1953 British Columbia general election

The 1953 British Columbia general election was the 24th general election in the Province of British Columbia, Canada. It was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. The election was called on April 10, 1953, and held on June 9, 1953. The new legislature met for the first time on September 15, 1953.

1953 British Columbia general election

June 9, 1953
48 seats of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia 25 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   CCF Leader W. A. C. Bennett Arnold Webster Party Social Credit Co-operative Commonwealth Leader since 1952 1953 Leader's seat South Okanagan Vancouver East Last election 19 18 Seats won 28 14 Seat change 9 4 First count 274,771 224,513   Percentage 37.75% 30.85%   Swing 10.55pp 0.07pp Final count 300,372 194,414   Percentage 45.54% 29.48%   Third party Fourth party   PC Leader Arthur Laing Deane Finlayson Party Liberal Progressive Conservative Leader since 1953 1952 Leader's seat Vancouver-Point Grey Ran in Oak Bay (lost) Last election 6 4 Seats won 4 1 Seat change 2 3 First count 171,671 40,780   Percentage 23.59% 5.60%   Swing 0.13pp 11.24pp Final count 154,090 7,326   Percentage 23.36% 1.11%
Premier before election W. A. C. Bennett Social Credit Premier after election W. A. C. Bennett Social Credit

The minority government formed in 1952 by the conservative Social Credit party of Premier W.A.C. Bennett lasted only nine months before new elections were called. Social Credit was re-elected with a majority in the legislature to a second term in government with almost 38% of the popular vote.

The social democratic Co-operative Commonwealth Federation formed the official opposition with the only significant opposition caucus (14 seats).

The British Columbia Liberal Party lost two of its six seats despite maintaining its 23% share of the popular vote.

The Progressive Conservative Party lost three of its four seats in the legislature, as its share of the popular vote fell from almost 17% to under 6%.

One seat was won by a Labour candidate.