The 1952 British Columbia general election was the 23rd general election in the

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British Nor ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

. It was held to elect members of the

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is the deliberative assembly of the Parliament of British Columbia, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The Legislative Assembly meets in Victoria. Members are elected from provincial ...

, 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. 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 William Andrew Cecil Bennett (September 6, 1900 – February 23, 1979) was a Canadian politician. He was the 25th premier of British Columbia from 1952 to 1972. With just over 20 years in office, Bennett was and remains the longest-serving prem ...

, 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.

Background

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 The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; french: Fédération du Commonwealth Coopératif, FCC); from 1955 the Social Democratic Party of Canada (''french: Parti social démocratique du Canada''), was a federal democratic socialistThe follo ...

. 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 Single transferable vote (STV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which voters cast a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate p ...

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."1871-1986 Electoral History of BC" In districts where CCF candidates were eliminated, back-up preferences were marked overwhelmingly for the

British Columbia Social Credit League The British Columbia Social Credit Party, whose members are known as Socreds, was the governing provincial political party of British Columbia, Canada, for all but three years between the 1952 provincial election and the 1991 election. For fo ...

(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.

Results

Note: * 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.

Results by riding

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Cariboo The Cariboo is an intermontane region of British Columbia, Canada, centered on a plateau stretching from Fraser Canyon to the Cariboo Mountains. The name is a reference to the caribou that were once abundant in the region. The Cariboo was t ...

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Atlin Atlin may either be: *Atlin Lake, one of British Columbia's largest lakes *Atlin, British Columbia, a town in the far northwest of British Columbia, named for the lake, centre of a Klondike-era gold rush *Atlin District, the name for the region inc ...

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Richard Orr Newton Richard Orr Newton (May 14, 1905 – February 14, 1963) was an educator, general store and restaurant owner, and political figure in British Columbia. He represented Columbia (electoral district), Columbia in the Legislative Assembly of Briti ...

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Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...

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Burnaby Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrar ...

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Robert Martin Strachan Robert Martin Strachan (December 1, 1913 – July 21, 1981) was a trade unionist and politician. He was the longest serving Leader of the Opposition in British Columbia history.Canadian Press, "Robert Strachan Led CCF-NDP in opposition for 13 y ...

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Leo Thomas Nimsick Leo Thomas Nimsick (January 26, 1908 – February 8, 1999) was a political figure in British Columbia. He represented Cranbrook from 1949 to 1966 and Kootenay from 1966 to 1975 in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia as a Co-opera ...

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Kamloops Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the South flowing North Thompson River and the West flowing Thompson River, east of Kamloops Lake. It is located in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, w ...

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Esquimalt The Township of Esquimalt is a municipality at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. It is bordered to the east by the provincial capital, Victoria, to the south by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, to the west by Esqui ...

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Lorne Shantz Lorne Hugh Shantz (February 4, 1920 – October 2, 1999) was a politician in British Columbia, Canada. He represented North Okanagan in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1952 to 1963 as a British Columbia Social Credit Party, Soc ...

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North Okanagan North Okanagan was the name of a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia beginning with the 1916 British Columbia general election, election of 1916. Following the 1975 British Columbia general election, 1975 el ...

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Kaslo-Slocan Kaslo-Slocan was the name of a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia centred on the town of Kaslo on Kootenay Lake as well as the mining towns of the "Silvery Slocan". The riding first appeared in the 1924 ele ...

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Randolph Harding Randolph Harding (September 17, 1914 – March 3, 1996) was a Canadian politician. Biography Born in Silverton, British Columbia, Harding was a teacher and a member of the Silverton municipal council. He was elected as the Co-operative Com ...

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Cyril Morley Shelford Cyril Morley Shelford (April 8, 1921 – November 8, 2001) was a rancher, author and political figure in British Columbia. He represented Omineca from 1952 to 1972 and Skeena from 1975 to 1979 in the Legislative Assembly of British Colum ...

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Peace River The Peace River (french: links=no, rivière de la Paix) is a river in Canada that originates in the Rocky Mountains of northern British Columbia and flows to the northeast through northern Alberta. The Peace River joins the Athabasca River in ...

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Rossland-Trail Rossland-Trail was the name of a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia centred on the towns of Rossland and Trail, in the West Kootenay. The riding first appeared in the 1924 election as the result of a redistr ...

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Prince Rupert Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 (O.S.) / 27 December (N.S.) – 29 November 1682 (O.S.)) was an English army officer, admiral, scientist and colonial governor. He first came to prominence as a Royalist caval ...

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George Edwin Hills George Edwin Hills (June 30, 1905 – April 3, 1978) was an English-born painter, contractor and political figure in British Columbia. He represented Prince Rupert in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in 1953 as a Co-operative ...

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Salmon Arm Salmon Arm is a city in the Columbia Shuswap Regional District of the Southern Interior of the Canadian province of British Columbia that has a population of 17,706 (2016). Salmon Arm was incorporated as a municipal district on May 15, 1905. The ...

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Vincent Segur Vincent Spies Segur (May 2, 1887 – February 25, 1965) was an American-born locomotive engineer and political figure in British Columbia. He represented Revelstoke in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1943 to 1945 and fr ...

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Eric Charles Fitzgerald Martin Eric Charles Fitzgerald Martin (September 15, 1905 – April 23, 1973) was an accountant, stock broker and political figure in British Columbia. He represented Vancouver-Burrard in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1952 to ...

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Vancouver-Burrard Vancouver-Burrard was a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada. It first appeared on the hustings in the 1933 general election and included the neighbourhoods of Kitsilano and Fairview. This versio ...

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Bert Price Bert Price (April 10, 1907 – September 24, 1986) was a business owner and political figure in British Columbia, Canada. He represented Vancouver-Burrard in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1952 to 1966 and from 1969 to 197 ...

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Arthur James Turner Arthur James Turner, CBE, FTI (1889 – October 1971) was a British scientist who worked in the field of textile technology. He was the first director of the Technological Laboratory created by the Indian Central Cotton Committee (ICCC) in Bom ...

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Tilly Rolston Tilly Rolston (February 23, 1887 – October 12, 1953) was a Canadian politician. Initially elected to the British Columbia provincial legislature as a Conservative, she crossed the floor and joined W.A.C. Bennett in the British Columbia Soci ...

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Irvine Finlay Corbett Irvine Finlay Corbett (February 12, 1915 – October 7, 1986) was a Canadian former politician. He served in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1952 to 1963, as a Social Credit member for the constituency of Yale. He died in 1986 ...

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Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

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Labour , align="center", Thomas Aubert Uphill , , , - , , , , , , , align="center" , Lillooet
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Ernest Crawford Carson Ernest Crawford Carson (June 9, 1894 – October 21, 1952) was a rancher and political figure in British Columbia. He represented Lillooet in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1928 to 1933 as a Conservative and from 1941 to ...

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George Clark Miller George Clark Miller (9 January 1882 – 17 March 1968) was the 23rd mayor of Vancouver, British Columbia from 1937 to 1938. He was born in Huron County, Ontario, moving to Manitoba, then in 1941 to Vancouver. Gerald McGeer left the mayo ...

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Liberal , align="center", Martin Elliott Sowden , ,      , - , , , , , ,      , align="center" , Oak Bay
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Philip Archibald Gibbs Philip Archibald Gibbs (August 5, 1893 – March 4, 1960) was a Canadian politician. He served in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1952 to 1960 from the electoral district of Oak Bay, a member of the Liberal Party The Libera ...

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Victoria City Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychell ...

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William Thomas Straith William Thomas Straith (August 5, 1894 – March 27, 1980) was a lawyer and political figure in British Columbia. He represented Victoria City in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1937 to 1953 as a Liberal. He was born in Inne ...

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Elections BC
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Background

Campaign

Aftermath

Results

Results by riding

See also

References

Further reading