1909 British Columbia general election

The 1909 British Columbia general election was the twelfth general election for the Province of British Columbia, Canada. It was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. The election was called on October 20, 1909, and held on November 25, 1909. The new legislature met for the first time on January 20, 1910.

The governing Conservative Party won its third consecutive term in government with over half of the popular vote and all but four of the 42 seats in the legislature, effectively a rout for the popular incumbent Premier, Sir Richard McBride.

Ten days after the dissolution of the Legislature, James Alexander MacDonald announced his retirement from the leadership of the Liberal Party to become Chief Justice of the British Columbia Supreme Court, and John Oliver was selected to take his place. Despite winning almost one-third of the popular vote, the Liberals won only two seats, the same number won by the Socialist Party with only 11.5% of the vote.

The first-past-the-post allocation of seats, combined with the multi-member constituencies in effect at the time, ensured that the Conservatives won with a lead of 34 seats, instead of only a lead of two seats that its proportion of the popular vote should have granted it.

Two candidates campaigned in multiple ridings. McBride won in both Yale and Victoria City, while Oliver was defeated in Delta and Victoria City.

Results
! colspan=2 rowspan=2 | Political party ! rowspan=2 | Party leader ! colspan=4 | MLAs ! colspan=4 | Votes ! Candidates !1907 !1909 !± !# ! ± !% ! ± (pp)


 * style="text-align:left;"|Richard McBride
 * 42 || 26 || 38 || 12 || 53,074 || 22,293 || 52.33% || 3.63


 * style="text-align:left;"|John Oliver
 * 36 || 13 || 2 || 11 || 33,675 || 10,194 || 33.21% || 3.94


 * style="text-align:left;"|
 * 20 || 3 || 2 || 1 || 11,665 || 6,062 || 11.50% || 2.63


 * style="text-align:left;"|
 * 3 || – || – || – || 2,625 || 2,478 || 2.59% || 2.36


 * style="text-align:left;"|Canadian Labour
 * style="text-align:left;"|
 * 1 || – || – || – || 165 || 2,330 || 0.16% || 3.79


 * style="text-align:left;"|
 * 1 || – || – || – || 154 || 154 || 0.15% ||New

! colspan="3" style="text-align:left;" | Total ! " colspan="2"|42 ! " colspan="2"|101,415 ! " colspan="2"| 100.00%
 * style="text-align:left;"|
 * 1 || – || – || – || 57 || 430 || 0.06% || 0.71
 * 104||42
 * }

Results by riding
The following MLAs were elected:

{{legend|#A51B12|Alberni: Harlan Carey Brewster}} {{legend|#294296|Atlin: Henry Esson Young}} {{legend|#294296|Cariboo: Michael Callanan}} {{legend|#294296|Cariboo: John Anderson Fraser}} {{legend|#294296|Chilliwhack: Samuel Arthur Cawley}} {{legend|#294296|Columbia: Henry George Parson}} {{legend|#294296|Comox: Michael Manson}} {{legend|#294296|Cowichan: William Henry Hayward}} {{legend|#294296|Cranbrook: Thomas Donald Caven}} {{legend|#294296|Delta: Francis James Anderson MacKenzie}} {{legend|#294296|Dewdney: William J. Manson}} {{legend|#A51B12|Esquimalt: John Jardine}} {{legend|#294296|Fernie: William Roderick Ross}} {{legend|#294296|Grand Forks: Ernest Miller}}

{{legend|#294296|Greenwood: John Robert Jackson}} {{legend|#294296|The Islands: Albert Edward McPhillips}} {{legend|#294296|Kamloops: James Pearson Shaw}} {{legend|#294296|Kaslo: Neil Franklin MacKay}} {{legend|#294296|Lillooet: Archibald McDonald}} {{legend|#FFD700|Nanaimo City: James Hurst Hawthornthwaite}} {{legend|#294296|Nelson City: Harry Wright}} {{legend|#FFD700|Newcastle: Parker Williams}} {{legend|#294296|New Westminster City: Thomas Gifford}} {{legend|#294296|Okanagan: Price Ellison}} {{legend|#294296|Revelstoke: Thomas Taylor}} {{legend|#294296|Richmond: Francis Lovett Carter-Cotton}} {{legend|#294296|Rossland City: William Robert Braden}} {{legend|#294296|Saanich: David McEwen Eberts}}

{{legend|#294296|Similkameen: Lytton Wilmot Shatford}} {{legend|#294296|Skeena: William Manson}} {{legend|#294296|Slocan: William Hunter}} {{legend|#294296|Vancouver City: Charles William John Bowser}} {{legend|#294296|Vancouver City: Alexander Henry Boswell MacGowan}} {{legend|#294296|Vancouver City: George Albert McGuire}} {{legend|#294296|Vancouver City: Charles Edward Tisdall}} {{legend|#294296|Vancouver City: Henry Holgate Watson}} {{legend|#294296|Victoria City: Henry Frederick William Behnsen}} {{legend|#294296|Victoria City: Frederick Davey}} {{legend|#294296|Victoria City: Richard McBride}} {{legend|#294296|Victoria City: Henry Broughton Thomson}} {{legend|#294296|Yale: Richard McBride}} {{legend|#294296|Ymir: James Hargrave Schofield}}

Synopsis of results

 * = open seat
 * = turnout is above provincial average
 * = winning candidate was in previous Legislature
 * = incumbent had switched allegiance
 * = not incumbent; was previously elected to the Legislature
 * = incumbency arose from byelection gain
 * = other incumbents renominated
 * = endorsed by the Liberals
 * = multiple candidates