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Tom Monto

1953 BC election -- Alternative Voting did not make big difference

Updated: Dec 2, 2021

The 1953 BC provincial general election used Alternative Voting. But only in five districts did Alternative Voting produce a different winner than First Past The Post would have.


Therefore the results were just as disproportional as FPTP would have been.


BC filled 48 seats in this election.

Social Credit party won 58 percent of the seats with only 38 percent of the votes. It was due only 18 seats.

The Liberal party won 8 percent of the seats with 24 percent of the votes. It was due about 12 seats.

The Conservative party won one seat with 6 percent of the vote. It was due 3 seats.


Alternative Voting did ensure that the successful candidate in each district did have to have a majority of the votes in the district or at least a majority of votes still in play after some votes were declared exhausted in successive vote transfers. (The list below indicates whether the successful candidate in each case took a majority of votes cast in the district or only a majority of votes still in play.)

In FPTP elections, it is common for more than a third - and sometimes as much as two-thirds* - of successful candidates to take less than half the votes cast in their district. In this election, the portion that were elected by taking the majority of votes still in play but not majority of votes cast, was more than half. 25 of the total 48 elected MLAs were elected with less than half the votes cast in their districts.


But there is a big difference between being elected in AV and being elected in FPTP.

In AV the successful candidate did have to have a majority of votes. Even if that is only majority of votes, it does show that the successful candidate was more popular than all the other candidates put together.

In FPTP, the successful candidate is elected by just plurality -- merely having more than each specific other candidate. In FPTP elections, a person can be declared the winner with as few as 17 percent of the votes,* so there is no certainty that in fact that person is in fact popular with more voters than a competing candidate.


* Two thirds of successful candidates in the 2021 Canadian election received less than half the votes cast in their districts. That is, 219 of the 338 elected MPs received less than half the votes in their district.


*17 percent of votes is the record low for total of votes received by a winner. Previously the record was something like 24 percent as the amount needed to win a seat in a FPTP election. But in the 2014 Toronto city election, Christin Carmichael Greb won the Ward 16 (Eglinton Lawrence) council seat with only 17 percent of the votes.


District by district results

Alberni CCF won with majority of votes on the 4th Count, no turn-over Atlin CCF won with majority of votes on 1st Count, no transfers Burnaby CCF won with majority of votes on 2nd Count, no turn-over Cariboo SC won with majority of votes on 1st Count, no transfers Chilliwack SC won with majority of votes on 1st Count, no transfers Columbia SC won with majority of votes still in play on the 3rd Count, no turn-over Comox CCF won with majority of votes still in play on the 4th Count, no turn-over Cowichan CCF won with majority of votes on the 5th Count, no turn-over Cranbrooks CCF won with majority of votes on the 2nd Count, no turn-over Delta SC won with majority of votes still in play on the 6th Count, no turn-over Dewdney SC won with majority of votes still in play on the 5th Count, no turn-over Esquimalt SC won with majority of votes still in play on the 3rd Count, no turn-over Fernie Labour (Uphill) won with majority of votes on the 2nd Count, no turn-over Fort George SC won with majority of votes on the 2nd Count, no turn-over Grand Forks CCF won with majority of votes still in play on the 2nd Count, no turn-over Kamloops SC won with majority of votes on the 2nd Count, no turn-over Kaslo CCF won with majority of votes on the 2nd Count, no turn-over

Lillouet CCF leading in 1st Count, Lib wins with maj. of votes still in play on 3rd Count Turn-over

Mackenzie CCF won with maj. still in play on 3rd Count, no turn-over

Nanaimo CCF leading in 1st Ct, Cons. wins with maj. of votes still in play on 5th Count Turn-over

Nelson SC won with majority of votes still in play on the 4th Count, no turn-over New Westminster CCF won with maj. still in play on 4th Count, no turn-over North Okanagan SC won with majority of votes on the 3rd Count, no turn-over North Vancouver SC won with majority of votes still in play on the 5th Count, no turn-over Oak Bay SC leading in 1st Ct, Lib wins with maj. of votes on 3rd Count Turn-over Ominica SC won with majority of votes still in play on the 3rd Count, no turn-over Peace River SC won with majority of votes on the 2nd Count, no turn-over Prince Rupert CCF leading in 1st Ct, Lib wins with maj. of votes still in play on 3rd Count Turn-over

Revelstoke CCF won with majority of votes still in play on the 3rd Count, no turn-over Rossland SC won with majority of votes on the 3rd Count, no turn-over Saanich SC won with majority of votes on the 3rd Count, no turn-over Salmon Arm SC won with majority of votes on the 4th Count, no turn-over Simalkemeen SC won with majority of votes still in play on the 3rd Count, no turn-over Skeena CCF won with majority of votes still in play on the 3rd Count, no turn-over South Okanagan CCF won with majority of votes on the 1st Count, no turn-over Vancouver Burrard A SC won with majority of votes on the 5th Count, no turn-over Vancouver Burrard B SC won with majority of votes on the 5th Count, no turn-over Vancouver Centre A SC won with majority of votes still in play on the 5th Count, no turn-over Vancouver Centre B CCF won with majority of votes on the 5th Count, no turn-over Vancouver East A CCF won with majority of votes still in play on the 4th Count, no turn-over Vancouver East B CCF won with majority of votes on the 1st Count, no turn-over Vancouver Point Grey A SC won with majority of votes still in play on the 5th/6th Count, no turn-over Vancouver Point Grey B SC won with majority of votes still in play on the 6th Count, no turn-over Vancouver Point Grey C SC leading in 1st Ct, Lib wins with maj. of votes still in play on 5th Count Turn-over Victoria City A SC won with majority of votes on the 5th Count, no turn-over Victoria City B SC won with majority of votes still in play on the 4th Count, no turn-over Victoria City C SC won with majority of votes still in play on the 4th Count, no turn-over Yale SC won with majority of votes still in play on the 3rd Count, no turn-over

Only in five districts did the candidate leading in 1st Count not win in the end.


Turn-overs (where candidate leading in 1st Count did not win in the end)

Lillouet Liberal won

Nanaimo Conservative won

Oak Bay Lib won

Prince Rupert Lib won

Vancouver Point Grey C Lib won

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