Jevington Blair (Jev) Tothill (born 1928 or 1929) is a former

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

politician, who was the leader of the

British Columbia Liberal Party BC United (BCU), known from 1903 until 2023 as the British Columbia Liberal Party or BC Liberals, is a provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada. The party has been described as conservative, neoliberal, and occupying a centre-right ...

from 1979 to 1981."Tothill seeks seat for by-election". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', March 21, 1979. Prior to his political career, Tothill was a high school teacher in the

Cowichan Valley The Cowichan Valley is a region around the Cowichan River, Cowichan Bay and Cowichan Lake on Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. There is some debate as to the origin of the name Cowichan, which many believe to be an anglicized for ...

region of

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest ...

who was known for creating a local

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service, and was an unsuccessful candidate for the party in the electoral district of Cowichan-Malahat in the 1975 provincial election. He won the leadership at the party's

leadership convention {{Politics of Canada In Politics of Canada, Canadian politics, a leadership convention is held by a political party when the party needs to choose a leadership, leader due to a vacancy or a challenge to the incumbent leader. Overview In Canada, ...

on February 19, 1979. His predecessor, Gordon Gibson, had held the party's only seat in the

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia () is the deliberative assembly of the Legislature of British Columbia, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The other component of the Legislature is the lieutenant governor of British Columbi ...

at the time of his resignation, leaving the party without legislative representation. Tothill soon announced plans to run as the party's candidate in a pending

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

in North Vancouver-Seymour, although that by-election was cancelled by the issuance of writs for the 1979 election. In that election, the only one under Tothill's leadership, the Liberals ran just five candidates provincewide and were entirely shut out of the legislature."Socreds retain power in B.C. in a close race". ''The Globe and Mail'', May 11, 1979. Tothill resigned as leader in late 1980 and was succeeded by Shirley McLoughlin at the party's 1981 leadership convention.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tothill, Jev Year of birth missing (living people) Leaders of BC United Living people People from Duncan, British Columbia BC United candidates in British Columbia provincial elections