1945 British Columbia general election

The 1945 British Columbia general election was the 21st general election in the Province of British Columbia, Canada. It was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. The election was called on August 31, 1945, and held on October 25, 1945. The new legislature met for the first time on February 21, 1946.

A centre-right coalition was formed by the Liberal and Conservative (now called the Progressive Conservative) parties in order to defeat the social democratic Co-operative Commonwealth Federation.

Although the Coalition won fewer votes than the Liberal and Conservative parties won in total in the previous election, the Coalition still won over half of the votes, and was able to form a majority government.

Results
! colspan=2 rowspan=2 | Political party ! rowspan=2 | Party leader ! colspan=4 | MLAs ! colspan=4 | Votes ! Candidates !1941 !1945 !± !# ! ± !% ! ± (pp)


 * style="text-align:left;" |{{legend|#A51B12|John Hart}}{{legend|#9999FF|Royal Maitland}}
 * 47 || 32  || 37  || 5  || 261,147  || 26,979 || 55.83  || 7.65

(all factions)
 * style="text-align:left;" |Harold Winch
 * 48 || 14  || 10  || 4 || 175,960  || 24,520  || 37.62  || 4.26
 * || 2 || 1  || 1  ||   || 1,395  || 5,746 || 0.30  || 1.27

allegiance''
 * || – || 1 || – || 1 || – || 1,681 || – ||''Changed

(alliance)
 * || 21 || – || – || – || 16,479  || 16,479  || 3.52  ||New
 * || 16 || – || – || – || 6,627  || 6,627  || 1.42  ||New


 * || 2 || – || – || – || 2,786  || 2,786  || 0.60  ||New


 * || 2 || – || – || – || 1,532  || 106 || 0.33  || 0.03


 * || 2 || – || – || – || 748  || 748  || 0.16  ||New


 * || 1 || – || – || – || 423  || 423  || 0.09  ||New


 * || 3 || – || – || – || 285  || 398 || 0.06  || 0.09


 * || 1 || – || – || – || 199  || 199  || 0.04  ||New


 * || 1 || – || – || – || 105  || 105  || 0.02  ||New

! colspan="3" style="text-align:left;" | Total ! colspan="2"| 48 ! colspan="2"|467,747 ! colspan="2"| 100.00%
 * || 1 || – || – || – || 61  || 61  || 0.01  ||New
 * 147
 * 48
 * colspan="7" style="text-align:left;" | Rejected ballots
 * 3,899 ||898
 * colspan="2"|
 * colspan="7" style="text-align:left;" | Actual voters who voted
 * 298,387 ||5,514
 * 62.66% || 10.07
 * colspan="7" style="text-align:left;" | Registered voters
 * 476,222 ||58,383
 * colspan="2"|
 * }
 * 476,222 ||58,383
 * colspan="2"|
 * }

MLAs elected
{{legend|#A9A9A9|Alberni: James Mowat}} {{legend|#A9A9A9|Atlin: William Duncan Smith}} {{legend|#EEDDAA|Burnaby: Ernest Winch}} {{legend|#A9A9A9|Cariboo: Louis LeBourdais}} {{legend|#A9A9A9|Chilliwack: Leslie Harvey Eyres}} {{legend|#A9A9A9|Columbia: Thomas King}} {{legend|#A9A9A9|Comox: Herbert John Welch}} {{legend|#EEDDAA|Cowichan-Newcastle: Samuel Guthrie}} {{legend|#A9A9A9|Cranbrook: Frank William Green}} {{legend|#A9A9A9|Delta: Alexander Campbell Hope}} {{legend|#A9A9A9|Dewdney: Roderick Charles MacDonald}} {{legend|#A9A9A9|Esquimalt: Charles Taschereau Beard}} {{legend|#EEBBBB|Fernie: Thomas Aubert Uphill (ILP)}} {{legend|#EEDDAA|Fort George: John McInnis}} {{legend|#A9A9A9|Grand Forks-Greenwood: Thomas Alfred Love}} {{legend|#A9A9A9|Kamloops: Robert Henry Carson}}

{{legend|#EEDDAA|Kaslo-Slocan: Randolph Harding}} {{legend|#A9A9A9|Lillooet: Ernest Crawford Carson}} {{legend|#EEDDAA|Mackenzie: Herbert Gargrave}} {{legend|#A9A9A9|Nanaimo and the Islands: George Sharratt Pearson}} {{legend|#A9A9A9|Nelson-Creston: Frank Putnam}} {{legend|#A9A9A9|New Westminster: Boss Johnson}} {{legend|#A9A9A9|North Okanagan: K. C. MacDonald}} {{legend|#A9A9A9|North Vancouver: John Henry Cates}} {{legend|#A9A9A9|Oak Bay: Herbert Anscomb}} {{legend|#EEDDAA|Omineca: Edward Fraser Rowland}} {{legend|#EEDDAA|Peace River: Joseph Hardcastle Corsbie}} {{legend|#EEDDAA|Prince Rupert: William Henry Brett}} {{legend|#A9A9A9|Revelstoke: William James Johnson}} {{legend|#A9A9A9|Rossland-Trail: James Lockhart Webster}} {{legend|#A9A9A9|Saanich: Norman William Whittaker}} {{legend|#A9A9A9|Salmon Arm: Arthur Brown Ritchie}}

{{legend|#A9A9A9|Similkameen: Reginald Robert Laird}} {{legend|#A9A9A9|Skeena: Edward Tourtellotte Kenney}} {{legend|#A9A9A9|South Okanagan: W. A. C. Bennett}} {{legend|#A9A9A9|Vancouver-Burrard: Donald Cameron Brown}} {{legend|#A9A9A9|Vancouver-Burrard: George Moir Weir}} {{legend|#A9A9A9|Vancouver Centre: Allan James McDonell}} {{legend|#A9A9A9|Vancouver Centre: Gordon Sylvester Wismer}} {{legend|#EEDDAA|Vancouver East: Arthur James Turner}} {{legend|#EEDDAA|Vancouver East: Harold Winch}} {{legend|#A9A9A9|Vancouver-Point Grey: Royal Maitland}} {{legend|#A9A9A9|Vancouver-Point Grey: James Alexander Paton}} {{legend|#A9A9A9|Vancouver-Point Grey: Tilly Rolston}} {{legend|#A9A9A9|Victoria City: John Hart}} {{legend|#A9A9A9|Victoria City: Nancy Hodges}} {{legend|#A9A9A9|Victoria City: William Thomas Straith}} {{legend|#A9A9A9|Yale: John J. Gillis}}

Synopsis of results

 * = open seat
 * = 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