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. The new legislature met for the first time on September 15, 1953.

The minority government formed in 1952 by the conservative Social Credit of Premier W.A.C. Bennett lasted only nine months before new elections were called. Social Credit was re-elected with a majority in the legislature to a second term in government with almost 38% of the popular vote.

The social democratic Co-operative Commonwealth Federation formed the official opposition with the only significant opposition caucus (14 seats).

The British Columbia Liberal Party lost two of its six seats despite maintaining its 23% share of the popular vote.

The Progressive Conservative Party lost three of its four seats in the legislature, as its share of the popular vote fell from almost 17% to under 6%.

One seat was won by a Labour candidate.

Results

Party Party leader # of
candidates
Seats Popular vote
1952 Elected % Change First count % Change Final count %
Social Credit W.A.C. Bennett 48 19 28 +47.4% 274,771 37.75% +10.55% 300,372 45.54%
     CCF Arnold Webster 47 18 14 -22.2% 224,513 30.85% +0.07% 194,414 29.48%
Liberal Arthur Laing 48 6 4 -33.3% 171,671 23.59% +0.13% 154,090 23.36%
     Progressive Conservative Deane Finlayson 39 4 1 -75.0% 40,780 5.60% -11.24% 7,326 1.11%
     Labour Tom Uphill 1 1 1 - 1,601 0.22% +0.06% 1,793 0.27%
Labour Progressive   25 - - - 7,496 1.03% +0.70% 816 0.12%
Christian Democratic   14 - - - 5,036 0.69% -0.24% 752 0.12%
     Independents 6 - - - 1,951 0.27% 0.10% - -
     People's   1 * - * 20 x * - -
Total 229 48 48 - 727,839 100% - 659,563 100%
Source: Elections BC

Notes:

* Party did not nominate candidates in the previous election.

x - less than 0.005% of the popular vote.

Results by riding

Results of British Columbia general election, 1953
Government Opposition
Member Riding
& party
Riding
& party
Member
     William Ralph Talbot Chetwynd
Cariboo
Social Credit
          Alberni
CCF
Stanley John Squire
    
     William Kenneth Kiernan
Chilliwack
Social Credit
          Atlin
CCF
Frank Calder
    
     Richard Orr Newton
Columbia
Social Credit
          Burnaby
CCF
Ernest Edward Winch
    
     Thomas Irwin
Delta
Social Credit
          Comox
CCF
William Campbell Moore     
     Lyle Wicks
Dewdney
Social Credit
          Cowichan-Newcastle
CCF
Robert Martin Strachan2     
     Llewllyn Leslie King
Fort George
Social Credit
          Cranbrook
CCF
Leo Thomas Nimsick     
     Philip Arthur Gaglardi
Kamloops
Social Credit
          Grand Forks-Greenwood
CCF
Rupert Haggen     
     Herbert Joseph Bruch Esquimalt
Social Credit
          Kaslo-Slocan
CCF
Randolph Harding     
     Wesley Drewett Black
Nelson-Creston
Social Credit
          Mackenzie
Social Credit
Anthony John Gargrave     
     Lorne Shantz
North Okanagan
Social Credit
          New Westminster
CCF
Rae Eddie     
     George Henry Tomlinson Jr. North Vancouver
Social Credit
          Revelstoke
CCF
Vincent Segur     
     Cyril Morley Shelford Omineca
Social Credit
          Skeena
CCF
Frank Howard     
     Charles William Parker
Peace River
Social Credit
          Vancouver East
CCF
Arthur James Turner     
     Robert Edward Sommers
Rossland-Trail
Social Credit
          Arnold Alexander Webster     
     John Douglas Tidball Tisdalle Saanich
Social Credit
          Fernie
Labour (Party)
Thomas Aubert Uphill     ;
     James Allan Reid
Salmon Arm
Social Credit
          Lillooet
Liberal
James Gordon Gibson     
     Frank Richter, Jr.
Similkameen
Social Credit
          Oak Bay
Liberal
Philip Archibald Gibbs     
     William Andrew Cecil Bennett1 South Okanagan
Social Credit
          Prince Rupert
Liberal
Arthur Bruce Brown     
     Eric Charles Fitzgerald Martin
Vancouver-Burrard
Social Credit
          Vancouver-Point Grey
Liberal
Arthur Laing     
     Bert Price
          Nanaimo and the Islands
Progressive Conservative
Larry Giovando     
     Alexander Small Matthew Vancouver Centre
Social Credit
    
     George Churchill Moxham     
     Thomas Audley Bate
Vancouver-Point Grey
Social Credit
    
     Robert William Bonner
    
     Lydia Arsens Victoria City
Social Credit
    
     William Neelands Chant     
     Walter Percival Wright     
     Irvine Finlay Corbett
Yale
Social Credit
    
1 Premier-Elect 2 Leader of the Opposition
Source: Elections BC

See also

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