British Columbia general election, 1912

The British Columbia general election of 1912 was the thirteenth general election for the Province of British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. It was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia

The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is one of two components of the Parliament of British Columbia, the provincial parliament ....

. The election was called on February 27, 1912, and held on March 28, 1912. The new legislature met for the first time on January 16, 1913.

The governing Conservative Party

British Columbia Conservative Party

The British Columbia Conservative Party is a political party in British Columbia, Canada. First elected as the government in 1903, the party went into decline after 1933...

increased its share of the popular vote to almost 60%, and swept all but 3 of the 42 seats in the legislature. Of the remaining three, one (Harold Ernest Forster in Columbia

Columbia (electoral district)

Columbia was a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It made its first appearance on the hustings in the election of 1903. It lasted until the 1928 election, after which the revised riding was renamed Columbia River...

) was formally listed as an Independent but was a Conservative who had missed the filing date. He campaigned and sat in full support of the McBride government.

The Liberal Party's share of the vote fell from one-third to one-quarter, and it lost both of its seats in the legislature.

The remaining two seats were won by the Socialist Party

Socialist Party of Canada

There have been two different but related political parties in Canada that called themselves the Socialist Party of Canada . The current Socialist Party is an electorally inactive and unregistered federal political party in Canada...

and the Social Democratic Party

Social Democratic Party of Canada

The Social Democratic Party was a social democratic political party in Canada founded in 1911 by members of the right wing of the Socialist Party of Canada. these members were dissatisfied with what they saw as that party's rigid, doctrinaire approach...

in the coal-mining ridings of Nanaimo City

Nanaimo City

Nanaimo City was a provincial electoral district in the city of Nanaimo, British Columbia in Canada from 1890 to 1912. It was one of two Nanaimo ridings at the time, created out of the older Nanaimo riding , with intermediary ridings The Islands and Nanaimo and the Islands...

and Newcastle

Newcastle (electoral district)

Newcastle was a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia to the south and including some of the city of Nanaimo. It appeared in the 1916 and 1920 elections only. In 1924, portions of it were incorporated into the new Cowichan-Newcastle riding...

Results

Party	Party leader	# of candidates	Seats			Popular vote
Party	Party leader	# of candidates	1909	Elected	% Change	#	%	% Change	Conservative British Columbia Conservative Party The British Columbia Conservative Party is a political party in British Columbia, Canada. First elected as the government in 1903, the party went into decline after 1933... ¹	Richard McBride Richard McBride Sir Richard McBride, KCMG was a British Columbian politician and is often considered the founder of the British Columbia Conservative Party. McBride was first elected to the provincial legislature in the 1898 election, and served in the cabinet of James Dunsmuir from 1900 to 1901...	42	38	39	+2.6%	50,423	59.65%	+7.32%	Socialist Socialist Party of Canada There have been two different but related political parties in Canada that called themselves the Socialist Party of Canada . The current Socialist Party is an electorally inactive and unregistered federal political party in Canada...	17	-	1	-	9,366	11.08%	-0.42%	Independent Conservative	7	-	1	-	1,163	1.37%	+1.22%	Social Democratic Social Democratic Party of Canada The Social Democratic Party was a social democratic political party in Canada founded in 1911 by members of the right wing of the Socialist Party of Canada. these members were dissatisfied with what they saw as that party's rigid, doctrinaire approach...	1	*	1	*	621	0.74%	*	Liberal	Harlan Carey Brewster Harlan Carey Brewster Harlan Carey Brewster was a politician in British Columbia, Canada. Brewster arrived in British Columbia in 1893, and had various careers working on a ship and then in a cannery. He eventually became owner of his own canning company...	19	2	-	-100%	21,443	25.37%	-7.84%	Independent	2	-	-	-	1,513	1.79%	-0.80%
Total		88	42	42	-	84,529	100%
Source: Elections BC

Notes:

* Party did not nominate candidates in the previous election.

¹ Since nine Conservatives were elected by acclamation, i.e., without any polling of votes, the total votes for the Conservative Party and the overall total as well as the popular vote are somewhat misleading. A potential 14,086 voters did not have the opportunity to exercise their franchise. Given a voter turnout of almost 50% in other ridings, the total number of votes could have been about 7,000 more.

Results by riding

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|align="center" |Henry Esson Young

Henry Esson Young

Henry Esson Young was a physician and political figure in British Columbia. Some sources list his birth year as 1867...

|align="center" |Atlin

Atlin (electoral district)

Atlin was a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It made its first appearance on the hustings in the 10th provincial general election in 1903 and last appeared in the 34th provincial general election in 1986, after which it was merged with the Skeena riding.-...

Results

Results by riding

See also

Further reading & references