New Westminster District
Encyclopedia
New Westminster District was a Canadian federal electoral district
created when the province
of British Columbia
joined Confederation in 1871. Like other ridings established in that year, a byelection was called to fill the seat until the general election of 1872. The riding constituted all of the New Westminster Land District
as well as the whole of the mainland Coast and adjoining islands, all the way to the Yukon
border excepting the Coast
and the Alaska Panhandle
.
The 1871 names were all temporary pending ratification of the riding system by the provincial legislature. When they became mandated the riding names were simplified, New Westminster District's becoming simply New Westminster
, and the same pattern was followed by the other temporary names, Victoria District, Cariboo Distridct, and Yale District, which became the ridings of Victoria
, Cariboo
, and Yale
for the general election the following year. riding of Vancouver Island became the riding of Vancouver
.
Note the historical British Columbia provincial riding, Westminster
, which appeared in the 1890 provincial election only.
|-
|Liberal-Conservative
|Hugh Nelson
|align="right"|125
|align="right"|83.89%
|align="right"|
|align="right"|
|-
|Unknown
|Scott 2
|align="right"|24
|align="right"|16.11%
|align="right"|
|align="right"|
|- bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3|Total valid votes
!align="right"|149
!align="right"|100.00%
!align="right"|
|- bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3|Total rejected ballots
!align="right"|
!align="right"|%
!align="right"|
|- bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3|Turnout
!align="right"|
!align="right"|%
!align="right"|
|- bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=7|1 Byelections were held to fill the temporary seats created when British Columbia joined Confederation. General elections were not held until the following year.
|- bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=7|2 Scott's given name is not given in the electoral record.
|}
By the 1872 election the riding boundaries had been properly legislated and renamed. New Westminster District became the riding of New Westminster
.
Electoral district
An electoral district is a distinct territorial subdivision for holding a separate election for one or more seats in a legislative body...
created when the province
Province
A province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state.-Etymology:The English word "province" is attested since about 1330 and derives from the 13th-century Old French "province," which itself comes from the Latin word "provincia," which referred to...
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...
joined Confederation in 1871. Like other ridings established in that year, a byelection was called to fill the seat until the general election of 1872. The riding constituted all of the New Westminster Land District
New Westminster Land District
New Westminster Land District is one of 59 Land Districts of British Columbia, Canada, which are the underlying cadastral divisions of that province....
as well as the whole of the mainland Coast and adjoining islands, all the way to the Yukon
Yukon
Yukon is the westernmost and smallest of Canada's three federal territories. It was named after the Yukon River. The word Yukon means "Great River" in Gwich’in....
border excepting the Coast
British Columbia Coast
The British Columbia Coast or BC Coast is Canada's western continental coastline on the Pacific Ocean. The usage is synonymous with the term West Coast of Canada....
and the Alaska Panhandle
Alaska Panhandle
Southeast Alaska, sometimes referred to as the Alaska Panhandle, is the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Alaska, which lies west of the northern half of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The majority of Southeast Alaska's area is part of the Tongass National Forest, the United...
.
The 1871 names were all temporary pending ratification of the riding system by the provincial legislature. When they became mandated the riding names were simplified, New Westminster District's becoming simply New Westminster
New Westminster (electoral district)
New Westminster was a federal electoral district in the province of British Columbia, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1871 to 1979....
, and the same pattern was followed by the other temporary names, Victoria District, Cariboo Distridct, and Yale District, which became the ridings of Victoria
Victoria (electoral district)
Victoria is a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1872 to 1904 and since 1925....
, 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...
, and Yale
Yale (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....
for the general election the following year. riding of Vancouver Island became the riding of Vancouver
Vancouver (electoral district)
Vancouver was a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1872 to 1904...
.
Note the historical British Columbia provincial riding, Westminster
Westminster (electoral district)
Westminster was a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It appeared in the 1890 election only. In 1894 it was succeeded by Westminster-Chilliwhack, Westminster-Delta, Westminster-Dewdney, and Westminster-Richmond, which were in the 1898 election succeeded by...
, which appeared in the 1890 provincial election only.
Election results
Note: Winners of each election are in bold.|-
|Liberal-Conservative
Conservative Party of Canada (historical)
The Conservative Party of Canada has gone by a variety of names over the years since Canadian Confederation. Initially known as the "Liberal-Conservative Party", it dropped "Liberal" from its name in 1873, although many of its candidates continued to use this name.As a result of World War I and the...
|Hugh Nelson
Hugh Nelson (Canadian politician)
Hugh Nelson was a Canadian parliamentarian and the fourth Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia.Born in his father's residence, Shire Cottage in Inagheramore, Larne, County Antrim, Ireland, the son of Robert Nelson, Esq. and Frances Quinn, he emigrated to California in 1854...
|align="right"|125
|align="right"|83.89%
|align="right"|
|align="right"|
|-
|Unknown
|Scott 2
|align="right"|24
|align="right"|16.11%
|align="right"|
|align="right"|
|- bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3|Total valid votes
!align="right"|149
!align="right"|100.00%
!align="right"|
|- bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3|Total rejected ballots
!align="right"|
!align="right"|%
!align="right"|
|- bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3|Turnout
!align="right"|
!align="right"|%
!align="right"|
|- bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=7|1 Byelections were held to fill the temporary seats created when British Columbia joined Confederation. General elections were not held until the following year.
|- bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=7|2 Scott's given name is not given in the electoral record.
|}
By the 1872 election the riding boundaries had been properly legislated and renamed. New Westminster District became the riding of New Westminster
New Westminster (electoral district)
New Westminster was a federal electoral district in the province of British Columbia, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1871 to 1979....
.
External links
- Riding history from the Library of ParliamentLibrary of ParliamentThe Library of Parliament is the main information repository and research resource for the Parliament of Canada...