British Columbia general election, 1886

This was the fourth election held after British Columbia became a province of Canada on July 20, 1871. The number of members was increased for this election from 25 to 27, and the number of ridings increased to 13.

Political context

Non-party system

There were to be no political parties in the new province. The designations "Government" and "Opposition" and "Independent" (and variations on these) functioned in place of parties, but they were very loose and do not represent formal coalitions, more alignments of support during the campaign. "Government" meant in support of the current Premier; "Opposition" meant campaigning against him, and often enough the Opposition would win and immediately become the Government.

The Smithe, A.E.B. Davie, Robson and T. Davie governments

The election mandated the government of William Smithe who had assumed power from the failure of Robert Beaven's government in January 1883. In May 1887 Smithe died in office and Alexander Edmund Batson Davie assumed power, although due to his own illness he was unable to attend the opening of the Legislature. When Davie died in 1889 a further change of government saw newspaperman John Robson became Premier that year, receiving a mandate in the 1890 election only to die himself in 1892 of blood poisoning from a cut suffered from the door of a carriage. He was succeed by Theodore Davie, who was Premier going into the 1894 election

Byelections not shown

Any changes due to byelections are shown below the main table showing the theoretical composition of the House after the election. A final table showing the composition of the House at the dissolution of the Legislature at the end of this Parliament can be found below the byelections. The main table represents the immediate results of the election only, not changes in governing coalitions or eventual changes due to byelections.

List of ridings

The original ridings were thirteen in number, and Cowichan was restored to a two-member seat while New Westminster was increased to three, with the new total being 27 members. There were no political parties were not acceptable in the House by convention, though some members were openly partisan at the federal level (usually Conservative, although both Liberal and Labour allegiance were on display by some candidates).

These ridings were:

• Cariboo (three members)
• Cassiar
• Comox
• Cowichan (two members)
• Esquimalt (two members)
• Kootenay (two members)
• Lillooet (two members)
• Nanaimo
• New Westminster (three members)
• New Westminster City
• Victoria (two members)
• Victoria City (four members)
• Yale (three members)

Polling conditions

Natives (First Nations) and Chinese were disallowed from voting, although naturalized Kanakas (Hawaiian colonists) and American and West Indian blacks and certain others participated. The requirement that knowledge of English be spoken for balloting was discussed but not applied.

Results by riding

See also

• List of British Columbia political parties

Further reading & references

• In the Sea of Sterile Mountains: The Chinese in British Columbia, Joseph Morton, J.J. Douglas, Vancouver (1974). Despite its title, a fairly thorough account of the politicians and electoral politics in early BC.

Elections and referendums in British Columbia General elections Colony of Vancouver Island 1856 1860 1863 United Colony of British Columbia 1866 1869 Post-Confederation 1871 1875 1878 1882 1886 1890 1894 1898 1900 1903 1907 1909 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1933 1937 1941 1945 1949 1952 1953 1956 1960 1963 1966 1969 1972 1975 1979 1983 1986 1991 1996 2001 2005 2009 2013 next By-elections List of British Columbia by-elections Referendums 1873 1909 1916 1916 1920 1924 1937 1952 1952 1972 1991 2002 2005 2009 2011