1945 British Columbia general election
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.
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48 seats of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia 25 seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A centre-right coalition was formed by the Liberal and Conservative (now called the Progressive Conservative) parties in order to defeat the social democratic Co-operative Commonwealth Federation.
Although the Coalition won fewer votes than the Liberal and Conservative parties won in total in the previous election, the Coalition still won over half of the votes, and was able to form a majority government.
Results
| Political party | Party leader | MLAs | Votes | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | 1941 | 1945 | ± | # | ± | % | ± (pp) | |||
| Coalition | 47 | 32 | 37 | 5 | 261,147 | 26,979 | 55.83 | 7.65 | ||
| Co-operative Commonwealth | Harold Winch | 48 | 14 | 10 | 4 | 175,960 | 24,520 | 37.62 | 4.26 | |
| Labour (all factions) | 2 | 1 | 1 |  | 1,395 | 5,746 | 0.30 | 1.27 | ||
| Liberal[lower-alpha 2] | – | 1 | – | 1 | – | 1,681 | – | Changed allegiance | ||
| Labour Progressive | 21 | – | – | – | 16,479 | 16,479 | 3.52 | New | ||
| Social Credit (alliance) | 16 | – | – | – | 6,627 | 6,627 | 1.42 | New | ||
| People's CCF | 2 | – | – | – | 2,786 | 2,786 | 0.60 | New | ||
| Independent | 2 | – | – | – | 1,532 | 106 | 0.33 | 0.03 | ||
| Independent PC | 2 | – | – | – | 748 | 748 | 0.16 | New | ||
| Democratic | 1 | – | – | – | 423 | 423 | 0.09 | New | ||
| Socialist Labour | 3 | – | – | – | 285 | 398 | 0.06 | 0.09 | ||
| Independent Liberal | 1 | – | – | – | 199 | 199 | 0.04 | New | ||
| Socialist | 1 | – | – | – | 105 | 105 | 0.02 | New | ||
| Progressive Liberal | 1 | – | – | – | 61 | 61 | 0.01 | New | ||
| Total | 147 | 48 | 48 | 467,747 | 100.00% | |||||
| Rejected ballots[2] | 3,899 | 898 |
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| Actual voters who voted[2] | 298,387 | 5,514 |
62.66% | 10.07 | ||||||
| Registered voters[2] | 476,222 | 58,383 |
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| Party | Seats | Votes | Change (pp) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| █ Coalition | 37 / 48 |
55.83% |
-7.65 | ||
| █ Co-operative Commonwealth | 10 / 48 |
37.62% |
4.26 | ||
| █ Labour Progressive | 0 / 48 |
3.52% |
3.52 | ||
| █ Social Credit | 0 / 48 |
1.42% |
1.42 | ||
| █ Other | 1 / 48 |
1.61% |
-1.55 | ||
MLAs elected
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Alberni: James Mowat
Atlin: William Duncan Smith
Burnaby: Ernest Winch
Cariboo: Louis LeBourdais
Chilliwack: Leslie Harvey Eyres
Columbia: Thomas King
Comox: Herbert John Welch
Cowichan-Newcastle: Samuel Guthrie
Cranbrook: Frank William Green
Delta: Alexander Campbell Hope
Dewdney: Roderick Charles MacDonald
Esquimalt: Charles Taschereau Beard
Fernie: Thomas Aubert Uphill (ILP)
Fort George: John McInnis
Grand Forks-Greenwood: Thomas Alfred Love
Kamloops: Robert Henry Carson |
Kaslo-Slocan: Randolph Harding
Lillooet: Ernest Crawford Carson
Mackenzie: Herbert Gargrave
Nelson-Creston: Frank Putnam
North Vancouver: John Henry Cates
Oak Bay: Herbert Anscomb
Omineca: Edward Fraser Rowland
Peace River: Joseph Hardcastle Corsbie
Prince Rupert: William Henry Brett
Revelstoke: William James Johnson
Rossland-Trail: James Lockhart Webster
Saanich: Norman William Whittaker
Salmon Arm: Arthur Brown Ritchie |
Similkameen: Reginald Robert Laird
Skeena: Edward Tourtellotte Kenney
Vancouver-Burrard: Donald Cameron Brown
Vancouver-Burrard: George Moir Weir
Vancouver Centre: Allan James McDonell
Vancouver Centre: Gordon Sylvester Wismer
Victoria City: Nancy Hodges
Victoria City: William Thomas Straith
Yale: John J. Gillis
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Synopsis of results
| Riding | Winning party | Votes | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | 1941 | Party | Votes | Share | Margin # |
Margin % |
Coal | CCF | LPP | SC | Ind | Oth | Total | ||
| Alberni | Lib | Coal | 2,135 | 54.02% | 877 | 22.19% | 2,135 | 1,258 | 559 | – | – | – | 3,952 | ||
| Atlin | Lib | Coal | 297 | 50.42% | 5 | 0.84% | 297 | 292 | – | – | – | – | 589 | ||
| Burnaby | CCF | CCF | 5,905 | 50.56% | 1,172 | 10.04% | 4,733 | 5,905 | 744 | 298 | – | – | 11,680 | ||
| Cariboo | Lib | Coal | 1,370 | 57.93% | 375 | 15.86% | 1,370 | 995 | – | – | – | – | 2,365 | ||
| Chilliwack | Con | Coal | 3,804 | 62.37% | 1,509 | 24.74% | 3,804 | 2,295 | – | – | – | – | 6,099 | ||
| Columbia | Lib | Coal | 671 | 53.30% | 83 | 6.60% | 671 | 588 | – | – | – | – | 1,259 | ||
| Comox | CCF | Coal | 3,432 | 45.62% | 70 | 0.93% | 3,432 | 3,362 | 729 | – | – | – | 7,523 | ||
| Cowichan-Newcastle | CCF | CCF | 3,768 | 55.33% | 726 | 10.66% | 3,042 | 3,768 | – | – | – | – | 6,810 | ||
| Cranbrook | Con | Coal | 2,077 | 49.04% | 112 | 2.64% | 2,077 | 1,965 | 193 | – | – | – | 4,235 | ||
| Delta | CCF | Coal | 5,859 | 53.64% | 796 | 7.28% | 5,859 | 5,063 | – | – | – | – | 10,922 | ||
| Dewdney | Con | Coal | 4,586 | 53.71% | 633 | 7.42% | 4,586 | 3,953 | – | – | – | – | 8,539 | ||
| Esquimalt | Con | Coal | 2,568 | 56.35% | 579 | 12.70% | 2,568 | 1,989 | – | – | – | – | 4,557 | ||
| Fernie | Lab | Lab | 1,289 | 42.28% | 271 | 8.89% | 1,018 | 742 | – | – | – | 1,289 | 3,049 | ||
| Fort George | Lib | CCF | 1,726 | 55.73% | 355 | 11.46% | 1,371 | 1,726 | – | – | – | – | 3,097 | ||
| Grand Forks-Greenwood | Con | Coal | 707 | 52.06% | 246 | 18.11% | 707 | 461 | 84 | – | – | 106 | 1,358 | ||
| Kamloops | Lib | Coal | 2,804 | 57.78% | 911 | 18.77% | 2,804 | 1,893 | 156 | – | – | – | 4,853 | ||
| Kaslo-Slocan | Lib | CCF | 1,098 | 53.12% | 129 | 6.24% | 969 | 1,098 | – | – | – | – | 2,067 | ||
| Lillooet | Con | Coal | 1,143 | 51.42% | 320 | 14.40% | 1,143 | 823 | – | 196 | – | 61 | 2,233 | ||
| Mackenzie | CCF | CCF | 2,961 | 52.19% | 648 | 11.42% | 2,313 | 2,961 | 293 | 106 | – | – | 5,673 | ||
| Nanaimo and the Islands | Lib | Coal | 3,124 | 54.24% | 577 | 10.02% | 3,124 | 2,547 | – | 89 | – | – | 5,760 | ||
| Nelson-Creston | Lib | Coal | 3,055 | 58.59% | 1,806 | 34.64% | 3,055 | 1,249 | – | – | 184 | 726 | 5,214 | ||
| New Westminster | Lib | Coal | 4,900 | 57.91% | 1,933 | 22.85% | 4,900 | 2,967 | 595 | – | – | – | 8,462 | ||
| North Okanagan | Lib | Coal | 2,990 | 59.78% | 1,408 | 28.15% | 2,990 | 1,582 | – | 430 | – | – | 5,002 | ||
| North Vancouver | CCF | Coal | 5,912 | 54.20% | 1,842 | 16.89% | 5,912 | 4,070 | 646 | 280 | – | – | 10,908 | ||
| Oak Bay | Con | Coal | 4,598 | 82.31% | 3,610 | 64.62% | 4,598 | 988 | – | – | – | – | 5,586 | ||
| Omineca | Lib | CCF | 932 | 51.58% | 57 | 3.16% | 875 | 932 | – | – | – | – | 1,807 | ||
| Peace River | Lib | CCF | 1,682 | 47.85% | 565 | 16.07% | 1,117 | 1,682 | – | 716 | – | – | 3,515 | ||
| Prince Rupert | Lib | CCF | 1,873 | 49.83% | 525 | 13.97% | – | 1,873 | 538 | – | 1,348 | – | 3,759 | ||
| Revelstoke | Lib | Coal | 1,089 | 51.17% | 50 | 2.34% | 1,089 | 1,039 | – | – | – | – | 2,128 | ||
| Rossland-Trail | CCF | Coal | 3,171 | 49.35% | 1,111 | 17.29% | 3,171 | 933 | – | 261 | – | 2,060 | 6,425 | ||
| Saanich | Lib | Coal | 5,414 | 57.85% | 1,983 | 21.19% | 5,414 | 3,431 | 239 | – | – | 275 | 9,359 | ||
| Salmon Arm | Con | Coal | 1,560 | 60.00% | 520 | 20.00% | 1,560 | 1,040 | – | – | – | – | 2,600 | ||
| Similkameen | CCF | Coal | 3,447 | 57.09% | 856 | 14.18% | 3,447 | 2,591 | – | – | – | – | 6,038 | ||
| Skeena | Lib | Coal | 901 | 58.7% | 267 | 17.40% | 901 | 634 | – | – | – | – | 1,535 | ||
| South Okanagan | Con | Coal | 3,706 | 64.25% | 1,644 | 28.50% | 3,706 | 2,062 | – | – | – | – | 5,768 | ||
| Yale | Lib | Coal | 1,077 | 66.77% | 541 | 33.54% | 1,077 | 536 | – | – | – | – | 1,613 | ||
- = open seat
- = 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
| Riding | Winning party | Votes | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | MLAs | 1941 | 1945 | Coal | CCF | LPP | SC | Ind | Oth | Total |
| Vancouver-Burrard | 2 | 2 | 2 |
29,649 | 20,221 | 2,030 | 1,219 | – | 107 | 53,226 |
| Vancouver Centre | 2 | 2 | 2 |
21,854 | 15,000 | 3,967 | 959 | – | 426 | 42,206 |
| Vancouver East | 2 | 2 | 2 |
18,980 | 25,721 | 2,798 | 705 | – | 56 | 48,260 |
| Vancouver-Point Grey | 3 | 3 | 3 |
67,276 | 26,859 | 2,472 | 625 | – | 423 | 97,655 |
| Victoria City | 3 | 3 | 3 |
31,553 | 16,866 | 436 | 743 | – | 473 | 50,071 |
Further reading
- Electoral History of British Columbia, 1871–1986 (PDF). Elections BC. 1988. ISBN 0-7718-8677-2.
Notes
- The Liberals and Conservatives ran separately in the 1941 election. In that election, the Liberals won 21 seats and the Conservatives won 12 seats.
- Duff Pattullo was the sole Liberal that chose not to join the Coalition, and Prince Rupert was the only district where the Coalition did not field a candidate in 1945. Pattullo stood as an Independent in this election.
- Died before the opening of the new Legislature. Charles William Morrow would win the subsequent byelection for the Coalition.
References
- Elections BC 1988, pp. 193, 203.
- Elections BC 1988, p. 2.
- Elections BC 1988, pp. 195–199, 205–209.
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