1909 British Columbia general election

The 1909 British Columbia general election was the twelfth 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 October 20, 1909, and held on November 25, 1909. The new legislature met for the first time on January 20, 1910.

Quick facts 42 seats to the 12th Legislative Assembly of British Columbia 22 seats were needed for a majority, First party ...

1909 British Columbia general election

← 1907 November 25, 1909 1912 â†’
← outgoing members elected members â†’
42 seats to the 12th Legislative Assembly of British Columbia 22 seats were needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   SPC Leader Sir Richard McBride John Oliver No leader Party Conservative Liberal Socialist Leader's seat Victoria City Yale Ran in Delta (lost) Victoria City (lost) Last election 26 seats, 48.70% 13 seats, 37.15% 3 seats, 8.87% Seats won 38 2 2 Seat change 12 11 1 Popular vote 53,074 33,675 11,665 Percentage 52.33% 33.21% 11.50% Swing 3.63pp 3.94pp 2.63pp
Premier before election Richard McBride Conservative Premier after election Richard McBride Conservative

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The governing Conservative Party won its third consecutive term in government with over half of the popular vote and all but four of the 42 seats in the legislature, effectively a rout for the popular incumbent Premier, Sir Richard McBride.

Ten days after the dissolution of the Legislature, James Alexander MacDonald announced his retirement from the leadership of the Liberal Party to become Chief Justice of the British Columbia Supreme Court, and John Oliver was selected to take his place.^[1] Despite winning almost one-third of the popular vote, the Liberals won only two seats, the same number won by the Socialist Party with only 11.5% of the vote.

The first-past-the-post allocation of seats, combined with the multi-member constituencies in effect at the time, ensured that the Conservatives won with a lead of 34 seats, instead of only a lead of two seats that its proportion of the popular vote should have granted it.^[2]

Two candidates campaigned in multiple ridings. McBride won in both Yale and Victoria City, while Oliver was defeated in Delta and Victoria City.^[3]