1933 British Columbia general election

Canadian provincial election

1933 British Columbia general election

* * *

| <- 1928 | November 2, 1933 | 1937 ->

|
|

* * *

47 seats of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
24 seats needed for a majority
|  | First party  | Second party

|
|

|  |

CCF

Leader  | Thomas Dufferin Pattullo | Robert Connell
Party  | Liberal | Co-operative Commonwealth
Leader since  | 1928  | 1933
Leader's seat  | Prince Rupert | Victoria City
Last election  | 12  | pre-creation
Seats won  | 34  | 7
Seat change  | 22  | 7
Popular vote  | 159,131  | 120,185
Percentage  | 41.74%  | 31.53%
Swing  | 1.70pp | pre-creation

* * *

| Third party  | Fourth party
|  |
Leader  | William John Bowser †[a] | Simon Fraser Tolmie
Party  | Non-Partisan Independent Group | Unionist
Leader since  | 1933  | 1933
Leader's seat  | Did not run[a] | Saanich (lost re-election)
Last election  | Did not contest | 35[b]
Seats won  | 2  | 1
Seat change  | 2  | 34[c]
Popular vote  | 38,836  | 15,445
Percentage  | 10.19%  | 4.05%
Swing  | new | 49.25pp[c]

* * *

| Premier before election

Simon Fraser Tolmie
Conservative

| Premier after election

Thomas Dufferin Pattullo
Liberal

|

The 1933 British Columbia general election 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.[1] The new legislature met for the first time on February 20, 1934.

The Liberal Party won a majority government.

The Official Opposition was formed by the social democratic Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, which was contesting its first election.

Because of internal discord, the provincial executive of the Conservative Party decided not to contest the election officially. Instead, each local association was to act on its own. Some candidates ran as Independents, some as Independent Conservatives. Those supporting the premier, Simon Fraser Tolmie, ran as Unionist Party of British Columbia, and those grouped around William John Bowser, a former premier, ran as the Non-Partisan Independent Group. When Bowser died on October 25, the elections in Vancouver Centre and Victoria City were postponed to November 27, and the following candidates withdrew:[2]

* in Vancouver Centre, one each from the Unionists, NPIG and United Front
* in Victoria City, one Unionist, three NPIG and one Independent

Other notable races include the election of Bridge River-Lillooet News publisher George Matheson Murray in Lillooet over Conservative Ernest Crawford Carson. Carson's brother Robert Henry Carson ran as a Liberal, winning Kamloops. Carson and his brother both served as cabinet ministers in later regimes. They were the sons of Robert Carson, an American who was one of the very few survivors of an Indian attack on a wagon train on the Oregon Trail and who went on to found one of the early ranches at Pavilion and whose holdings became part of the Diamond S Ranch.[3]

## 1932 redistribution of ridings

[edit]

An Act was passed in 1932, providing for a reduction of the seats in the Assembly from 48 to 47 upon the next election.[4] The following changes were made:

Abolished ridings | New ridings

|

Drawn from other ridings

* Peace River

Merger of districts

* Alberni
* Nanaimo

* Alberni-Nanaimo

* Columbia
* Revelstoke

* Columbia-Revelstoke

* Nelson
* Creston

* Nelson-Creston

Reorganization of districts

* Richmond-Point Grey (1 MLA)
* South Vancouver (1 MLA)
* Vancouver City (6 MLAs)

* Vancouver-Burrard (2 MLAs)
* Vancouver Centre (2 MLAs)
* Vancouver East (2 MLAs)
* Vancouver-Point Grey (3 MLAs)

## 1934 post-election redistribution

[edit]

A 1934 Act increased the size of the Assembly from 47 to 48, by abolishing the district of Columbia-Revelstoke and reviving the previous districts of Columbia and Revelstoke, with immediate effect.[5] William Henry Sutherland was declared the MLA for Revelstoke,[6] and Thomas King (Liberal) was acclaimed in Columbia in the subsequent byelection.[7]

## Results

[edit]

Elections to the 18th Legislative Assembly of British Columbia  (1933)[8] Political party  | Party leader  | MLAs  | Votes

|
|
|

Candidates  | 1928 | 1933  | ±  | #  | ±  | %  | ± (pp)
| Liberal | Duff Pattullo | 47 | 12 | 34 | 22 | 159,131 | 14,259 | 41.74 | 1.70
| Co-operative Commonwealth | Robert Connell | 46 | – | 7 | 7 | 120,185 | 120,185 | 31.53 | New
| Conservative fragmentation
█ Non-Partisan Independent Group | William John Bowser | 30 |  | 2 |  | 38,836 |  | 10.19 |
█ Unionist  | Simon Fraser Tolmie | 12 | 1 | 15,445 | 4.05
█ Independent Conservative  |  | 6 | – | 7,114 | 1.87
█ Independent |  | 4 | – | 2,193 | 0.58
█ Oxford Group |  | 1 | 1 | 1,655 | 0.43
All Conservative factions | 53 | 35 | 4 | 31 | 65,243 | 128,688 | 17.12 | 36.18
| Independent |  | 24 | – | 1 | 1 | 25,658 | 22,000 | 6.73 | 5.72
| Labour (all factions)  |  | 4 | 1 | 1 |  | 2,357 | 15,867 | 0.62 | 4.42
| United Front (Workers and Farmers)  |  | 20 | – | – | – | 4,584 | 4,584 | 1.20 | New
| Independent Co-operative Commonwealth  |  | 8 | – | – | – | 2,266 | 2,266 | 0.59 | New
| Independent Liberal  |  | 2 | – | – | – | 1,076 | 75 | 0.28 | –
| Socialist |  | 5 | – | – | – | 370 | 370 | 0.10 | Returned
| Progressive Liberal  |  | 1 | – | – | – | 353 | 353 | 0.09 | New
Total  | 210  | 48  | 47  | 381,223  | 100.00%
Rejected ballots[9] | 3,380[a 1] | 121 |
Actual voters who voted[9] | 236,415 | 61,481 | 73.07% | 1.74
Registered voters[9] | 323,540 | 78,300 |

1. ^ Incomplete

Seats and popular vote by party[8] Party | Seats | Votes | Change (pp)

|
|
|

█ Liberal |

34 / 47

41.74%

| 1.70 |  |

█ Co-operative Commonwealth |

7 / 47

31.53%

| 31.53 |  |

█ Conservative (all factions)  |

4 / 47

17.12%

| -36.18 |

█ Independent |

1 / 47

6.73%

| 5.72 |  |

█ Labour |

1 / 47

0.62%

| -4.42 |

█ Other  |

0 / 47

2.26%

| 1.65 |  |

## MLAs elected

[edit]

Alberni-Nanaimo: George Sharratt Pearson

Atlin: William James Asselstine

Burnaby: Ernest Winch

Cariboo: Donald Morrison MacKay

Chilliwack: Edward Dodsley Barrow

Columbia-Revelstoke: William Henry Sutherland

Comox: Laurence Arnold Hanna

Cowichan-Newcastle: Hugh Savage (OG)

Cranbrook: Frank Mitchell MacPherson

Delta: Robert Swailes

Dewdney: David William Strachan

Esquimalt: Robert Henry Pooley

Fernie: Thomas Aubert Uphill (ILP)

Fort George: Henry George Thomas Perry

Grand Forks-Greenwood: Dougald MacPherson

The Islands: Alexander McDonald

Kamloops: Robert Henry Carson

Kaslo-Slocan: Charles Sidney Leary

Lillooet: George Murray

Mackenzie: Ernest Bakewell

Nelson-Creston: Frank Putnam

New Westminster: Wells Gray

North Okanagan: Kenneth Cattanach MacDonald

North Vancouver: Harley Anderson

Omineca: Alexander Malcolm Manson

Peace River: Clive Planta

Prince Rupert: Duff Pattullo

Rossland-Trail: Richard Ronald Burns

Saanich: Norman William Whittaker

Salmon Arm: Rolf Wallgren Bruhn

Similkameen: Charles H. P. Tupper

Skeena: Edward Tourtellotte Kenney

South Okanagan: Joseph Allen Harris

Vancouver-Burrard: Gerry McGeer

Vancouver-Burrard: Helen Douglas Smith

Vancouver Centre: Gordon McGregor Sloan

Vancouver Centre: Gordon Sylvester Wismer

Vancouver East: John Price

Vancouver East: Harold Winch

Vancouver-Point Grey: George Moir Weir

Vancouver-Point Grey: Stanley McKeen

Vancouver-Point Grey: Robert Wilkinson

Victoria City: John Hart

Victoria City: Boss Johnson

Victoria City: Robert Connell

Victoria City: Herbert Anscomb

Yale: John Joseph Alban Gillis

|
|

### Synopsis of results

[edit]

Results by riding - 1933 British Columbia general election (single-member districts)[10] Riding  | Winning party  | Votes

|
|

Name  | 1928 | Party  | Votes  | Share  | Margin
#  | Margin
%  | Lib  | CCF  | NP | Un | O-C | UF | Ind | Oth | Total
|  |  |  |  |  |  |
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Alberni-Nanaimo | New |  | Lib  | 3,146 | 47.47% | 793 | 11.96% | 3,146 | 2,353 | 781 | – | – | 185 | 162 | – | 6,627
Atlin |  | Lib  |  | Lib  | 419 | 32.63% | 111 | 8.64% | 419 | 308 | – | – | 136 | – | 421[a 1] | – | 1,284
Burnaby |  | Con  |  | CCF  | 4,548 | 39.27% | 528 | 4.55% | 4,020 | 4,548 | 519 | 1,051 | – | 694 | 22 | 726 | 11,580
Cariboo |  | Con  |  | Lib  | 1,089 | 54.50% | 578 | 28.92% | 1,089 | 398 | 511 | – | – | – | – | – | 1,998
Chilliwack |  | Con  |  | Lib  | 2,273 | 44.96% | 618 | 12.23% | 2,273 | 1,655 | 1,128 | – | – | – | – | – | 5,056
Columbia-Revelstoke | New |  | Lib  | 1,947 | 72.27% | 1,200 | 44.54% | 1,947 | 747 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2,694
Comox |  | Con  |  | Lib  | 2,204 | 49.94% | 614 | 13.91% | 2,204 | 1,590 | – | – | – | 259 | 84 | 276 | 4,413
Cowichan-Newcastle |  | Con  |  | OG | 1,655 | 40.88% | 367 | 9.06% | 520 | 1,288 | – | – | 2,240[a 2] | – | – | – | 4,048
Cranbrook |  | Lib  |  | Lib  | 2,951 | 69.53% | 1,720 | 40.52% | 2,951 | 1,231 | – | – | – | 62 | – | – | 4,244
Delta |  | Con  |  | CCF  | 2,631 | 36.95% | 538 | 7.55% | 2,093 | 2,631 | – | – | 612[a 3] | 49 | 1,735 | – | 7,120
Dewdney |  | Con  |  | Lib  | 1,235 | 30.34% | 166 | 4.08% | 1,235 | 967 | 1,069 | – | – | 127 | 673 | – | 4,071
Esquimalt |  | Con  |  | Un  | 1,466 | 39.03% | 59 | 1.57% | 1,407 | 525 | 358 | 1,466 | – | – | – | – | 3,756
Fernie |  | ILP  |  | ILP  | 1,693 | 56.58% | 394 | 13.16% | 1,299 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1,693 | 2,992
Fort George |  | Con  |  | Lib  | 1,577 | 56.32% | 952 | 34.00% | 1,577 | 625 | 310 | – | – | 192 | – | 96 | 2,800
Grand Forks-Greenwood |  | Con  |  | Lib  | 1,034 | 58.55% | 523 | 29.61% | 1,034 | 221 | 511 | – | – | – | – | – | 1,766
The Islands |  | Con  |  | Lib  | 726 | 35.35% | 57 | 2.78% | 726 | 400 | 233 | – | 669 | – | 26 | – | 2,054
Kamloops |  | Con  |  | Lib  | 1,836 | 44.76% | 476 | 11.61% | 1,836 | 1,360 | 906 | – | – | – | – | – | 4,102
Kaslo-Slocan |  | Con  |  | Lib  | 1,250 | 45.05% | 299 | 10.78% | 1,250 | 574 | 951 | – | – | – | – | – | 2,775
Lillooet |  | Con  |  | Lib  | 927 | 44.06% | 222 | 10.55% | 927 | 472 | 705 | – | – | – | – | – | 2,104
Mackenzie |  | Con  |  | CCF  | 2,071 | 43.61% | 685 | 14.42% | 1,386 | 2,071 | 1,292 | – | – | – | – | – | 4,749
Nelson-Creston | New |  | Lib  | 2,489 | 49.19% | 1,187 | 23.46% | 2,489 | 1,161 | 1,302 | – | – | 125 | – | – | 5,060
New Westminster |  | Lib  |  | Lib  | 2,694 | 46.98% | 1,218 | 21.24% | 2,694 | 1,476 | – | – | – | 125 | 1,439 | – | 5,734
North Okanagan |  | Con  |  | Lib  | 2,322 | 48.01% | 676 | 13.97% | 2,322 | 868 | 1,646 | – | – | – | – | – | 4,836
North Vancouver |  | Lib  |  | CCF  | 2,427 | 35.19% | 643 | 9.32% | 1,636 | 2,427 | 1,784 [a 4] | – | – | 132 | 7 | 911[a 5] | 6,897
Omineca |  | Lib  |  | Lib  | 1,079 | 52.23% |  | % | 1,079 | 538 | 355 | – | – | – | 94 | – | 2,066
Peace River | New |  | NP  | 957 | 37.31% | 157 | 6.12% | 749 | 800 | 957 | – | – | 59 | – | – | 2,565
Prince Rupert |  | Lib  |  | Lib  | 1,725 | 64.90% | 1,060 | 39.88% | 1,725 | 665 | – | – | – | 268 | – | – | 2,658
Rossland-Trail |  | Con  |  | Lib  | 1,729 | 43.84% | 415 | 10.52% | 1,729 | 901 | 1,314 | – | – | – | – | – | 3,944
Saanich |  | Con  |  | Lib  | 2,171 | 37.97% | 348 | 6.09% | 2,171 | 1,216 | 508 | 1,823 | – | – | – | – | 5,718
Salmon Arm |  | Con  |  | NP  | 1,351 | 44.82% | 463 | 15.36% | 888 | 603 | 1,351 | – | – | 172 | – | – | 3,014
Similkameen |  | Con  |  | Lib  | 1,765 | 43.23% | 379 | 9.28% | 1,765 | 730 | 1,386 | – | – | – | 202 | – | 4,083
Skeena |  | Lib  |  | Lib  | 902 | 56.34% | 451 | 28.17% | 902 | 451 | – | – | – | – | 248 | – | 1,601
South Okanagan |  | Con  |  | Lib  | 1,636 | 36.66% | 191 | 4.28% | 1,636 | 1,382 | – | – | 1,445 | – | – | – | 4,463
Yale |  | Lib  |  | Lib  | 1,193 | 68.64% | 881 | 50.69% | 1,193 | 233 | 312 | – | – | – | – | – | 1,738

1. ^ The incumbent Herbert Frederick Kergin received 267 votes.
2. ^ The incumbent Cyril Francis Davie received 585 votes.
3. ^ The incumbent John Walter Berry received 447 votes.
4. ^ Jack Loutet had been elected as a Conservative in a 1930 byelection
5. ^ John Melvin Bryan Sr., previously elected as a Liberal in 1924, ran as an Independent Liberal and received 846 votes

= open seat
= winning candidate was in previous Legislature
= incumbent had switched allegiance
= previously incumbent in another riding
= not incumbent; was previously elected to the Legislature
= incumbency arose from byelection gain
= other incumbents renominated
= Conservative factions
= multiple candidates
Results by riding - 1933 British Columbia general election (multiple-member districts)[10] Riding  | Winning party  | Votes

|
|

Name  | MLAs  | 1928 | 1933  | Lib  | CCF  | NP | Un | O-C | UF | Ind | Oth | Total
|  |  |  |  |  |  |
Vancouver-Burrard | 2 | New |

| 19,139 | 12,857 | 5,642 | 1,733 | – | 235 | – | 616 | 40,222
Vancouver Centre | 2 | New |

| 13,648 | 10,454 | – | – | 2,741 | 646 | – | 834 | 28,323
Vancouver East | 2 | New |

| 14,171 | 21,991 | 2,450 | 404 | – | 1,002 | 418 | 656 | 41,092
Vancouver-Point Grey | 3 | New |

| 31,436 | 22,330 | 10,555 | 6,152 | – | 174 | 902 | 111 | 71,660
Victoria City | 4 |

| 24,420 | 15,138 | – | 2,816 | 3,119 | 95 | 19,225 | 503 | 65,316

= election day deferred

## See also

[edit]

* List of British Columbia political parties

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ a b Bowser died prior to the election.
2. ^ Result for the Conservative Party of British Columbia.
3. ^ a b Compared to the Conservative Party of British Columbia.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Elections BC 1988, p. 173.
2. ^ Elections BC 1988, p. 180.
3. ^ BCGNIS listing "Mount Carson"
4. ^ Constitution Act Amendment Act, 1932, S.B.C. 1932, c. 8
5. ^ Constitution Act Amendment Act, 1934, S.B.C. 1934, c. 15
6. ^ 1934 Act, s. 11
7. ^ Elections BC 1988, p. 181.
8. ^ a b Elections BC 1988, pp. 159, 173.
9. ^ a b c Elections BC 1988, p. 2.
10. ^ a b Elections BC 1988, pp. 161–164, 175–180.

## Further reading

[edit]

* An Electoral History of British Columbia, 1871-1986 (PDF). Victoria: Elections British Columbia. 1988. ISBN 0-7718-8677-2.
* The Canadian Annual Review of Public Affairs, 1933. Toronto: The Annual Review Company. 1934.

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