1878 British Columbia general election

There were to be no political parties in the new province. The designations "Government" and "Opposition" and "Independent" (and variations on these) functioned in place of parties, but they were very loose and do not represent formal coalitions, more alignments of support during the campaign. "Government" meant in support of the current Premier; "Opposition" meant campaigning against him, and often enough the Opposition would win and immediately become the Government. The Elections British Columbia notes for this election describe the designations as "Government (GOV.) candidates supported the administration of G.A.B. Walkem. Those opposed ran as Reform (REF.), Opposition (OPP.), Independent Reform (IND.REF.), or Independent Opposition (IND.OPP.) candidates. Those who ran as straight Independents (IND.) were sometimes described as Government supporters (IND./GOV.).

See Notes on the previous election.

Any changes due to byelections are shown below the main table showing the theoretical composition of the House after the election. A final table showing the composition of the House at the dissolution of the Legislature at the end of this Parliament can be found below the byelections. The main table represents the immediate results of the election only, not changes in governing coalitions or eventual changes due to byelections.

The original ridings had remained twelve in number, electing 25 members of the first provincial legislature from 12 ridings (electoral districts), some with multiple members. There were no political parties were not acceptable in the House by convention, though some members were openly partisan at the federal level (usually Conservative, although both Liberal and Labour allegiance were on display by some candidates).

These ridings were:

• Cariboo (three members)
• Comox
• Cowichan (two members)
• Esquimalt (two members)
• Kootenay (two members)
• Lillooet (two members)
• Nanaimo
• New Westminster (two members)
• New Westminster City
• Victoria (two members)
• Victoria City (four members)
• Yale (three members)

• Votes 6,377
• Candidates 46
• Members 25

Vancouver Island 3,714 votes, twelve seats 309.5 votes/seat

• Upper Island 695 votes, four seats (173.75 votes/seat)
  • Comox: 52 votes (52 votes/seat)
  • Cowichan: 292 votes (2 seats 196 votes/seat 83 voters/seat)
  • Nanaimo: 351 votes (351 votes/seat)
• "Greater Victoria" 3,019 votes, eight seats (377.375 votes/seat):
  • Victoria: 309 votes (2 seats 154.5 votes/seat)
  • Victoria City: 2,523 (4 seats 603.75 votes/seat)
  • Esquimalt: 187 (2 seats 93.5 votes/seat)

Mainland 2,271 votes 11 seats (excluding Kootenay's) 206.45 votes/seat :

• Interior 1,817 eight seats, 227.125 votes/seat (excepting Kootenay):
  • Cariboo: 788 votes (3 seats 264 votes/seat)
  • Kootenay: unknown (acclamation)
  • Lillooet: 241 votes (2 seats 51 votes/seat 120.5 votes/seat)
  • Yale: 788 votes (3 seats 57 votes/seat 262.67 votes/seat)
• Lower Mainland 454 votes (3 seats 151.33 votes/seat:
  • New Westminster: 309 votes (2 seats 154.5 votes/seat)
  • New Westminster City: 145 votes (145 votes/seat)

Note that these figures refer to votes actually cast, not the population per se nor the total of the potential voters' list.

Property requirements for voting instigated for the 1875 election were dropped. Natives (First Nations) and Chinese were disallowed from voting, although naturalized Kanakas (Hawaiian colonists) and American and West Indian blacks and certain others participated. The requirement that knowledge of English be spoken for balloting was discussed but not applied.