Herbert Bertie Anscomb (February 23, 1892 – November 12, 1972) was a Conservative politician and

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, ...

cabinet minister. He was born in England and moved to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in 1911. He settled in

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. Th ...

where he found work as a bookkeeper for the Victoria Brewing Company eventually becoming manager of the company even though he was a tea-totaller.Herbert Anscomb
''Oak Bay Encyclopedia'' In 1925 he was elected reeve of Oak Bay and in 1928 he became

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of Victoria serving until 1931. Anscomb entered provincial politics and was elected to the

British Columbia Legislative Assembly 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 r ...

in the 1933 provincial election as an Independent (the Conservatives had decided not to run in the election) and re-elected in 1937 as a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

. The Conservatives joined the ruling Liberals to form a

coalition government 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 ...

led by John Hart following the 1941 provincial election. Following the death of Conservative leader

Royal Lethington Maitland Royal Lethington (Pat) Maitland (January 9, 1889 – March 28, 1946) was a Canadian lawyer and politician. He served as Deputy Premier and the Attorney General of British Columbia in the coalition government of Premier John Hart. He a ...

in 1946 Anscomb became Conservative leader and Deputy Premier as well as Finance Minister.Hans J. Michelmann, David E. Smith, Cristine De Clercy
Continuity And Change in Canadian Politics: Essays in Honour of David E. Smith
', University of Toronto Press (2006), page 184 A fiscal conservative, Anscomb introduced British Columbia's provincial

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at a rate of 3% in 1948. When Hart retired in 1947 the Conservatives wanted Anscomb to succeed him as

Premier of British Columbia Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

but the Liberals had more seats in the legislature and insisted that the Premier should remain a Liberal resulting in the appointment of Byron Johnson as premier. The conflict strained relations between Johnson and Anscomb and their parties in the subsequent coalition. The Conservatives were riven into three factions, one led by

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 ...

called for the Tories and Liberals to fuse into a single party, a second faction supported the status quo and a third wanted the Conservatives to leave the coalition. The Liberals, meanwhile, began to doubt the need to continue the coalition rather than govern on their own. The coalition was re-elected in the 1949 provincial election winning 39 seats against 7 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 ...

opposition. Growing divisions within the Conservative Party resulted in Anscomb's leadership and the party's continuation in the coalition being unsuccessfully challenged at the 1950 party convention. W.A.C. Bennett, who was now in the anti-coalition faction, quit the party and

crossed the floor Crossed may refer to: * ''Crossed'' (comics), a 2008 comic book series by Garth Ennis * ''Crossed'' (novel), a 2010 young adult novel by Ally Condie * "Crossed" (''The Walking Dead''), an episode of the television series ''The Walking Dead'' S ...

to join and eventually led the

British Columbia Social Credit Party 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 fou ...

. In October 1951, the Liberal Party decided to dissolve the coalition and on January 18, 1952 Premier Johnson dismissed his Conservative ministers including Anscomb and continued as a

minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and Cabinet (government), cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or Coalition government, coalition of parties do ...

with Anscomb as

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

beginning in February 1952. The government soon collapsed and in the ensuing 1952 provincial election the Liberals were reduced to 6 seats, the Conservatives to 4 and Johnson and Anscomb both lost their seats while the Social Credit Party was able to form a government under Bennett that would rule the province for the next two decades.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anscomb, Herbert 1892 births 1972 deaths British Columbia Conservative Party leaders British Columbia Conservative Party MLAs Finance ministers of British Columbia Mayors of Victoria, British Columbia British emigrants to Canada