# 1949 British Columbia general election

The 1949 British Columbia general election was the 22nd 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 April 16, 1949, and held on June 15, 1949. The new legislature met for the first time on February 14, 1950.
The centre-right coalition formed by the Liberal and Conservative parties in order to defeat the social democratic Co-operative Commonwealth Federation in the 1945 election increased its share of the vote and its majority in the legislature.
Three different social credit groupings nominated or endorsed candidates in the election: the Social Credit Party, the Social Credit League, and the Union of Electors.

## Results

Elections to the 22nd Legislative Assembly of British Columbia (1949) :
| Political party | Political party | Party leader | MLAs | MLAs | MLAs | MLAs | Votes | Votes | Votes | Votes |
| Political party | Political party | Party leader | Candidates | 1945 | 1949 | ± | # | ± | % | ± (pp) |
| | Coalition | Boss Johnson Herbert Anscomb | 48 | 37 | 39 | 2 | 428,773 | 167,626 | 61.35 | 5.52 |
| | Co-operative Commonwealth | Harold Winch | 48 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 245,284 | 69,324 | 35.10 | 2.52 |
| | Labour | | 1 | 1 | 1 | | 1,483 | 88 | 0.21 | 0.09 |
| | Independent | | 7 | – | 1 | 1 | 5,163 | 3,631 | 0.74 | 0.41 |
| | Social Credit alliance split | Social Credit alliance split | Social Credit alliance split | Social Credit alliance split | Social Credit alliance split | Social Credit alliance split | Social Credit alliance split | Social Credit alliance split | Social Credit alliance split | Social Credit alliance split |
| | █ Social Credit League | | 9 | – | – | – | 7,112 | | 1.02 | |
| | █ Social Credit | | 7 | – | – | – | 4,424 | | 0.63 | |
| | █ Union of Electors | | 12 | – | – | – | 2,790 | | 0.40 | |
| | Social Credit total | Social Credit total | Social Credit total | Social Credit total | Social Credit total | Social Credit total | 14,326 | 7,699 | 2.05 | 0.63 |
| | Labor-Progressive | | 2 | – | – | – | 1,660 | 14,819 | 0.24 | 3.28 |
| | Independent Conservative | | 1 | – | – | – | 1,241 | 1,241 | 0.18 | New |
| | People's CCF | | 1 | – | – | – | 470 | 2,316 | 0.07 | 0.53 |
| | Socialist Labour | | 1 | – | – | – | 286 | 1 | 0.04 | 0.02 |
| | People's Party of BC | | 1 | – | – | – | 137 | 137 | 0.02 | New |
| Total | Total | Total | 138 | 48 | 48 | 48 | 698,823 | 698,823 | 100.00% | 100.00% |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 9,891 | 5,992 | | |
| Actual voters who voted | Actual voters who voted | Actual voters who voted | Actual voters who voted | Actual voters who voted | Actual voters who voted | Actual voters who voted | 477,999 | 179,612 | 73.64% | 10.98 |
| Registered voters | Registered voters | Registered voters | Registered voters | Registered voters | Registered voters | Registered voters | 649,019 | 172,797 | | |
* ↑ Elections BC summary table tabulation errors corrected for SCP and SCL
Seats and popular vote by party :
| Party | Seats | Votes | Change (pp) | Change (pp) |
| █ Coalition | 39 / 48 | 61.35% | 5.52 | 5.52 |
| █ Co-operative Commonwealth | 7 / 48 | 35.10% | -2.52 | |
| █ Social Credit | 0 / 48 | 2.05% | 0.63 | 0.63 |
| █ Labor-Progressive | 0 / 48 | 0.24% | -3.28 | |
| █ Other | 2 / 48 | 1.26% | -0.35 | |

## MLAs elected
### Synopsis of results

Results by riding - 1949 British Columbia general election (single-member districts) :
| Riding | Winning party | Winning party | Winning party | Winning party | Winning party | Winning party | Winning party | Winning party | Votes | Votes | Votes | Votes | Votes | Votes | Votes | Votes |
| Name | 1945 | 1945 | Party | Party | Votes | Share | Margin # | Margin % | Coal | CCF | SCP | SCL | UoE | Ind | Oth | Total |
| Alberni | | Coal | | Ind | 3,290 | 42.84% | 1,161 | 15.12% | 1,638 | 2,129 | – | – | – | 3,290 | 622 | 7,679 |
| Atlin | | Coal | | CCF | 376 | 50.40% | 6 | 0.80% | 370 | 376 | – | – | – | – | – | 746 |
| Burnaby | | CCF | | CCF | 11,025 | 50.90% | 1,044 | 4.82% | 9,981 | 11,025 | – | 655 | – | – | – | 21,661 |
| Cariboo | | Coal | | Coal | 2,653 | 66.88% | 1,339 | 33.76% | 2,653 | 1,314 | – | – | – | – | – | 3,967 |
| Chilliwack | | Coal | | Coal | 6,847 | 57.17% | 4,135 | 34.52% | 6,847 | 2,712 | – | 2,417 | – | – | – | 11,976 |
| Columbia | | Coal | | Coal | 1,288 | 68.91% | 707 | 37.82% | 1,288 | 581 | – | – | – | – | – | 1,869 |
| Comox | | Coal | | Coal | 7,596 | 59.19% | 2,358 | 18.38% | 7,596 | 5,238 | – | – | – | – | – | 12,834 |
| Cowichan-Newcastle | | CCF | | Coal | 5,505 | 56.19% | 1,311 | 13.38% | 5,505 | 4,194 | – | – | 38 | 60 | – | 9,797 |
| Cranbrook | | Coal | | CCF | 3,026 | 50.53% | 63 | 1.06% | 2,963 | 3,026 | – | – | – | – | – | 5,989 |
| Delta | | Coal | | Coal | 12,203 | 49.59% | 1,093 | 4.44% | 12,203 | 11,110 | 1,293 | – | – | – | – | 24,606 |
| Dewdney | | Coal | | Coal | 8,127 | 49.08% | 523 | 3.16% | 8,127 | 7,604 | – | 829 | – | – | – | 16,560 |
| Esquimalt | | Coal | | Coal | 4,219 | 51.26% | 1,731 | 21.03% | 4,219 | 2,488 | – | – | 92 | 191 | 1,241 | 8,231 |
| Fernie | | Lab | | Lab | 1,483 | 39.09% | 9 | 0.24% | 1,474 | 837 | – | – | – | – | 1,483 | 3,794 |
| Fort George | | CCF | | Coal | 3,232 | 59.86% | 1,065 | 19.72% | 3,232 | 2,167 | – | – | – | – | – | 5,399 |
| Grand Forks-Greenwood | | Coal | | CCF | 922 | 44.14% | 49 | 2.35% | 873 | 922 | – | – | – | 294 | – | 2,089 |
| Kamloops | | Coal | | Coal | 4,992 | 64.47% | 2,241 | 28.94% | 4,992 | 2,751 | – | – | – | – | – | 7,743 |
| Kaslo-Slocan | | CCF | | CCF | 1,633 | 53.19% | 196 | 6.38% | 1,437 | 1,633 | – | – | – | – | – | 3,070 |
| Lillooet | | Coal | | Coal | 2,339 | 62.83% | 1,159 | 31.14% | 2,339 | 1,180 | – | – | – | 204 | – | 3,723 |
| Mackenzie | | CCF | | Coal | 5,787 | 55.57% | 1,161 | 11.14% | 5,787 | 4,626 | – | – | – | – | – | 10,413 |
| Nanaimo and the Islands | | Coal | | Coal | 5,860 | 61.50% | 2,296 | 24.09% | 5,860 | 3,564 | – | – | 104 | – | – | 9,528 |
| Nelson-Creston | | Coal | | Coal | 4,783 | 60.04% | 2,108 | 26.46% | 4,783 | 2,675 | – | 508 | – | – | – | 7,966 |
| New Westminster | | Coal | | Coal | 7,969 | 61.57% | 3,460 | 26.73% | 7,969 | 4,509 | 328 | – | – | – | 137 | 12,943 |
| North Okanagan | | Coal | | Coal | 4,966 | 60.95% | 2,309 | 28.34% | 4,966 | 2,657 | 525 | – | – | – | – | 8,148 |
| North Vancouver | | Coal | | Coal | 12,586 | 69.57% | 7,082 | 39.14% | 12,586 | 5,504 | – | – | – | – | – | 18,090 |
| Oak Bay | | Coal | | Coal | 5,918 | 84.21% | 5,028 | 71.55% | 5,918 | 890 | – | – | 220 | – | – | 7,028 |
| Omineca | | CCF | | Coal | 1,885 | 61.60% | 710 | 23.20% | 1,885 | 1,175 | – | – | – | – | – | 3,060 |
| Peace River | | CCF | | Coal | 2,342 | 49.69% | 441 | 9.35% | 2,342 | 1,901 | – | – | – | – | 470 | 4,713 |
| Prince Rupert | | CCF | | Coal | 2,971 | 56.41% | 675 | 12.82% | 2,971 | 2,296 | – | – | – | – | – | 5,267 |
| Revelstoke | | Coal | | Coal | 1,311 | 50.95% | 49 | 1.90% | 1,311 | 1,262 | – | – | – | – | – | 2,573 |
| Rossland-Trail | | Coal | | Coal | 5,910 | 56.30% | 1,322 | 12.60% | 5,910 | 4,588 | – | – | – | – | – | 10,498 |
| Saanich | | Coal | | Coal | 9,998 | 66.14% | 5,352 | 35.41% | 9,998 | 4,646 | – | – | 473 | – | – | 15,117 |
| Salmon Arm | | Coal | | Coal | 2,529 | 60.07% | 848 | 20.14% | 2,529 | 1,681 | – | – | – | – | – | 4,210 |
| Similkameen | | Coal | | Coal | 5,744 | 58.78% | 1,716 | 17.56% | 5,744 | 4,028 | – | – | – | – | – | 9,772 |
| Skeena | | Coal | | Coal | 2,048 | 73.20% | 1,298 | 46.40% | 2,048 | 750 | – | – | – | – | – | 2,798 |
| South Okanagan | | Coal | | Coal | 6,555 | 58.40% | 1,886 | 16.80% | 6,555 | 4,669 | – | – | – | – | – | 11,224 |
| Yale | | Coal | | Coal | 1,407 | 46.90% | 542 | 18.07% | 1,407 | 865 | – | – | – | 728 | – | 3,000 |
* ↑ W. A. C. Bennett had resigned in 1948 to contest the federal byelection in Yale, which he lost. In the interim, Bob Browne-Clayton was elected for the Coalition in the provincial byelection, but Bennett returned for the general election.
    = 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
    = part of 1945 Social Credit alliance
    = multiple candidates
Results by riding - 1949 British Columbia general election (multiple-member districts) :
| Riding | Riding | Winning party | Winning party | Votes | Votes | Votes | Votes | Votes | Votes | Votes | Votes |
| Name | MLAs | 1945 | 1949 | Coal | CCF | SCP | SCL | UoE | Ind | Oth | Total |
| Vancouver-Burrard | 2 | 2 | 2 | 40,156 | 21,774 | 1,258 | – | 95 | 396 | – | 63,679 |
| Vancouver Centre | 2 | 2 | 2 | 29,171 | 17,969 | – | 814 | – | – | 286 | 48,240 |
| Vancouver East | 2 | 2 | 2 | 34,077 | 39,815 | 1,020 | – | 109 | – | 1,038 | 76,059 |
| Vancouver-Point Grey | 3 | 3 | 3 | 109,782 | 35,134 | – | 1,889 | 280 | – | – | 147,085 |
| Victoria City | 3 | 3 | 3 | 47,281 | 17,019 | – | – | 1,379 | – | – | 65,679 |