1916 British Columbia general election

The 1916 British Columbia general election was the fourteenth 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 July 5, 1916, and held on September 14, 1916. The new legislature met for the first time on March 1, 1917.

A 1916 Act of the Legislature provided for the life of the Assembly to be extended to five years, and members of the clergy were no longer disqualified from being elected as MLAs.

The Liberal Party defeated the governing Conservative Party, winning 50% of the vote, almost double its share from the previous election. The Liberals won 36 of the 47 seats in the legislature.

The Conservatives' popular vote fell from almost 60% to just over 40%, and took nine seats, forming the Official Opposition.

Two other seats were won by independents.

Soldiers serving overseas were able to vote in the election, and their votes were cast between August 5 and Election Day.

Two referendums were also held on Election Day (concerning Prohibition and women's suffrage), but their results were not announced until later in the year.

1915 redistribution of ridings
An Act was passed in 1915, providing for an increase in the seats in the Assembly from 42 to 47 upon the next election. The following changes were made:

Results
! colspan=2 rowspan=2 | Political party ! rowspan=2 | Party leader ! colspan=4 | MLAs ! colspan=4 | Votes ! Candidates !1912 !1916 !± !# ! ± !% ! ± (pp)


 * style="text-align:left;"|Harlan Brewster
 * 45 ||– ||36 ||36 ||89,892 ||68,459 ||50.00 ||24.63


 * style="text-align:left;"|William Bowser
 * 46 ||39 ||9 ||30 ||72,842 ||22,419 ||40.52 ||19.13


 * 7 || – ||1 ||1 ||4,926 ||3,413 ||2.74 ||0.95
 * 7 || – ||1 ||1 ||4,926 ||3,413 ||2.74 ||0.95


 * 3 || – ||1 ||1 ||1,321 ||1,321 ||0.74 ||New
 * 3 || – ||1 ||1 ||1,321 ||1,321 ||0.74 ||New


 * 4 ||1 || – ||1 ||3,014 ||1,851 ||1.68 ||0.31
 * 4 ||1 || – ||1 ||3,014 ||1,851 ||1.68 ||0.31


 * 4 ||1 || – ||1 ||2,106 ||7,260 ||1.17 ||9.91
 * 4 ||1 || – ||1 ||2,106 ||7,260 ||1.17 ||9.91


 * 3 ||1 || – ||1 ||1,012 ||391 ||0.56 ||0.18
 * 3 ||1 || – ||1 ||1,012 ||391 ||0.56 ||0.18


 * 2 || – || – || – ||2,985 ||2,985 ||1.66 ||New
 * 2 || – || – || – ||2,985 ||2,985 ||1.66 ||New


 * 1 || – || – || – ||1,518 ||1,518 ||0.84 ||New
 * 1 || – || – || – ||1,518 ||1,518 ||0.84 ||New

! colspan="3" style="text-align:left;" | Total ! " colspan="2"|47 ! " colspan="2"|179,774 ! " colspan="2"| 100.00%
 * 1 || – || – || – ||158 ||158 ||0.09 ||New
 * 1 || – || – || – ||158 ||158 ||0.09 ||New
 * 116||42
 * }

Results by riding
The following MLAs were elected:

{{legend|#A51B12|Alberni: Harlan Carey Brewster}} {{legend|#A51B12|Atlin: Frank Harry Mobley}} {{legend|#A51B12|Cariboo: John MacKay Yorston}} {{legend|#A51B12|Chilliwhack: Edward Dodsley Barrow}} {{legend|#A51B12|Columbia: John Andrew Buckham}} {{legend|#A51B12|Comox: Hugh Stewart}} {{legend|#DCDCDC|Cowichan: William Henry Hayward (Ind)}} {{legend|#A51B12|Cranbrook: James Horace King}} {{legend|#294296|Delta: Francis James Anderson MacKenzie}} {{legend|#A51B12|Dewdney: John Oliver}} {{legend|#294296|Esquimalt: Robert Henry Pooley}} {{legend|#A51B12|Fernie: Alexander Ingram Fisher}} {{legend|#294296|Fort George: William Roderick Ross}} {{legend|#A51B12|Grand Forks: James Edwin Wallace Thompson}} {{legend|#A51B12|Greenwood: John Duncan MacLean}} {{legend|#A51B12|The Islands: Malcolm Bruce Jackson}}

{{legend|#A51B12|Kamloops: Frederick William Anderson}} {{legend|#A51B12|Kaslo: John Keen}} {{legend|#294296|Lillooet: Archibald McDonald}} {{legend|#A51B12|Nanaimo: William Sloan}} {{legend|#294296|Nelson: William Oliver Rose}} {{legend|#DCDCDC|Newcastle: Parker Williams (Ind-Soc)}} {{legend|#A51B12|New Westminster: David Whiteside}} {{legend|#A51B12|North Okanagan: Kenneth Cattanach MacDonald}} {{legend|#A51B12|North Vancouver: George Samuel Hanes}} {{legend|#A51B12|Omineca: Alexander Malcolm Manson}} {{legend|#A51B12|Prince Rupert: Thomas Dufferin Pattullo}} {{legend|#A51B12|Revelstoke: William Henry Sutherland}} {{legend|#A51B12|Richmond: Gerald Grattan McGeer}} {{legend|#A51B12|Rossland: William David Wilson}} {{legend|#A51B12|Saanich: Frederick Arthur Pauline}} {{legend|#294296|Similkameen: Lytton Wilmot Shatford}}

{{legend|#A51B12|Slocan: Charles Franklin Nelson}} {{legend|#294296|South Okanagan: James William Jones}} {{legend|#A51B12|South Vancouver: John Walter Weart}} {{legend|#294296|Trail: James Hargrave Schofield}} {{legend|#A51B12|Vancouver City: John Sedgwick Cowper}} {{legend|#A51B12|Vancouver City: John Wallace deBeque Farris}} {{legend|#A51B12|Vancouver City: Malcolm Archibald Macdonald}} {{legend|#A51B12|Vancouver City: John William McIntosh}} {{legend|#A51B12|Vancouver City: Ralph Smith}} {{legend|#294296|Vancouver City: William John Bowser}} {{legend|#A51B12|Victoria City: George Bell}} {{legend|#A51B12|Victoria City: Harlan Carey Brewster}} {{legend|#A51B12|Victoria City: Henry Charles Hall}} {{legend|#A51B12|Victoria City: John Hart}} {{legend|#A51B12|Yale: Joseph Walters}}

Synopsis of results

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