Mapping the political world of British Columbia, 1871-1883
Date
1991
Authors
Marshall, Daniel Patrick
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Abstract
The history of British Columbia politics prior to the introduction of party lines in 1903 has been described as a virtual terra incognita. In place of any formal analysis, past historians simply labelled the era "Island vs. Mainland" as a convenient explanation for political division, thus portraying the years 1871-1903 as a mere continuation of the parochial battles formerly waged between the competing colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia. Modern historians have accepted this assertion without question. This thesis, therefore, explored a portion of the non-party period, 1871-1883, in order to test the widely-held assertion that "Island vs. Mainland" politics represented the dominant legislative alignment in the B.C. legislature before 1903.
In addition to standard forms of primary source material which any historical work must necessarily examine, this thesis-study utilized the recorded votes of B.C. politicians as contained in The Journals of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia. By using the voting records of all members of the legislative assembly in conjunction with the computer-based methods of multidimensional analysis, the "Island vs. Mainland" hypothesis was proven false. In its place, this thesis suggests that the major cause of legislative alignment was issue-oriented politics as determined by the Terms of Union contract of Confederation with Canada. Issue-oriented cleavage was a manifestation of the politics of region and local interest as opposed to "Island vs. Mainland" polarization.
Two issues, in particular, provided the dominant focus for B.C. politics at this time: the introduction of the Canadian System of Tariffs to B.C. and the promise of a transcontinental rail connection with Canada. Between the years 1871 to 1874, quantitative analysis depicts a legislature divided on the question of tariff protectionism. The B.C. tariff had provided greater protection for farming and certain industrial interests while the Canadian tariff provided less. The issue of tariffs effectively divided the B.C. house of assembly into two camps that remained largely opposed across all legislative issues. Between the years 1875 to 1883, computer analysis confirms that Canada's failure to fulfill railway obligations to B.C. was the predominant focus of political attention. More particularly, the battle that ensued between competing regions of the province aligned with alternate CPR routes caused the legislature to divide between those who favoured the Bute lnlet-Esquimalt Route, and the possible course of secession from Canada, versus those who favoured the Fraser River-Burrard Inlet alternative.
Generally, the thesis takes exception to Margaret Ormsby's portrayal of B.C. as the "Spoilt Child of Confederation" and instead insists that the entrance of the United Colony of British Columbia into the Canadian Confederation was ultimately seen by many as having certain economic, social and political disadvantages. Politicians of this view represented a considerable contingent in the B.C. legislature, their political views clearly recorded amongst the division lists, yet until now, these views have been largely ignored by scholars whose research has employed a kind of "documentary determinism."