# 25th Parliament of British Columbia

The 25th Legislative Assembly of British Columbia sat from 1957 to 1960. The members were elected in the British Columbia general election held in September 1956. The Social Credit Party led by W. A. C. Bennett formed the government. The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) led by Robert Strachan formed the official opposition.
Thomas James Irwin served as speaker for the assembly until April 1957; he was elected to the Canadian House of Commons later that year. Lorne Shantz replaced Irwin as speaker in 1958.

## Members of the 25th General Assembly

The following members were elected to the assembly in 1956:
| Member | Electoral district | Party | First elected / previously elected |
| Stanley John Squire | Alberni | CCF | 1952 |
| William James Asselstine | Atlin | Social Credit | 1933, 1956 |
| Gordon Dowding | Burnaby | CCF | 1956 |
| Ernest Edward Winch | Burnaby | CCF | 1933 |
| Cedric Cox (1957) | Burnaby | CCF | 1957 |
| William Ralph Talbot Chetwynd | Cariboo | Social Credit | 1952 |
| William Collins Speare (1957) | Cariboo | Social Credit | 1957 |
| William Kenneth Kiernan | Chilliwack | Social Credit | 1952 |
| Richard Orr Newton | Columbia | Social Credit | 1952, 1953 |
| Daniel Robert John Campbell | Comox | Social Credit | 1956 |
| Robert Martin Strachan | Cowichan-Newcastle | CCF | 1952 |
| Leo Thomas Nimsick | Cranbrook | CCF | 1949 |
| Thomas Irwin | Delta | Social Credit | 1952 |
| Nehemiah George Massey | Delta | Social Credit | 1956 |
| Gordon Lionel Gibson (1957) | Delta | Social Credit | 1957 |
| 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 |
| Lois Mabel Haggen | Grand Forks-Greenwood | CCF | 1956 |
| Philip Arthur Gaglardi | Kamloops | Social Credit | 1952 |
| Randolph Harding | Kaslo-Slocan | CCF | 1945 |
| Donald Frederick Robinson | Lillooet | Social Credit | 1955 |
| Anthony John Gargrave | Mackenzie | CCF | 1952 |
| Earle Cathers Westwood | Nanaimo and the Islands | Social Credit | 1956 |
| Wesley Drewett Black | Nelson-Creston | Social Credit | 1952 |
| John McRae (Rae) Eddie | New Westminster | CCF | 1952 |
| Lorne Shantz | North Okanagan | Social Credit | 1952 |
| Harold Earl Roche | North Peace River | Social Credit | 1956 |
| John Melvin Bryan, Jr. | North Vancouver | Social Credit | 1956 |
| John Melvin Bryan, Jr. | North Vancouver | Independent | 1956 |
| John Melvin Bryan, Jr. | North Vancouver | Liberal | 1956 |
| Newton Phillips Steacy | North Vancouver | Social Credit | 1956 |
| Philip Archibald Gibbs | Oak Bay | Liberal | 1952 |
| Cyril Morley Shelford | Omineca | Social Credit | 1952 |
| William Harvey Murray | Prince Rupert | Social Credit | 1956 |
| Arvid Lundell | Revelstoke | Social Credit | 1949, 1956 |
| Robert Edward Sommers | Rossland-Trail | Social Credit | 1952 |
| Donald Leslie Brothers (1958) | Rossland-Trail | Social Credit | 1958 |
| John Douglas Tidball Tisdalle | Saanich | Social Credit | 1953 |
| James Allan Reid | Salmon Arm | Social Credit | 1952 |
| Francis Xavier Richter | Similkameen | Social Credit | 1953 |
| Hugh Addison Shirreff | Skeena | Social Credit | 1956 |
| William Andrew Cecil Bennett | South Okanagan | Social Credit | 1941, 1949 |
| Stanley Carnell | South Peace River | Social Credit | 1956 |
| Eric Charles Fitzgerald Martin | Vancouver-Burrard | Social Credit | 1952 |
| Bert Price | Vancouver-Burrard | Social Credit | 1952 |
| Alexander Small Matthew | Vancouver Centre | Social Credit | 1953 |
| Leslie Raymond Peterson | Vancouver Centre | Social Credit | 1955 |
| Frederick Morton Sharp | Vancouver East | Social Credit | 1956 |
| Arthur James Turner | Vancouver East | CCF | 1941 |
| Thomas Audley Bate | Vancouver-Point Grey | Social Credit | 1953 |
| Robert William Bonner | Vancouver-Point Grey | Social Credit | 1952 |
| Buda Hosmer Brown | Vancouver-Point Grey | Social Credit | 1956 |
| William Neelands Chant | Victoria City | Social Credit | 1953 |
| George Frederick Thompson Gregory | Victoria City | Liberal | 1953 |
| John Donald Smith | Victoria City | Social Credit | 1956 |
| Irvine Finlay Corbett | Yale | Social Credit | 1952 |

## Party standings

| Affiliation | Affiliation | Members |
| | Social Credit | 39 |
| | Co-operative Commonwealth | 10 |
| | Liberal | 2 |
| | Labour | 1 |
| Total | Total | 52 |
| Government Majority | Government Majority | 26 |

## By-elections

By-elections were held to replace members for various reasons:
| Electoral district | Member elected | Party | Election date | Reason |
| Burnaby | Cedric Cox | CCF | September 9, 1957 | death of E.E. Winch January 11, 1957 |
| Cariboo | William Collins Speare | Social Credit | September 9, 1957 | death of W.R.T. Chetwynd April 3, 1957 |
| Delta | Gordon Lionel Gibson | Social Credit | September 9, 1957 | T.J. Irwin resigned to contest federal election April 26, 1957 |
| Rossland-Trail | Donald Leslie Brothers | Social Credit | December 15, 1958 | R.E. Sommers resigned November 7, 1958; convicted of bribery and conspiracy |

## Other changes

* John Melvin Bryan, Jr. becomes an Independent on February 3, 1958. He joins the Liberals on February 25, 1959.
* Oak Bay (dec. Philip Archibald Gibbs March 1960)