# 23rd Parliament of British Columbia

The 23rd Legislative Assembly of British Columbia sat from February 1953 to March 1953. The members were elected in the British Columbia general election held in June 1952. The Social Credit Party led by W. A. C. Bennett formed the government. The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation led by Harold Winch formed the official opposition.
Thomas James Irwin served as speaker for the assembly.
The government was defeated on Bill 79, known as the "Rolston formula", on March 24.

## Members of the 23rd General Assembly

The following members were elected to the assembly in 1952:
| 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 |
| Robert William Bonner (1952) | Columbia | Social Credit | 1952 |
| 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 |
| Frank Mitchell | Esquimalt | CCF | 1951 |
| Thomas Aubert Uphill | Fernie | Labour | 1920 |
| Llewellyn Leslie King | Fort George | Social Credit | 1952 |
| Rupert Williams Haggen | Grand Forks-Greenwood | CCF | 1949 |
| Philip Arthur Gaglardi | Kamloops | Social Credit | 1952 |
| Randolph Harding | Kaslo-Slocan | CCF | 1945 |
| Ernest Crawford Carson | Lillooet | Progressive Conservative | 1928, 1941 |
| Anthony John Gargrave | Mackenzie | CCF | 1952 |
| Lorenzo (Larry) Giovando | Nanaimo and the Islands | Progressive Conservative | 1952 |
| Wesley Drewett Black | Nelson-Creston | Social Credit | 1952 |
| John McRae (Rae) Eddie | New Westminster | CCF | 1952 |
| Lorne Shantz | North Okanagan | Social Credit | 1952 |
| Martin Elliott Sowden | North Vancouver | Liberal | 1952 |
| Philip Archibald Gibbs | Oak Bay | Liberal | 1952 |
| Cyril Morley Shelford | Omineca | Social Credit | 1952 |
| Charles William Parker | Peace River | Social Credit | 1952 |
| George Edwin Hills | Prince Rupert | CCF | 1952 |
| Vincent Segur | Revelstoke | CCF | 1943, 1952 |
| Robert Edward Sommers | Rossland-Trail | Social Credit | 1952 |
| Frank Snowsell | Saanich | CCF | 1952 |
| James Allan Reid | Salmon Arm | Social Credit | 1952 |
| Harry Denyer Francis | Similkameen | Social Credit | 1952 |
| Einar Maynard Gunderson (1952) | Similkameen | Social Credit | 1952 |
| Edward Tourtellotte Kenney | Skeena | Liberal | 1933 |
| 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 |
| James Campbell Bury | Vancouver Centre | CCF | 1952 |
| Laura Emma Marshall Jamieson | Vancouver Centre | CCF | 1939, 1952 |
| Arthur James Turner | Vancouver East | CCF | 1941 |
| Harold Edward Winch | Vancouver East | CCF | 1933 |
| Albert Reginald MacDougall | Vancouver-Point Grey | Progressive Conservative | 1946 |
| George Clark Miller | Vancouver-Point Grey | Progressive Conservative | 1952 |
| Tilly Jean Rolston | Vancouver-Point Grey | Social Credit | 1941 |
| Nancy Hodges | Victoria City | Liberal | 1941 |
| Daniel John Proudfoot | Victoria City | Liberal | 1949 |
| William Thomas Straith | Victoria City | Liberal | 1937 |
| Irvine Finlay Corbett | Yale | Social Credit | 1952 |

## Party standings

| Affiliation | Affiliation | Members |
| | Social Credit | 19 |
| | Co-operative Commonwealth | 18 |
| | Liberal | 6 |
| | Progressive Conservative | 4 |
| | Labour | 1 |
| Total | Total | 48 |
| Government Majority | Government Majority | -10 |

## By-elections

By-elections were held to replace members for various reasons:
| Electoral district | Member elected | Party | Election date | Reason |
| Columbia | Robert William Bonner | Social Credit | November 24, 1952 | R.O. Newton resigned to provide seat for R.W. Bonner |
| Similkameen | Einar Maynard Gunderson | Social Credit | November 24, 1952 | H.D. Francis resigned to provide seat for E.M. Gunderson |

## Other changes

* Lillooet (dec. Ernest Crawford Carson October 21, 1952)
* Vancouver-Point Grey (dec. Albert Reginald MacDougall January 20, 1953)