Vancouver City (provincial electoral district)

Vancouver City was a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It was a multiple member riding based in the newly created city of Vancouver.

It did not appear on the hustings until the 1890 election - the city only having been chartered and named in the year of the previous election when the locality was a small polling area of the New Westminster (provincial electoral district) riding. It is a sign of Vancouver's rapid growth that by 1890 there were over 300 electors, by 1900 there were 15,000, by 1903 over 25,000 votes cast; prior to 1885 the population of the waterside village of Granville, B.I. (Burrard Inlet, a postal address shared by Moodyville, New Brighton and Barnet) had been in the range of 300. When the riding was created it was a two-member riding but because of population increase was made a three-member riding in 1890 and in 1903 a five-member seat. By the 1920s it had become a six-member seat with over 200,000 votes cast. When it was broken up after the 1928 election it became four ridings, three with two seats (Vancouver-Burrard, Vancouver Centre and Vancouver East and one with three members (Vancouver-Point Grey.

Demographics

Population, 1961
Population change, 1871–1961
Area (km²)
Population density (people per km²)

Notable MLAs

• Joe Martin, aka "Fighting Joe"
• Charles A. Woodward, founder of Woodward's and father of W.C. "Billy" Woodward, later Lieutenant-Governor, and grandfather of Charles N. "Chunky" Woodward.

Electoral history

Note: winners in each election in bold.

6th British Columbia election, 1890
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Opposition	Francis Lovett Carter-Cotton 1	1,123	36.07%	–	unknown
	Government	James M. Fox	33	1.06%	–	unknown
	Opposition	Samuel Greer 2	649	20.85%	–	unknown
	Independent	James Welton Horne 3	695	22.33%		unknown
	Opposition	James Orr	135	4.34%	–	unknown
	Independent	Robert Garnett Tatlow	478	15.35%		unknown
Total valid votes			3,113	100.00%
Total rejected ballots
Turnout			%
1 Vancouver publisher (Vancouver Province newspaper) and mayoral contender
2 Landowner at "Greer's Beach", now Kitsilano Beach.
3 Promoter of the "Great Land Sale" in 1891 in Mission City

7th British Columbia election, 1894
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Government	Robert Alexander Anderson	920	11.32%	–	unknown
	Progressive	Francis Lovett Carter-Cotton	1,736	21.36%		unknown
	Independents	Samuel Greer	208	2.56%		unknown
	Opposition	Robert Macpherson	1,766	21.73%	–	unknown
	Government	Edward Odlum	607	7.47%	–	unknown
	Government	Robert Garnett Tatlow	979	12.05%	–	unknown
	Opposition	Adolphus Williams	1,911	23.51%	–	unknown
Total valid votes			8,127	100.00%
Total rejected ballots
Turnout			%

8th British Columbia election, 1898
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Government	William John Bowser	879	8.26%	–	unknown
	Government	John T. Carroll	954	8.97%	–	unknown
	Opposition	Francis Lovett Carter-Cotton	1,667	15.67%	–	unknown
	Government	James Ford Garden	1,157	10.88%	–	unknown
	Government	William Seaman McDonald	735	6.91%	–	unknown
	Opposition	Robert Macpherson	1,795	16.88%	–	unknown
	Opposition	Joseph Martin	1,651	15.52%	–	unknown
	Opposition	Charles Edward Tisdall	1,798	16.91%	–	unknown
Total valid votes			10,636	100.00%
Total rejected ballots
Turnout			%

British Columbia general election, 1900
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	Elected
	Conservative	James Ford Garden	1,787	11.67%	Y
	Government	Joseph Martin7	1,737	11.34%	Y
	Opposition	Robert Garnett Tatlow	1,645	10.74%	Y
	Conservative	Hugh Bowie Gilmour	1,465	9.57%	Y
	Conservative	Charles Wilson	1,457	9.51%
	Independent Government	Robert Macpherson	1,435	9.37%
	Government	James McQueen	1,391	9.08%
	Conservative	William Henry Wood	1,344	8.78%
	Independent Labour	Joseph Dixon	853	5.57%
	Progressive	Francis Lovett Carter-Cotton	802	5.24%
	Labour	Francis Williams	716	4.67%
	Independent Labour	William MacClain	683	4.46%
Total valid votes			15,315	100.00%
7 Thirteenth Premier of British Columbia.

British Columbia general election, 1903
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	Elected
	Conservative	Robert Garnett Tatlow	2,660	10.64%	Y
	Conservative	James Ford Garden	2,464	9.86%	Y
	Conservative	Charles Wilson	2,416	9.66%	Y
	Conservative	William John Bowser	2,304	9.2%	Y
	Conservative	Alexander Henry Boswell MacGowan	2,300	9.20%	Y
	Liberal	Joseph Martin	1,546	6.18%
	Liberal	William Disbrow Brydone-Jack	1,461	5.84%
	Liberal	Truman Smith Baxter	1,411	5.64%
	Vancouver (Independent) Labour	Francis Williams	1,357	5.43%
	Socialist	John Thomas Mortimer	1,328	5.31%
	Vancouver (Independent) Labour	Albert George Perry	1,248	4.99%
	Liberal	James Douglas Turnbull	1,193	4.77%
	Vancouver (Independent) Labour	John McLaren	1,164	4.66%
	Socialist	Albion Rovert Stebbings	956	3.82%
	Liberal	Clarence Monck	910	3.64%
	Socialist Labour1	William Griffiths	284	1.14%
Total valid votes			25,002	100.00%
1 William Griffiths is listed as a member of the Socialist Labour party, but this is it unclear whether this is in any way related to the British Columbia Socialist Labour Party of the 1940s.
Source: http://www.elections.bc.ca/docs/rpt/1871-1986_ElectoralHistoryofBC.pdf

11th British Columbia general election, 1907
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Conservative	William John Bowser	3,152	10.45%		unknown
	Socialist	John Edward Dubberley	599	1.99%	–	unknown
	Liberal	John Wallace deBeque Farris	2,096	6.95%		unknown
	Conservative	James Ford Garden	3,080	10.21%		unknown
	Liberal	Alexander Henderson	2,248	7.45%		unknown
	Socialist	Eugene Thornton Kingsley	617	2.04%	–	unknown
	Conservative	Alexander Henry Boswell MacGowan	3,141	10.41%		unknown
	Conservative	George Albert McGuire	2,994	9.92%		unknown
	Liberal	William Wallace Burns McInnes	2,233	7.40%		unknown
	Liberal	Robert Purvis McLennan	2,316	7.68%		unknown
	Socialist	James Hackett McVety	616	2.04%	–	unknown
	Liberal]	Thomas Fletcher Neelands	2,063	6.84%		unknown
	Canadian Labour Party of BC	Albert George Perry	281	0.93%		unknown
	Socialist	Richard Parmater Pettipiece	602	1.99%	–	unknown
	Socialist	Albion Robert Stebbings	598	1.98%	–	unknown
	Conservative	Robert Garnet Tatlow 6	3,136	10.39%		unknown
	Canadian Labour Party of BC	Francis Williams	401	1.33%		unknown
Total valid votes			30,173	100.00%
Total rejected ballots
Turnout			%
6 spelled Garnet on this ballot, Garnett in other years

1909 election

12th British Columbia general election, 1909
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Conservative	William John Bowser	5,441	10.60%		unknown
	Liberal	John Bell Campbell	3,227	6.29%		unknown
	Socialist	Peter Garvie	1,227	2.39%	–	unknown
	Socialist	Eugene Thornton Kingsley	1,883	3.67%	–	unknown
	Liberal	George Ernest MacDonald	3,984	7.76%		unknown
	Conservative	Alexander Henry Boswell MacGowan	3,141	10.41%		unknown
	Socialist	Moses McGregor	1,218	2.37%	–	unknown
	Conservative	George Albert McGuire	4,826	9.41%		unknown
	Socialist	William Murray MacKenzie	1,231	2.40%	–	unknown
	Socialist	Richard Parmater Pettipiece	1,428	2.78%	–	unknown
	Liberal	John Harold Senkler	4,110	8.01%		unknown
	Liberal	James Stables	3,356	6.54%		unknown
	Conservative]	Charles Edward Tisdall	2,063	6.84%		unknown
	Liberal	Frederick Coate Wade	3,942	7.68%		unknown
	Conservative]	Henry Holgate Watson	5,202	10.14%		unknown
Total valid votes			51,316	100.00%
Total rejected ballots
Turnout			%

13th British Columbia general election, 1912
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Socialist	William Bennett	1,134	2.45%	–	unknown
	Conservative	William John Bowser	5,101	11.02%		unknown
	Liberal	Cameron William Smith	2,716	5.87%		unknown
	Liberal	Joseph Nealon Ellis	2,619	5.66%		unknown
	Liberal	Charles William Enright	2,947	6.37%		unknown
	Independent	Samuel Greer	897	1.94%		unknown
	Socialist	Joseph Patrick Lord	1,133	2.45%	–	unknown
	Socialist	John Amos MacDonald	1,263	2.73%	–	unknown
	Conservative	Alexander Henry Boswell MacGowan	5,061	10.93%		unknown
	Conservative	George Albert McGuire	5,114	11.05%		unknown
	Socialist	WilliamArthur Pritchard	1,081	2.34%	–	unknown
	Socialist	John Reid	1,156	2.50%	–	unknown
	Liberal	Ralph Smith	3,257	7.04%		unknown
	Liberal	William Maxwell Smith	2,744	5.93%		unknown
	Conservative	Charles Edward Tisdall	5,085	10.97%		unknown
	Conservative	Henry Holgate Watson	4,977	10.75%		unknown
Total valid votes			46,285	100.00%
Total rejected ballots
Turnout			%

British Columbia general election, 1916
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	Elected
	Liberal	Malcolm Archibald Macdonald	9,119	9.53%	Y
	Liberal	Ralph Smith	8,106	8.47%	Y
	Liberal	John William MacIntosh	8,096	8.46%	Y
	Liberal	John Wallace deBeque Farris	7,881	8.23%	Y
	Conservative	William John Bowser	7,421	7.75%	Y
	Liberal	John Sedgwick Cowper	7,056	7.37%	Y
	Liberal	Patrick Donnelly	7,005	7.32%
	Conservative	Charles Edward Tisdall	6,922	7.23%
	Conservative	Thomas Duke	6,395	6.68%
	Conservative	George Albert McGuire	6,270	6.55%
	Conservative	Walter Leek	6,136	6.41%
	Conservative	Alexander Henry Boswell MacGowan	5,906	6.17%
	Independent Labour	Charles Edward Tisdall	2,487	2.60%
	Independent Conservative	Robert Cassidy	2,451	2.56%
	Independent	Harold George White	1,416	1.48%
	Socialist	John David Harrington	1,380	1.44%
	Independent	Edwin Clarke Appleby	743	0.78%
	Independent	Arthur Freeman Fawcett	665	0.69%
	Independent Conservative	Thomas Owen Townley	250	0.26%
Total valid votes			95,705	100.00%

British Columbia general election, 1920
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	Elected
	Liberal	Mary Ellen Smith	17,510	8.66%	Y
	Liberal	Ian Alistair MacKenzie	13,840	6.84%	Y
	Liberal	John Wallace deBeque Farris	12,550	6.21%	Y
	Liberal	James Ramsay	12,279	6.07%	Y
	Liberal	Malcolm Archibald Macdonald	12,222	6.04%	Y
	Conservative	William John Bowser	11,617	5.75%	Y
	Conservative	George Black	10,379	5.13%
	Liberal	John Patrick Dougherty	10,388	5.14%
	Conservative	John Weightman Warden	10,278	5.08%
	Conservative	Samuel Lyness Howe	9,913	4.90%
	Conservative	Edith Louise Paterson	9,573	4.73%
	Independent	Joseph Martin	9,123	4.51%
	Conservative	John Wesley Mahan	8,810	4.36%
	Federated Labour	William Robert Trotter	7,481	3.70%
	Federated Labour	James Shaver Woodsworth	7,444	3.68%
	Federated Labour	Thomas Richardson	7,192	3.56%
	Independent	Moses Brewins Cotworth	5,511	2.73%
	Women's Freedom	Esther Margaret Crosfield	4,166	2.06%
	Vancouver Rentpayers	George Johnson Ashworth	3,291	1.63%
	Socialist	John David Harrington	2,956	1.46%
	United Veterans	John Livingstone Millar	2,808	1.39%
	United Veterans	Percival Horace North	2,633	1.30%
	Socialist	James Ferguson Smith	2,267	1.12%
	Socialist	Christopher Stephenson	1,818	0.90%
	Socialist	Sidney Earp	1,694	0.84%
	Socialist	William McQuoid	1,524	0.75%
	Independent	Thomas Turberville	1,487	0.74%
	Socialist	John Dennis	1,451	0.72%
Total valid votes			202,205	100.00%

16th British Columbia election, 1924
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Conservative	William John Bowser	7,818	4.12%
	Independent Conservative	Robert Cassidy	276	0.15%
	Canadian Labour Party	Wilfred Harry Cottrell	6,314	3.33%
	Provincial	Andrew McCreight Creery	9,071	4.78%
	Canadian Labour Party	William Dunn	5,752	3.03%		unknown
	Liberal	John Wallace deBeque Farris	8,427	4.44%		unknown
	Provincial	Jessie Columbia Hall	8,749	4.61%	–	unknown
	Socialist	John David Harrington	3,281	1.73%	–	unknown
	Conservative	Samuel Lyness Howe	7,250	3.82%		unknown
	Conservative	Thomas Henry Kirk	7,686	4.05%		unknown
	Socialist	Henry McEvoy	750	0.40%	–	unknown
	Canadian Labour Party	Angus McInnis	5,897	3.11%		unknown
	Liberal	Ian Alistair MacKenzie	9,476	4.99%		unknown
	Provincial	Alexander Duncan McRae	9,008	4.75%	–	unknown
	Liberal	Christopher McRae	9,778	5.15%		unknown
	Provincial	Donald Edgar McTaggart	8,924	4.70	–	unknown
	Conservative	Royal Lethington Maitland	8,417	4.44%		unknown
	Canadian Labour Party	Edmund Henry Morrison	5,613	2.96%		unknown
	Liberal	Victor Wentworth Odlum	10,011	5.28%		unknown
	Independent Liberal	Guy Cathcart Pelton	225	0.12%
	Conservative	Perry Douglas Roe	7,222	3.81%		unknown
	Provincial	Francis William Rounsefell	8,407	4.43%	–	unknown
	Conservative	Emma Wood Scott	7,292	3.84%		unknown
	Provincial	George Gower Birt Showler	7,437	3.92%	–	unknown
	Liberal	Mary Ellen Smith	9,251	4.88%		unknown
	Canadian Labour Party	Priscilla Janet Smith	6,078	3.20%		unknown
	Liberal	Charles Woodward	11,318	5.97%		unknown
Total valid votes			189,728	100.00%
Total rejected ballots
Turnout			%

17th British Columbia election, 1928
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Henry Elston Almond	11,818	6.56%		unknown
	Conservative	William Dick	15,968	8.86%		unknown
	Liberal	Dugald Donaghy	13,176	7.31%		unknown
	Liberal	John Pitcairn Hogg	10,948	6.08%		unknown
	Conservative	Thomas Henry Kirk	15,943	8.85%		unknown
	Independent Labour Party	Angus McInnis	6,026	3.34%		unknown
	Conservative	Royal Lethington Maitland	16,499	9.16%		unknown
	Independent Liberal	Guy Cathcart Pelton	976	0.54%
	Conservative	William Curtis Shelly	17,486	9.70%		unknown
	Independent Labour Party	Robert Skinner	4,223	2.34%		unknown
	Liberal	Helen Douglas Smith	12,514	6.94%		unknown
	Conservative	Nelson Spencer	16,717	9.28%		unknown
	Liberal	Frederick William Sterling	11,045	6.13%		unknown
	Liberal	Nicholas Thompson	11,101	6.16%		unknown
	Conservative	George Alexander Walkem	15,769	8.75%		unknown
Total valid votes			180,209	100.00%
Total rejected ballots			425
Turnout			%

Vancouver City last appeared in the 1928 election. For the 1933 general election Vancouver City was redistributed into:

• Vancouver-Burrard
• Vancouver Centre
• Vancouver East
• Vancouver-Point Grey