1924 British Columbia general election
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The 1924 British Columbia general election was the sixteenth 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 May 10, 1924, and held on June 20, 1924. The new legislature met for the first time on November 3, 1924.
The Liberal Party was re-elected to its third term in government, falling just short of a majority in the legislature even though it won less than a third of the popular vote. Two Independent Liberals were also elected. Premier John Oliver lost his own seat in Victoria City, but remained Premier until 1927.
The Conservative Party formed the official opposition, while two new parties, the Provincial Party and the Canadian Labour Party won three seats each, and a total of 35% of the vote.
Campaign[]
The Provincial Party, which nominated candidates only in 1924, was formed by a group of British Columbia Conservative Party dissidents known as the "Committee of 100", led and funded by the wealthy General Alexander McRae and political elements from the United Farmers of British Columbia. McRae claimed that the Liberal government of John Oliver and the previous administrations of Conservative Premier William John Bowser, then the opposition leader, were corrupt. Many of his allegations were related to the funding of the Pacific Great Eastern Railway plan to reach Prince George in the Northern interior of the province, which was not achieved until many years later. He claimed that there were kickbacks, patronage and various wrongdoings. His allegations were never proven. The election was bitterly fought with sensational allegations against all three leaders. McRae was not elected. Both Bowser and Oliver lost their seats but Oliver continued to lead his Liberal Party as Premier of a minority government after the election.[1]
Results[]
Party | Party leader | # of candidates |
Seats | Popular vote | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1920 | Elected | % Change | # | % | % Change | ||||
Liberal | John Oliver | 46 | 25 | 23 | -8.0% | 108,323 | 31.34% | -6.55% | |
Conservative | William John Bowser | 47 | 15 | 17 | +13.3% | 101,765 | 29.45% | -1.75% | |
Provincial | Alexander Duncan McRae | 45 | * | 3 | * | 83,517 | 24.16% | * | |
Canadian Labour1 | 15 | * | 3 | * | 39,044 | 11.30% | * | ||
Independent Liberal | 5 | - | 2 | - | 3,549 | 1.03% | +0.06% | ||
Socialist2 | 2 | - | - | - | 4,364 | 1.26% | -2.24% | ||
Independent | 3 | 3 | - | -100.0% | 2,520 | 0.73% | -9.64% | ||
Independent Conservative | ? | - | - | - | 2,046 | 0.59% | +0.14% | ||
Farmer–Labour | 1 | * | - | * | 478 | 0.14% | * | ||
Total | 168 | 47 | 48 | +2.1% | 345,608 | 100% | |||
Source: Elections BC |
Notes:
* Party did not nominate candidates in the previous election.
1 Not the same as the Canadian Labour Party of B.C. which contested the 1906 and 1909 general elections. Organized in British Columbia in 1924.
2 Includes joint Socialist Party of Canada - Workers' Party of Canada candidate.
Results by riding[]
See also[]
- List of British Columbia political parties
References[]
- ^ Margaret A. Ormsby (1958). British Columbia: A History. MacMillan: Vancouver. p. 420.
Further reading[]
- In the Sea of Sterile Mountains: The Chinese in British Columbia, Joseph Morton, J.J. Douglas, Vancouver (1974). Despite its title, a fairly thorough account of the politicians and electoral politics in early BC.
- Hopkins, J. Castell, ed. (1925). The Canadian Annual Review of Public Affairs, 1924–25. Toronto: The Annual Review Company.
- Elections in British Columbia
- 1924 elections in Canada
- 1924 in British Columbia
- June 1924 events