The 1952 British Columbia general election was the 23rd general election in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, alongside a plebiscite on daylight saving time and liquor. The election was called on April 10, 1952, and held on June 12, 1952. The new legislature met for the first time on February 3, 1953.
It was the first BC general election to use a preferential ballot, a short-lived phenomenon in the province. The presence of multi-member districts, such as Victoria City with 3 MLAs, in conjunction with the alternative voting system called for an innovation where the district's candidates were split into three "ballots", each with one candidate from each party.[3]
Due to the preferential ballot, the election resulted in a surprise victory for the new Social Credit Party. Not even the Socreds had expected to win the election; the party had no official leader, and was nominally lead through the election by Ernest George Hansell, an Alberta MP who did not contest a seat himself. The newly elected caucus selected W. A. C. Bennett, a former Conservative MLA, to be their leader and premier-designate.
This began what would be 21 years of uninterrupted Social Credit rule in British Columbia. This would also be the last election to produce a minority government until the 2017 election.
The government until not long before the election had been a Liberal–Progressive Conservative coalition (the Conservatives had recently changed their name to match that of the federal party). After the coalition had collapsed, the Liberals felt threatened by the rising popularity of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation. To lock out the CCF, the government adopted the alternative voting system instead of leaving the existing system in place or switching to the single transferable vote system. While they ran candidates separately under their own names, Liberal and Conservative party leaders believed that if Liberal voters picked the local Tory candidate as their second preference and vice versa, one of the candidates of the two parties would have enough votes to be elected in many districts, hopefully ensuring the coalition's retention of power.
Campaign
However, the Liberal and PC leaders had not reckoned on being so unpopular with the province's voters. The combined Liberal and PC vote total was 120,000 fewer votes than in the previous election, while the Social Credit party received almost 200,000 more votes than in 1949. The combined Liberal and Conservative vote totals surpassed 50 percent in only eight seat contests, so even if the party voters had adhered to coalition discipline, the coalition did not have enough votes to be elected in most of the districts. They received only a comparative few votes through vote transfers from CCF and SC candidates, whose supporters aided each other where possible.[4]
In districts where CCF candidates were eliminated, back-up preferences were marked overwhelmingly for the British Columbia Social Credit League (BCSCL). Combined with many second-preference votes transferred from eliminated Liberal and Conservative candidates, this gave the Social Credit party five seats in addition to the 14 seats where its candidates had a plurality in the first counts. In the end, the Social Credit party captured 19 seats. The CCF received 18 seats, helped in many cases by transfers from eliminated SC candidates. The coalition was almost wiped out, winning only 10 seats between both parties. Both Premier Byron "Boss" Johnson and Tory leader Herbert Anscomb lost their seats.
Not even the Socreds had expected to win the election. The party had no official leader. Alberta Social Credit Member of Parliament Ernest George Hansell had led the party during the election campaign without contesting a seat himself. The Socreds persuaded Tom Uphill, a Labour member of the Legislature (MLA), to support the party, and so the Socreds were able to form a minority government. (Otherwise, having to provide the Speaker meant that the SC seat total would have been reduced to only the same as the CCF's seat count.)
Aftermath
The party's next task was to choose the province's new premier. In a vote of the newly elected caucus, W.A.C. Bennett, a former Conservative MLA who joined the Socreds after losing a bid for the Tory leadership, won a caucus vote and became premier-designate on July 15, 1952. This began what would be 21 years of uninterrupted Social Credit rule in British Columbia. The party held power for 36 of the following 39 years. It would also be the last British Columbia election to produce a minority government until the 2017 election.
In hopes of getting a stronger mandate, Bennett deliberately lost a confidence vote in 1953. This forced an election in June 1953 in which Social Credit won a majority of the seats.
* Party did not nominate candidates in the previous election.
1 In the previous election, the Liberal and Conservative parties ran candidates jointly as "Coalition" candidates, electing 39 MLAs. The Conservatives withdrew from the coalition in 1951 hastening the government's collapse.
Popular vote (first count)
CCF
30.78%
Social Credit
27.20%
Liberal
23.46%
PC
16.84%
Labour
0.16%
Others
1.56%
Popular vote (final count)
CCF
34.30%
Social Credit
30.18%
Liberal
25.26%
PC
9.66%
Labour
0.26%
Others
0.34%
Seats summary
Social Credit
39.58%
CCF
37.50%
Liberal
12.50%
PC
8.33%
Labour
2.08%
Results by riding
Results of British Columbia general election, 1952
^ abHansell was an Alberta Member of Parliament and was appointed to lead the BC party during the election but did not contest a seat, himself. Following the election, W. A. C. Bennett was elected as the leader of the Social Credit party by the newly-elected caucus and became Premier-elect on July 15, 1952.
^ abcdefThe Liberal and Conservative parties ran as a coalition in the 1949 election.
Argyle, Ray (2004). Turning Points: The Campaigns that Changed Canada 2004 and Before. Toronto: White Knight Publications. ISBN978-0-9734186-6-8.
January 10, 2023
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The 1952 British Columbia general election was the 23rd general election in the Canadian province of British Columbia It was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia alongside a plebiscite on daylight saving time and liquor The election was called on April 10 1952 and held on June 12 1952 The new legislature met for the first time on February 3 1953 1952 British Columbia general election 1949 June 12 1952 1953 48 seats of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia25 seats needed for a majority First party Second party SC CCFLeader Rev Ernest George Hansell 1 Harold WinchParty Social Credit Co operative CommonwealthLeader s seat Did not contest Vancouver EastLast election 0 7Seats won 19 18Seat change 19 11First count 209 049 236 562 Percentage 27 20 30 78 Swing 25 99pp 4 32ppFinal count 203 932 231 756 Percentage 30 18 34 3 Third party Fourth party PCLeader Byron Ingemar Johnson Herbert AnscombParty Liberal Progressive ConservativeLeader s seat New Westminster lost re election Oak Bay lost re election Last election 39 2 39 2 Seats won 6 4Seat change n a 2 n a 2 First count 180 289 129 439 Percentage 23 46 16 84 Swing n a 2 n a 2 Final count 170 674 65 285 Percentage 25 26 9 66 Premier before electionByron Ingemar JohnsonCoalition Premier after election W A C Bennett 1 Social CreditIt was the first BC general election to use a preferential ballot a short lived phenomenon in the province The presence of multi member districts such as Victoria City with 3 MLAs in conjunction with the alternative voting system called for an innovation where the district s candidates were split into three ballots each with one candidate from each party 3 Due to the preferential ballot the election resulted in a surprise victory for the new Social Credit Party Not even the Socreds had expected to win the election the party had no official leader and was nominally lead through the election by Ernest George Hansell an Alberta MP who did not contest a seat himself The newly elected caucus selected W A C Bennett a former Conservative MLA to be their leader and premier designate This began what would be 21 years of uninterrupted Social Credit rule in British Columbia This would also be the last election to produce a minority government until the 2017 election Contents 1 Background 2 Campaign 3 Aftermath 4 Results 5 Results by riding 6 See also 7 References 8 Further readingBackground EditThe government until not long before the election had been a Liberal Progressive Conservative coalition the Conservatives had recently changed their name to match that of the federal party After the coalition had collapsed the Liberals felt threatened by the rising popularity of the Co operative Commonwealth Federation To lock out the CCF the government adopted the alternative voting system instead of leaving the existing system in place or switching to the single transferable vote system While they ran candidates separately under their own names Liberal and Conservative party leaders believed that if Liberal voters picked the local Tory candidate as their second preference and vice versa one of the candidates of the two parties would have enough votes to be elected in many districts hopefully ensuring the coalition s retention of power Campaign EditHowever the Liberal and PC leaders had not reckoned on being so unpopular with the province s voters The combined Liberal and PC vote total was 120 000 fewer votes than in the previous election while the Social Credit party received almost 200 000 more votes than in 1949 The combined Liberal and Conservative vote totals surpassed 50 percent in only eight seat contests so even if the party voters had adhered to coalition discipline the coalition did not have enough votes to be elected in most of the districts They received only a comparative few votes through vote transfers from CCF and SC candidates whose supporters aided each other where possible 4 In districts where CCF candidates were eliminated back up preferences were marked overwhelmingly for the British Columbia Social Credit League BCSCL Combined with many second preference votes transferred from eliminated Liberal and Conservative candidates this gave the Social Credit party five seats in addition to the 14 seats where its candidates had a plurality in the first counts In the end the Social Credit party captured 19 seats The CCF received 18 seats helped in many cases by transfers from eliminated SC candidates The coalition was almost wiped out winning only 10 seats between both parties Both Premier Byron Boss Johnson and Tory leader Herbert Anscomb lost their seats Not even the Socreds had expected to win the election The party had no official leader Alberta Social Credit Member of Parliament Ernest George Hansell had led the party during the election campaign without contesting a seat himself The Socreds persuaded Tom Uphill a Labour member of the Legislature MLA to support the party and so the Socreds were able to form a minority government Otherwise having to provide the Speaker meant that the SC seat total would have been reduced to only the same as the CCF s seat count Aftermath EditThe party s next task was to choose the province s new premier In a vote of the newly elected caucus W A C Bennett a former Conservative MLA who joined the Socreds after losing a bid for the Tory leadership won a caucus vote and became premier designate on July 15 1952 This began what would be 21 years of uninterrupted Social Credit rule in British Columbia The party held power for 36 of the following 39 years It would also be the last British Columbia election to produce a minority government until the 2017 election In hopes of getting a stronger mandate Bennett deliberately lost a confidence vote in 1953 This forced an election in June 1953 in which Social Credit won a majority of the seats Results EditParty Party leader ofcandidates Seats Popular vote1949 Elected Change First count Change Final count Social Credit Ernest George Hansell 47 19 209 049 27 20 25 99 203 932 30 18 Co operative Commonwealth Fed Harold Winch 48 7 18 157 1 236 562 30 78 4 32 231 756 34 3 Liberal Byron Ingemar Johnson 48 391 6 n a1 180 289 23 46 n a1 170 674 25 26 Progressive Conservative Herbert Anscomb 48 4 129 439 16 84 65 285 9 66 Labour Tom Uphill 1 1 1 1 290 0 16 0 05 1 758 0 26 Christian Democratic 8 0 7 176 0 93 1 318 0 2 Labour Progressive 5 2 514 0 33 0 09 931 0 14 Independents 5 1 100 1 312 0 17 0 57 Labour Representation Committee 1 0 654 0 09 Socialist 1 0 276 0 04 Total 212 48 48 768 561 100 675 654 100 Source Elections BCNote Party did not nominate candidates in the previous election 1 In the previous election the Liberal and Conservative parties ran candidates jointly as Coalition candidates electing 39 MLAs The Conservatives withdrew from the coalition in 1951 hastening the government s collapse Popular vote first count CCF 30 78 Social Credit 27 20 Liberal 23 46 PC 16 84 Labour 0 16 Others 1 56 Popular vote final count CCF 34 30 Social Credit 30 18 Liberal 25 26 PC 9 66 Labour 0 26 Others 0 34 Seats summarySocial Credit 39 58 CCF 37 50 Liberal 12 50 PC 8 33 Labour 2 08 Results by riding EditResults of British Columbia general election 1952Government OppositionMember Riding amp party Riding amp party Member William Ralph Talbot Chetwynd CaribooBC Social Credit League AlberniCo operative Commonwealth Fed Stanley John Squire William Kenneth Kiernan ChilliwackBC Social Credit League AtlinCo operative Commonwealth Fed Frank Calder Richard Orr Newton ColumbiaBC Social Credit League BurnabyCo operative Commonwealth Fed Ernest Edward Winch Thomas Irwin DeltaBC Social Credit League ComoxCo operative Commonwealth Fed William Campbell Moore Lyle Wicks DewdneyBC Social Credit League Cowichan NewcastleCo operative Commonwealth Fed Robert Martin Strachan Llewllyn Leslie King Fort GeorgeBC Social Credit League CranbrookCo operative Commonwealth Fed Leo Thomas Nimsick Philip Arthur Gaglardi KamloopsBC Social Credit League EsquimaltCo operative Commonwealth Fed Frank Mitchell Wesley Drewett Black Nelson CrestonBC Social Credit League Grand Forks GreenwoodCo operative Commonwealth Fed Rupert Haggen Lorne Shantz North OkanaganBC Social Credit League Kaslo SlocanCo operative Commonwealth Fed Randolph Harding Cyril Morley Shelford OminecaBC Social Credit League MackenzieCo operative Commonwealth Fed Anthony John Gargrave Charles William Parker Peace RiverBC Social Credit League New WestminsterCo operative Commonwealth Fed Rae Eddie Robert Edward Sommers Rossland TrailBC Social Credit League Prince RupertCo operative Commonwealth Fed George Edwin Hills James Allan Reid Salmon ArmBC Social Credit League RevelstokeCo operative Commonwealth Fed Vincent Segur Harry Denyer Francis SimilkameenBC Social Credit League SaanichCo operative Commonwealth Fed Frank Snowsell William Andrew Cecil Bennett South OkanaganBC Social Credit League Vancouver CentreCo operative Commonwealth Fed James Campbell Bury Eric Charles Fitzgerald Martin Vancouver BurrardBC Social Credit League Laura Emma Marshall Jamieson Bert Price Vancouver EastCo operative Commonwealth Fed Arthur James Turner Tilly Rolston Vancouver Point GreyBC Social Credit League Harold Edward Winch Irvine Finlay Corbett YaleBC Social Credit League FernieLabour Thomas Aubert Uphill LillooetProgressive Conservative Ernest Crawford Carson Nanaimo and the IslandsProgressive Conservative Larry Giovando Vancouver Point GreyProgressive Conservative Albert Reginald MacDougall George Clark Miller SkeenaLiberal Edward Tourtellotte Kenney North VancouverLiberal Martin Elliott Sowden Oak BayLiberal Philip Archibald Gibbs Victoria CityLiberal Nancy Hodges Daniel John Proudfoot William Thomas Straith Source Elections BCSee also EditList of British Columbia political parties History and usage of the Single Transferable VoteReferences Edit a b Hansell was an Alberta Member of Parliament and was appointed to lead the BC party during the election but did not contest a seat himself Following the election W A C Bennett was elected as the leader of the Social Credit party by the newly elected caucus and became Premier elect on July 15 1952 a b c d e f The Liberal and Conservative parties ran as a coalition in the 1949 election 1871 1986 Electoral History of BC p 231 2 1871 1986 Electoral History of BC Further reading EditArgyle Ray 2004 Turning Points The Campaigns that Changed Canada 2004 and Before Toronto White Knight Publications ISBN 978 0 9734186 6 8 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1952 British Columbia general election amp oldid 1081866075, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
