25th Parliament of British Columbia

The 25th Legislative Assembly of British Columbia sat from 1957 to 1960. The members were elected in the British Columbia general election held in September 1956.[1] The Social Credit Party led by W. A. C. Bennett formed the government.[2] The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) led by Robert Strachan formed the official opposition.[3]

Thomas James Irwin served as speaker for the assembly until April 1957; he was elected to the Canadian House of Commons later that year. Lorne Shantz replaced Irwin as speaker in 1958.[4]

## Members of the 25th General Assembly

[edit]

The following members were elected to the assembly in 1956:[1]

| Member  | Electoral district  | Party

|
|
|

| Stanley John Squire | Alberni | CCF
| William James Asselstine | Atlin | Social Credit
| Gordon Dowding | Burnaby | CCF
| Ernest Edward Winch
| William Ralph Talbot Chetwynd | Cariboo | Social Credit
| William Kenneth Kiernan | Chilliwack | Social Credit
| Richard Orr Newton | Columbia | Social Credit
| Daniel Robert John Campbell | Comox | Social Credit
| Robert Martin Strachan | Cowichan-Newcastle | CCF
| Leo Thomas Nimsick | Cranbrook | CCF
| Thomas Irwin | Delta | Social Credit
| Nehemiah George Massey
| Lyle Wicks | Dewdney | Social Credit
| Herbert Joseph Bruch | Esquimalt | Social Credit
| Thomas Aubert Uphill | Fernie | Labour
| Ray Gillis Williston | Fort George | Social Credit
| Lois Mabel Haggen | Grand Forks-Greenwood | CCF
| Philip Arthur Gaglardi | Kamloops | Social Credit
| Randolph Harding | Kaslo-Slocan | CCF
| Donald Frederick Robinson | Lillooet | Social Credit
| Anthony John Gargrave | Mackenzie | CCF
| Earle Cathers Westwood | Nanaimo and the Islands | Social Credit
| Wesley Drewett Black | Nelson-Creston | Social Credit
| John McRae (Rae) Eddie | New Westminster | CCF
| Lorne Shantz | North Okanagan | Social Credit
| Harold Earl Roche | North Peace River | Social Credit
| John Melvin Bryan, Jr. | North Vancouver | Social Credit
| Newton Phillips Steacy
| Philip Archibald Gibbs | Oak Bay | Liberal
| Cyril Morley Shelford | Omineca | Social Credit
| William Harvey Murray | Prince Rupert | Social Credit
| Arvid Lundell | Revelstoke | Social Credit
| Robert Edward Sommers | Rossland-Trail | Social Credit
| John Douglas Tidball Tisdalle | Saanich | Social Credit
| James Allan Reid | Salmon Arm | Social Credit
| Francis Xavier Richter | Similkameen | Social Credit
| Hugh Addison Shirreff | Skeena | Social Credit
| William Andrew Cecil Bennett | South Okanagan | Social Credit
| Stanley Carnell | South Peace River | Social Credit
| Eric Charles Fitzgerald Martin | Vancouver-Burrard | Social Credit
| Bert Price
| Alexander Small Matthew | Vancouver Centre | Social Credit
| Leslie Raymond Peterson
| Frederick Morton Sharp | Vancouver East | Social Credit
| Arthur James Turner | CCF
| Thomas Audley Bate | Vancouver-Point Grey | Social Credit
| Robert William Bonner
| Buda Hosmer Brown
| William Neelands Chant | Victoria City | Social Credit
| George Frederick Thompson Gregory | Liberal
| John Donald Smith | Social Credit
| Irvine Finlay Corbett | Yale | Social Credit

Notes:

## Party standings

[edit]

Affiliation  | Members

|

| Social Credit | 39
| Co-operative Commonwealth | 10
| Liberal | 2
| Labour | 1
Total
| 52
Government Majority
| 26

## By-elections

[edit]

By-elections were held to replace members for various reasons:[1]

Electoral district  | Member elected  | Party  | Election date  | Reason

|
|
|
|

Burnaby | Cedric Cox | CCF | September 9, 1957  | death of E.E. Winch January 11, 1957
Cariboo | William Collins Speare | Social Credit | September 9, 1957  | death of W.R.T. Chetwynd April 3, 1957
Delta | Gordon Lionel Gibson | Social Credit | September 9, 1957  | T.J. Irwin resigned to contest federal election April 26, 1957
Rossland-Trail | Donald Leslie Brothers | Social Credit | December 15, 1958  | R.E. Sommers resigned November 7, 1958; convicted of bribery and conspiracy

Notes:

## Other changes

[edit]

* John Melvin Bryan, Jr. becomes an Independent on February 3, 1958. He joins the Liberals on February 25, 1959.[5]
* Oak Bay (dec. Philip Archibald Gibbs March 1960)[6]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c "Electoral History of British Columbia 1871-1986" (PDF). Elections BC. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
2. ^ "Premiers of British Columbia 1871-" (PDF). BC Legislature. Retrieved 2011-09-23.
3. ^ "Leaders of the Opposition in British Columbia 1903-" (PDF). BC Legislature. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-02-20. Retrieved 2011-07-20.
4. ^ "Speakers of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia 1872-" (PDF). BC Legislature. Retrieved 2011-09-23.
5. ^ "A checklist of members of the Legislature of British Columbia" (PDF). Legislative Library of British Columbia. 2013-05-16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-06-27. Retrieved 2022-03-26.
6. ^ "Monday, March 7th, 1960". Journals of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia. 1960. p. 95\. Archived from the original on 2013-05-21. Retrieved 2012-04-23.

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