocan: Charles Franklin Nelson
South Okanagan: James William Jones
South Vancouver: John Walter Weart
Trail: James Hargrave Schofield
Vancouver City: John Sedgwick Cowper
Vancouver City: John Wallace deBeque Farris
Vancouver City: Malcolm Archibald Macdonald
Vancouver City: John William McIntosh
Vancouver City: Ralph Smith
Victoria City: George Bell
Victoria City: Harlan Carey Brewster
Victoria City: Henry Charles Hall
Yale: Joseph Walters
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Synopsis of results
| Riding | Winning party | Votes | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | 1912 | Party | Votes | Share | Margin # |
Margin % |
Lib | Con | Soc | I-Con | I-Soc | SD | Ind | Oth | Total | ||
| Alberni | Con | Lib | 393 | 39.26% | 38 | 3.80% | 393 | 355 | – | – | – | – | 253 | – | 1,001 | ||
| Atlin | Con | Lib | 329 | 54.29% | 52 | 8.58% | 329 | 277 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 606 | ||
| Cariboo | New | Lib | 453 | 68.64% | 246 | 37.28% | 453 | 207 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 660 | ||
| Chilliwhack | Con | Lib | 987 | 55.64% | 200 | 11.28% | 987 | 787 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1,774 | ||
| Columbia | I-Con | Lib | 541 | 66.63% | 270 | 33.26% | 541 | 271 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 812 | ||
| Comox | Con | Lib | 916 | 43.07% | 34 | 1.60% | 916 | 882 | 246 | – | – | 83 | – | – | 2,127 | ||
| Cowichan | Con | Ind | 539 | 56.92% | 131 | 13.84% | 408 | – | – | – | – | – | 539 | – | 947 | ||
| Cranbrook | Con | Lib | 727 | 59.06% | 223 | 18.12% | 727 | 504 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1,231 | ||
| Delta | Con | Con | 964 | 51.55% | 58 | 3.10% | 906 | 964 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1,870 | ||
| Dewdney | Con | Lib | 927 | 54.08% | 140 | 8.16% | 927 | 787 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1,714 | ||
| Esquimalt | Con | Con | 655 | 50.08% | 2 | 0.16% | 653 | 655 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1,308 | ||
| Fernie | Con | Lib | 903 | 46.38% | 77 | 3.96% | 903 | 826 | 218 | – | – | – | – | – | 1,947 | ||
| Fort George | New | Con | 499 | 43.43% | 7 | 0.61% | – | 499 | – | – | 492 | – | – | 158 | 1,149 | ||
| Grand Forks | Con | Lib | 584 | 63.62% | 250 | 27.24% | 584 | 334 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 918 | ||
| Greenwood | Con | Lib | 491 | 70.55% | 286 | 41.10% | 491 | 205 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 696 | ||
| The Islands | Con | Lib | 358 | 50.28% | 4 | 0.56% | 358 | 354 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 712 | ||
| Kamloops | Con | Lib | 1,519 | 61.27% | 559 | 22.54% | 1,519 | 960 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2,479 | ||
| Kaslo | Con | Lib | 456 | 54.94% | 82 | 9.88% | 456 | 374 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 830 | ||
| Lillooet | Con | Con | 296 | 52.39% | 27 | 4.78% | 269 | 296 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 565 | ||
| Nanaimo | SD | Lib | 1,137 | 57.14% | 562 | 28.25% | 1,137 | 575 | – | – | 278 | – | – | – | 1,990 | ||
| Nelson | New | Con | 607 | 48.99% | 100 | 8.07% | 507 | 607 | – | – | – | – | 125 | – | 1,239 | ||
| Newcastle | Soc | I-Soc | 551 | 56.11% | 120 | 12.22% | – | 431 | – | – | 551 | – | – | – | 982 | ||
| New Westminster | Con | Lib | 1,369 | 53.58% | 183 | 7.16% | 1,369 | 1,186 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2,555 | ||
| North Okanagan | New | Lib | 1,261 | 57.08% | 313 | 14.16% | 1,261 | 948 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2,209 | ||
| North Vancouver | New | Lib | 980 | 52.80% | 382 | 20.58% | 980 | 598 | – | 278 | – | – | – | – | 1,856 | ||
| Omineca | New | Lib | 473 | 62.16% | 185 | 24.32% | 473 | 288 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 761 | ||
| Prince Rupert | Con | Lib | 1,062 | 52.89% | 116 | 5.78% | 1,062 | 946 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2,008 | ||
| Revelstoke | Con | Lib | 802 | 60.62% | 281 | 21.24% | 802 | 521 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1,323 | ||
| Richmond | Con | Lib | 1,441 | 54.07% | 252 | 9.45% | 1,441 | 1,189 | – | 35 | – | – | – | – | 2,665 | ||
| Rossland | Con | Lib | 424 | 55.79% | 88 | 11.58% | 424 | 336 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 760 | ||
| Saanich | Con | Lib | 1,033 | 58.53% | 301 | 17.06% | 1,033 | 732 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1,765 | ||
| Similkameen | Con | Con | 650 | 55.41% | 127 | 10.82% | 523 | 650 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1,173 | ||
| Slocan | Con | Lib | 448 | 50.06% | 1 | 0.12% | 448 | 447 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 895 | ||
| South Okanagan | New | Con | 845 | 54.52% | 140 | 9.04% | 705 | 845 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1,550 | ||
| South Vancouver | New | Lib | 1,579 | 45.75% | 205 | 5.94% | 1,579 | 1,374 | – | – | – | – | – | 498 | 3,451 | ||
| Trail | New | Con | 626 | 45.56% | 142 | 10.33% | 484 | 626 | 262 | – | – | – | – | – | 1,372 | ||
| Yale | Con | Lib | 809 | 57.05% | 200 | 14.10% | 809 | 609 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1,418 | ||
- = open seat
- = turnout is above provincial average
- = winning 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
- = other incumbents renominated
- = multiple candidates
| Party | Vancouver City | Victoria City | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | Share | Change | Votes | Share | Change | ||
| Liberal | 47,263 | 49.38% | 18.53% | 15,772 | 51.29% | 26.17% | |
| Conservative | 39,050 | 40.80% | -13.94% | 11,347 | 36.90% | -30.00% | |
| Independent | 2,824 | 2.95% | 1.01% | 1,185 | 3.85% | 0.01% | |
| Independent Conservative | 2,701 | 2.82% | New | – | – | – | |
| Independent Labour | 2,487 | 2.60% | New | – | – | – | |
| Socialist | 1,380 | 1.44% | -11.02% | – | – | -4.13% | |
| Independent Liberal | – | – | – | 1,518 | 4.94% | New | |
| Social Democratic | – | – | – | 929 | 3.02% | New | |
| Total | 46,285 | 100.00% | 16,034 | 100.00% | |||
| Seats won | 5 1 | 4 | |||||
| Incumbents returned | 1 | – | |||||
Notes and references
Notes
- Brewster was elected as member for both Alberni and Victoria City, and is counted twice.
- R. McBride (Conservative, Richmond) withdrew before the election but still received 34 overseas votes, which are counted.
References
- Constitution Act Amendment Act, 1916, S.B.C. 1916, c. 14
- S.B.C. 1916, c. 14, s.6
- S.B.C. 1916, c. 14, s.5
- Military Forces Voting Act, S.B.C. 1916, c. 41
- Elections BC 1988, p. 128.
- Hopkins 1917, p. 571.
- Constitution Act Amendment Act, 1915, S.B.C. 1915, c. 14
- Elections BC 1988, pp. 115, 123.
- Elections BC 1988, pp. 125–128.
- Elections BC 1988, pp. 117–119, 125–128.
Further reading
- An Electoral History of British Columbia, 1871-1986 (PDF). Victoria: Elections British Columbia. 1988. ISBN 0-7718-8677-2.
- In the Sea of Sterile Mountains: The Chinese in British Columbia, Joseph Morton, J.J. Douglas, Vancouver (1974).
- Hopkins, J. Castell (1917). The Canadian Annual Review of Public Affairs, 1916. Toronto: The Annual Review Publishing Company.
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