1952 British Columbia general election

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox election The 1952 British Columbia general election was the 23rd general election in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, alongside a plebiscite on daylight saving time and liquor. The election was called on April 10, 1952, and held on June 12, 1952. The new legislature met for the first time on February 3, 1953.

In 1951, the Legislative Assembly passed an act that allowed the use of preferential ballots in the next election.<ref>Template:Cite canlaw</ref> The voting system used was instant-runoff voting (IRV). The presence of multi-member districts, such as Victoria City with 3 MLAs, was handled by an innovation where the district's candidates were split into separate "ballots", each with no more than one candidate from each party, with the member in each being elected by separate use of IRV.Template:Sfn The voting age was also lowered from 21 to 19 prior to this election.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Due to the preferential ballot and a large increase in SC support, the election resulted in a surprise victory for the new Social Credit Party. Not even the Socreds had expected to win the election; the party had no official leader, and was nominally lead through the election by Ernest George Hansell, an Alberta MP who did not contest a BC seat himself. The newly elected caucus selected W. A. C. Bennett, a former Conservative MLA, to be their leader and premier-designate.

This began what would be 20 years of uninterrupted Social Credit rule in British Columbia. This would also be the last election to produce a minority government until the 2017 election.

Background

The government until not long before the election had been a Liberal–Progressive Conservative coalition (the Conservatives had recently changed their name to match that of the federal party). After the coalition had collapsed, the Liberals felt threatened by the rising popularity of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation. To attempt to lock out the CCF, the government adopted the instant-runoff voting election system instead of leaving the existing system in place or switching to the single transferable vote system that was being used in neighbouring Alberta. The instant-runoff voting election system is a single-winner election system that uses transferable votes. While the Liberal and Conservative parties ran candidates separately under their own names, the leaders of those two parties hoped that if Liberal voters picked the local Tory candidate as their second preference and vice versa, one of the candidates of the two parties would have enough votes to be elected in many districts, hopefully ensuring the retention of power by the former coalition partners.

Vote count results

However, the Liberal and PC leaders had not reckoned on being so unpopular with the province's voters. The combined Liberal and PC vote total was 120,000 fewer votes than in the previous election, while the Social Credit party received almost 200,000 more votes than in 1949. In only eight seat contests did the combined Liberal and Conservative vote total surpass 50 percent, so even if the party voters had adhered to coalition discipline, in most of the seat contests the coalition did not have enough votes to be elected. They received only a comparative few votes through vote transfers from CCF and SC candidates, whose supporters aided each other where possible.<ref>"1871-1986 Electoral History of BC"</ref>

In districts where CCF candidates were eliminated, back-up preferences were marked overwhelmingly for the British Columbia Social Credit League (BCSCL). Combined with many second-preference votes transferred from eliminated Liberal and Conservative candidates, this gave the Social Credit party five seats in addition to the 14 seats where its candidates had a plurality in the first counts. In the end, the Social Credit party captured 19 seats. The CCF received 18 seats, helped in many cases by transfers from eliminated SC candidates. The coalition was almost wiped out, winning only 10 seats between both parties. Both Premier Byron "Boss" Johnson and Tory leader Herbert Anscomb lost their seats.

Not even the Socreds had expected to win the election. The party had no official leader. Alberta Social Credit Member of Parliament Ernest George Hansell had led the party during the election campaign without contesting a seat himself. The Socreds persuaded Tom Uphill, a Labour member of the Legislature (MLA), to support the party, and so the Socreds were able to form a minority government. (Otherwise, having to provide the Speaker meant that the SC seat total would have been reduced to only the same as the CCF's seat count.)

Aftermath

The party's next task was to choose the province's new premier. In a vote of the newly elected caucus, W. A. C. Bennett, a former Conservative MLA who joined the Socreds after losing a bid for the Tory leadership, won a caucus vote and became premier-designate on July 15, 1952. This began what would be 20 years of uninterrupted Social Credit rule in British Columbia. The party held power for 36 of the following 39 years. It would also be the last British Columbia election to produce a minority government until the 2017 election.

In hopes of getting a stronger mandate, Bennett deliberately lost a confidence vote in 1953. This forced an election in June 1953 in which Social Credit won a majority of the seats.

Results

Elections to the 23rd Legislative Assembly of British Columbia (1952)Template:Sfn

Party		Leader	Candidates	First-preference votes				Seats
				Votes	±	% Template:Abbr	±	1949	1952	±	Harold Winch	48	236,562	8,722Template:Decrease	30.78	4.32Template:Decrease	7	Template:Composition bar	11Template:Increase	Ernest George Hansell	47	209,049	194,723Template:Increase	27.20	25.15Template:Increase	–	Template:Composition bar	19Template:Increase	Boss Johnson	48	180,289	120,045Template:Decrease	23.46	21.05Template:Decrease	39	Template:Composition bar	29Template:Decrease	Herbert Anscomb	47	129,439	16.84	Template:Composition bar	Tom Uphill	1	1,290	193Template:Decrease	0.16	0.05Template:Decrease	1	Template:Composition bar	Template:No change		6	1,312	3,851Template:Decrease	0.17	0.57Template:Decrease	1	Template:Composition bar	1Template:Decrease		8	7,176	7,176Template:Increase	0.93	New		5	2,514	854Template:Increase	0.33	0.09Template:Increase
style="background-color: Template:Canadian party colour;" |	Labour Representation Committee		1	654	654Template:Increase	0.09	New		1	276	276Template:Increase	0.04	Returned
Total			212	768,561		100.00
Rejected ballotsTemplate:Sfn				45,649	35,758Template:Increase
Actual voters who votedTemplate:Sfn				543,456	65,457Template:Increase	68.53%	5.11Template:Decrease
Registered votersTemplate:Sfn				793,073	144,054Template:Increase

MLAs elected

Synopsis of results

Results by ridingTemplate:Snd1952 British Columbia general election (all districts)Template:Sfn

Riding	First-preference votes								Final counts						Winning party
Name	CCF	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Total	Template:Abbr	CCF	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	1949		1952
Alberni	3,067	1,366	2,176	1,204	–	–	196	8,009	4th	4,054	–	3,030	–	–		Ind		CCF
Atlin	595	–	292	164	–	–	–	1,051	Elected on 1st count							CCF		CCF
Burnaby	12,933	6,750	3,816	2,807	–	–	662	26,968	3rd	13,416	7,780	4,919	–	–		CCF		CCF
Cariboo	689	2,684	1,029	775	–	–	–	5,177	Elected on 1st count							Coal		SC
Chilliwack	2,242	8,509	2,543	2,097	–	–	–	15,391	Elected on 1st count							Coal		SC
Columbia	365	841	649	360	–	–	–	2,215	3rd	–	1,174	860	–	–		Coal		SC
Comox	5,369	2,987	3,532	1,868	–	–	–	13,756	3rd	7,098	–	5,210	–	–		Coal		CCF
Cowichan-Newcastle	4,636	1,886	2,711	1,463	–	–	–	10,696	3rd	5,697	–	4,064	–	–		Coal		CCF
Cranbrook	2,688	2,328	1,111	675	–	–	–	6,802	3rd	3,210	3,044	–	–	–		CCF		CCF
Delta	10,853	11,759	4,293	4,688	–	–	–	31,593	3rd	13,295	14,805	–	–	–		Coal		SC
Dewdney	6,024	7,600	3,631	2,233	–	–	–	19,488	3rd	7,248	9,813	–	–	–		Coal		SC
Esquimalt	3,607	1,606Template:Efn	2,294	1,550	–	–	–	9,057	3rd	4,741	–	3,597	–	–		Coal		CCF
Fernie	612	713	1,117	–	1,290	–	–	3,732	3rd	–	–	1,329	–	1,758		Lab		Lab
Fort George	1,593	2,009	2,022	371	–	–	–	5,995	3rd	–	2,760	2,468	–	–		Coal		SC
Grand Forks-Greenwood	826	292	252	706	–	–	–	2,076	3rd	1,043	–	–	922	–		CCF		CCF
Kamloops	1,311	3,108	2,708	959	–	–	–	8,086	3rd	–	4,002	3,366	–	–		Coal		SC
Kaslo-Slocan	1,411	597	617	522	–	–	–	3,147	3rd	1,792	–	1,000	–	–		CCF		CCF
Lillooet	1,074	450	725	1,301	–	96	–	3,646	4th	1,416	–	–	1,847	–		Coal		PC
Mackenzie	4,230	1,795	3,752	1,285	–	–	–	11,062	3rd	5,373	–	4,669	–	–		Coal		CCF
Nanaimo and the Islands	3,715	951	2,263	3,346	–	–	207	10,482	4th	4,581	–	–	5,144	–		Coal		PC
Nelson-Creston	2,473	2,975	2,572	774	–	–	–	8,794	3rd	–	4,265	3,351	–	–		Coal		SC
New Westminster	4,262	3,616	4,317	2,163	–	–	–	14,358	3rd	6,475	–	5,768	–	–		Coal		CCF
North Okanagan	1,786	4,347	2,104	1,240	–	–	–	9,477	3rd	–	5,447	3,063	–	–		Coal		SC
North Vancouver	6,268	4,947	6,695	4,061	–	216	604	22,791	6th	8,980	–	10,292	–	–		Coal		Lib
Oak Bay	707	1,071	3,631	2,843	–	–	–	8,252	3rd	–	–	4,308	3,282	–		Coal		Lib
Omineca	838	1,137	1,099	574	–	–	–	3,648	3rd	–	1,607	1,437	–	–		Coal		SC
Peace River	1,571	2,178	1,425	278	–	–	–	5,452	3rd	1,865	2,942	–	–	–		Coal		SC
Prince Rupert	2,292	1,104	2,001	687	–	–	–	6,084	3rd	2,903	–	2,754	–	–		Coal		CCF
Revelstoke	942	598	636	555	–	–	–	2,731	3rd	1,320	–	1,015	–	–		Coal		CCF
Rossland-Trail	2,541	3,979	3,331	1,690	–	–	–	11,541	3rd	–	5,917	4,803	–	–		Coal		SC
Saanich	5,862	2,947	4,964	3,407	–	–	–	17,181	3rd	7,867	–	7,599	–	–		Coal		CCF
Salmon Arm	1,236	1,462	669	896	–	–	–	4,263	3rd	1,617	1,979	–	–	–		Coal		SC
Similkameen	3,433	3,344	2,545	1,401	–	–	–	10,723	3rd	4,668	4,712	–	–	–		Coal		SC
Skeena	1,048	501	1,500	586	–	–	–	3,635	3rd	1,318	–	1,865	–	–		Coal		Lib
South Okanagan	2,654	6,082	1,763	1,371	–	–	–	11,870	Elected on 1st count							Coal		SC
Yale	659	1,024	1,067	338	–	60	–	3,148	4th	–	1,390	1,311	–	–		Coal		SC
Vancouver-Burrard (A)	10,037	9,166	6,166	5,765	–	577	1,064	32,775	5th	12,578	13,222	–	–	–		Coal		SC
Vancouver-Burrard (B)	10,397	9,002	6,358	5,615	–	–	1,046	32,418	4th	12,920	13,166	–	–	–		Coal		SC
Vancouver Centre (A)	6,912	4,694	5,234	4,120	–	–	1,321	22,281	5th	9,363	–	7,956	–	–		Coal		CCF
Vancouver Centre (B)	7,350	4,497	5,394	3,951	–	–	967	22,159	5th	9,893	–	8,496	–	–		Coal		CCF
Vancouver East (A)	21,006	11,536	6,574	2,850	–	–	2,304	44,270	4th	21,960	12,433	8,263	–	–		CCF		CCF
Vancouver East (B)	23,051	11,202	5,286	3,045	–	–	2,249	44,833	Elected on 1st count							CCF		CCF
Vancouver-Point Grey (A)	11,267	13,771	13,406	14,042	–	–	–	52,495	3rd	–	20,645	–	22,549	–		Coal		PC
Vancouver-Point Grey (B)	11,366	12,882	12,828	14,886	–	–	–	51,962	3rd	–	18,603	–	24,089	–		Coal		PC
Vancouver-Point Grey (C)	10,451	19,236	12,087	10,356	–	–	–	52,130	3rd	–	25,749	18,078	–	–		Coal		SC
Victoria City (A)	6,008	4,518	8,805	4,362	–	137	–	23,830	4th	8,421	–	12,071	–	–		Coal		Lib
Victoria City (B)	6,329	4,365	7,842	4,608	–	226	–	23,370	4th	8,902	–	11,057	–	–		Coal		Lib
Victoria City (C)	5,975	4,637	8,457	4,601	–	–	–	23,670	3rd	8,511	–	11,762	–	–		Coal		Lib

Template:Color box = Open seat

Template:Color box = 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 by-election gain

Template:Color box = Multiple candidates

Analysis

Party popularity ranked, numbers of districtsTemplate:Sfn

First preference					Final count
Parties	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	1st	2nd	3rd
Template:Canadian party colour	21	12	10	5	18	14	–
Template:Canadian party colour	14	11	17	5	19	5	–
Template:Canadian party colour	9	22	14	3	6	22	2
Template:Canadian party colour	3	3	7	34	4	2	–
Template:Canadian party colour	1	–	–	–	1	–	–

Template:Canadian party colourTemplate:Canadian party colourTemplate:Canadian party colourTemplate:Canadian party colourTemplate:Canadian party colour

Party candidates in 2nd place (first preference)Template:Sfn

Party in 1st place		Party in 2nd place				Total
		Socred	CCF	Liberal	PC
–	5	9	–	14
7	–	12	2	21
2	6	–	1	9
2	1	–	–	3
–	–	1	–	1
Total		11	12	22	3	48

Template:Canadian party colour || 19 || || 8 ||11 ||– || Template:Canadian party colour || 18 || 4 ||– ||13 ||1 || Template:Canadian party colour || 6 || 5 ||– ||– ||1 || Template:Canadian party colour || 4 || 2 ||2 ||– ||– || Template:Canadian party colour || 1 || ||– ||1 ||– ||

1st and 2nd place candidates (final count) by partyTemplate:Sfn

Party in 1st place		Total	Party in 2nd place
			Socred	CCF	Liberal	PC
Total		48	11	10	25	2

See also

• List of British Columbia political parties
• History and usage of the Single Transferable Vote

Further reading

• Template:Cite book
• 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]]