1916 British Columbia general election

September 14, 1916

47 seats of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
24 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party
 
Leader Harlan Carey Brewster William John Bowser
Party Liberal Conservative
Leader since 1912 1915
Leader's seat Alberni[lower-alpha 1] Vancouver City
Last election 0 39
Seats won 36[lower-alpha 1] 9
Seat change Increase36 Decrease30
Popular vote 89,892 72,842[lower-alpha 2]
Percentage 50.00% 40.52%
Swing Increase24.63pp Decrease19.13pp

Premier before election

William John Bowser
Conservative

Premier after election

Harlan Carey Brewster
Liberal

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.

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 ridingsNew ridings
Abolition of multi-member district
Merger of districts
Division of districts
Renaming of districts

Results

[8]

Elections to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia (1916)
Political party Party leader MLAs Votes
Candidates 1912 1916 ± # ± % ± (pp)
Liberal Harlan Brewster 453636Increase89,89268,459Increase50.0024.63Increase
Conservative William Bowser 4639930Decrease72,84222,419Increase40.5219.13Decrease
Independent   711Increase4,9263,413Increase2.740.95Increase
Independent Socialist   311Increase1,3211,321Increase0.74New
Independent Conservative   411Decrease3,0141,851Increase1.680.31Increase
Socialist   411Decrease2,1067,260Decrease1.179.91Decrease
Social Democratic   311Decrease1,012391Increase0.560.18Decrease
Independent Labour   22,9852,985Increase1.66New
Independent Liberal   11,5181,518Increase0.84New
Independent Progressive   1158158Increase0.09New
Total 11642 47 179,774 100.00%
    Seats and popular vote by party[8]
    PartySeatsVotesChange (pp)
     Liberal
    36 / 47
    50.00%
    24.63 24.63
     
     Conservative
    9 / 47
    40.52%
    -19.13
     
     Socialist
    0 / 47
    1.17%
    -9.91
     
     Other
    2 / 47
    8.31%
    4.41 4.41
     

    Results by riding

    The following MLAs were elected:[9]


    Synopsis of results

    Results by riding - 1912 British Columbia general election (single-member districts)[10]
    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 39339.26%383.80%3933552531,001
    Atlin Con Lib 32954.29%528.58%329277606
    Cariboo New Lib 45368.64%24637.28%453207660
    Chilliwhack Con Lib 98755.64%20011.28%9877871,774
    Columbia I-Con Lib 54166.63%27033.26%541271812
    Comox Con Lib 91643.07%341.60%916882246832,127
    Cowichan Con Ind 53956.92%13113.84%408539947
    Cranbrook Con Lib 72759.06%22318.12%7275041,231
    Delta Con Con 96451.55%583.10%9069641,870
    Dewdney Con Lib 92754.08%1408.16%9277871,714
    Esquimalt Con Con 65550.08%20.16%6536551,308
    Fernie Con Lib 90346.38%773.96%9038262181,947
    Fort George New Con 49943.43%70.61%4994921581,149
    Grand Forks Con Lib 58463.62%25027.24%584334918
    Greenwood Con Lib 49170.55%28641.10%491205696
    The Islands Con Lib 35850.28%40.56%358354712
    Kamloops Con Lib 1,51961.27%55922.54%1,5199602,479
    Kaslo Con Lib 45654.94%829.88%456374830
    Lillooet Con Con 29652.39%274.78%269296565
    Nanaimo SD Lib 1,13757.14%56228.25%1,1375752781,990
    Nelson New Con 60748.99%1008.07%5076071251,239
    Newcastle Soc I-Soc 55156.11%12012.22%431551982
    New Westminster Con Lib 1,36953.58%1837.16%1,3691,1862,555
    North Okanagan New Lib 1,26157.08%31314.16%1,2619482,209
    North Vancouver New Lib 98052.80%38220.58%9805982781,856
    Omineca New Lib 47362.16%18524.32%473288761
    Prince Rupert Con Lib 1,06252.89%1165.78%1,0629462,008
    Revelstoke Con Lib 80260.62%28121.24%8025211,323
    Richmond Con Lib 1,44154.07%2529.45%1,4411,189352,665
    Rossland Con Lib 42455.79%8811.58%424336760
    Saanich Con Lib 1,03358.53%30117.06%1,0337321,765
    Similkameen Con Con 65055.41%12710.82%5236501,173
    Slocan Con Lib 44850.06%10.12%448447895
    South Okanagan New Con 84554.52%1409.04%7058451,550
    South Vancouver New Lib 1,57945.75%2055.94%1,5791,3744983,451
    Trail New Con 62645.56%14210.33%4846262621,372
    Yale Con Lib 80957.05%20014.10%8096091,418
        = 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
      Results by riding - 1912 British Columbia general election (multiple-member districts)[10]
      PartyVancouver CityVictoria City
      VotesShareChangeVotesShareChange
      Liberal 47,26349.38%18.53%15,77251.29%26.17%
      Conservative 39,05040.80%-13.94%11,34736.90%-30.00%
      Independent 2,8242.95%1.01%1,1853.85%0.01%
      Independent Conservative 2,7012.82%New
      Independent Labour 2,4872.60%New
      Socialist 1,3801.44%-11.02%-4.13%
      Independent Liberal 1,5184.94%New
      Social Democratic 9293.02%New
      Total46,285100.00%16,034100.00%
      Seats won
        5
        1
        4
      Incumbents returned
        1

      See also

      Notes and references

      Notes

      1. 1 2 Brewster was elected as member for both Alberni and Victoria City, and is counted twice.
      2. R. McBride (Conservative, Richmond) withdrew before the election but still received 34 overseas votes, which are counted.

      References

      1. Constitution Act Amendment Act, 1916, S.B.C. 1916, c. 14
      2. S.B.C. 1916, c. 14, s.6
      3. S.B.C. 1916, c. 14, s.5
      4. Military Forces Voting Act, S.B.C. 1916, c. 41
      5. Elections BC 1988, p. 128.
      6. Hopkins 1917, p. 571.
      7. Constitution Act Amendment Act, 1915, S.B.C. 1915, c. 14
      8. 1 2 Elections BC 1988, pp. 115, 123.
      9. Elections BC 1988, pp. 125–128.
      10. 1 2 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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