New Westminster was a federal

electoral district An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...

in the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

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, ...

, Canada, that was represented in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

from 1871 to 1979. This riding was created in 1871 as New Westminster District when British Columbia joined

Confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

and filled by special byelection. It was renamed "New Westminster" in 1872. The riding was abolished in 1976, when it was redistributed into the ridings of

New Westminster—Coquitlam New Westminster—Coquitlam was a federal electoral district (Canada), electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1979 to 1988, and from 2004 to 2015. Demographics :''According to t ...

and

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 Burrard I ...

History of boundaries

Originally, this riding covered the entirety of the

Lower Mainland The Lower Mainland is a geographic and cultural region of the mainland coast of British Columbia that generally comprises the regional districts of Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley. Home to approximately 3.05million people as of the 2021 Canadia ...

, there being no other riding in the area (

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

riding was

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are o ...

, not the present city of Vancouver). Once the City of Vancouver and its suburbs the municipalities of Point Grey and South Vancouver were chartered, those areas were excluded from the New Westminster riding (1903) but the riding continued to include Richmond, Delta and all the Fraser Valley communities up the river to one mile beyond

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 ...

. In 1914, the riding consisted of New Westminster, Richmond and Delta - the Surrey-Langley area had become part of the

Fraser Valley The Fraser Valley is a geographical region in southwestern British Columbia, Canada and northwestern Washington State. It starts just west of Hope in a narrow valley encompassing the Fraser River and ends at the Pacific Ocean stretching from the ...

riding. In a further redistribution in 1924, the riding was shrunk to all areas south of the Fraser River west of and including the Township of Langley, plus the city of New Westminster and the City of Burnaby. As population in the Lower Mainland continued to grow, the 1933 redistribution transferred northern Burnaby to

Vancouver North Vancouver North was a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1925 to 1949. This riding was created in 1924 from parts of Burrard and Comox—Alberni ridings. A redi ...

. In 1947, the rest of Burnaby and Richmond were removed and became Burnaby-Richmond, and New Westminster riding consisted of New Westminster, Surrey, Delta and Langley. The 1966 redistribution, which combined northern Burnaby into

North Vancouver-Seymour North Vancouver-Seymour is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada. For other current and historical North Shore and City of Vancouver ridings, please see Vancouver (electoral districts) Ge ...

, New Westminster riding extended as far into Burnaby as Grandview Highway and Edmonds Avenue, including Burnaby Mountain and the areas of Coquitlam west of Laurentian Avenue. At the time this included the then-municipality of Fraser Mills adjoining the francophone community at Maillardville. Langley, Surrey and Delta were excluded from the riding. The riding was abolished in 1976. Successor ridings were

and

Members of Parliament

Electoral history

External links

Riding history from the

Library of Parliament The Library of Parliament (french: Bibliothèque du Parlement) is the main information repository and research resource for the Parliament of Canada. The main branch of the library sits at the rear of the Centre Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa ...

Expenditures - 2004

Expenditures - 2000

Expenditures – 1997
* Website of th
Parliament of Canada

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:New Westminster (Electoral District) Former federal electoral districts of British Columbia

History of boundaries

Members of Parliament

Electoral history

See also

External links

References