Ralph Smith (August 8, 1858 – February 17, 1917) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

coal miner, labour leader, and politician. Born in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, he emigrated to Canada with his wife in 1891 settling in

Nanaimo, British Columbia Nanaimo ( ) is a city on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. As of the 2021 census, it had a population of 99,863, and it is known as "The Harbour City." The city was previously known as the "Hub City," which was ...

. A miner by trade, Smith was a moderate

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...

ist in Nanaimo. In 1898, he won election to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia on a moderate " Liberal-Labour" platform. He ran for

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 ...

's seat in the House of Commons of Canada in the 1900 federal election. Reports vary on whether he ran as an

Independent Labour An independent or non-partisan politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicians have political views th ...

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

candidate defeating the official

and

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 in ...

candidates, but once elected, he joined the Liberal caucus. He was re-elected in the

1904 Events January * January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''. * January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library syst ...

and

1908 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1908. Africa * 1908 Southern Rhodesian Legislative Council election Australia * 1908 Adelaide by-election * 1908 Queensland state election Europe * 1908 Bulgarian parliamentary election *1908 Croati ...

as a Liberal. He was defeated in the 1911 election. Smith subsequently returned to provincial politics and, returned to the provincial legislature in the 1916 provincial election that brought the

British Columbia 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 genera ...

to power. Smith served as Minister of Finance in the government of Premier

Harlan Carey Brewster Harlan Carey Brewster (November 10, 1870 – March 1, 1918) was a politician in British Columbia, Canada. Brewster arrived in British Columbia in 1893 and had various careers working on a ship and then in a cannery. He eventually became owner of ...

, and died in office on February 17, 1917. His wife,

Mary Ellen Smith Mary Ellen Spear Smith (October 11, 1863 – May 3, 1933) was a politician in British Columbia, Canada. She was the first female Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia,by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

(held January 1918) as an Independent Liberal

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. ...

(MLA). She subsequently became the first female cabinet minister in the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

. Ralph Smith was a supporter of

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

, which was enacted in the province shortly after the Liberals came to power after ten previous attempts over the years had failed.

References

* * 1858 births 1917 deaths British Columbia Liberal Party MLAs Canadian coal miners English emigrants to Canada Liberal-Labour (Canada) MPs Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from British Columbia Politicians from Newcastle upon Tyne Canadian trade unionists {{BritishColumbia-MLA-stub