Victoria was a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, and was one of the first twelve ridings at the time of that province's joining

Confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

in 1871 and stayed on the hustings until 1890. From 1894 to 1963 it did not appear on the electoral map. During that period the Victoria area was represented by North Victoria, South Victoria, Saanich,

Esquimalt The Township of Esquimalt is a municipality at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. It is bordered to the east by the provincial capital, Victoria, to the south by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, to the west by Esquim ...

Oak Bay Oak Bay is a municipality incorporated in 1906 that is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is one of thirteen member municipalities of the Capital Regional District, and is bordered ...

and Victoria City. In 1966 the old Victoria City riding was redistributed and given the name of the old "rural" riding, Victoria.

Demographics

Political geography

Notable elections

Notable MLAs

Amor De Cosmos Amor De Cosmos (born William Alexander Smith; August 20, 1825 – July 4, 1897) was a Canadian journalist, publisher and politician. He served as the second premier of British Columbia. Early life Amor De Cosmos was born William Alexander Smit ...

, 2nd

Premier of British Columbia Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

Electoral history

''Note: Winners of each election are in'' bold. , - , Independent ,

Arthur Bunster Arthur Bunster (1827 – October 8, 1891) was a Canadian entrepreneur and Member of Parliament. Bunster was born in Queen's County (now Laois), Ireland and was educated in Dublin, attending Trinity College. He came to Vancouver Island in 185 ...

, align="right", 123 , align="right", 32.63% , align="right", , align="right", unknown , Independent , William Dalby , align="right", 103 , align="right", 27.32% , align="right", , align="right", unknown , Independent ,

, align="right", 151 , align="right", 40.05% , align="right", , align="right", unknown , - , Independent , William Dalby , align="right", 97 , align="right", 21.90% , align="right", , align="right", unknown , Independent , Charles William Horth , align="right", 25 , align="right", 5.64% , align="right", , align="right", unknown , Independent ,

James Thomas McIlmoyl James Thomas McIlmoyl (August 24, 1840 – March 27, 1933) was a farmer and political figure in British Columbia. He represented Victoria in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1878 to 1882. He was born in Ontario, of Scottis ...

, align="right", 72 , align="right", 16.25% , align="right", , align="right", unknown , Independent , William Archibald Robertson , align="right", 108 , align="right", 24.38% , align="right", , align="right", unknown , Independent , William Fraser Tolmie , align="right", 141 , align="right", 31.83% , align="right", , align="right", unknown , - bgcolor="white" !align="right" colspan=7, ¹ The byelection was due to resignations February 9, 1874 of A. Bunster and A. De Cosmos upon winning seats in the federal election January 22, 1874 (in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

and

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

federal ridings, respectively). , - , Independent ,

Thomas Basil Humphreys Thomas Basil Humphreys (March 10, 1840 – August 26, 1890) was an English-born miner, auctioneer and political figure in British Columbia. He represented Lillooet from 1871 to 1875, Victoria District from 1875 to 1882 and Comox from 1887 to ...

, align="right", Acclaimed , align="right", -.- % , align="right", , align="right", unknown , - bgcolor="white" !align="right" colspan=3, Total valid votes !align="right", n/a !align="right", -.- % !align="right", , - bgcolor="white" !align="right" colspan=3, Total rejected ballots !align="right", !align="right", !align="right", , - bgcolor="white" !align="right" colspan=3, Turnout !align="right", % !align="right", !align="right", , - bgcolor="white" !align="right" colspan=7, ² The byelection was called due to Humphreys' resignation upon appointment to the Executive Council (cabinet) upon his appointment to the Executive Council (cabinet) June 26, 1878. This byelection was one of a series held to confirm appointments to the Executive Council, which was the old parliamentary convention. As this byelection writ was filled by acclamation, no polling day was required and the seat was filled within two weeks. The stated date is the date the return of writs was received by the Chief Electoral Officer. , - , - bgcolor="white" !align="right" colspan=3, Total valid votes !align="right", 389 , - bgcolor="white" !align="right" colspan=3, Total valid votes !align="right", 495 !align="right", 100.00% !align="right", , - bgcolor="white" !align="right" colspan=3, Total rejected ballots !align="right", !align="right", !align="right", , - bgcolor="white" !align="right" colspan=3, Turnout !align="right", % !align="right", !align="right", , - bgcolor="white" !align="right" colspan=3, Total valid votes !align="right", 462 !align="right", 100.00% !align="right", , - bgcolor="white" !align="right" colspan=3, Total rejected ballots !align="right", !align="right", !align="right", , - bgcolor="white" !align="right" colspan=3, Turnout !align="right", % !align="right", !align="right", For the 1894 election the Victoria riding was redistributed into North Victoria and South Victoria. The Victoria riding name did not reappear until the 1966 election. As before, it was a two-member seat: , - ,

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

, John W. Porteus , align="right", 4,774 , align="right", 10.54% , align="right", , align="right", unknown ,

, Frank D. Preston , align="right", 4,597 , align="right", 10.14% , align="right", , align="right", unknown , - bgcolor="white" !align="right" colspan=3, Total valid votes !align="right", 45,315 !align="right", 100.00% !align="right", , - bgcolor="white" !align="right" colspan=3, Total rejected ballots !align="right", 264 !align="right", !align="right", , - bgcolor="white" !align="right" colspan=3, Turnout !align="right", % !align="right", !align="right", , - ,

, Mel Couvelier , align="right", 4,497 , align="right", 7.76% , align="right", , align="right", unknown , Independent , William Alfred Scott , align="right", 259 , align="right", 0.45% , align="right", , align="right", unknown ,

, Ian Hugh Stewart , align="right", 5,334 , align="right", 9.20% , align="right", , align="right", unknown , - bgcolor="white" !align="right" colspan=3, Total valid votes !align="right", 57,955 !align="right", 100.00% !align="right", , - bgcolor="white" !align="right" colspan=3, Total rejected ballots !align="right", 496 !align="right", !align="right", , - bgcolor="white" !align="right" colspan=3, Turnout !align="right", % !align="right", !align="right", , - ,

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

, Edith Rose Sophia Gunning , align="right", 7,843 , align="right", 11.67% , align="right", , align="right", unknown ,

, Albert Clyde Savage , align="right", 6,218 , align="right", 9.26% , align="right", , align="right", unknown , - bgcolor="white" !align="right" colspan=3, Total valid votes !align="right", 67,182 !align="right", 100.00% !align="right", , - bgcolor="white" !align="right" colspan=3, Total rejected ballots !align="right", 497 !align="right", !align="right", , - bgcolor="white" !align="right" colspan=3, Turnout !align="right", % !align="right", !align="right", , - ,

, William Loyd Burdon , align="right", 2,558 , align="right", 3.55% , align="right", , align="right", unknown , Independent , Richard Owen Kavanagh , align="right", 148 , align="right", 0.21% , align="right", , align="right", unknown , Independent , William Alfred Scott , align="right", 349 , align="right", 0.48% , align="right", , align="right", unknown ,

, Peter Bruce Stanley , align="right", 2,179 , align="right", 3.02% , align="right", , align="right", unknown , - bgcolor="white" !align="right" colspan=3, Total valid votes !align="right", 72,145 !align="right", 100.00% !align="right", , - bgcolor="white" !align="right" colspan=3, Total rejected ballots !align="right", 691 !align="right", !align="right", , - bgcolor="white" !align="right" colspan=3, Turnout !align="right", % !align="right", !align="right", , - ,

, Jack Lindsay , align="right", 2,195 , align="right", 2.73% , align="right", , align="right", unknown ,

, Margaret M. (Maggi) Lynn , align="right", 2,018 , align="right", 2.51% , align="right", , align="right", unknown , - bgcolor="white" !align="right" colspan=3, Total valid votes !align="right", 80,339 !align="right", 100.00% !align="right", , - bgcolor="white" !align="right" colspan=3, Total rejected ballots !align="right", 1,107 !align="right", !align="right", , - bgcolor="white" !align="right" colspan=3, Turnout !align="right", % !align="right", !align="right", , - , Independent , Balther Johannes Jensen , align="right", 406 , align="right", 0.49% , align="right", , align="right", unknown ,

, [Victor Evan Lindal , align="right", 1,158 , align="right", 1.39% , align="right", , align="right", unknown ,

, William John McElroy , align="right", 1,271 , align="right", 1.53% , align="right", , align="right", unknown , Independent , David Michael Shebib , align="right", 242 , align="right", 0.29% , align="right", , align="right", unknown , - bgcolor="white" !align="right" colspan=3, Total valid votes !align="right", 83,112 !align="right", 100.00% !align="right", , - bgcolor="white" !align="right" colspan=3, Total rejected ballots !align="right", 610 !align="right", !align="right", , - bgcolor="white" !align="right" colspan=3, Turnout !align="right", % !align="right", !align="right", , - , - , Independent , Balther Johannes Jensen , align="right", 215 , align="right", 0.27% , align="right", , align="right", unknown ,

, Tom W. Morino , align="right", 2,235 , align="right", 2.79% , align="right", , align="right", unknown , - bgcolor="white" !align="right" colspan=3, Total valid votes !align="right", 80,023 !align="right", 100.00% !align="right", , - bgcolor="white" !align="right" colspan=3, Total rejected ballots !align="right", 748 !align="right", !align="right", , - bgcolor="white" !align="right" colspan=3, Turnout !align="right", % !align="right", !align="right",

Sources

Elections BC Historical Returns
{{DEFAULTSORT:Victoria (British Columbia Electoral District) Former provincial electoral districts of British Columbia on Vancouver Island