# Yale-Lillooet

Yale-Lillooet was a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada.
It first appeared in the 1966 General Election, when it superseded the older Lillooet riding, which was one of the province's original twelve ridings, as well as the equally old Yale riding, parts of which were also in Yale-Lillooet. Yale-Lillooet was last contested in the 2005 General Election; in 2009 it was largely replaced by Fraser-Nicola, with the Fraser Canyon portions in the southwest transferred to Chilliwack-Hope and the town of Keremeos in the extreme southeast transferred to Boundary-Similkameen.

## Demographics

| Population, 2001 | 37,197 |
| Population Change, 1996–2001 | -2.9% |
| Area (km$^2$) | 31,889.62 |
| Pop. Density (people per km$^2$) | 1.2 |

## Geography

The riding was largely rural and wilderness in character despite its proximity to the Lower Mainland, it spanned the Bridge River-Lillooet, Ashcroft-Thompson Canyon, Fraser Canyon, Nicola and Similkameen Districts.
Since creation its shape remained relatively unchanged despite some minor boundary adjustments, with (e.g.) Ashcroft-Cache Creek joining Cariboo South in some elections and the Similkameen area joined to one of the Okanagan ridings. Its core towns - Lillooet, Lytton, Yale, Boston Bar, Hope, Princeton, Merritt and Spences Bridge remained permanently in the riding until its demise.
Its boundary was roughly described by a quadrangle formed by and including the towns of:
* Gold Bridge-Bralorne
* Hope
* Keremeos
* Cache Creek-Ashcroft
Other towns within the riding are:
* Hedley
* Princeton
* Tulameen
* Coalmont
* Aspen Grove
* Logan Lake
* Lac le Jeune
* Lower Nicola
* Spences Bridge
* Lytton
* Boston Bar-North Bend
* Spuzzum
* Hope
* Lillooet
* Shalalth-Seton Portage
* Fountain
* Pavilion
* Hat Creek
The riding's largest and therefore electorally dominant population centre was Merritt. The riding was heavily mountainous and all its towns were all fairly isolated from each other by terrain and the necessarily difficult roads of the canyons and mountain valleys interconnecting them. Many of the electorate are scattered through smaller communities throughout the region, particularly on Indian reserves and in recreational property areas of the Bridge River Country, the Nicola-Similkameen and the Fraser Canyon.
Yale-Lillooet had the highest proportion of aboriginal voters in southern British Columbia and one of the highest proportions in the province. All reserves and local bands of the Nlaka'pamux and Nicola peoples were included within the riding, as well as those of the Upper St'at'imc and the upriver Sto:lo around Hope and Yale.

## History

Hope, Yale, Boston Bar, Lillooet, Lytton and Princeton are some of the oldest towns in the province, dating to the founding of the Crown Colony during the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush. Merritt is of slightly later date and was an isolated ranching town until the opening of the Coquihalla Highway in the mid-1980s, which caused its population to boom.
The riding has traditionally been a swing riding with both strong conservative and liberal elements in its politics, and is also considered a bellwether riding although not always winding up in Government benches. The major industries are forestry and transportation-oriented services and tourism and recreation.

## Members of the Legislative Assembly

Over the district's existence, it elected the following members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia:
| Parliament | Years | Member | Party |
| 28th | 1966–1969 | Bill Hartley | New Democrat |
| 29th | 1969–1972 | Bill Hartley | New Democrat |
| 30th | 1972–1975 | Bill Hartley | New Democrat |
| 31st | 1975–1979 | Thomas Waterland | Social Credit |
| 32nd | 1979–1983 | Thomas Waterland | Social Credit |
| 33rd | 1986–1991 | Thomas Waterland | Social Credit |
| 34th | 1986–1991 | James Rabbitt | Social Credit |
| 35th | 1991–1996 | Harry Lali | NDP |
| 36th | 1996–2001 | Harry Lali | NDP |
| 37th | 2001–2005 | David Chutter | Liberal |
| 38th | 2005–2009 | Harry Lali | NDP |

## Election results

vte2005 British Columbia general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | New Democratic | Harry S. Lali | 8,489 | 48.84 |
| | Liberal | Lloyd George Forman | 7,009 | 40.33 |
| | Green | Mike McLean | 1,583 | 9.11 |
| | Democratic Reform | Arne Jensen Zabell | 185 | 1.06 |
| | People's Front | Dorothy-Jean O'Donnell | 115 | 0.66 |
| Total | Total | Total | 17,381 | 100.00 |
B.C. General Election 2001: Yale-Lillooet :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | Expenditures |
| | Liberal | David Chutter | 9,845 | 60.07% | | $35,513 |
| | NDP | Victor York | 2,817 | 17.19% | | $26,185 |
| | Green | Harue Kanemitsu | 1,657 | 10.11% | – | $2,116 |
| | All Nations | Don Moses | 1,126 | 6.87% | – | $6,419 |
| | Marijuana | Vincent Royer | 807 | 4.92% | | $494 |
| | People's Front | Dorothy-Jean O'Donnell | 136 | 0.84% | | $252 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 16,388 | 100.00% |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 84 | 0.51% |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 16,472 | 68.99% |
vte1996 British Columbia general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | New Democratic | Harry Lali | 7,080 | 41.06 | -11.25 | $41,454 |
| | Liberal | James Rabbitt | 5,912 | 34.29 | -13.40 | $50,073 |
| | Reform | John Calvin Stinson | 3,419 | 19.83 | – | $23,749 |
| | Progressive Democrat | Richard Bennett | 706 | 4.09 | – | – |
| | Family Coalition | Ed Vanwoudenberg | 124 | 0.72 | – | $426 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 17,241 | 100.00 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 76 | 0.44 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 17,317 | 72.21 |
| | New Democratic hold | New Democratic hold | Swing | Swing | -12.33 |
* Liberal totals reflect James Rabbitt's personal swing when he was a Social Credit Member.
vte1991 British Columbia general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | New Democratic | Harry Lali | 7,740 | 52.31 | +7.60 | $36,378 |
| | Social Credit | James Rabbitt | 7,057 | 47.69 | -0.45 | $38,170 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 14,797 | 100.00 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 697 | 4.50 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 15,494 | 72.17 |
| | New Democratic gain from Social Credit | New Democratic gain from Social Credit | Swing | Swing | +4.03 |
vte1986 British Columbia general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Social Credit | James Rabbitt | 7,424 | 48.14 | -8.64 |
| | New Democratic | Howard C. McDiarmid | 6,895 | 44.71 | +4.04 |
| | Liberal | Richard A.Y. Lee | 617 | 4.00 | +1.45 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Glenn Henderson | 485 | 3.15 | – |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 15,421 | 100.00 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 277 | 1.79 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 15,698 |
| | Social Credit hold | Social Credit hold | Swing | Swing | -6.34 |