# 24th Parliament of British Columbia

The 24th Legislative Assembly of British Columbia sat from September 1953 to 1956. The members were elected in the British Columbia general election held in June 1953. The Social Credit Party led by W. A. C. Bennett formed the government. The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation led by Arnold Webster formed the official opposition.
Thomas James Irwin served as speaker for the assembly.

## Members of the 24th General Assembly

The following members were elected to the assembly in 1953:
| Member | Electoral district | Party | First elected / previously elected |
| Stanley John Squire | Alberni | CCF | 1952 |
| Frank Arthur Calder | Atlin | CCF | 1949 |
| Ernest Edward Winch | Burnaby | CCF | 1933 |
| William Ralph Talbot Chetwynd | Cariboo | Social Credit | 1952 |
| William Kenneth Kiernan | Chilliwack | Social Credit | 1952 |
| Richard Orr Newton | Columbia | Social Credit | 1952, 1953 |
| William Campbell Moore | Comox | CCF | 1952 |
| Robert Martin Strachan | Cowichan-Newcastle | CCF | 1952 |
| Leo Thomas Nimsick | Cranbrook | CCF | 1949 |
| Thomas Irwin | Delta | Social Credit | 1952 |
| Lyle Wicks | Dewdney | Social Credit | 1952 |
| Herbert Joseph Bruch | Esquimalt | Social Credit | 1953 |
| Thomas Aubert Uphill | Fernie | Labour | 1920 |
| Ray Gillis Williston | Fort George | Social Credit | 1953 |
| Rupert Williams Haggen | Grand Forks-Greenwood | CCF | 1949 |
| Philip Arthur Gaglardi | Kamloops | Social Credit | 1952 |
| Randolph Harding | Kaslo-Slocan | CCF | 1945 |
| James Gordon Gibson | Lillooet | Liberal | 1953 |
| Donald Frederick Robinson (1955) | Lillooet | Social Credit | 1955 |
| Anthony John Gargrave | Mackenzie | CCF | 1952 |
| Lorenzo (Larry) Giovando | Nanaimo and the Islands | Progressive Conservative | 1952 |
| Lorenzo (Larry) Giovando | Nanaimo and the Islands | Independent | 1952 |
| Wesley Drewett Black | Nelson-Creston | Social Credit | 1952 |
| John McRae (Rae) Eddie | New Westminster | CCF | 1952 |
| Lorne Shantz | North Okanagan | Social Credit | 1952 |
| George Henry Tomlinson, Jr. | North Vancouver | Social Credit | 1953 |
| Philip Archibald Gibbs | Oak Bay | Liberal | 1952 |
| Cyril Morley Shelford | Omineca | Social Credit | 1952 |
| Charles William Parker | Peace River | Social Credit | 1952 |
| Arthur Bruce Brown | Prince Rupert | Liberal | 1953 |
| Vincent Segur | Revelstoke | CCF | 1943, 1952 |
| Robert Edward Sommers | Rossland-Trail | Social Credit | 1952 |
| John Douglas Tidball Tisdalle | Saanich | Social Credit | 1953 |
| James Allan Reid | Salmon Arm | Social Credit | 1952 |
| Francis Xavier Richter | Similkameen | Social Credit | 1953 |
| Frank Howard | Skeena | CCF | 1953 |
| William Andrew Cecil Bennett | South Okanagan | Social Credit | 1941, 1949 |
| Eric Charles Fitzgerald Martin | Vancouver-Burrard | Social Credit | 1952 |
| Bert Price | Vancouver-Burrard | Social Credit | 1952 |
| Alexander Small Matthew | Vancouver Centre | Social Credit | 1953 |
| George Churchill Moxham | Vancouver Centre | Social Credit | 1953 |
| Leslie Raymond Peterson (1955) | Vancouver Centre | Social Credit | 1955 |
| Arthur James Turner | Vancouver East | CCF | 1941 |
| Arnold Alexander Webster | Vancouver East | CCF | 1953 |
| Thomas Audley Bate | Vancouver-Point Grey | Social Credit | 1953 |
| Robert William Bonner | Vancouver-Point Grey | Social Credit | 1952 |
| Arthur Laing | Vancouver-Point Grey | Liberal | 1953 |
| Lydia Augusta Arsens | Victoria City | Social Credit | 1953 |
| William Neelands Chant | Victoria City | Social Credit | 1953 |
| Walter Percival Wright | Victoria City | Social Credit | 1953 |
| George Frederick Thompson Gregory (1953) | Victoria City | Liberal | 1953 |
| Irvine Finlay Corbett | Yale | Social Credit | 1952 |

## Party standings

| Affiliation | Affiliation | Members |
| | Social Credit | 28 |
| | Co-operative Commonwealth | 14 |
| | Liberal | 4 |
| | Progressive Conservative | 1 |
| | Labour | 1 |
| Total | Total | 48 |
| Government Majority | Government Majority | 8 |

## By-elections

By-elections were held to replace members for various reasons:
| Electoral district | Member elected | Party | Election date | Reason |
| Victoria City | George Frederick Thompson Gregory | Liberal | November 24, 1953 | W.P. Wright resigned to provide seat for E.M. Gunderson |
| Lillooet | Donald Frederick Robinson | Social Credit | September 12, 1955 | J.G. Gibson resigned to seek electoral vindication for allegations of fraud and patronage that he made in the legislature |
| Vancouver Centre | Leslie Raymond Peterson | Social Credit | September 12, 1955 | death of G.C. Moxham November 10, 1955 |

## Other changes

* Lorenzo Giovando leaves the Progressive Conservatives to become an Independent in July 1954.