# Cariboo (federal electoral district)

Cariboo was a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1871 to 1892.
This riding was first created as Cariboo District following British Columbia's admission into the Canadian Confederation in 1871. The name was changed to "Cariboo" in 1872, and existed in this form until it was abolished in 1892 when it was amalgamated into the new riding of Yale—Cariboo. In 1914, Yale—Cariboo was redistributed and Yale and Cariboo were separate ridings once again, though with smaller areas than before. The Cariboo riding lasted until 1966. The succession of ridings for the Cariboo area since then has been:
* Kamloops—Cariboo (1966–1976)
* Cariboo—Chilcotin (1976–2003)
* Cariboo—Prince George (2003– )
* Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo (2004– )
The Chilcotin region of the riding, west of the Fraser River, was from 1966 to 1976 part of the Coast Chilcotin riding.
The original form of the riding was the whole of the Cariboo Plateau and both Cariboo and Lillooet Land Districts. Its southern boundary was on the northern edge of the New Westminster riding, and later the Burrard riding, then the North Vancouver riding, with near-coastal localities such as Pemberton, Squamish, Britannia Beach and Port Douglas all politically part of "Cariboo".
Under the Representation Act of 1892, the constituencies of Yale and Cariboo were united to form Yale—Cariboo. In 1914 that riding was broken up and the Yale and Cariboo riding-names were restored, although the new constituencies were considerably smaller than before. The restored Yale riding included the Boundary Country around Grand Forks and Greenwood, but the Kootenay was now a separate riding and the town of Yale itself was not in the restored Yale riding, but in the new riding of Westminster District. The first election using the new boundaries was in 1917. "Government" and "Opposition" were used during the wartime campaign to designate the governing Conservatives vs the Opposition Liberals.
A major redistribution in 1947 took away the southern half of the Cariboo district, with a southern boundary at 52 degrees 30 minutes north, just excluding Williams Lake and the south bank of Quesnel Lake. The rest of the riding extended to the Little Rancheria River and the border with Yukonand the Northwest Territories, therefore including the Omineca, Prince George and Peace River districts.
The Cariboo electoral district was abolished in 1966. Successor ridings were:
* Coast Chilcotin (1966–1976)
* Kamloops—Cariboo (1966–1976)
* Prince George—Peace River (1966–1976)
* Skeena (1914–2003)

## Members of Parliament

| Parliament | Years | Member | Party |
| Riding created from Cariboo District |||||
| 2nd | 1872–1874 | Joshua Spencer Thompson | Liberal–Conservative |
| 3rd | 1874–1878 | Joshua Spencer Thompson | Liberal–Conservative |
| 4th | 1878–1880† | Joshua Spencer Thompson | Liberal–Conservative |
| 4th | 1881–1882 | James Reid | Liberal–Conservative |
| 5th | 1882–1887 | James Reid | Liberal–Conservative |
| 6th | 1887–1888 | James Reid | Liberal–Conservative |
| 6th | 1888–1891 | Frank Stillman Barnard | Conservative |
| 7th | 1891–1896 | Frank Stillman Barnard | Conservative |
| Riding dissolved into Yale—Cariboo |||||
| Riding re-created from Yale—Cariboo |||||
| 13th | 1917–1921 | Frederick John Fulton | Government (Unionist) |
| 14th | 1921–1925 | Thomas George McBride | Progressive |
| 15th | 1925–1926 | John Fraser | Conservative |
| 16th | 1926–1930 | John Fraser | Conservative |
| 17th | 1930–1935 | John Fraser | Conservative |
| 18th | 1935–1940 | James Gray Turgeon | Liberal |
| 19th | 1940–1945 | James Gray Turgeon | Liberal |
| 20th | 1945–1949 | William Irvine | Co-operative Commonwealth |
| 21st | 1949–1953 | George Matheson Murray | Liberal |
| 22nd | 1953–1957 | Bert Leboe | Social Credit |
| 23rd | 1957–1958 | Bert Leboe | Social Credit |
| 24th | 1958–1962 | Walter Henderson | Progressive Conservative |
| 25th | 1962–1963 | Bert Leboe | Social Credit |
| 26th | 1963–1965 | Bert Leboe | Social Credit |
| 27th | 1965–1968 | Bert Leboe | Social Credit |
| Riding dissolved into Coast Chilcotin, Kamloops—Cariboo, Prince George—Peace River and Skeena |||||

## Election results
### Cariboo, 1917–1968

1965 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Social Credit | Bert Leboe | 12,344 | 37.59 | +7.13 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Peter Runkle | 7,756 | 23.62 | -3.48 |
| | Liberal | Art McLellan | 7,144 | 21.76 | -6.12 |
| | New Democratic | Fred Atkinson | 5,594 | 17.04 | +2.48 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 32,838 | 100.0 |
| | Social Credit hold | Social Credit hold | Swing | Swing | +5.30 |
1963 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Social Credit | Bert Leboe | 9,335 | 30.46 | +0.03 |
| | Liberal | Charles E. Graham | 8,543 | 27.88 | +0.04 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Peter Runkle | 8,304 | 27.10 | +2.45 |
| | New Democratic | Bill Close | 4,461 | 14.56 | -2.52 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 30,643 | 100.0 |
| | Social Credit hold | Social Credit hold | Swing | Swing | ±0 |
1962 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Social Credit | Bert Leboe | 8,435 | 30.43 | +3.52 |
| | Liberal | Charles E. Graham | 7,715 | 27.84 | +12.65 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Walter Henderson | 6,830 | 24.65 | -18.55 |
| | New Democratic | Ken Rutherford | 4,732 | 17.08 | +2.38 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 21,592 | 100.0 |
| | Social Credit gain from Progressive Conservative | Social Credit gain from Progressive Conservative | Swing | Swing | -4.56 |
| Change for the New Democrats is based on the Co-operative Commonwealth. |||||||
1958 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Walter Henderson | 9,327 | 43.20 | +21.52 |
| | Social Credit | Bert Leboe | 5,811 | 26.91 | -15.71 |
| | Liberal | Gordon Douglas Bryant | 3,279 | 15.19 | -6.44 |
| | Co-operative Commonwealth | William M. Close | 3,175 | 14.70 | +0.63 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 21,592 | 100.0 |
| | Progressive Conservative gain from Social Credit | Progressive Conservative gain from Social Credit | Swing | Swing | +18.62 |
1957 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Social Credit | Bert Leboe | 8,292 | 42.62 | +5.63 |
| | Progressive Conservative | William Dow Ferry | 4,217 | 21.68 | – |
| | Liberal | Angus Carmichael | 4,208 | 21.63 | -12.69 |
| | Co-operative Commonwealth | William Marshall Close | 2,737 | 14.07 | -14.62 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 19,454 | 100.0 |
| | Social Credit hold | Social Credit hold | Swing | Swing | -8.02 |
1953 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Social Credit | Bert Leboe | 5,562 | 36.99 | – |
| | Liberal | George Matheson Murray | 5,160 | 34.32 | -21.21 |
| | Co-operative Commonwealth | William Irvine | 4,314 | 28.69 | -15.78 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 15,036 | 100.0 |
| | Social Credit gain from Liberal | Social Credit gain from Liberal | Swing | Swing | +29.10 |
1949 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | George Matheson Murray | 7,330 | 55.53 | +21.40 |
| | Co-operative Commonwealth | William Irvine | 5,870 | 44.47 | +3.77 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 13,200 | 100.0 |
| | Liberal gain from Co-operative Commonwealth | Liberal gain from Co-operative Commonwealth | Swing | Swing | +8.82 |
1945 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Co-operative Commonwealth | William Irvine | 5,773 | 40.70 | +3.11 |
| | Liberal | James Gray Turgeon | 4,841 | 34.13 | -10.82 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Thomas Jamieson | 2,490 | 17.55 | +0.10 |
| | Social Credit | Volney Lane Phillips | 1,080 | 7.61 | – |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 14,184 | 100.0 |
| | Co-operative Commonwealth gain from Liberal | Co-operative Commonwealth gain from Liberal | Swing | Swing | +6.96 |
1940 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | James Gray Turgeon | 6,063 | 44.95 | +4.06 |
| | Co-operative Commonwealth | William Irvine | 5,070 | 37.59 | +1.37 |
| | National Government | Frederick Herbert Stephens | 2,354 | 17.45 | -0.50 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 13,487 | 100.0 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | Swing | +1.34 |
1935 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | James Gray Turgeon | 4,222 | 40.89 | -8.13 |
| | Co-operative Commonwealth | John McInnis | 3,740 | 36.22 | – |
| | Conservative | John Anderson Fraser | 1,853 | 17.95 | -33.03 |
| | Reconstruction | Frederick Clarke | 510 | 4.94 | – |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 10,325 | 100.0 |
| | Liberal gain from Conservative | Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | Swing | -22.18 |
1930 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John Anderson Fraser | 8,548 | 50.98 | -2.02 |
| | Liberal | Henry George Thomas Perry | 8,220 | 49.02 | +2.02 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 16,768 | 100.0 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | -2.02 |
1926 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John Anderson Fraser | 7,200 | 53.00 | -0.74 |
| | Liberal | Joseph Graham | 6,386 | 47.00 | – |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 13,586 | 100.0 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | -23.87 |
1925 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John Anderson Fraser | 6,430 | 53.74 | +18.68 |
| | Progressive | Thomas George McBride | 5,534 | 46.26 | -18.68 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 11,964 | 100.0 |
| | Conservative gain from Progressive | Conservative gain from Progressive | Swing | Swing | +18.68 |
1921 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive | Thomas George McBride | 7,185 | 64.94 | – |
| | Conservative | John Thomas Robinson | 3,879 | 35.06 | -33.13 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 11,064 | 100.0 |
| | Progressive gain from Government (Unionist) | Progressive gain from Government (Unionist) | Swing | Swing | +49.04 |
1917 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Government (Unionist) | Frederick John Fulton | 6,010 | 68.19 |
| | Opposition (Laurier Liberals) | Raymond Findlay Leighton | 2,804 | 31.81 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 8,814 | 100.0 |
| This riding was re-created from Yale—Cariboo, which elected a Conservative in the previous election. |||||||

### Cariboo, 1872–1896

1891 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | F.S. Barnard | 223 | 53.48 | +14.22 |
| | Liberal | Hugh Watt | 194 | 46.52 | – |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 417 | 100.0 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | -16.15 |
Canadian federal by-election, 22 November 1888 On the appointment of James Reid to the Senate :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Frank Stillman Barnard | 117 | 39.26 | -18.74 |
| | Independent | R. McLeese | 95 | 31.88 | – |
| | Independent | ? Rogers | 86 | 28.86 | – |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 298 | 100.0 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | -25.31 |
| Rogers' first name does not appear in the historical records. |||||||
1887 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal–Conservative | James Reid | 145 | 58.00 |
| | Liberal | D. Ferguson | 105 | 42.00 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 250 | 100.0 |
1882 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | Liberal–Conservative | James Reid | acclaimed |
Canadian federal by-election, 31 March 1881 On the death of Joshua Spencer Thompson, 20 December 1880 :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal–Conservative | James Reid | 179 | 42.32 |
| | Unknown | ? Monroe | 104 | 24.59 |
| | Unknown | ? Ball | 78 | 18.44 |
| | Unknown | Archibald Greig | 62 | 14.66 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 423 | 100.0 |
| Neither Ball's nor Monroe's first names are given in the historical records. |||||||
1878 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | Liberal–Conservative | Joshua Spencer Thompson | acclaimed |
1874 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal–Conservative | Joshua Spencer Thompson | 192 | 82.76 |
| | Unknown | S. Walker | 40 | 17.24 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 232 | 100.0 |
1872 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | Liberal–Conservative | Joshua Spencer Thompson | acclaimed |