Delta (provincial electoral district)

Delta was the name of a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia based on the municipality of Delta at the mouth of the Fraser River between the city of Vancouver and the US border. It made its first appearance on the hustings in the election of 1903 and its last in the election of 1986, after which it was succeeded by Delta North and Delta South, which are the current ridings in the area.

History

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Single-member district

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Assembly Years Member Party
Riding created from Westminster-Delta
10th 1903–1907 John Oliver Liberal
11th 1907–1909
12th 1909–1912 Francis James Anderson MacKenzie Conservative
13th 1912–1916
14th 1916–1920
15th 1920–1924 John Oliver Liberal
16th 1924–1928 Alexander McDonald Paterson
17th 1928–1933 John Walter Berry Conservative
18th 1933–1937 Robert Swailes CCF
19th 1937–1941 Leonard Alec Shepherd
20th 1941–1945
21st 1945–1949 Alexander Campbell Hope Coalition (PC)
22nd 1949–1952
1952 PC
23rd 1952–1953 Thomas Irwin Social Credit
24th 1953–1956
Became a dual-member district between 1956–1966
28th 1966–1969 Robert Wenman Social Credit
29th 1969–1972
30th 1972–1975 Carl Liden NDP
31st 1975–1979 Kenneth Walter Davidson Social Credit
32nd 1979–1983
33rd 1983–1986

Dual-member district

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Assembly Years Seat 1 Seat 2
Member Party Member Party
25th 1956–1957 Thomas Irwin Social Credit Nehemiah George Massey Social Credit
1957–1960 Gordon Lionel Gibson
26th 1960–1961 Camille Mather CCF James Henry Rhodes CCF
1961–1963 NDP NDP
27th 1963–1966 Hunter Vogel Social Credit Ernest LeCours Social Credit
Became a single-member district again between 1966–1986
34th 1986–1991 John Savage Social Credit Walter Davidson Social Credit
Riding dissolved into Delta North and Delta South.

Electoral history

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1903 British Columbia general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Liberal John Oliver 447 59.13%
Conservative William Henry Ladner 309 40.87%
Total valid votes 756 100.00%
1907 British Columbia general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Liberal John Oliver 430 62.23%
Conservative Francis James Anderson MacKenzie 261 37.77%
Total valid votes 691 100.00%
1909 British Columbia general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Conservative Francis James Anderson MacKenzie 765 58.13%
Liberal John Oliver 551 41.87%
Total valid votes 1,316 100.00%
1912 British Columbia general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Conservative Francis James Anderson MacKenzie 748 70.83%
Liberal John Oliver 308 29.17%
Total valid votes 1,056 100.00%
1916 British Columbia general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Conservative Francis James Anderson MacKenzie 964 51.55%
Liberal Alexander McDonald Paterson 906 48.45%
Total valid votes 1,870 100.00%
1920 British Columbia general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Liberal John Oliver 1,334 37.50%
Soldier–Farmer Richmond Archie Payne 1,107 31.12%
Conservative Francis James Anderson MacKenzie 964 21.55%
Total valid votes 3,557 100.00%
1924 British Columbia general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Liberal Alexander McDonald Paterson 1,677 46.13%
Conservative Archibald Woodbury McLelan 1,253 34.47%
Provincial Saul A. Bonnell 633 17.42%
Independent Liberal Hugh Williams 72 1.98%
Total valid votes 3,635 100.00%
1928 British Columbia general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Conservative John Walter Berry 2,562 55.73%
Liberal Alexander McDonald Paterson 2,035 44.27%
Total valid votes 4,597 100.00%
Total rejected ballots 51
1933 British Columbia general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Co-operative Commonwealth Robert Swailes 2,631 36.95%
Liberal Alexander McDonald Paterson 2,093 29.40%
Independent Rudolph Martin Grauer 1,735 24.37%
Independent Conservative John Walter Berry 447 6.28%
Independent Conservative Christopher Thomas Lawrence 165 2.32%
United Front (Workers and Farmers) Robert Kitchener Almas 49 0.69%
Total valid votes 7,120 100.00%
Total rejected ballots 64
1937 British Columbia general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Co-operative Commonwealth Leonard Alec Shepherd 3,192 32.93%
Liberal Arthur Laing 3,102 32.01%
Conservative Rudolph Martin Grauer 2,815 29.04%
Social Constructive Robert Swailes 583 6.02%
Total valid votes 9,692 100.00%
Total rejected ballots 150
1941 British Columbia general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Co-operative Commonwealth Leonard Alec Shepherd 5,153 42.29%
Liberal Arthur Laing 3,554 29.17%
Conservative Alexander Campbell Hope 3,478 28.54%
Total valid votes 12,185 100.00%
Total rejected ballots 225
1945 British Columbia general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Coalition Alexander Campbell Hope 5,859 53.64%
Co-operative Commonwealth Leonard Alec Shepherd 5,063 46.36%
Total valid votes 10,922 100.00%
Total rejected ballots 138
1949 British Columbia general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Coalition Alexander Campbell Hope 12,203 49.59%
Co-operative Commonwealth Leonard Alec Shepherd 11,110 45.15%
Social Credit Lyle Wicks 1,293 5.25%
Total valid votes 24,606 100.00%
Total rejected ballots 903
1952 British Columbia general election
Party Candidate Votes
1st count
% Votes
final count
%
Social Credit League Thomas Irwin 11,759 37.22 14,805 52.69
Co-operative Commonwealth Leonard Alec Shepherd 10,853 34.35 13,295 47.31
Progressive Conservative Alexander Campbell Hope 4,688 18.84
Liberal Donald Alexander Sutherland Lanskail 4,293 13.59
Total valid votes 31,593 100.00 28,100 100.00
Total rejected ballots 2,172
Note: Preferential ballot; first and final of three (3) counts only shown.
1953 British Columbia general election
Party Candidate Votes
1st count
% Votes
final count
%
Social Credit Thomas Irwin 15,417 54.05 15,417 54.05
Co-operative Commonwealth Leonard Alec Shepherd 11,095 35.80 13,108 45.95
Liberal Leslie Gilmore 5,500 17.75
Progressive Conservative Robert William Pybus 591 1.91
Labor–Progressive David Arnold Danielson 390 1.26
Christian Democratic Cyril Anthony Brocking 315 1.02
People's Edward Charles Mills 20 0.06
Total valid votes 30,990 100.00 28,525 100.00
Total rejected ballots 1,786
Note: Preferential ballot; first and final of three (3) counts only shown.
1956 British Columbia general election
Party Candidate Votes % Elected
Social Credit Thomas Irwin 18,848 52.98  Y
Social Credit Nehemiah George Massey 17,762 49.92  Y
Co-operative Commonwealth Walter H. Johnson 11,202 31.49
Co-operative Commonwealth James Henry Rhodes 10,798 30.35
Liberal Victor A. McPherson 5,149 14.47
Liberal William Pearce Wilson 4,680 13.15
Labor–Progressive Myrtle Evelyn Burnell 355 1.00
Labor–Progressive Frank Gaspar 272 0.76
Total valid votes 35,578 100.00
Total rejected ballots 352
British Columbia provincial by-election, 1957
Party Candidate Votes %
Social Credit Gordon Lionel Gibson 9,989 39.41%
Co-operative Commonwealth Leonard Alec Shepherd 8,379 33.06%
Progressive Conservative Craig Frazer 5,388 21.26%
Liberal William Wilson 1,266 4.99%
Labor–Progressive Peter Gidora 217 0.86
Independent Peter Wolanski 109 0.43
Total valid votes 25,348 100.00%
1960 British Columbia general election
Party Candidate Votes % Elected
Co-operative Commonwealth Camille Mather 21,839 39.65  Y
Co-operative Commonwealth James Henry Rhodes 21,559 39.14  Y
Social Credit Nehemiah George Massey 21,011 38.15
Social Credit Donald H. Riggan 17,291 31.40
Liberal Arthur R. Helps 8,529 15.49
Liberal C. Douglas Morris 8,517 15.46
Progressive Conservative George Francis Crowe 2,280 4.14
Progressive Conservative Dalton O. Jones 2,159 3.92
Independent Gordon Lionel Gibson 2,010 3.65
Communist Homer Stevens 505 0.92
Communist George Lakusta 408 0.74
Independent Norman Baker 220 0.40
Total valid votes 55,073 100.00
Total rejected ballots 834
1963 British Columbia general election
Party Candidate Votes % Elected
Social Credit Hunter Bertram Vogel 22,504 41.78  Y
Social Credit Ernest LeCours 22,067 40.97  Y
New Democratic Camille Mather 18,690 34.70
New Democratic James Henry Rhodes 17,661 32.79
Liberal J.T. "Jock" Smith 5,553 10.31
Liberal Harry Lewis Huff 5,342 9.92
Progressive Conservative Theodore Kuhn 4,461 8.28
Progressive Conservative Thomas Horan 4,049 7.52
Communist Homer Stevens 505 0.94
Total valid votes 53,860 100.00
Total rejected ballots 473
1966 British Columbia general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Social Credit Robert Wenman 7,768 46.46%
New Democratic Thomas Jack Howard 6,078 36.35%
Liberal Rudolph Martin Grauer 1,954 11.69%
Progressive Conservative Philip Govan 921 5.51%
Total valid votes 16,721 100.00%
Total rejected ballots 153
1969 British Columbia general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Social Credit Robert Wenman 14,145 51.35%
New Democratic Carl Liden 9,855 35.78%
Liberal Doral Hemm 3,545 12.87%
Total valid votes 27,545 100.00%
Total rejected ballots 295
1972 British Columbia general election
Party Candidate Votes %
New Democratic Carl Liden 15,040 39.90%
Social Credit Robert Wenman 12,260 32.53%
Progressive Conservative Marcia Ann Boyd 6,660 17.67%
Liberal Lorne L. Donnelly 3,730 9.90%
Total valid votes 37,690 100.00%
Total rejected ballots 378
1975 British Columbia general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Social Credit Kenneth Walter Davidson 25,892 53.32%
New Democratic Carl Liden 17,469 35.98%
Progressive Conservative John O'Brien Bell 2,857 5.88%
Liberal Arthur Edward Bates 2,236 4.60%
Communist Michael Anthony Darnell 105 0.22%
Total valid votes 48,559 100.00%
Total rejected ballots 592
1979 British Columbia general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Social Credit Kenneth Walter Davidson 16,421 55.10%
New Democratic Carl Liden 11,429 38.35%
Progressive Conservative Elsie Gwendolyn Burnett 1,877 6.30%
Communist John Michael Stevens 73 0.25%
Total valid votes 29,800 100.00%
Total rejected ballots 228
1983 British Columbia general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Social Credit Kenneth Walter Davidson 21,496 58.37%
New Democratic Karl H. Moser 13,300 36.12%
Progressive Conservative David Peter Hoyt 1,117 3.03%
Liberal Ken Buhay 464 1.26%
WCC Michael Terence Coggan 450 1.22%
Total valid votes 36,827 100.00%
Total rejected ballots 247
1986 British Columbia general election
Party Candidate Votes % Elected
Social Credit John Lawrence Savage 20,950 57.38  Y
Social Credit Kenneth Walter Davidson 20,523 56.21  Y
New Democratic Karl H. Moser 13,581 37.20
Co-operative Commonwealth Sylvia K. Bishop 11,984 32.82
Liberal Samuel D. Stevens 2,855 7.82
Progressive Conservative Kenneth Douglas Smith 1,804 4.94
Total valid votes 36,510 100.00
Total rejected ballots 722

The Delta riding was partitioned after the 1986 election into Delta North and Delta South.

Sources

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Elections BC Historical Returns