British Columbia general election, 1875

This was the second election held after 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...

became a province of 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...

on July 20, 1871. Many of the politicians in the House had served with the Legislative Council or Assembly or the Executive Council, or had otherwise been stalwarts of the colonial era - some supporters of Confederation, others not. Some were ranchers or mining bosses from the Interior, others were colonial gentry from the Island and New Westminster, and others direct arrivals from Britain, Ireland or "Canada", which was still considered a different place not only in the minds of the politicians but in the language used in Hansard

Hansard

Hansard is the name of the printed transcripts of parliamentary debates in the Westminster system of government. It is named after Thomas Curson Hansard, an early printer and publisher of these transcripts.-Origins:...

during this period.

Statistics

Votes 5,656
Candidates 55
Members 25

Vancouver Island 4,477 votes total in thirteen seats 344.38 voters per seat:

Upper Island
- Comox: 83 votes (83 votes/seat)
- Cowichan: 143 votes (2 seats 71.5 votes/seat)
- Nanaimo: 770 (2 seats 385 votes/seat)

"Greater Victoria" total incl. Esquimalt is 3,481 eight seats 435.13 per seat)
- Victoria: 389 votes (2 seats 194.5 votes/seat)
- Victoria City: 2,811 (4 seats 702.75 votes/seat)
- Esquimalt: 281 (2 seats 140.5 votes/seat)

Mainland:

Interior 1,748 votes (10 seats 174.8 votes/seat:
- Cariboo: 852 votes (3 seats 284 votes/seat)
- Kootenay: 63 votes (2 seats 31.5 votes/seat)
- Lillooet: 201 votes (2 seats 100.5 votes/seat
- Yale: 632 votes (3 seats 210.6 votes/seat)

Lower Mainland 686 votes (3 seats 228.67 votes/seat:
- New Westminster: 589 votes (2 seats 294.5 votes/seat)
- New Westminster City: 97 votes (97 votes/seat)

Note that these figures refer to votes actually cast, not the population per se nor the total of the potential voters' list.

Issues and debates

The issues of Chinese immigration and the unbuilt railway defined the politics of the period, and were the main topic of debate in the campaign as well as in the House. As ever since in British Columbia politics, a tough stand against the Dominion Government (Ottawa) upon these issues, and over better terms for BC, was a prerequisite for success at the polls. Politicians and newspapermen (often the same thing in the early Legislature) were alarmed that British Columbia appeared not to have a say in the route of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and that Ottawa had no plans to assist in immigration to the new province in order to build the railway and otherwise populate the former colony. The issue of a promised railway along the east coast of Vancouver Island to its southern tip at Victoria was also of major political importance, especially to voters in the Island ridings (Victoria City, Victoria, Nanaimo City, Comox, Alberni, Cowichan, Esquimalt).

Also occupying the House were capital proposals and expenditures on projects such as improvements to the Dewdney Trail, the Cariboo Road

Cariboo Road

The Cariboo Road was a project initiated in 1860 by the colonial Governor of British Columbia, James Douglas...

, the Grand Trunk Road (Old Yale Road), and the financing of the Lillooet Cattle Trail

Lillooet Cattle Trail

The Lillooet Cattle Trail, also known as the Lillooet-Burrard Cattle Trail and also as the Lillooet Trail , was an unusual and daring public works undertaking by the Province of British Columbia in the 1877, and was the largest 19th Century public works expenditure at $35,000 of the new province...

, even though its main proponent, Thomas Basil Humphreys

Thomas Basil Humphreys

Thomas Basil Humphreys was an English-born miner, auctioneer and political figure in British Columbia. He represented Lillooet from 1871 to 1875, Victoria District from 1875 to 1882 and Comox from 1887 to 1890 in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia.He was born in Liverpool, the son of...

, the first 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....

for 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...

, was now MLA for Victoria. Victoria City MLA Andrew Charles Elliott, soon to be Premier, had been a provincial Magistrate in Lillooet and also supported the project, then the largest capital expenditure in the new province to date, and larger than anything outlaid in the colonial period. The trail was finally built and used in its entirety and for its original purpose - bringing cattle from the West Fraser rangelands directly to the Coast - was a financial disaster (as were also the Dewdney, Cariboo and Grand Trunk projects, and as had been the Douglas Road originally.

Non-party system

There were to be no political parties in the new province. The designations "Government" and "Opposition" and "Independent" (and variations on these) functioned in place of parties, but they were very loose and do not represent formal coalitions, more alignments of support during the campaign. "Government" meant in support of the current Premier; "Opposition" meant campaigning against him, and often enough the Opposition would win and immediately become the Government. The Elections British Columbia notes for this election describe the designations as "Government (GOV.) candidates supported the administration of G.A.B. Walkem. Those opposed ran as Reform (REF.), Opposition (OPP.), Independent Reform (IND.REF.), or Independent Opposition (IND.OPP.) candidates. Those who ran as straight Independents (IND.) were sometimes described as Government supporters (IND./GOV.).

The Walkem Government

Actual governing coalitions were very shaky, and between 1871 and 1903, when parties were formalized in BC, there were sixteen governments (as defined by Premierships) but only ten elections. This was one of the few early elections that produced a stable regime, as the mandate was called for and won by the incumbent government of the popular George Anthony Boomer Walkem

George Anthony Walkem

George Anthony "Boomer" Walkem was a British Columbian politician and jurist.Born in Newry, Ireland, Walkem moved to then Colony of British Columbia in 1862 and served as a member of the appointed Legislative Council of British Columbia from 1864 to 1870 and was a supporter of Canadian confederation...

, who retired from the office of Premier

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...

a year later only to return in 1878

British Columbia general election, 1878

This was the third election held after British Columbia became a province of Canada on July 20, 1871.- Non-party system :There were to be no political parties in the new province...

to serve again as Premier for a full four years further - a record in the period. In this election he had already been in office since the previous year, being voted to the position of Premier by the House after the retirement of Amor de Cosmos

Amor De Cosmos

Amor De Cosmos was a Canadian journalist, publisher and politician. He served as the second Premier of British Columbia.-Early life:...

from the Legislature, as his serving in the provincial House simultaneously with his seat in the House of Commons in Ottawa had been disallowed. Walkem similarly returned in 1878 because of the retirement of Andrew Charles Elliott

Andrew Charles Elliott

Andrew Charles Elliott was a British Columbian politician and jurist. Elliott's varied career in British Columbia included Gold Commissioner, stipendiary magistrate and, following the union of the Island and Mainland Colonies in 1866 was appoint High Sheriff of the province, resigning his...

, who had assumed the reins of power when he retired from his seat in 1876 and had been offered an appointment as a judge. From Walkem's retirement in 1882 to the end of the Prior

Edward Gawler Prior

Edward Gawler Prior, PC was a mining engineer and politician in British Columbia. Prior worked as a mining engineer in England until 1873 when he moved to the province where he settled in Nanaimo and took employment as assistant manager of the Vancouver Coal Mining & Land Co., Ltd...

government and the non-party period in 1903 - eleven years - there were ten governments.

Byelections not shown

Any changes due to byelections are shown below the main table showing the theoretical composition of the House after the election. A final table showing the composition of the House at the dissolution of the Legislature at the end of this Parliament can be found below the byelections. The main table represents the immediate results of the election only, not changes in governing coalitions or eventual changes due to byelections.

List of ridings

The original ridings had remained twelve in number, electing 25 members of the first provincial legislature from 12 ridings (electoral districts), some with multiple members. There were no political parties were not acceptable in the House by convention, though some members were openly partisan at the federal level (usually 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...

, although both 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...

and Labour allegiance were on display by some candidates). In all there were 55 candidates in the election, competing for 5,656 votes cast.

These ridings were:

Cariboo
Cariboo (provincial electoral district)
Cariboo was one of the twelve original electoral districts created when British Columbia became a Canadian province in 1871. Roughly corresponding to the old colonial electoral administrative district of the same name, it was a three-member riding until the 1894 election, when it was reduced...

(three members)
Comox
Comox (electoral district)
Comox was a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It was one of the first twelve ridings representing that province upon its joining Confederation, and was a one-member constituency...
Cowichan
Cowichan (electoral district)
Cowichan was one of the first twelve electoral districts created when British Columbia became a Canadian province in 1871. It was located on southern Vancouver Island. It was a one-member riding only . Its last appearance on the husting was in 1920...

(two members)
Esquimalt
Esquimalt (electoral district)
Esquimalt was a provincial electoral district in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It was one of the province's first twelve ridings upon its entry into Confederation. It was originally a two-member riding...

(two members)
Kootenay
Kootenay (provincial electoral district)
Kootenay was a provincial electoral district in the province of British Columbia, Canada, from 1871 to 1890. It was originally a two-member riding until the 1875 election; from 1878, it was a one-member seat until its partition for the 1890 election into East Kootenay and West Kootenay...

(two members)
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...

(two members)
Nanaimo
New Westminster (two members)
New Westminster City
New Westminster City
New Westminster City was a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia from 1871 to 1912. For other electoral districts in New Westminster, please see New Westminster .- Demographics :- Electoral history :...
Victoria
Victoria (British Columbia electoral district)
Victoria was a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia, and was one of the first twelve ridings at the time of that province's joining Confederation in 1871 and stayed on the hustings until 1890. From 1894 to 1963 it did not appear on the electoral map...

(two members)
Victoria City
Victoria City (provincial electoral district)
Victoria City was one of the first twelve provincial electoral districts in the province of British Columbia, Canada, upon its entry into Confederation that year. It was originally a four-member riding, and elected to the Legislature several prominent Members of the Legislative Assembly and...

(four members)
Yale
Yale (provincial electoral district)
Yale was a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia from the province's joining Confederation in 1871. It was a 3-member constituency and retained the name Yale until the 1894 election, at which time it was split into three ridings, Yale-East, Yale-North and...

(three members)

Polling conditions

The secret ballot had been instituted for the first time, unlike the open poll book and show of hands in the 1871 election. Nomination meetings for candidates, however, still retained the old show of hands method of voting. The election was called on August 30, with polling day on a varying schedule from September 11 to October 25 and the legislature meeting for the first time on January 10, 1876. The varying schedule meant that some returns were in on October 1, on the same day other ridings were voting and still others would vote long after new of the returns elsewhere had come in. Election days varied because of travel difficulties and local work and weather conditions, and even in New Westminster and Victoria the "city" ridings voted a week in advance of those for the surrounding more rural ridings, although no returns (count of votes) were in until after the interval elapsed.

Natives (First Nations) and Chinese were disallowed from voting, although naturalized Kanakas (Hawaiian colonists) and American and West Indian blacks and certain others participated. The requirement that knowledge of English be spoken for balloting was discussed but not applied.

Results by riding

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|align="center"|George Anthony Boomer Walkem

George Anthony Walkem

¹
|align="center" |Cariboo
Cariboo (provincial electoral district)
Cariboo was one of the twelve original electoral districts created when British Columbia became a Canadian province in 1871. Roughly corresponding to the old colonial electoral administrative district of the same name, it was a three-member riding until the 1894 election, when it was reduced...

Government
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|align="center" rowspan=2 |Cariboo
Cariboo (provincial electoral district)
Cariboo was one of the twelve original electoral districts created when British Columbia became a Canadian province in 1871. Roughly corresponding to the old colonial electoral administrative district of the same name, it was a three-member riding until the 1894 election, when it was reduced...

Independent Opposition
|align="center"|Alexander Edmund Batson Davie
Alexander Edmund Batson Davie
Alexander Edmund Batson Davie, QC who is usually referred to as A. E. B. Davie, was a British Columbia politician and lawyer, and was premier of British Columbia from 1887 until his death.Called to the bar in 1873 he was the first person to receive his entire law education in British...

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|align="center"|John Ash
John Ash
John Ash may refer to:* John Ash , British physician.* John Ash , lexicographer and minister* John Ash , Member of the Legislative Assembly for Comox riding in British Columbia, Canada...

|align="center" rowspan=|Comox
Comox (electoral district)
Comox was a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It was one of the first twelve ridings representing that province upon its joining Confederation, and was a one-member constituency...

Government
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|align="center"|John Evans
John Evans (British Columbia politician)
John Evans was a miner and political figure in British Columbia. He represented Cariboo in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1875 to 1879....

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|align="center"|William James Armstrong
William James Armstrong
William James Armstrong was a merchant, miller and politician in British Columbia. He represented New Westminster District from 1871 to 1878 and New Westminster City from 1881 to 1884 in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia.He was born in Peterborough, Ontario, the son of William...

|align="center" rowspan=2 |New Westminster
Government
Independent/Government
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|align="center" rowspan=2 |Kootenay
Kootenay (electoral district)
Kootenay was a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1904 to 1917.This riding was created in 1903 from parts of Yale—Cariboo riding....

Reform Caucus
|align="center"|Charles Gallagher
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|align="center"|Ebenezer Brown
Ebenezer Brown
Ebenezer Brown was an English-born wholesale merchant and political figure in British Columbia. He represented New Westminster from 1875 to 1878 and New Westminster City from 1878 to 1881 in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia.He was educated in England and came to British Columbia in...

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|align="center"|Arthur Wellesley Vowell
Arthur Wellesley Vowell
Arthur Wellesley Vowell was an Irish-born civil servant and political figure in British Columbia. He represented Kootenay in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1875 to 1876....

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|align="center"|Robert Beaven
Robert Beaven
Robert Beaven , son of James Beaven, was a British Columbia politician and businessman. Beaven moved to British Columbia from Toronto, where he had been educated at Upper Canada College, because of the gold rush. He entered business in Victoria, which was then the capital of the Colony of Vancouver...

|align="center" rowspan=2 |Victoria City
Victoria City (provincial electoral district)
Victoria City was one of the first twelve provincial electoral districts in the province of British Columbia, Canada, upon its entry into Confederation that year. It was originally a four-member riding, and elected to the Legislature several prominent Members of the Legislative Assembly and...

Government
Independent-Government
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|align="center" rowspan=2 |Cowichan
Cowichan (electoral district)
Cowichan was one of the first twelve electoral districts created when British Columbia became a Canadian province in 1871. It was located on southern Vancouver Island. It was a one-member riding only . Its last appearance on the husting was in 1920...

Reform Caucus
|align="center"|Edwin Pimbury
Edwin Pimbury
Edwin Pimbury was an English-born farmer, merchant and political figure in British Columbia. He represented Cowichan in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1875 to 1882....

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|align="center"|James Trimble
James Trimble (Canadian politician)
James Trimble was an Irish-born physician and political figure in British Columbia, Canada. He represented Victoria City in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1871 to 1878....

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|align="center"|William Smithe
William Smithe
William Smithe was a British Columbia politician.Smithe was born William Smith in England and moved to Canada in his youth, settling on Vancouver Island in 1862 as a farmer. In 1871, he ran in BC's first election and won a seat in the new provincial legislature...

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|align="center"|Robert Smith
Robert Smith (British Columbia politician)
Robert Smith was an Irish-born Member of the Legislative Assembly of the province of British Columbia, Canada from its entry into Confederation in 1871 until the provincial election of 1878. Smith represented the Fraser Canyon-Interior riding of Yale...

|align="center" rowspan=1 |Yale
Yale (provincial electoral district)
Yale was a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia from the province's joining Confederation in 1871. It was a 3-member constituency and retained the name Yale until the 1894 election, at which time it was split into three ridings, Yale-East, Yale-North and...

Independent Government
||
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|align="center" rowspan=2 |Esquimalt
Esquimalt (electoral district)
Esquimalt was a provincial electoral district in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It was one of the province's first twelve ridings upon its entry into Confederation. It was originally a two-member riding...

Independent
Reform Caucus
|align="center"|William Fisher
William Fisher (Canadian politician)
William Fisher was a merchant and political figure in British Columbia, Canada. He represented Esquimalt in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1875 to 1878 as an Independent....

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|align="center"|Frederick W. Williams
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|align="center" rowspan=2 |Victoria
Victoria (British Columbia electoral district)
Victoria was a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia, and was one of the first twelve ridings at the time of that province's joining Confederation in 1871 and stayed on the hustings until 1890. From 1894 to 1963 it did not appear on the electoral map...

Reform Caucus
|align="center"|Thomas Basil Humphreys
Thomas Basil Humphreys
Thomas Basil Humphreys was an English-born miner, auctioneer and political figure in British Columbia. He represented Lillooet from 1871 to 1875, Victoria District from 1875 to 1882 and Comox from 1887 to 1890 in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia.He was born in Liverpool, the son of...

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|align="center"|William Fraser Tolmie
William Fraser Tolmie
William Fraser Tolmie was a Canadian surgeon, fur trader, scientist, and politician....

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|align="center" rowspan=2 |Victoria City
Victoria City (provincial electoral district)
Victoria City was one of the first twelve provincial electoral districts in the province of British Columbia, Canada, upon its entry into Confederation that year. It was originally a four-member riding, and elected to the Legislature several prominent Members of the Legislative Assembly and...

Independent
Opposition

|James W. Douglas
James W. Douglas
James William Douglas was a political figure in British Columbia. He represented Victoria City in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1875 to 1878....

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|align="center"|Andrew Charles Elliott
Andrew Charles Elliott
Andrew Charles Elliott was a British Columbian politician and jurist. Elliott's varied career in British Columbia included Gold Commissioner, stipendiary magistrate and, following the union of the Island and Mainland Colonies in 1866 was appoint High Sheriff of the province, resigning his...

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|align="center" |Nanaimo
|align="center"|John Bryden
John Bryden (MLA)
John Bryden was a Scottish-born businessman and political figure in British Columbia, Canada. He represented Nanaimo from 1875 to 1876 and North Nanaimo from 1894 to 1900 in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia....

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|align="center" rowspan=2 |Yale
Yale (provincial electoral district)
Yale was a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia from the province's joining Confederation in 1871. It was a 3-member constituency and retained the name Yale until the 1894 election, at which time it was split into three ridings, Yale-East, Yale-North and...

Reform Caucus
|align="center"|John Andrew Mara
John Andrew Mara
John Andrew Mara was a Canadian merchant, rancher and a politician at both the provincial and federal levels....

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|align="center"|Forbes George Vernon
Forbes George Vernon
Forbes George Vernon , Lieutenant British Army, was a Member of the Legislative Assembly of the Canadian province of British Columbia from 1875 to 1882, and from 1886 to 1894, representing the riding of Yale...

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|align-left"|¹ Premier-Elect and Incumbent Premier
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| align="center" colspan="10"|Source: Elections BC
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Byelections
Two sets of byelections were held to confirm appointments to the Executive Council (cabinet), as was the custom in earlier times. Some ministerial candidates in this series of byelections were confirmed by acclamation, others were contested. These byelections were:

Victoria
Victoria (British Columbia electoral district)
Victoria was a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia, and was one of the first twelve ridings at the time of that province's joining Confederation in 1871 and stayed on the hustings until 1890. From 1894 to 1963 it did not appear on the electoral map...

- February 15, 1876, Thomas Basil Humphreys
Thomas Basil Humphreys
Thomas Basil Humphreys was an English-born miner, auctioneer and political figure in British Columbia. He represented Lillooet from 1871 to 1875, Victoria District from 1875 to 1882 and Comox from 1887 to 1890 in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia.He was born in Liverpool, the son of...

acclaimed

Victoria City
Victoria City (provincial electoral district)
Victoria City was one of the first twelve provincial electoral districts in the province of British Columbia, Canada, upon its entry into Confederation that year. It was originally a four-member riding, and elected to the Legislature several prominent Members of the Legislative Assembly and...

- A.C. Elliott
Andrew Charles Elliott
Andrew Charles Elliott was a British Columbian politician and jurist. Elliott's varied career in British Columbia included Gold Commissioner, stipendiary magistrate and, following the union of the Island and Mainland Colonies in 1866 was appoint High Sheriff of the province, resigning his...

(contested), February 22, 1876

Yale
Yale (provincial electoral district)
Yale was a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia from the province's joining Confederation in 1871. It was a 3-member constituency and retained the name Yale until the 1894 election, at which time it was split into three ridings, Yale-East, Yale-North and...

- Forbes George Vernon
Forbes George Vernon
Forbes George Vernon , Lieutenant British Army, was a Member of the Legislative Assembly of the Canadian province of British Columbia from 1875 to 1882, and from 1886 to 1894, representing the riding of Yale...

(contested), March 11, 1876

Cowichan
Cowichan (electoral district)
Cowichan was one of the first twelve electoral districts created when British Columbia became a Canadian province in 1871. It was located on southern Vancouver Island. It was a one-member riding only . Its last appearance on the husting was in 1920...

- William Smithe
William Smithe
William Smithe was a British Columbia politician.Smithe was born William Smith in England and moved to Canada in his youth, settling on Vancouver Island in 1862 as a farmer. In 1871, he ran in BC's first election and won a seat in the new provincial legislature...

acclaimed, August 14, 1876

Cariboo
Cariboo (provincial electoral district)
Cariboo was one of the twelve original electoral districts created when British Columbia became a Canadian province in 1871. Roughly corresponding to the old colonial electoral administrative district of the same name, it was a three-member riding until the 1894 election, when it was reduced...

- Alexander Edmund Batson Davie
Alexander Edmund Batson Davie
Alexander Edmund Batson Davie, QC who is usually referred to as A. E. B. Davie, was a British Columbia politician and lawyer, and was premier of British Columbia from 1887 until his death.Called to the bar in 1873 he was the first person to receive his entire law education in British...

, who had been appointed to the Executive Council and so resigned his seat, was defeated by George Cowan Jn 20, 1877

Other byelections were also held due to deaths and other appointments; all were contested:

Kootenay
Kootenay (provincial electoral district)
Kootenay was a provincial electoral district in the province of British Columbia, Canada, from 1871 to 1890. It was originally a two-member riding until the 1875 election; from 1878, it was a one-member seat until its partition for the 1890 election into East Kootenay and West Kootenay...

- William Cosgrove Milby, January 19, 1877; seat vacated by the resignation of A.W. Vowell upon appointment as Gold Commissioner
Gold Commissioner
Gold Commissioner was an important regional administrative post in the Colony of British Columbia.In the 1860s, Governor Douglas had three priorities to protect the two colonies he governed: to protect the boundaries, to uphold law and order and to provide access to the gold fields...

for Cassiar 26 May 1876. Note: The Returning Officer cast the deciding vote for W.C. Milby. A show of hands on nomination day favoured Robert Galbraith
Robert Leslie Thomas Galbraith
Robert Leslie Thomas "R.L.T." Galbraith was an Irish-born merchant and political figure in British Columbia. He represented Kootenay in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1877 to 1886....

(Victoria Colonist September 10, 1876).

Nanaimo - David William Gordon
David William Gordon
David William Gordon was a Canadian politician from British Columbia.Gordon was born in Camden Township, Upper Canada, the son of Michael Gordon. He went to California in 1856 and then moved to British Columbia in 1858, where he established himself as a professional architect and builder in...

, January 19, 1877; seat vacated by John Bryden
John Bryden (MLA)
John Bryden was a Scottish-born businessman and political figure in British Columbia, Canada. He represented Nanaimo from 1875 to 1876 and North Nanaimo from 1894 to 1900 in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia....

in December 1876 to look after his business interests

Kootenay
Kootenay (provincial electoral district)
Kootenay was a provincial electoral district in the province of British Columbia, Canada, from 1871 to 1890. It was originally a two-member riding until the 1875 election; from 1878, it was a one-member seat until its partition for the 1890 election into East Kootenay and West Kootenay...

- Robert Leslie Thomas Galbraith
Robert Leslie Thomas Galbraith
Robert Leslie Thomas "R.L.T." Galbraith was an Irish-born merchant and political figure in British Columbia. He represented Kootenay in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1877 to 1886....

, January 19, 1877; seat vacated by the death of W.C. Milby October 26, 1877.

Composition of House at dissolution
Note: Government/Opposition status applies to candidate at time of election in 1875, not at time of dissolution in 1878.

|-
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|align="center"|George Anthony Boomer Walkem
George Anthony Walkem
George Anthony "Boomer" Walkem was a British Columbian politician and jurist.Born in Newry, Ireland, Walkem moved to then Colony of British Columbia in 1862 and served as a member of the appointed Legislative Council of British Columbia from 1864 to 1870 and was a supporter of Canadian confederation...

¹
|align="center" |Cariboo
Cariboo (provincial electoral district)
Cariboo was one of the twelve original electoral districts created when British Columbia became a Canadian province in 1871. Roughly corresponding to the old colonial electoral administrative district of the same name, it was a three-member riding until the 1894 election, when it was reduced...

Government
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|align="center" rowspan=2 |Cariboo
Cariboo (provincial electoral district)
Cariboo was one of the twelve original electoral districts created when British Columbia became a Canadian province in 1871. Roughly corresponding to the old colonial electoral administrative district of the same name, it was a three-member riding until the 1894 election, when it was reduced...

Independent Opposition
|align="center"|George Cowan
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|align="center"|John Ash
John Ash
John Ash may refer to:* John Ash , British physician.* John Ash , lexicographer and minister* John Ash , Member of the Legislative Assembly for Comox riding in British Columbia, Canada...

|align="center" rowspan=|Comox
Comox (electoral district)
Comox was a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It was one of the first twelve ridings representing that province upon its joining Confederation, and was a one-member constituency...

Government
||
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|align="center"|John Evans
John Evans (British Columbia politician)
John Evans was a miner and political figure in British Columbia. He represented Cariboo in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1875 to 1879....

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|align="center"|William James Amstrong
|align="center" rowspan=2 |New Westminster
Government
Independent/Government
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|align="center" rowspan=2 |Kootenay
Kootenay (electoral district)
Kootenay was a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1904 to 1917.This riding was created in 1903 from parts of Yale—Cariboo riding....

Reform Caucus
|align="center"|Charles Gallagher
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|align="center"|Ebenezer Brown
Ebenezer Brown
Ebenezer Brown was an English-born wholesale merchant and political figure in British Columbia. He represented New Westminster from 1875 to 1878 and New Westminster City from 1878 to 1881 in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia.He was educated in England and came to British Columbia in...

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|align="center"|Robert Leslie Thomas Galbraith
Robert Leslie Thomas Galbraith
Robert Leslie Thomas "R.L.T." Galbraith was an Irish-born merchant and political figure in British Columbia. He represented Kootenay in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1877 to 1886....

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|align="center"|Robert Beaven
Robert Beaven
Robert Beaven , son of James Beaven, was a British Columbia politician and businessman. Beaven moved to British Columbia from Toronto, where he had been educated at Upper Canada College, because of the gold rush. He entered business in Victoria, which was then the capital of the Colony of Vancouver...

|align="center" rowspan=2 |Victoria City
Victoria City (provincial electoral district)
Victoria City was one of the first twelve provincial electoral districts in the province of British Columbia, Canada, upon its entry into Confederation that year. It was originally a four-member riding, and elected to the Legislature several prominent Members of the Legislative Assembly and...

Government
Independent-Government
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|align="center" rowspan=2 |Cowichan
Cowichan (electoral district)
Cowichan was one of the first twelve electoral districts created when British Columbia became a Canadian province in 1871. It was located on southern Vancouver Island. It was a one-member riding only . Its last appearance on the husting was in 1920...

Reform Caucus
|align="center"|Edwin Pimbury
Edwin Pimbury
Edwin Pimbury was an English-born farmer, merchant and political figure in British Columbia. He represented Cowichan in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1875 to 1882....

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|align="center"|James Trimble
James Trimble (Canadian politician)
James Trimble was an Irish-born physician and political figure in British Columbia, Canada. He represented Victoria City in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1871 to 1878....

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|align="center"|William Smithe
William Smithe
William Smithe was a British Columbia politician.Smithe was born William Smith in England and moved to Canada in his youth, settling on Vancouver Island in 1862 as a farmer. In 1871, he ran in BC's first election and won a seat in the new provincial legislature...

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|align="center"|Robert Smith
Robert Smith (British Columbia politician)
Robert Smith was an Irish-born Member of the Legislative Assembly of the province of British Columbia, Canada from its entry into Confederation in 1871 until the provincial election of 1878. Smith represented the Fraser Canyon-Interior riding of Yale...

|align="center" rowspan=1 |Yale
Yale (provincial electoral district)
Yale was a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia from the province's joining Confederation in 1871. It was a 3-member constituency and retained the name Yale until the 1894 election, at which time it was split into three ridings, Yale-East, Yale-North and...

Independent Government
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|align="center" rowspan=2 |Esquimalt
Esquimalt (electoral district)
Esquimalt was a provincial electoral district in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It was one of the province's first twelve ridings upon its entry into Confederation. It was originally a two-member riding...

Independent
Reform Caucus
|align="center"|William Fisher
William Fisher (Canadian politician)
William Fisher was a merchant and political figure in British Columbia, Canada. He represented Esquimalt in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1875 to 1878 as an Independent....

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|align="center"|David William Gordon
David William Gordon
David William Gordon was a Canadian politician from British Columbia.Gordon was born in Camden Township, Upper Canada, the son of Michael Gordon. He went to California in 1856 and then moved to British Columbia in 1858, where he established himself as a professional architect and builder in...

|align="center" |Nanaimo
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|align="center"|Frederick W. Williams
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|align="center" rowspan=2 |Victoria
Victoria (British Columbia electoral district)
Victoria was a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia, and was one of the first twelve ridings at the time of that province's joining Confederation in 1871 and stayed on the hustings until 1890. From 1894 to 1963 it did not appear on the electoral map...

Reform Caucus
|align="center"|Thomas Basil Humphreys
Thomas Basil Humphreys
Thomas Basil Humphreys was an English-born miner, auctioneer and political figure in British Columbia. He represented Lillooet from 1871 to 1875, Victoria District from 1875 to 1882 and Comox from 1887 to 1890 in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia.He was born in Liverpool, the son of...

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|align="center"|William Fraser Tolmie
William Fraser Tolmie
William Fraser Tolmie was a Canadian surgeon, fur trader, scientist, and politician....

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|align="center" rowspan=2 |Victoria City
Victoria City (provincial electoral district)
Victoria City was one of the first twelve provincial electoral districts in the province of British Columbia, Canada, upon its entry into Confederation that year. It was originally a four-member riding, and elected to the Legislature several prominent Members of the Legislative Assembly and...

Independent
Opposition

|James W. Douglas
James W. Douglas
James William Douglas was a political figure in British Columbia. He represented Victoria City in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1875 to 1878....

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|align="center"|Andrew Charles Elliott
Andrew Charles Elliott
Andrew Charles Elliott was a British Columbian politician and jurist. Elliott's varied career in British Columbia included Gold Commissioner, stipendiary magistrate and, following the union of the Island and Mainland Colonies in 1866 was appoint High Sheriff of the province, resigning his...

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|align="center" rowspan=2 |Yale
Yale (provincial electoral district)
Yale was a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia from the province's joining Confederation in 1871. It was a 3-member constituency and retained the name Yale until the 1894 election, at which time it was split into three ridings, Yale-East, Yale-North and...

Reform Caucus
|align="center"|John Andrew Mara
John Andrew Mara
John Andrew Mara was a Canadian merchant, rancher and a politician at both the provincial and federal levels....

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|align="center"|Forbes George Vernon
Forbes George Vernon
Forbes George Vernon , Lieutenant British Army, was a Member of the Legislative Assembly of the Canadian province of British Columbia from 1875 to 1882, and from 1886 to 1894, representing the riding of Yale...

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| align="center" colspan="10"|Source: Elections BC
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Further reading & references

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.

See also

List of British Columbia political parties

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