Atlin was a provincial electoral district 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 North ...
of
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, ...
. It made its first appearance on the hustings in the
10th provincial general election in 1903 and last appeared in the
34th provincial general election in 1986, after which it was merged with the
Skeena riding and was succeeded by
Bulkley Valley-Stikine
Bulkley Valley-Stikine was a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada from 1991 to 2009. It was succeeded by the electoral district of Stikine.
Demographics
Geography
History
MLAs
*Fran ...
.
Demographics
Political geography
Always one of the province's largest ridings by area, it was always among the smallest in population, and is often cited as an example of a lack of proper representation-by-population in the BC political system. From the perspective of riding residents, who are spread out in a handful of small settlements from the
Nass River
The Nass River is a river in northern British Columbia, Canada. It flows from the Coast Mountains southwest to Nass Bay, a sidewater of Portland Inlet, which connects to the North Pacific Ocean via the Dixon Entrance. Nass Bay joins Portland Inl ...
to the
Yukon
Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...
border, a riding incorporating larger population centres was unfair to them. Ultimately the pressure to redress lack of equality in voting-weight among BC ridings saw the Atlin riding became merged with
Skeena riding.
Notable elections
Because of its small electorate, battles over spoiled ballots were critical in Atlin's electoral history:
*The 1928 election saw a 567/542/32 three-way split in favour of
Herbert Frederick Kergin of the
BC Liberal Party
The British Columbia Liberal Party, often shortened to the BC Liberals, is a centre-right provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada. The party currently forms the Official Opposition. Subsequent to the 2020 British Columbia general ...
, with 22 rejected ballots
*The 1945 election saw a 297/292 split in favour of
William Duncan Smith of the
Liberal-Conservative Coalition
A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...
, with no rejected ballots
*The 1949 election saw a 376/370 split in favour of
Frank Calder
Frank Sellick Calder (November 17, 1877 – February 4, 1943) was a British-born Canadian ice hockey executive, journalist, and athlete.
Calder was the first president of the National Hockey League (NHL), from 1917 until his death in 1943. He ...
, then a candidate for 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 socialism, democra ...
(CCF) - with 190 rejected ballots.
*The 1956 election saw a 450/360/131 split in favour of
William James Asselstine
William James Asselstine (July 1, 1891 – August 21, 1973) was an engineer, gold miner and political figure in British Columbia. He represented Atlin from 1933 to 1945 as a Liberal and from 1956 to 1960 as a Social Credit member in the Legi ...
of the
Social Credit
Social credit is a distributive philosophy of political economy developed by C. H. Douglas. Douglas attributed economic downturns to discrepancies between the cost of goods and the compensation of the workers who made them. To combat what he ...
, with 59 rejected ballots.
*the 1979 election saw a 750/749 split in favour of
Al Passarell of the
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* t ...
over
Frank Calder
Frank Sellick Calder (November 17, 1877 – February 4, 1943) was a British-born Canadian ice hockey executive, journalist, and athlete.
Calder was the first president of the National Hockey League (NHL), from 1917 until his death in 1943. He ...
, who had switched sides to Social Credit in the
1975 British Columbia general election - with 39 rejected ballots
First Nations
Another important factor in the Atlin riding was the dominance of its
First Nations
First Nations or first peoples may refer to:
* Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area.
Indigenous groups
*First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including:
**First Natio ...
population, including the whole of the
Nisga'a Nation (
Frank Calder
Frank Sellick Calder (November 17, 1877 – February 4, 1943) was a British-born Canadian ice hockey executive, journalist, and athlete.
Calder was the first president of the National Hockey League (NHL), from 1917 until his death in 1943. He ...
and
Larry Guno were both
Nisga'a
The Nisga’a , often formerly spelled Nishga and spelled in the Nisga'a language as (pronounced ), are an Indigenous people of Canada in British Columbia. They reside in the Nass River valley of northwestern British Columbia. The name is a r ...
). Also in the riding in its entirety was the
Tahltan
The Tahltan or Nahani are a First Nations people of the Athabaskan-speaking ethnolinguistic group who live in northern British Columbia around Telegraph Creek, Dease Lake, and Iskut. The Tahltan constitute the fourth division of the ''Nahane' ...
Nation, centred on the isolated towns of
Telegraph Creek
Telegraph Creek is a small community located off Highway 37 in northern British Columbia at the confluence of the Stikine River and Telegraph Creek. The only permanent settlement on the Stikine River, it is home to approximately 250 members of Tah ...
and
Dease Lake
Dease Lake is a small community located in the Cassiar Country of the Northern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It is located a few hours south of the Yukon border on Stewart–Cassiar Highway (Highway 37) at the south end of the lake o ...
. The area of the town of
Atlin is part of the Inland
Tlingit
The Tlingit ( or ; also spelled Tlinkit) are indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. Their language is the Tlingit language (natively , pronounced ), Nation.
Towns and industry
Another factor in the riding was the dominance of working men in its handful of industrial towns (principally mining).
The main towns in the riding were:
*
Atlin
*
Teslin
*
Dease Lake
Dease Lake is a small community located in the Cassiar Country of the Northern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It is located a few hours south of the Yukon border on Stewart–Cassiar Highway (Highway 37) at the south end of the lake o ...
*
Telegraph Creek
Telegraph Creek is a small community located off Highway 37 in northern British Columbia at the confluence of the Stikine River and Telegraph Creek. The only permanent settlement on the Stikine River, it is home to approximately 250 members of Tah ...
*
Anyox
Anyox was a small company-owned mining town in British Columbia, Canada. Today it is a ghost town, abandoned and largely destroyed. It is located on the shores of Granby Bay in coastal Observatory Inlet, about southeast of (but no land link to) ...
(now a ghost town, formerly a large smelter town)
*
Stewart
Notable MLAs
The most notable
Member of the Legislative Assembly
A member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to a legislative assembly. Most often, the term refers to a subnational assembly such as that of a state, province, or territory of a country. S ...
from Atlin was
Frank Calder
Frank Sellick Calder (November 17, 1877 – February 4, 1943) was a British-born Canadian ice hockey executive, journalist, and athlete.
Calder was the first president of the National Hockey League (NHL), from 1917 until his death in 1943. He ...
. A
Nisga'a
The Nisga’a , often formerly spelled Nishga and spelled in the Nisga'a language as (pronounced ), are an Indigenous people of Canada in British Columbia. They reside in the Nass River valley of northwestern British Columbia. The name is a r ...
, he originally ran for the CCF, and then the NDP, but in the 1975 election he switched sides to
Social Credit
Social credit is a distributive philosophy of political economy developed by C. H. Douglas. Douglas attributed economic downturns to discrepancies between the cost of goods and the compensation of the workers who made them. To combat what he ...
, but went down to defeat under that party's banner in 1979 and retired from electoral politics.
Electoral history
''Note: Winners of each election are in ''bold.
, -
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Total valid votes
!align="right", 438
!align="right", 100.00%
!align="right",
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Total rejected ballots
!align="right",
!align="right",
!align="right",
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Turnout
!align="right", %
!align="right",
!align="right",
, -
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Total valid votes
!align="right", 124
!align="right", 100.00%
!align="right",
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Total rejected ballots
!align="right",
!align="right",
!align="right",
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Turnout
!align="right", %
!align="right",
!align="right",
, -
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Total valid votes
!align="right", 172
!align="right", 100.00%
!align="right",
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Total rejected ballots
!align="right",
!align="right",
!align="right",
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Turnout
!align="right", %
!align="right",
!align="right",
, -
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Total valid votes
!align="right", -
!align="right", --.--%
!align="right",
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Total rejected ballots
!align="right",
!align="right",
!align="right",
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Turnout
!align="right", %
!align="right",
!align="right",
, -
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Total valid votes
!align="right", 606
!align="right", 100.00%
!align="right",
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Total rejected ballots
!align="right",
!align="right",
!align="right",
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Turnout
!align="right", %
!align="right",
!align="right",
, -
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Total valid votes
!align="right", 1,196
!align="right", 100.00%
!align="right",
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Total rejected ballots
!align="right",
!align="right",
!align="right",
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Turnout
!align="right", %
!align="right",
!align="right",
, -
, Independent
, William Herbert Moult
, align="right", 32
, align="right", 2.76%
, align="right",
, align="right", unknown
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Total valid votes
!align="right", 1,161
!align="right", 100.00%
!align="right",
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Total rejected ballots
!align="right", 22
!align="right",
!align="right",
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Turnout
!align="right", %
!align="right",
!align="right",
, -
, Independent
,
Herbert Frederick Kergin
, align="right", 267
, align="right", 20.79%
, align="right",
, align="right", unknown
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Total valid votes
!align="right", 1,284
!align="right", 100.00%
!align="right",
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Total rejected ballots
!align="right", 34
!align="right",
!align="right",
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Turnout
!align="right", %
!align="right",
!align="right",
, -
,
Co-operative Commonwealth
, Charles H. Lake
, align="right", 263
, align="right", 25.53%
, align="right",
, align="right", unknown
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Total valid votes
!align="right", 1,030
!align="right", 100.00%
!align="right",
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Total rejected ballots
!align="right", 31
!align="right",
!align="right",
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Turnout
!align="right", %
!align="right",
!align="right",
, -
, Labour
, John Scott
, align="right", 374
, align="right", 45.17%
, align="right",
, align="right", unknown
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Total valid votes
!align="right", 828
!align="right", 100.00%
!align="right",
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Total rejected ballots
!align="right", 24
!align="right",
!align="right",
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Turnout
!align="right", %
!align="right",
!align="right",
, -
,
Co-operative Commonwealth Fed.
, Norman Cunningham
, align="right", 292
, align="right", 49.58%
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Total valid votes
!align="right", 589
!align="right", 100.00%
!align="right",
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Total rejected ballots
!align="right", 0
, -
,
Co-operative Commonwealth Fed.
,
Frank Arthur Calder
Frank Arthur Calder, (August 3, 1915 – November 4, 2006) was a Nisga'a politician in Canada.
Born in Nass Harbour, British Columbia, Calder was the first indigenous person to graduate from the Anglican Theological College of the Unive ...
, align="right", 376
, align="right", 50.40%
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Total valid votes
!align="right", 746
!align="right", 100.00%
!align="right",
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Total rejected ballots
!align="right", 190
!align="right",
!align="right",
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Turnout
!align="right", %
!align="right",
!align="right",
, -
,
Co-operative Commonwealth Fed.
,
Frank Arthur Calder
Frank Arthur Calder, (August 3, 1915 – November 4, 2006) was a Nisga'a politician in Canada.
Born in Nass Harbour, British Columbia, Calder was the first indigenous person to graduate from the Anglican Theological College of the Unive ...
, align="right", 595
, align="right", 56.61%
, align="right", 595
, align="right", 56.61%
, align="right",
, align="right", unknown
,
Progressive Conservative
, Thomas Sutherland MacKay
, align="right", 164
, align="right", 15.60%
, align="right", 164
, align="right", 15.60%
, align="right",
, align="right", unknown
, align="right",
, align="right", unknown
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Total valid votes
!align="right", 1,051
!align="right", 100.00%
!align="right", 1,051
!align="right", %
!align="right",
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Total rejected ballots
!align="right", 44
!align="right",
!align="right",
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Turnout
!align="right", %
!align="right",
!align="right",
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=9,
1 preferential ballot - only 1 count needed
,
Co-operative Commonwealth Fed.
,
Frank Arthur Calder
Frank Arthur Calder, (August 3, 1915 – November 4, 2006) was a Nisga'a politician in Canada.
Born in Nass Harbour, British Columbia, Calder was the first indigenous person to graduate from the Anglican Theological College of the Unive ...
, align="right", 553
, align="right", 59.08%
, align="right", 553
, align="right", 59.08%
, align="right",
, align="right", unknown
, align="right",
, align="right", unknown
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Total valid votes
!align="right", 936
!align="right", 100.00%
!align="right", 936
!align="right", %
!align="right",
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Total rejected ballots
!align="right", 125
!align="right",
!align="right",
!align="right",
!align="right",
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Total Registered Voters
!align="right", 5,933 (1952 list)
!align="right",
!align="right",
!align="right",
!align="right",
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Turnout
!align="right", %
!align="right",
!align="right",
!align="right",
!align="right",
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=9, Preferential ballot; only one count needed
, -
,
Co-operative Commonwealth Fed.
,
Frank Arthur Calder
Frank Arthur Calder, (August 3, 1915 – November 4, 2006) was a Nisga'a politician in Canada.
Born in Nass Harbour, British Columbia, Calder was the first indigenous person to graduate from the Anglican Theological College of the Unive ...
, align="right", 360
, align="right", 38.10%
, align="right",
, align="right", unknown
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Total valid votes
!align="right", 945
!align="right", 100.00%
!align="right",
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Total rejected ballots
!align="right", 59
!align="right",
!align="right",
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Turnout
!align="right", %
!align="right",
!align="right",
, -
,
Co-operative Commonwealth Fed.
,
Frank Arthur Calder
Frank Arthur Calder, (August 3, 1915 – November 4, 2006) was a Nisga'a politician in Canada.
Born in Nass Harbour, British Columbia, Calder was the first indigenous person to graduate from the Anglican Theological College of the Unive ...
, align="right", 444
, align="right", 53.30%
, align="right",
, align="right", unknown
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Total valid votes
!align="right", 833
!align="right", 100.00%
!align="right",
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Total rejected ballots
!align="right", 85
!align="right",
!align="right",
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Turnout
!align="right", %
!align="right",
!align="right",
, -
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Total valid votes
!align="right", 1,008
!align="right", 100.00%
!align="right",
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Total rejected ballots
!align="right", 19
!align="right",
!align="right",
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Turnout
!align="right", %
!align="right",
!align="right",
, -
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Total valid votes
!align="right", 958
!align="right", 100.00%
!align="right",
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Total rejected ballots
!align="right", 10
!align="right",
!align="right",
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Turnout
!align="right", %
!align="right",
!align="right",
, -
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Total valid votes
!align="right", 1,203
!align="right", 100.00%
!align="right",
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Total rejected ballots
!align="right", 13
!align="right",
!align="right",
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Turnout
!align="right", %
!align="right",
!align="right",
, -
,
Progressive Conservative
, Glen Leslie Clayton
, align="right", 65
, align="right", 3.95%
, align="right",
, align="right", unknown
, Independent
, Peter John Curran
, align="right", 242
, align="right", 14.69%
, align="right",
, align="right", unknown
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Total valid votes
!align="right", 1,467
!align="right", 100.00%
!align="right",
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Total rejected ballots
!align="right", 27
!align="right",
!align="right",
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Turnout
!align="right", %
!align="right",
!align="right",
, -
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Total valid votes
!align="right", 1,773
!align="right", 100.00%
!align="right",
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Total rejected ballots
!align="right", 22
!align="right",
!align="right",
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Turnout
!align="right", %
!align="right",
!align="right",
, -
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Total valid votes
!align="right", 1,499
!align="right", 100.00%
!align="right",
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Total rejected ballots
!align="right", 39
!align="right",
!align="right",
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Turnout
!align="right", %
!align="right",
!align="right",
, -
, Independent
, Paul Danny Brohman
, align="right", 84
, align="right", 2.82%
, align="right",
, align="right", unknown
, Independent
, Burgess A. Longson
, align="right", 105
, align="right", 3.52%
, align="right",
, align="right", unknown
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Total valid votes
!align="right", 2,984
!align="right", 70.76%
!align="right",
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Total rejected ballots
!align="right", 393
!align="right",
!align="right",
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Turnout
!align="right", %
!align="right",
!align="right",
, -
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Total valid votes
!align="right", 2,301
!align="right", 100.00%
!align="right",
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Total rejected ballots
!align="right", 31
!align="right",
!align="right",
, - bgcolor="white"
!align="right" colspan=3, Turnout
!align="right", %
!align="right",
!align="right",
{{coord missing, British Columbia
Former provincial electoral districts of British Columbia