# 1890 British Columbia general election

The 1890 British Columbia general election was held in 1890. The number of members was increased for this election from 27 in the previous election to 33, although the number of ridings was decreased to 18.

## 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.
Although Labour as a party had run candidates in previous election, this election saw the first victories by Labour candidates (in Nanaimo and Nanaimo City), and a "Farmer" candidate (in the second Nanaimo seat). There were five successful independents.

### The Robson Government

The government of newspaperman John Robson received a mandate after assuming power the year before. Robson died in office in 1892, yielding to Theodore Davie.

### 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 33 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:
* Alberni
* Cariboo (three members)
* Cassiar
* Comox
* Cowichan (two members)
* East Kootenay
* Esquimalt (two members)
* The Islands (formerly part of Nanaimo
* Lillooet (two members)
* Nanaimo
* Nanaimo City
* New Westminster City
* Vancouver City (two members)
* Victoria (two members)
* Victoria City (four members)
* East Kootenay
* Westminster (three members, formerly New Westminster
* 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

Results of British Columbia general election, 1890 :
| Government | Government | Government | Government | Opposition | Opposition | Opposition |
| | Member | Riding & party | Riding & party | Riding & party | Riding & party | Member |
| | Thomas Fletcher | Alberni Government | | | Cariboo Independent | George Cowan |
| | Joseph Mason | Cariboo Government | | | Cariboo Independent | George Cowan |
| | John Robson $^1$ | Cariboo Government | | | Esquimalt Opposition | David Williams Higgins |
| | Samuel Augustus Rogers | Cariboo Government | | | Esquimalt Opposition | Charles Edward Pooley |
| | Robert Hanley Hall | Cassiar Government | | | Lillooet Opposition | David Alexander Stoddart |
| | Joseph Hunter | Comox Government | | | New Westminster Opposition | William Henry Ladner |
| | Henry Croft | Cowichan Government | | | New Westminster Opposition | James Orr |
| | Theodore Davie | Cowichan Government | | | New Westminster City Independent | John Cunningham Brown |
| | James Baker | East Kootenay Government | | | Vancouver City Opposition Independent | Francis Lovett Carter-Cotton |
| | Alfred Wellington Smith | Lillooet Government | | | Vancouver City Opposition Independent | James Welton Horne |
| | George William Anderson | Victoria Gov | | | Victoria City Opposition | Robert Beaven |
| | David McEwen Eberts | Victoria Gov | | | Victoria City Opposition | John Grant |
| | John Herbert Turner | Victoria City Gov | | | Victoria City Opposition | George Lawson Milne |
| | John Robson | Westminster Gov | | | Yale Opposition | Charles Augustus Semlin |
| | George Bohun Martin | Yale Government | | | Nanaimo Labour Farmer | Thomas William Forster |
| | Forbes George Vernon | Yale Government | | | Nanaimo Labour Farmer | Colin Campbell McKenzie |
| | | | | | Nanaimo City Labour | Thomas Keith |
| | | | | | West Kootenay Independent | James M. Kellie |
| | | | | | Westminster Opposition Independent | James Punch |
| | | | | | Westminster Opposition Independent | Thomas Edwin Kitchen |
| | $^1$ Premier-Elect and Incumbent Premier |
| Source: Elections BC ||||||||||