1916 British Columbia general election

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox election 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<ref>Template:Cite canlaw</ref> provided for the life of the Assembly to be extended to five years,<ref>S.B.C. 1916, c. 14, s.6</ref> and members of the clergy were no longer disqualified from being elected as MLAs.<ref>S.B.C. 1916, c. 14, s.5</ref>

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,<ref>Template:Cite canlaw</ref> and their votes were cast between August 5 and Election Day.Template:Sfn

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.Template:Sfn

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. <ref>Template:Cite canlaw</ref> The following changes were made:

Abolished ridings	New ridings
Abolition of multi-member district
Cariboo	Cariboo Fort George Omineca
Merger of districts
Nelson City Ymir	Nelson
Division of districts
Okanagan	North Okanagan South Okanagan
Rossland City	Rossland Trail
Vancouver City (5 members)	Vancouver City (6 members) North Vancouver South Vancouver
Renaming of districts
Nanaimo City	Nanaimo
New Westminster City	New Westminster
Skeena	Prince Rupert

Results

Template:Election tableTemplate:Sfn |- ! colspan=2 rowspan=2 | Political party ! rowspan=2 | Party leader ! colspan=4 | MLAs ! colspan=4 | Votes |- ! Candidates !1912 !1916 !± !# ! ± !% ! ± (pp) Template:Canadian party colour |style="text-align:left;"|Harlan Brewster |45 ||– ||36 ||36Template:Increase ||89,892 ||68,459Template:Increase ||50.00 ||24.63Template:Increase Template:Canadian party colour |style="text-align:left;"|William Bowser |46 ||39 ||9 ||30Template:Decrease ||72,842 ||22,419Template:Increase ||40.52 ||19.13Template:Decrease Template:Canadian party colour |  |7 || – ||1 ||1Template:Increase ||4,926 ||3,413Template:Increase ||2.74 ||0.95Template:Increase Template:Canadian party colour |  |3 || – ||1 ||1Template:Increase ||1,321 ||1,321Template:Increase ||0.74 ||Template:N/a Template:Canadian party colour |  |4 ||1 || – ||1Template:Decrease ||3,014 ||1,851Template:Increase ||1.68 ||0.31Template:Increase Template:Canadian party colour |  |4 ||1 || – ||1Template:Decrease ||2,106 ||7,260Template:Decrease ||1.17 ||9.91Template:Decrease Template:Canadian party colour |  |3 ||1 || – ||1Template:Decrease ||1,012 ||391Template:Increase ||0.56 ||0.18Template:Decrease Template:Canadian party colour |  |2 || – || – || – ||2,985 ||2,985Template:Increase ||1.66 ||Template:N/a Template:Canadian party colour |  |1 || – || – || – ||1,518 ||1,518Template:Increase ||0.84 ||Template:N/a Template:Canadian party colour |  |1 || – || – || – ||158 ||158Template:Increase ||0.09 ||Template:N/a |- ! colspan="3" style="text-align:left;" | Total |116||42 ! " colspan="2"|47 ! " colspan="2"|179,774 ! " colspan="2"| 100.00% |} Template:Reflist

Seats and popular vote by partyTemplate:Sfn

Party	Seats	Votes	Change (pp)
Template:Canadian party colour	Template:Composition bar	Template:Percentage bar	Template:Bartable
Template:Canadian party colour	Template:Composition bar	Template:Percentage bar	Template:Bartable
Template:Canadian party colour	Template:Composition bar	Template:Percentage bar	Template:Bartable
Template:Canadian party colour	Template:Composition bar	Template:Percentage bar	Template:Bartable

Results by riding

The following MLAs were elected:Template:Sfn

Synopsis of results

Results by riding - 1912 British Columbia general election (single-member districts)Template:Sfn

Riding	Winning party								Votes
Name	1912		Party		Votes	Share	Margin #	Margin %	Lib	Con	Soc	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Total
Alberni		Con		Lib	393	39.26%	38	3.80%	393	355	–	–	–	–	253	–	1,001
Atlin		Con		Lib	329	54.29%	52	8.58%	329	277	–	–	–	–	–	–	606
Cariboo	New			Lib	453	68.64%	246	37.28%	453	207	–	–	–	–	–	–	660
Chilliwhack		Con		Lib	987	55.64%	200	11.28%	987	787	–	–	–	–	–	–	1,774
Columbia		Template:Abbr		Lib	541	66.63%	270	33.26%	541	271	–	–	–	–	–	–	812
Comox		Con		Lib	916	43.07%	34	1.60%	916	882	246	–	–	83	–	–	2,127
Cowichan		Con		Ind	539	56.92%	131	13.84%	408	–	–	–	–	–	539	–	947
Cranbrook		Con		Lib	727	59.06%	223	18.12%	727	504	–	–	–	–	–	–	1,231
Delta		Con		Con	964	51.55%	58	3.10%	906	964	–	–	–	–	–	–	1,870
Dewdney		Con		Lib	927	54.08%	140	8.16%	927	787	–	–	–	–	–	–	1,714
Esquimalt		Con		Con	655	50.08%	2	0.16%	653	655	–	–	–	–	–	–	1,308
Fernie		Con		Lib	903	46.38%	77	3.96%	903	826	218	–	–	–	–	–	1,947
Fort George	New			Con	499	43.43%	7	0.61%	–	499	–	–	492	–	–	158	1,149
Grand Forks		Con		Lib	584	63.62%	250	27.24%	584	334	–	–	–	–	–	–	918
Greenwood		Con		Lib	491	70.55%	286	41.10%	491	205	–	–	–	–	–	–	696
The Islands		Con		Lib	358	50.28%	4	0.56%	358	354	–	–	–	–	–	–	712
Kamloops		Con		Lib	1,519	61.27%	559	22.54%	1,519	960	–	–	–	–	–	–	2,479
Kaslo		Con		Lib	456	54.94%	82	9.88%	456	374	–	–	–	–	–	–	830
Lillooet		Con		Con	296	52.39%	27	4.78%	269	296	–	–	–	–	–	–	565
Nanaimo		Template:Abbr		Lib	1,137	57.14%	562	28.25%	1,137	575	–	–	278	–	–	–	1,990
Nelson	New			Con	607	48.99%	100	8.07%	507	607	–	–	–	–	125	–	1,239
Newcastle		Soc		Template:Abbr	551	56.11%	120	12.22%	–	431	–	–	551	–	–	–	982
New Westminster		Con		Lib	1,369	53.58%	183	7.16%	1,369	1,186	–	–	–	–	–	–	2,555
North Okanagan	New			Lib	1,261	57.08%	313	14.16%	1,261	948	–	–	–	–	–	–	2,209
North Vancouver	New			Lib	980	52.80%	382	20.58%	980	598	–	278	–	–	–	–	1,856
Omineca	New			Lib	473	62.16%	185	24.32%	473	288	–	–	–	–	–	–	761
Prince Rupert		Con		Lib	1,062	52.89%	116	5.78%	1,062	946	–	–	–	–	–	–	2,008
Revelstoke		Con		Lib	802	60.62%	281	21.24%	802	521	–	–	–	–	–	–	1,323
Richmond		Con		Lib	1,441	54.07%	252	9.45%	1,441	1,189	–	35	–	–	–	–	2,665
Rossland		Con		Lib	424	55.79%	88	11.58%	424	336	–	–	–	–	–	–	760
Saanich		Con		Lib	1,033	58.53%	301	17.06%	1,033	732	–	–	–	–	–	–	1,765
Similkameen		Con		Con	650	55.41%	127	10.82%	523	650	–	–	–	–	–	–	1,173
Slocan		Con		Lib	448	50.06%	1	0.12%	448	447	–	–	–	–	–	–	895
South Okanagan	New			Con	845	54.52%	140	9.04%	705	845	–	–	–	–	–	–	1,550
South Vancouver	New			Lib	1,579	45.75%	205	5.94%	1,579	1,374	–	–	–	–	–	498	3,451
Trail	New			Con	626	45.56%	142	10.33%	484	626	262	–	–	–	–	–	1,372
Yale		Con		Lib	809	57.05%	200	14.10%	809	609	–	–	–	–	–	–	1,418

Template:Color box = open seat

Template:Color box = turnout is above provincial average

Template:Color box = winning candidate was in previous Legislature

Template:Color box = incumbent had switched allegiance

Template:Color box = previously incumbent in another riding

Template:Color box = not incumbent; was previously elected to the Legislature

Template:Color box = incumbency arose from byelection gain

Template:Color box = other incumbents renominated

Template:Color box = multiple candidates

Results by riding - 1912 British Columbia general election (multiple-member districts)Template:Sfn

Party		Vancouver City			Victoria City
		Votes	Share	Change	Votes	Share	Change	47,263	49.38%	18.53%	15,772	51.29%	26.17%	39,050	40.80%	-13.94%	11,347	36.90%	-30.00%	2,824	2.95%	1.01%	1,185	3.85%	0.01%	2,701	2.82%	New	–	–	–	2,487	2.60%	New	–	–	–	1,380	1.44%	-11.02%	–	–	-4.13%	–	–	–	1,518	4.94%	New	–	–	–	929	3.02%	New
Total		46,285	100.00%		16,034	100.00%
Seats won		Template:LegendTemplate:Legend			Template:Legend
Incumbents returned		Template:Legend			–

See also

• List of British Columbia political parties

Further reading

• Template:Cite book
• In the Sea of Sterile Mountains: The Chinese in British Columbia, Joseph Morton, J.J. Douglas, Vancouver (1974).
• Template:Cite book

[[Category:General elections in British Columbia|Template:Title year]] [[Category:Template:Title year elections in Canada]] [[Category:Template:Title year in British Columbia|General election]]