List of British Columbia general elections

This article provides a summary of results for the general elections to the Canadian

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...

province of British Columbia

British Columbia

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

's unicameral legislative body, the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia

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

. The number of seats has increased over time, from 25 for the first election in 1871, to the current 85. Until the 1903 election, British Columbia politics were officially non-partisan - political parties were not part of the process. This began to change in the 1898 and 1900 elections with the appearance of party-designated candidates.

The chart on the right shows the information graphically, with the most recent elections on the right. It shows the popularity of the 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...

party (red) and 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...

party (blue) in the first half of the 20th century; the arrival of the Social Credit party

British Columbia Social Credit Party

The British Columbia Social Credit Party, whose members are known as Socreds, was the governing political party of British Columbia, Canada, for more than 30 years between the 1952 provincial election and the 1991 election...

(green), which won eleven of the twelve elections from 1952 to 1986; and the domination of provincial politics since 1986 by the Liberal party and the New Democratic Party

New Democratic Party of British Columbia

The New Democratic Party of British Columbia is a social-democratic political party in British Columbia, Canada. The party currently forms the official opposition to the governing British Columbia Liberal Party following the 2009 provincial election in British Columbia.The BC NDP is the provincial...

(orange).

Summary of results

The table below shows the total number of seats won by the major political parties at each election. The winning party's total is shown in bold. Full details on any election are linked via the year of the election at the start of the row.

Year	Conservatives 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...	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...	NDP New Democratic Party of British Columbia The New Democratic Party of British Columbia is a social-democratic political party in British Columbia, Canada. The party currently forms the official opposition to the governing British Columbia Liberal Party following the 2009 provincial election in British Columbia.The BC NDP is the provincial...	Socialist	Social Credit British Columbia Social Credit Party The British Columbia Social Credit Party, whose members are known as Socreds, was the governing political party of British Columbia, Canada, for more than 30 years between the 1952 provincial election and the 1991 election...		Independent	Other Parties
Year
2009 British Columbia general election, 2009 The 39th British Columbia general election was held on May 12, 2009 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The BC Liberal Party formed the government of the province prior to this general election under the leadership of Premier Gordon Campbell...		49	35				1
2005 British Columbia general election, 2005 The 38th British Columbia general election was held on May 17, 2005, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia , Canada. The BC Liberal Party formed the government of the province prior to this general election under the leadership of Premier Gordon Campbell...		46	33
2001 British Columbia general election, 2001 The British Columbia general election of 2001 was the 37th provincial 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 18, 2001, and held on May 16, 2001...		77	2
1996 British Columbia general election, 1996 The British Columbia general election of 1996 was the thirty sixth provincial 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 30, 1996, and held on May 28, 1996...		33	39					3	Reform Reform Party of British Columbia The Reform Party of British Columbia is a populist right wing political party in British Columbia, Canada. Although its name is similar to the defunct Reform Party of Canada, the provincial party was founded before the federal party was and it did not have any formal association with... (2); Progressive Democrats Progressive Democratic Alliance The Progressive Democratic Alliance was a centrist political party in British Columbia, Canada founded by Gordon Wilson, Member of the Legislative Assembly for Powell River—Sunshine Coast.... (1)
1991 British Columbia general election, 1991 The British Columbia general election of 1991 was the 35th provincial 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 19, 1991, and held on October 17, 1991...		17	51		7
1986 British Columbia general election, 1986 The British Columbia general election of 1986 was the 34th 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 24, 1986...			22		47
1983 British Columbia general election, 1983 The British Columbia general election of 1983 was the 33rd provincial 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 April 7, 1983. The election was held on May 5, 1983...			22		35
1979 British Columbia general election, 1979 The British Columbia general election of 1979 was the 32nd 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 3, 1979...			26		31
1975 British Columbia general election, 1975 The British Columbia general election of 1975 was the 31st 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 November 3, 1975, and held on December 11, 1975...	1	1	18		35
1972 British Columbia general election, 1972 The 30th general election for the Canadian province of British Columbia was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. The election was called on July 24, 1972, and held on August 30, 1972...	2	5	38		10
1969 British Columbia general election, 1969 The British Columbia general election of 1969 was the 29th 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 July 21, 1969, and held on August 27, 1969...		5	12		38
1966 British Columbia general election, 1966 The British Columbia general election of 1966 was the 28th 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 5, 1966 and held on September 12, 1966...		6	16		33
1963 British Columbia general election, 1963 The British Columbia general election of 1963 was the 27th 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 22, 1963, and held on September 30, 1963...		5	14		33
1960 British Columbia general election, 1960 The British Columbia general election of 1960 was the 26th 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 3, 1960, and held on September 12, 1960. The new legislature met...		4	16		32
1956 British Columbia general election, 1956 The British Columbia general election of 1956 was the 25th 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 13, 1956, and held on September 19, 1956. The new legislature met...		2	10		39	1
1953 British Columbia general election, 1953 The British Columbia general election of 1953 was the 24th 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, 1953, and held on June 9, 1953...	1	4	14		28	1
1952 British Columbia general election, 1952 The 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...	4	6	18		19	1
1949 British Columbia general election, 1949 The British Columbia general election of 1949 was the 22nd 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 16, 1949, and held on June 15, 1949...	39		7			1	1
1945 British Columbia general election, 1945 The 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...	37		10			1
1941 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...	12	21	14			1
1937 British Columbia general election, 1937 The 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...	8	31	7			1	1
1933 British Columbia general election, 1933 The 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...		34	7			1	2	3	Non Partisan Independent Group (2), Unionist (1)
1928 British Columbia general election, 1928 The British Columbia general election of 1928 was the seventeenth 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 June 7, 1928, and held on July 18, 1928...	35	12				1
1924 British Columbia general election, 1924 The British Columbia general election of 1924 was the sixteenth 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 May 10, 1924, and held on June 20, 1924...	17	23						8	Provincial Provincial Party of British Columbia The Provincial Party of British Columbia was a political party in British Columbia, Canada.It was formed by a group of British Columbia Conservative Party dissidents known as the "Committee of 100", led and funded by the wealthy General Alexander McRae and political elements from the United... (3); Canadian Labour (3); Ind. Liberal (2)
1920 British Columbia general election, 1920 The British Columbia general election of 1920 was the fifteenth 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 October 23, 1920, and held on December 1, 1920...	15	25					3	4	Federated Labour Labour candidates and parties in Canada There have been various groups in Canada that have nominated candidates under the label Labour Party or Independent Labour Party or other variations from the 1870s until the 1960s... (3); People's (1)
1916 British Columbia general election, 1916 The British Columbia general election of 1916 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...	9	36					1	1	Independent Socialist
1912 British Columbia general election, 1912 The British Columbia general election of 1912 was the thirteenth 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 February 27, 1912, and held on March 28, 1912...	39			1				2	Independent Conservative; Social Democrat Social Democratic Party of Canada The Social Democratic Party was a social democratic political party in Canada founded in 1911 by members of the right wing of the Socialist Party of Canada. these members were dissatisfied with what they saw as that party's rigid, doctrinaire approach...
1909 British Columbia general election, 1909 The British Columbia general election of 1909 was the twelfth 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 October 20, 1909, and held on November 25, 1909'...	38	2		2
1907 British Columbia general election, 1907 The British Columbia general election of 1907 was the eleventh general election for the Province of British Columbia, Canada. It was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. The election called on December 24, 1906, and held on February 2, 1907...	26	13		3
1903 British Columbia general election, 1903 The British Columbia general election of 1903 was the tenth 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 September 5, 1903, and held on October 3, 1903...	22	17		2		1

Elections prior to provincial political parties

Until the 1903 election, political parties in BC had no official recognition. However, some candidates declared their support for the administration of the time as "Government" candidates, those not in support as "Non-Government" or Independent; such alignments often did not bear out once the House was seated. Full details on any election are linked via the year of the election at the start of the row.

While there were no official party lines, there were unofficial yet unstable ones. Premiers De Cosmos, and Martin both sat, at various times, in the federal House of Commons as Liberals, while premier Prior sat in the House of commons as a Conservative. There was also a clear grouping of members who would often sit in opposition to, or in the cabinet of, certain other premiers. De Cosmos and his unofficial liberals mutually supported (IE were in each other's cabinets) each other. These premiers included McCreight, Walkem, Bevean, Semlin, and Martin. Meanwhile Premiers Prior, Dunsmuir, Turner, Davie, Robson, Davie, Smithe, and Elliot sat in each other's cabinets or otherwise supported one another; while premiers from one group often sat in opposition to premiers from the other.

Year	Seats	Government	Non-Government
1900 British Columbia general election, 1900 The British Columbia general election of 1900 was the ninth 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 April 24, 1900, and held on June 9, 1900...	38	6	32
1898 British Columbia general election, 1898 The British Columbia general election of 1898 was the eighth general election for the Province of British Columbia, Canada. It was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia.-Party politics:...	38	18	20
1894 British Columbia general election, 1894 This was the seventh election held after British Columbia became a province of Canada on July 20, 1871. The number of members remained at 33 with the number of ridings increased to 26 as a result of the partition of the Yale and Westminster ridings....	33	20	13
1890 British Columbia general election, 1890 This was the sixth election held after British Columbia became a province of Canada on July 20, 1871. The number of members was increased for this election from 27 in the previous election to 33, although the number of ridings was decreased to 18....	33	17	16
1886 British Columbia general election, 1886 This was the fourth election held after British Columbia became a province of Canada on July 20, 1871. The number of members was increased for this election from 25 to 27, and the number of ridings increased to 13.- Non-party system :...	27	19	8
1882 British Columbia general election, 1882 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...	25	5	20
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...	25	8	17
1875 British Columbia general election, 1875 This was the second election held after British Columbia became a province of Canada 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...	25	8	17
1871 British Columbia general election, 1871 Formerly a British colony, British Columbia became a province of Canada on July 20, 1871. An interim Cabinet was appointed by the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, and election writs for the first general election were issued to choose 25 members of the first provincial legislature from 12...	25	No information available

Summary of results

Elections prior to provincial political parties

See also