Atlin (electoral district)

Atlin (electoral district)

Atlin was a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It made its first appearance on the hustings in the 10th provincial general election in 1903 and last appeared in the 34th provincial general election in 1986, after which it was merged with the Skeena riding.

Demographics

Political geography

Always one of the province's largest ridings by area, it was always among the smallest in population, and is often cited as an example of a lack of proper representation-by-population in the BC political system. From the perspective of riding residents, who are spread out in a handful of small settlements from the Nass River to the Yukon border, a riding incorporating larger population centres was unfair to them. Ultimately the pressure to redress lack of equality in voting-weight among BC ridings saw the Atlin riding became merged with Skeena riding.

Notable elections

Because of its small electorate, battles over spoiled ballots were critical in Atlin's electoral history:
*The 1928 election saw a 567/542/32 three-way split in favour of Herbert Frederick Kergin of the BC Liberal Party, with 22 rejected ballots
*The 1945 election saw a 297/292 split in favour of William Duncan Smith of the Liberal-Conservative Coalition, with no rejected ballots
*The 1949 election saw a 376/370 split in favour of Frank Calder, then a candidate for the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) - with 190 rejected ballots.
*The 1956 election saw a 450/360/131 split in favour of William James Asseltine of the Social Credit, with 59 rejected ballots.
*the 1979 election saw a 750/749 split in favour of Alan Lawrence Passarell of the New Democratic Party over Frank Calder, who had switched sides to Social Credit in the British Columbia general election, 1975 - with 39 rejected ballots

First Nations

Another important factor in the Atlin riding was the dominance of its First Nations population, including the whole of the Nisga'a Nation (Frank Calder and Larry Guno were both Nisga'a). Also in the riding in its entirety was the Tahltan Nation, centred on the isolated towns of Telegraph Creek and Dease Lake. The area of the town of Atlin is part of the Inland Tlingit Nation.

Towns and industry

Another factor in the riding was the dominance of working men in its handful of industrial towns (principally mining).

The main towns in the riding were:

*Atlin
*Teslin
*Dease Lake
*Telegraph Creek
*Anyox (now a ghost town, formerly a large smelter town)
*Stewart

Notable MLAs

The most notable Member of the Legislative Assembly from Atlin was Frank Calder. A Nisga'a, he originally ran for the CCF, and then the NDP, but in the 1975 election he switched sides to Social Credit, but went down to defeat under that party's banner in 1979 and retired from electoral politics.

Electoral history

"Note: Winners of each election are in "bold.
-
Liberal
John Kirkland
align="right"|202
align="right"|46.12%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
Conservative
Henry Essen Young
align="right"|236
align="right"|53.88%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total valid votes!align="right"|438!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"
-
Liberal
John Irving
align="right"|46
align="right"|37.10%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
Conservative
Henry Essen Young
align="right"|78
align="right"|62.90%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total valid votes!align="right"|124!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"
-
Liberal
John Irving
align="right"|65
align="right"|37.79%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
Conservative
Henry Essen Young
align="right"|107
align="right"|62.21%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total valid votes!align="right"|172!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"
-
Conservative
Henry Essen Young (acclamation)
align="right"|n/a
align="right"|%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total valid votes!align="right"|-!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"
-
Conservative
William X. McDonald
align="right"|277
align="right"|45.71%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
Liberal
Frank Harry Mobley
align="right"|329
align="right"|54.29%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total valid votes!align="right"|606!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"
-
Independent
Oakley Beauport Bush
align="right"|28
align="right"|2.63%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
Federated Labour Party
George Bernard Casey
align="right"|300
align="right"|28.22%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
Independent Labour
Patrick Daly
align="right"|30
align="right"|2.8%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
Liberal
Herbert Frederick Kergin
align="right"|390
align="right"|36.69%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
Independent
Harold Randolph King
align="right"|86
align="right"|8.09%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
Conservative
William Cameron Ross
align="right"|229
align="right"|21.542%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total valid votes!align="right"|1,063!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"
-
Provincial
Robert Armour
align="right"|380
align="right"|31.77%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
Conservative
Edmund John Conway
align="right"|353
align="right"|29.52%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
Liberal
Herbert Frederick Kergin
align="right"|463
align="right"|38.71%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total valid votes!align="right"|1,196!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"
-
Conservative
Thomas Wilbert Falconer
align="right"|542
align="right"|46.68%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
Liberal
Herbert Frederick Kergin
align="right"|567
align="right"|50.56%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
Independent
William Herbert Moult
align="right"|32
align="right"|2.76%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total valid votes!align="right"|1,161!align="right"|100.00%!align="right"
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total rejected ballots!align="right"|22!align="right"
!align="right"
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Turnout!align="right"|%!align="right"
!align="right"
-
Liberal
William James Asseltine
align="right"|419
align="right"|32.63%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
Independent Conservative
Thomas Wilbert Falconer
align="right"|136
align="right"|10.59%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
Independent
Herbert Frederick Kergin
align="right"|267
align="right"|20.79%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total valid votes!align="right"|1,284!align="right"|100.00%!align="right"
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total rejected ballots!align="right"|34!align="right"
!align="right"
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Turnout!align="right"|%!align="right"
!align="right"
-
Liberal
William James Asseltine
align="right"|562
align="right"|54.46%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
Co-operative Commonwealth
Charles H. Lake
align="right"|263
align="right"|25.53%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
Conservative
Ernest Love
align="right"|205
align="right"|19.90%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total valid votes!align="right"|1,030!align="right"|100.00%!align="right"
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total rejected ballots!align="right"|31!align="right"
!align="right"
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Turnout!align="right"|%!align="right"
!align="right"
-
Liberal
William James Asseltine
align="right"|454
align="right"|54.83%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
Labour
John Scott
align="right"|374
align="right"|45.17%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total valid votes!align="right"|828!align="right"|100.00%!align="right"
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total rejected ballots!align="right"|24!align="right"
!align="right"
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Turnout!align="right"|%!align="right"
!align="right"
-
Co-operative Commonwealth Fed.
Norman Cunningham
align="right"|292
align="right"|49.58%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
Liberal-Conservative Coalition
William Duncan Smith
align="right"|297
align="right"|50.42%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total valid votes!align="right"|589!align="right"|100.00%!align="right"
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total rejected ballots!align="right"|0!align="right"
!align="right"
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Turnout!align="right"|%!align="right"
!align="right"
-
Co-operative Commonwealth Fed.
Frank Arthur Calder
align="right"|376
align="right"|50.40%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
Liberal-Conservative Coalition
William Duncan Smith
align="right"|370
align="right"|49.60%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total valid votes!align="right"|746!align="right"|100.00%!align="right"
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total rejected ballots!align="right"|190!align="right"
!align="right"
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Turnout!align="right"|%!align="right"
!align="right"

-
Co-operative Commonwealth Fed.
Frank Arthur Calder
align="right"|595
align="right"|56.61%
align="right"|595
align="right"|56.61%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
Progressive Conservative
Thomas Sutherland MacKay
align="right"|164
align="right"|15.60%
align="right"|164
align="right"|15.60%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
Liberal
William Duncan Smith
align="right"|292
align="right"|27.78%
align="right"|292
align="right"|27.78%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total valid votes!align="right"|1,051 !align="right"|100.00%!align="right"|1,051 !align="right"|%!align="right"
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total rejected ballots!align="right"|44!align="right"
!align="right"
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Turnout!align="right"|%!align="right"
!align="right"
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=9|1 preferential ballot - only 1 count needed

-
Social Credit
Frank Assu
align="right"|108
align="right"|11.54%
align="right"|108
align="right"|11.54%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
Co-operative Commonwealth Fed.
Frank Arthur Calder
align="right"|553
align="right"|59.08%
align="right"|553
align="right"|59.08%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
Liberal
William Duncan Smith
align="right"|275
align="right"|29.38%
align="right"|275
align="right"|29.38%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total valid votes!align="right"|936 !align="right"|100.00%!align="right"|936 !align="right"|%!align="right"
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total rejected ballots!align="right"|125!align="right"
!align="right"
!align="right"
!align="right"
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total Registered Voters!align="right"|5,933 (1952 list)!align="right"
!align="right"
!align="right"
!align="right"
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Turnout!align="right"|%!align="right"
!align="right"
!align="right"
!align="right"
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=9|Preferential ballot; only one count needed

-
Social Credit
William James Asseltine
align="right"|454
align="right"|48.04%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
Co-operative Commonwealth Fed.
Frank Arthur Calder
align="right"|360
align="right"|38.10%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
Liberal
George Douglas Frizzell
align="right"|131
align="right"|13.86%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total valid votes!align="right"|945!align="right"|100.00%!align="right"
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total rejected ballots!align="right"|59!align="right"
!align="right"
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Turnout!align="right"|%!align="right"
!align="right"
-
Social Credit
William James Asseltine
align="right"|267
align="right"|32.05%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
Conservative
Charles Jewell Brown
align="right"|122
align="right"|14.65%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
Co-operative Commonwealth Fed.
Frank Arthur Calder
align="right"|444
align="right"|53.30%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total valid votes!align="right"|833!align="right"|100.00%!align="right"
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total rejected ballots!align="right"|85!align="right"
!align="right"
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Turnout!align="right"|%!align="right"
!align="right"
-
Social Credit
William James Asseltine
align="right"|308
align="right"|30.56%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
New Democratic Party
Frank Arthur Calder
align="right"|549
align="right"|54.46%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
Liberal
Cyril Felix Dopson
align="right"|444
align="right"|53.30%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total valid votes!align="right"|1,008!align="right"|100.00%!align="right"
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total rejected ballots!align="right"|19!align="right"
!align="right"
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Turnout!align="right"|%!align="right"
!align="right"
-
New Democratic Party
Frank Arthur Calder
align="right"|572
align="right"|59.71%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
Liberal
Robin Roy Datziel
align="right"|125
align="right"|13.05%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
Social Credit
Kirkwood, Thomas James
align="right"|271
align="right"|27.24%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total valid votes!align="right"|958!align="right"|100.00%!align="right"
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total rejected ballots!align="right"|10!align="right"
!align="right"
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Turnout!align="right"|%!align="right"
!align="right"
-
New Democratic Party
Frank Arthur Calder
align="right"|639
align="right"|53.12%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
Social Credit
Peter John Curran
align="right"|230
align="right"|19.12%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
Liberal
Basil Edward Studer
align="right"|334
align="right"|27.76%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total valid votes!align="right"|1,203!align="right"|100.00%!align="right"
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total rejected ballots!align="right"|13!align="right"
!align="right"
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Turnout!align="right"|%!align="right"
!align="right"
-
Social Credit
John Norman Anderson
align="right"|245
align="right"|14.88%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
New Democratic Party
Frank Arthur Calder
align="right"|675
align="right"|40.98%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
Progressive Conservative
Glen Leslie Clayton
align="right"|65
align="right"|3.95%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
Independent
Peter John Curran
align="right"|242
align="right"|14.69%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
Liberal
Basil Edward Studer
align="right"|242
align="right"|14.69%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total valid votes!align="right"|1,467!align="right"|100.00%!align="right"
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total rejected ballots!align="right"|27!align="right"
!align="right"
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Turnout!align="right"|%!align="right"
!align="right"
-
Social Credit
Frank Arthur Calder
align="right"|984
align="right"|55.50%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
Liberal
Peter John Curran
align="right"|292
align="right"|16.47%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
New Democratic Party
Gordon Steidl
align="right"|497
align="right"|28.03%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total valid votes!align="right"|1,773!align="right"|100.00%!align="right"
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total rejected ballots!align="right"|22!align="right"
!align="right"
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Turnout!align="right"|%!align="right"
!align="right"
-
Social Credit
Frank Arthur Calder
align="right"|749
align="right"|49.97%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
New Democratic Party
Alan Lawrence Passarell
align="right"|750
align="right"|50.03%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total valid votes!align="right"|1,499!align="right"|100.00%!align="right"
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total rejected ballots!align="right"|39!align="right"
!align="right"
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Turnout!align="right"|%!align="right"
!align="right"
-
Social Credit
Robert Edmund Allen (Bobby) Ball
align="right"|1,208
align="right"|40.48%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
Independent
Paul Danny Brohman
align="right"|84
align="right"|2.82%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
Independent
Burgess A. Longson
align="right"|105
align="right"|3.52%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
New Democratic Party
Alan Lawrence Passarell
align="right"|1,587
align="right"|53.18%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total valid votes!align="right"|2,984!align="right"|70.76%!align="right"
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total rejected ballots!align="right"|393!align="right"
!align="right"
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Turnout!align="right"|%!align="right"
!align="right"
-
Social Credit
Andrew (Andy) Burton
align="right"|858
align="right"|37.29%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
New Democratic Party
Larry Edward Guno
align="right"|1,443
align="right"|62.71%
align="right"
align="right"|unknown
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total valid votes!align="right"|2,301!align="right"|100.00%!align="right"
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total rejected ballots!align="right"|31!align="right"
!align="right"
- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Turnout!align="right"|%!align="right"
!align="right"


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