George Matheson Murray
Encyclopedia
George Matheson Murray, known publicly as George Murray, was a publisher and politician in British Columbia
in the first half of the 20th century. Originally a reporter for the Ottawa Citizen
he was schooled informally in politics by Prime Minister
Sir Wilfrid Laurier, with whom he rode the streetcar to work every morning. Murray played a key role in the founding of the Boy Scouts of Canada, having been assigned to find someone to found the organization to please the then-Governor-General
who was a big fan of Baden-Powell
. Despite a distinguished career, all accounts, including that of his daughter, admit that he is most well known as the husband of his colourful and outspoken wife, Margaret Lally "Ma" Murray.
He moved to British Columbia
and started a weekly newspaper, The Chinook, from an office in South Vancouver and was active in Liberal Party
politics and local society. It was during this period that he hired and ultimately married Margaret Lally. Unable to enlist for World War I
because of health condition, he folded The Chinook due to a lack of business during wartime and moved to Anmore, near Port Moody
while accepting a job as reporter and editor with the Vancouver News-Advertiser (the predecessor to the Vancouver Sun). During the Murrays' time at Anmore they launched Country Life, a magazine for rural women which remained popular for many years and was his wife's pet project at the time, as she was active in the organization of Women's Institutes in British Columbia
. Now the Murray's House in Anmore serves as the Village Hall and are celebrated every year at Ma Murray days, a community event in Anmore held in September.
During the 1920s while resident in Anmore the Murrays orchestrated the funeral cortege and civic funeral for Vancouver's pioneer bartender and long-time volunteer lifeguard Joe Fortes
in 1922 with a series of well-placed phone calls to their many connections in town, including the bishop who had married them). They also similarly instigated the construction and dedication of the Peace Arch
and its international peace park at the Blaine
Border Crossing in 1921.
Always an enthusiastic promoter and maker of stump-speeches on the subject of railways, agricultural potential, the untapped natural resources of the province's north and Interior
, and the huge potential of trade with China
, George was offered and accepted the Liberal Party nomination for the provincial legislature in the wilderness riding of Lillooet
and moved the family there in 1933. He and his wife promptly founded the Bridge River-Lillooet News upon their arrival in town, and soon after launched the Mines Communicator, a satellite publication serving the booming goldfield towns of the Bridge River Country
to the west of Lillooet
. They also launched the Howe Sound Tribune in Squamish
and continued to publish Country Life.
The Murrays made an official visit to Shanghai
just around the outbreak of War in the Pacific
, and had to be evacuated from that city during its bombardment by the Japanese Empire. With all banks closed, they were lucky that Margaret found a Canadian 50-cent piece hidden in her sewing purse to purchase a rickshaw ride to the city's harbour, where evacuation to a waiting American warship was procured and the MLA
and his wife announced as the Premier of British Columbia
(apparently a protocol scoop engineered by his wife to assure passage).
Upon their return to Lillooet
they found the town's rail siding packed with railcars loaded with Japanese-Canadian evacuees from the Coast, many of whom were to remain in the area for the duration of the war. The Murrays immediately launched a fund-raising campaign for Chinese relief, and managed to raise $20,000 from the many local Chinese merchants, in part thanks to an improvised ad in Chinese characters made using potatoes for printing blocks and characters gleaned from the Vancouver Chinese papers. During their absence, the Murrays had left the newspaper business in the hands of their young adult children, Dan and Georgina, whom it was discovered had moved the Howe Sound Tribune to Williams Lake
(in violation of wartime newsprint-rationing rules), where it remains today as the Williams Lake Tribune even though it did not stay in Murray hands for long as the Murrays quickly liquidated their offspring's efforts at building a newspaper empire due to financial difficulties.
George was an avid promoter of the economic potential of his riding and invested from his own pocket in junkets for businessmen and investors to tour the Bridge River Country
goldfields. He and his wife also became enthusiastic promoters of the region's rich history and were behind the campaign to erect the "Mile O Cairn" in Lillooet to commemorate the original Cariboo Wagon Road's commencement at the head of the town's Main Street. He also lobbied for road construction to back up the development of the new Blue Creek gold find in the Shulaps Range
near Big Dog Mountain, which would have seen a highway routed to Gold Bridge
and Bralorne
via the north end of that range (instead of via the Bridge River Canyon
where Highway 40 makes that connection today.
The Murrays' support for striking miners at Bralorne
-Pioneer Mine incurred a boycott of their advertising pages by the mine company and other businesses, forcing the closure of the Mines Communicator and the sale of the Bridge River-Lillooet News. With most of his supporters - the miners - away at war, he lost the 1941 election
, disastrously earning less than 100 votes. The Murrays, finding themselves pariahs in the Lillooet region, and with George losing his seat in the provincial legislature in 1941, they decided to start over again with a move to the new boomtown of Fort St. John in the province's northeast Peace River Country
, where they founded the Alaska Highway News. In 1945 he ran unsuccessfully as an independent in the Lillooet
riding, commuting to Lillooet
from Fort St. John for the campaign. under the banner Liberal Progressive, as he had refused to join the Liberal-Conservative Coalition of John Hart. George run successfully for the federal Liberals
in the riding of Cariboo
in the 1949 general election.
The greatest embarrassment of his career came with his wife's running for the provincial legislature as a Socred - without telling him first. She lost, but the mere fact of her campaign and her temporary support for W.A.C. Bennett ruined George's political career although he continued to love his wife deeply, despite her eccentricities and reputation as a political loose cannon. George lost his federal seat in 1953 to a Social Credit
in the wake of the embarrassment and retired from politics, returning to Lillooet
where the family had re-purchased the Bridge River-Lillooet News and which his wife continued to edit and publish after his death in 1961.
18th Provincial Election 1933
Lillooet
riding
19th Provincial Election 1937
Lillooet
riding
20th Provincial Election 1941
Lillooet
riding
21st Provincial Election 1945
Lillooet
riding
1949 Federal Election
Cariboo federal riding
23rd Provincial Election 1952
Yale
riding
1953 Federal Election
Cariboo federal riding
George is commemorated on the British Columbia landscape by a Mount Murray in the Hart Ranges
on the southern periphery of the Peace River Country
, and also (with his wife) by Mount Murray, in the heart of the Clear Range
mid-way between Lillooet
and Spences Bridge
.
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...
in the first half of the 20th century. Originally a reporter for the Ottawa Citizen
Ottawa Citizen
The Ottawa Citizen is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Canada. According to the Canadian Newspaper Association, the paper had a 2008 weekly circulation of 900,197.- History :...
he was schooled informally in politics by Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
Sir Wilfrid Laurier, with whom he rode the streetcar to work every morning. Murray played a key role in the founding of the Boy Scouts of Canada, having been assigned to find someone to found the organization to please the then-Governor-General
Governor-General
A Governor-General, is a vice-regal person of a monarch in an independent realm or a major colonial circonscription. Depending on the political arrangement of the territory, a Governor General can be a governor of high rank, or a principal governor ranking above "ordinary" governors.- Current uses...
who was a big fan of Baden-Powell
Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell
Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, Bt, OM, GCMG, GCVO, KCB , also known as B-P or Lord Baden-Powell, was a lieutenant-general in the British Army, writer, and founder of the Scout Movement....
. Despite a distinguished career, all accounts, including that of his daughter, admit that he is most well known as the husband of his colourful and outspoken wife, Margaret Lally "Ma" Murray.
He moved to 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...
and started a weekly newspaper, The Chinook, from an office in South Vancouver and was active in Liberal Party
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
politics and local society. It was during this period that he hired and ultimately married Margaret Lally. Unable to enlist for World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
because of health condition, he folded The Chinook due to a lack of business during wartime and moved to Anmore, near Port Moody
Port Moody, British Columbia
Port Moody is a small, crescent-shaped city in Metro Vancouver, located at the east end of Burrard Inlet in British Columbia, Canada. Port Moody is the smallest of the Tri-Cities, bordered by Coquitlam on the east and south, and Burnaby on the west. The villages of Belcarra and Anmore, along with...
while accepting a job as reporter and editor with the Vancouver News-Advertiser (the predecessor to the Vancouver Sun). During the Murrays' time at Anmore they launched Country Life, a magazine for rural women which remained popular for many years and was his wife's pet project at the time, as she was active in the organization of Women's Institutes in 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...
. Now the Murray's House in Anmore serves as the Village Hall and are celebrated every year at Ma Murray days, a community event in Anmore held in September.
During the 1920s while resident in Anmore the Murrays orchestrated the funeral cortege and civic funeral for Vancouver's pioneer bartender and long-time volunteer lifeguard Joe Fortes
Joe Fortes
Seraphim “Joe” Fortes is believed to have been born in Barbados in 1865. After leaving his homeland in his mid-teens, he worked in Britain for several years. In 1884 he sailed around Cape Horn from Liverpool on the "Robert Kerr", arriving in Burrard Inlet in September 1885...
in 1922 with a series of well-placed phone calls to their many connections in town, including the bishop who had married them). They also similarly instigated the construction and dedication of the Peace Arch
Peace Arch
The Peace Arch is a monument situated on the Canada – United States border between the communities of Blaine, Washington and Surrey, British Columbia. The Peace Arch, which stands...
and its international peace park at the Blaine
Blaine, Washington
Blaine is a city in Whatcom County, Washington, United States. The city's northern boundary is the Canadian border. Blaine is the shared home of the Peace Arch international monument...
Border Crossing in 1921.
Always an enthusiastic promoter and maker of stump-speeches on the subject of railways, agricultural potential, the untapped natural resources of the province's north and Interior
Interior Plateau
The Interior Plateau comprises a large region of central British Columbia, and lies between the Cariboo and Monashee Mountains on the east, and the Hazelton Mountains, Coast Mountains and Cascade Range on the west. The continuation of the plateau into the United States is known there as the...
, and the huge potential of trade with China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, George was offered and accepted the Liberal Party nomination for the provincial legislature in the wilderness riding of Lillooet
Lillooet (electoral district)
The Lillooet electoral district was a riding in the Canadian province of British Columbia, centred on the town of the same name and with various boundaries...
and moved the family there in 1933. He and his wife promptly founded the Bridge River-Lillooet News upon their arrival in town, and soon after launched the Mines Communicator, a satellite publication serving the booming goldfield towns of the Bridge River Country
Bridge River
The Bridge River is, or was, a major tributary of British Columbia's Fraser River, entering that stream about six miles upstream from the town of Lillooet.-Name:Its name in the Lillooet language is Xwisten , sometimes spelled Nxwisten or Nxo-isten)...
to the west of Lillooet
Lillooet, British Columbia
Lillooet is a community on the Fraser River in western Canada, about up the British Columbia Railway line from Vancouver. Situated at an intersection of deep gorges in the lee of the Coast Mountains, it has a dry climate- of precipitation is recorded annually at the town's weather station,...
. They also launched the Howe Sound Tribune in Squamish
Squamish, British Columbia
Squamish is a community and a district municipality in the Canadian province of British Columbia, located at the north end of Howe Sound on the Sea to Sky Highway...
and continued to publish Country Life.
The Murrays made an official visit to Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
just around the outbreak of War in the Pacific
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
, and had to be evacuated from that city during its bombardment by the Japanese Empire. With all banks closed, they were lucky that Margaret found a Canadian 50-cent piece hidden in her sewing purse to purchase a rickshaw ride to the city's harbour, where evacuation to a waiting American warship was procured and the MLA
Member of the Legislative Assembly
A Member of the Legislative Assembly or a Member of the Legislature , is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to the legislature or legislative assembly of a sub-national jurisdiction....
and his wife announced as the Premier of British Columbia
Premier of British Columbia
The Premier of British Columbia is the first minister, head of government, and de facto chief executive for the Canadian province of British Columbia. Until the early 1970s the title Prime Minister of British Columbia was often used...
(apparently a protocol scoop engineered by his wife to assure passage).
Upon their return to Lillooet
Lillooet, British Columbia
Lillooet is a community on the Fraser River in western Canada, about up the British Columbia Railway line from Vancouver. Situated at an intersection of deep gorges in the lee of the Coast Mountains, it has a dry climate- of precipitation is recorded annually at the town's weather station,...
they found the town's rail siding packed with railcars loaded with Japanese-Canadian evacuees from the Coast, many of whom were to remain in the area for the duration of the war. The Murrays immediately launched a fund-raising campaign for Chinese relief, and managed to raise $20,000 from the many local Chinese merchants, in part thanks to an improvised ad in Chinese characters made using potatoes for printing blocks and characters gleaned from the Vancouver Chinese papers. During their absence, the Murrays had left the newspaper business in the hands of their young adult children, Dan and Georgina, whom it was discovered had moved the Howe Sound Tribune to Williams Lake
Williams Lake, British Columbia
Williams Lake, is a city in the Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the central part of a region known as the Cariboo, it is the largest urban centre between Kamloops and Prince George, with a population of 11,150 in city limits....
(in violation of wartime newsprint-rationing rules), where it remains today as the Williams Lake Tribune even though it did not stay in Murray hands for long as the Murrays quickly liquidated their offspring's efforts at building a newspaper empire due to financial difficulties.
George was an avid promoter of the economic potential of his riding and invested from his own pocket in junkets for businessmen and investors to tour the Bridge River Country
Bridge River
The Bridge River is, or was, a major tributary of British Columbia's Fraser River, entering that stream about six miles upstream from the town of Lillooet.-Name:Its name in the Lillooet language is Xwisten , sometimes spelled Nxwisten or Nxo-isten)...
goldfields. He and his wife also became enthusiastic promoters of the region's rich history and were behind the campaign to erect the "Mile O Cairn" in Lillooet to commemorate the original Cariboo Wagon Road's commencement at the head of the town's Main Street. He also lobbied for road construction to back up the development of the new Blue Creek gold find in the Shulaps Range
Shulaps Range
The Shulaps Range is a subrange of the Chilcotin Ranges subset of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in southwest-central British Columbia. The range is 55 km NW–SE and 15 km SW–NE and 2,970 km² in area....
near Big Dog Mountain, which would have seen a highway routed to Gold Bridge
Gold Bridge, British Columbia
Gold Bridge is an unincorporated community in the Bridge River Country of British Columbia, Canada. Although numbering only around 250 inhabitants, Gold Bridge is the service and supply centre for the upper basin of the Bridge River Valley, which includes recreation-residential areas at the Gun...
and Bralorne
Bralorne, British Columbia
Bralorne is an historic underground gold mining community in the Bridge River District, some sixty dirt road miles west of the town of Lillooet.-Background:...
via the north end of that range (instead of via the Bridge River Canyon
Bridge River
The Bridge River is, or was, a major tributary of British Columbia's Fraser River, entering that stream about six miles upstream from the town of Lillooet.-Name:Its name in the Lillooet language is Xwisten , sometimes spelled Nxwisten or Nxo-isten)...
where Highway 40 makes that connection today.
The Murrays' support for striking miners at Bralorne
Bralorne, British Columbia
Bralorne is an historic underground gold mining community in the Bridge River District, some sixty dirt road miles west of the town of Lillooet.-Background:...
-Pioneer Mine incurred a boycott of their advertising pages by the mine company and other businesses, forcing the closure of the Mines Communicator and the sale of the Bridge River-Lillooet News. With most of his supporters - the miners - away at war, he lost the 1941 election
British Columbia general election, 1941
The British Columbia general election, 1941 was the twentieth 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 September 9, 1941, and held on October 21, 1941.After the election, a...
, disastrously earning less than 100 votes. The Murrays, finding themselves pariahs in the Lillooet region, and with George losing his seat in the provincial legislature in 1941, they decided to start over again with a move to the new boomtown of Fort St. John in the province's northeast Peace River Country
Peace River Country
The Peace River Country is an aspen parkland region around the Peace River in Canada. It spans from northwestern Alberta to the Rocky Mountains in northeastern British Columbia, where the region is also referred to as the Peace River Block.- Geography :The Peace River Country includes the...
, where they founded the Alaska Highway News. In 1945 he ran unsuccessfully as an independent in the Lillooet
Lillooet (electoral district)
The Lillooet electoral district was a riding in the Canadian province of British Columbia, centred on the town of the same name and with various boundaries...
riding, commuting to Lillooet
Lillooet, British Columbia
Lillooet is a community on the Fraser River in western Canada, about up the British Columbia Railway line from Vancouver. Situated at an intersection of deep gorges in the lee of the Coast Mountains, it has a dry climate- of precipitation is recorded annually at the town's weather station,...
from Fort St. John for the campaign. under the banner Liberal Progressive, as he had refused to join the Liberal-Conservative Coalition of John Hart. George run successfully for the federal Liberals
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
in the riding of Cariboo
Cariboo (electoral district)
Cariboo was a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1871 to 1892.This riding was first created as Cariboo District following British Columbia's admission into the Canadian Confederation in 1871...
in the 1949 general election.
The greatest embarrassment of his career came with his wife's running for the provincial legislature as a Socred - without telling him first. She lost, but the mere fact of her campaign and her temporary support for W.A.C. Bennett ruined George's political career although he continued to love his wife deeply, despite her eccentricities and reputation as a political loose cannon. George lost his federal seat in 1953 to a Social Credit
Social Credit Party of Canada
The Social Credit Party of Canada was a conservative-populist political party in Canada that promoted social credit theories of monetary reform...
in the wake of the embarrassment and retired from politics, returning to Lillooet
Lillooet, British Columbia
Lillooet is a community on the Fraser River in western Canada, about up the British Columbia Railway line from Vancouver. Situated at an intersection of deep gorges in the lee of the Coast Mountains, it has a dry climate- of precipitation is recorded annually at the town's weather station,...
where the family had re-purchased the Bridge River-Lillooet News and which his wife continued to edit and publish after his death in 1961.
Electoral career
| Preceded by: Ernest Crawford Carson Ernest Crawford Carson Ernest Crawford Carson was a rancher and political figure in British Columbia. He represented Lillooet in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1928 to 1933 and from 1941 to 1953 as a Conservative.... 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... (1928-1933) | MLA Member of the Legislative Assembly A Member of the Legislative Assembly or a Member of the Legislature , is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to the legislature or legislative assembly of a sub-national jurisdiction.... from Lillooet Lillooet (electoral district) The Lillooet electoral district was a riding in the Canadian province of British Columbia, centred on the town of the same name and with various boundaries... Liberal British Columbia Liberal Party The British Columbia Liberal Party is the governing political party in British Columbia, Canada. First elected for government in 1916, the party went into decline after 1952, with its rump caucus merging with the Social Credit Party for the 1975 election... (1933-1941) | Succeeded by: Ernest Crawford Carson Ernest Crawford Carson Ernest Crawford Carson was a rancher and political figure in British Columbia. He represented Lillooet in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1928 to 1933 and from 1941 to 1953 as a Conservative.... 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... (1941-1953) |
18th Provincial Election 1933British Columbia general election, 1933The British Columbia general election of 1933 was the eighteenth 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 September 13, 1933, and held on November 2, 1933...
LillooetLillooet (electoral district)
The Lillooet electoral district was a riding in the Canadian province of British Columbia, centred on the town of the same name and with various boundaries...
riding
- Carson, Ernest Crawford NPIG 705 33.51%
- MURRAY, George Matheson LIB. 927 44.06%
- Smith, John Morrison CCFCo-operative Commonwealth FederationThe Co-operative Commonwealth Federation was a Canadian political party founded in 1932 in Calgary, Alberta, by a number of socialist, farm, co-operative and labour groups, and the League for Social Reconstruction...
472 22.43% - Rejected ballots 96
- Total votes 2,104
19th Provincial Election 1937British Columbia general election, 1937The British Columbia general election of 1937 was the nineteenth 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 April 14, 1937, and held on June 1, 1937...
LillooetLillooet (electoral district)
The Lillooet electoral district was a riding in the Canadian province of British Columbia, centred on the town of the same name and with various boundaries...
riding
- Armstrong, Robert Purvis CCFCo-operative Commonwealth FederationThe Co-operative Commonwealth Federation was a Canadian political party founded in 1932 in Calgary, Alberta, by a number of socialist, farm, co-operative and labour groups, and the League for Social Reconstruction...
855 28.92% - Carson, Ernest Crawford CONS. 925 31.29%
- MURRAY, George Matheson LIB. 1,176 39.78%
- Rejected ballots 57
- Total votes 2,956
20th Provincial Election 1941British Columbia general election, 1941The British Columbia general election, 1941 was the twentieth 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 September 9, 1941, and held on October 21, 1941.After the election, a...
LillooetLillooet (electoral district)
The Lillooet electoral district was a riding in the Canadian province of British Columbia, centred on the town of the same name and with various boundaries...
riding
- Archibald, Harry Grenfell CCFCo-operative Commonwealth FederationThe Co-operative Commonwealth Federation was a Canadian political party founded in 1932 in Calgary, Alberta, by a number of socialist, farm, co-operative and labour groups, and the League for Social Reconstruction...
841 31.75% - CARSON, Ernest Crawford CONS.British Columbia Conservative PartyThe 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...
1,017 38.39% - Murray, George Matheson LIB. 791 29.86%
- Rejected ballots 29
- Total votes 2,649
21st Provincial Election 1945British Columbia general election, 1945The British Columbia general election of 1945 was the twenty-first 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...
LillooetLillooet (electoral district)
The Lillooet electoral district was a riding in the Canadian province of British Columbia, centred on the town of the same name and with various boundaries...
riding
- CARSON, Ernest Crawford COAL. 1,143 51.42%
- Jacobsen, John Fossmark SCA 196 8.82%
- Murray, George Matheson PRO.LIB. 61 2.74%
- Radcliffe, Charles CCFCo-operative Commonwealth FederationThe Co-operative Commonwealth Federation was a Canadian political party founded in 1932 in Calgary, Alberta, by a number of socialist, farm, co-operative and labour groups, and the League for Social Reconstruction...
823 37.02% - Rejected ballots 21
- Total votes 2,223
1949 Federal ElectionCanadian federal election, 1949The Canadian federal election of 1949 was held on June 27 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 21st Parliament of Canada. It was the first election in Canada in almost thirty years in which the Liberal Party of Canada was not led by William Lyon Mackenzie King. King had...
Cariboo federal ridingCariboo (electoral district)
Cariboo was a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1871 to 1892.This riding was first created as Cariboo District following British Columbia's admission into the Canadian Confederation in 1871...
- MURRAY, George Matheson journalist 7,330 LiberalLiberal Party of CanadaThe Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
- IRVINE, William editor 5,870 CCFCo-operative Commonwealth FederationThe Co-operative Commonwealth Federation was a Canadian political party founded in 1932 in Calgary, Alberta, by a number of socialist, farm, co-operative and labour groups, and the League for Social Reconstruction...
23rd Provincial Election 1952British Columbia general election, 1952The British Columbia general election, 1952 was the 23rd 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 April 10, 1952, and held on June 12, 1952. The new legislature met for the...
YaleYale (electoral district)
Yale was a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1872 to 1892 and from 1917 to 1953....
riding
- GILLIS, John Lib 1067 33.9%
- CORBETT, Irvine SCSocial CreditSocial Credit is an economic philosophy developed by C. H. Douglas , a British engineer, who wrote a book by that name in 1924. Social Credit is described by Douglas as "the policy of a philosophy"; he called his philosophy "practical Christianity"...
1024 32.5 - MACISAAC, Angus CCFCo-operative Commonwealth FederationThe Co-operative Commonwealth Federation was a Canadian political party founded in 1932 in Calgary, Alberta, by a number of socialist, farm, co-operative and labour groups, and the League for Social Reconstruction...
659 20.9% - CHERRY, Bernard PC 338 10.7%
- MURRAY, George Matheson Ind. 60 1.9%
- Total votes 3,148
1953 Federal ElectionCanadian federal election, 1953The Canadian federal election of 1953 was held on August 10 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 22nd Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister Louis St...
Cariboo federal ridingCariboo (electoral district)
Cariboo was a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1871 to 1892.This riding was first created as Cariboo District following British Columbia's admission into the Canadian Confederation in 1871...
- LEBOE, Bert Raymond lumberman 5,562 Social CreditSocial Credit Party of CanadaThe Social Credit Party of Canada was a conservative-populist political party in Canada that promoted social credit theories of monetary reform...
- MURRAY, George Matheson journalist 5,160 LiberalLiberal Party of CanadaThe Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
- IRVINE, William organizer 4,314 CCFCo-operative Commonwealth FederationThe Co-operative Commonwealth Federation was a Canadian political party founded in 1932 in Calgary, Alberta, by a number of socialist, farm, co-operative and labour groups, and the League for Social Reconstruction...
Epitaph
The Murrays' daughter and biographer Georgina Keddell observed that if it were not for being eclipsed by the high profile in politics and publishing gained by her mother, her father would be far better known for his political career and as a historical figure.George is commemorated on the British Columbia landscape by a Mount Murray in the Hart Ranges
Hart Ranges
The Hart Ranges are one of the main geographic subdivisions of the Canadian Rockies and are the main part of the area that is meant by the Northern Rockies, although the much larger Muskwa Ranges to the north are more deserving of that term — but also much more inaccessible and much less...
on the southern periphery of the Peace River Country
Peace River Country
The Peace River Country is an aspen parkland region around the Peace River in Canada. It spans from northwestern Alberta to the Rocky Mountains in northeastern British Columbia, where the region is also referred to as the Peace River Block.- Geography :The Peace River Country includes the...
, and also (with his wife) by Mount Murray, in the heart of the Clear Range
Clear Range
The Clear Range is a small mountain range located in the angle of the Fraser and Thompson Rivers in south-central British Columbia. It has a small subdivision just northeast of that confluence named the Scarped Range...
mid-way between Lillooet
Lillooet, British Columbia
Lillooet is a community on the Fraser River in western Canada, about up the British Columbia Railway line from Vancouver. Situated at an intersection of deep gorges in the lee of the Coast Mountains, it has a dry climate- of precipitation is recorded annually at the town's weather station,...
and Spences Bridge
Spences Bridge, British Columbia
Spences Bridge is a community in the Canadian province of British Columbia, situated 23 miles north east of Lytton and 32 miles from Ashcroft. In 1892, the population included 32 people of European ancestry and 130 First Nations people. There were 5 general stores, 3 hotels, one Church of England...
.