The House of Commons at present has 91 seats, expanded from 85 in advance of the 2018 election with the addition of six new ridings in the North; its members, known as Members of Parliament, are directly elected by eligible voters in the BC populace, which each member representing a single electoral district for a period mandated by law of not more than five years.
The House of Commons is the dominant branch of parliament. Bills passed by it are sent to the Council of Chiefs for review; after a bill has been passed by both the House of Commons and the Council of Chiefs, it is sent to the Governor General, who gives the bill Royal Assent, at which point the bill becomes law.
Prior to 1903, members of parliament were not elected according to party lines; all candidates were technically independent, but blocs and associations were formed during campaigning and during the sessions of parliament.
The 2018 election was a major surprise to many in the Dominion. It was called only because BC law specifies that elections must be held no more than five years apart, and since the Spintlum Ministry's approval ratings were generally favourable, and polls held six months prior to the (automatic) dropping of the writ suggested that Spintlum's Labour would win another majority.
When the Social Credit Party collapsed in the 1996 election, it still had several million pound in its coffers - which could be used only for election campaigns and official party purposes, and so sat unused over the years that the party sat moribund. Darryl Perttunen managed to revive the fortunes of the party in 2013 enough to get himself elected, but no more, and in Spring 2017 the party membership elected Annie May Bennett - daughter of Bill Bennett and granddaughter of W.A.C. Bennett - party leader. Young (36), attractive, charismatic, and articulate, she managed to resuscitate the party in a way Perttunen couldn't, and by the time writ was dropped, polls had the SoCreds ranked third.
Nobody, however, had foreseen how the SoCreds would surge ahead in the campaigning, and how much support they'd draw away from both the more conservative wing of Labour and the more progressive wing of the Liberals with the positive message of Bennett's campaign (Social Credit were the only party that didn't run any attack ads). No party managed to reach the 46 seats needed for a majority, Labour winning 33 and Social Credit 32.
The third-placed Greens announced three days after the results were confirmed and absentee votes were counted, that they would support the SoCreds in a coalition. Spintlum then opted to concede, and Annie May Bennett became Prime Minister. For the first time ever in the Commonwealth, both the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition were women; not only that, but the Deputy Prime Minister, Green Party leader Élodie Desjardins, was also a woman.
Another surprise of the 2018 election came in the riding of Nanaimo where Alexander Dunsmuir, 5th Baron Esquimalt, great grandson of BC's 11th Prime Minister, James Dunsmuir, 2nd Baron Esquimalt, unexpectedly announced his candidacy - and even more unexpectedly - won convincingly in a riding that had, with two exceptions, voted Labour in every election since 1963. Dunsmuir is a particularly beloved figure in the greater Nanaimo area, and is holder of BC's only non-Native hereditary title. Dunsmuir became the first candidate to run as an independent to be elected since 1949.
Dr. Sir John Sebastian Helmcken KCMG PC (PM) (1878–1882; resigned) Robert Beaven PC (PM) (1882–1883)
3rd Parliament (1883–1886)
Party
No. of Seats
Leader
None
25
William Smithe PC (PM)
4th Parliament (1886–1890)
Party
No. of Seats
Leader
None
27
William Smithe PC (PM) (1886–1887; died in office) Alexander Edmund Batson Davie PC (PM) (1887–1889; died in office) John Robson PC (1889–1890)
5th Parliament (1890 - 1894)
Party
No. of Seats
Leader
None
33
John Robson PC (PM) (1890–1892; died in office) Theodore Davie PC (1892–1894)
6th Parliament (1894–1898)
Party
No. of Seats
Leader
None
33
Theodore Davie PC (PM)
7th Parliament (1898–1903)
Party
No. of Seats
Leader
None
36
Charles Augustus Semlin PC (PM) (1898–1900; removed by non-confidence vote) Joseph Martin PC (PM) (February–August 1900; removed by non-confidence vote) James Dunsmuir, 2nd Baron Esquimalt GCMG GCVO PC (PM) (1900–1903)
8th Parliament (1903–1907)
Party
No. of Seats
Leader
Conservative
22
Sir Richard McBride KCMG (PM)
Liberal
17
James Alexander MacDonald PC (OO)
Socialist
2
James Hurst Hawthornthwaite
Labour
1
William Davidson
9th Parliament (1907–1909)
Party
No. of Seats
Leader
Conservative
26
Sir Richard McBride KCMG PC (PM)
Liberal
13
James Alexander MacDonald PC (OO)
Socialist
3
Parker Williams
10th Parliament (1909–1912)
Party
No. of Seats
Leader
Conservative
38
Sir Richard McBride KCMG PC (PM)
Liberal
2
James Alexander MacDonald PC (OO)
Socialist
2
Parker Williams
11th Parliament (1912–1916)
Party
No. of Seats
Leader
Conservative
40
Sir Richard McBride KCMG PC (PM)
Socialist
1
Parker Williams
Social Democratic
1
John Thomas Wilmot Place
12th Parliament (1916–1920)
Party
No. of Seats
Leader
Liberal
26
Harlan Carey Brewster PC (PM) (1916–1918; died in office) Sir John Oliver KCMG PC (PM) (1918–1920)
Conservative
9
William John Bowser (OO)
Socialist
1
Parker Williams
Independent
1
William Henry Hayward
13th Parliament (1920–1924)
Party
No. of Seats
Leader
Liberal
25
Sir John Oliver KCMG PC (PM)
Conservative
15
William John Bowser (OO)
Federated Labour
3
Thomas Aubert Uphill
Liberty League of BC
1
Kenneth Forrest Duncan
Vancouver Ratepayers' Association
1
George Samuel Hanes
Women's Freedom League
1
Richard John Burde
People's Party
1
Thomas Menzies
14th Parliament (1924–1928)
Party
No. of Seats
Leader
Liberal
23
Sir John Oliver KCMG PC (PM)
Conservative
17
William John Bowser (OO)
Dominion Party
5
George Alexander Walkem
Labour
3
Thomas Aubert Uphill
15th Parliament (1928–1933)
Party
No. of Seats
Leader
Conservative
35
Simon Fraser Tolmie PC (PM)
Liberal
12
Sir Thomas Dufferin Pattullo KCMG PC (OO)
Labour
1
Thomas Aubert Uphill
16th Parliament (1933–1937)
Party
No. of Seats
Leader
Liberal
34
Sir Thomas Dufferin Pattullo KCMG PC (PM)
Labour
7
Robert Connell (OO)
Conservative
2
Herbert Anscomb
Independent
1
Rolf Wallgren Bruhn
Oxford Group Movement
1
Hugh George Egioke Savage
Unionist
1
Robert Henry Pooley
Independent Labour
1
Thomas Aubert Uphill
17th Parliament (1937–1941)
Party
No. of Seats
Leader
Liberal
31
Sir Thomas Dufferin Pattullo KCMG PC (PM)
Conservative
8
Frank Porter Patterson (OO) (1937–1938; died in office) Royal Lethington Maitland (OO) (1938–1941)
Labour
6
Harold Edward Winch PC
Independent Labour
1
Thomas Aubert Uphill
Independent
1
Rolf Wallgren Bruhn
Social Constructive
1
Robert Connell
18th Parliament (1941–1945)
Party
No. of Seats
Leader
Liberal
21
Sir Thomas Dufferin Pattullo KCMG PC (PM)
Labour
14
Harold Edward Winch PC (OO)
Conservative
11
Royal Lethington Maitland
Independent Labour
1
Thomas Aubert Uphill
Independent
1
Rolf Wallgren Bruhn
19th Parliament (1945–1949)
Party
No. of Seats
Leader
Labour
20
Harold Edward Winch PC (PM)
Conservative
15
Royal Lethington Maitland (OO) (1945–3/1946; died in office) Herbert Anscomb (OO) (3/1946–1949)
Liberal
13
Björn Ingemar Jónsson PC
Labour Progressive
2
Thomas Aubert Uphill
20th Parliament (1949–1952)
Party
No. of Seats
Leader
Liberal
23
Björn Ingemar Jónsson PC (PM)
Labour
14
Harold Edward Winch PC (OO)
Conservative
8
Herbert Anscomb
Labour Progressive
1
Thomas Aubert Uphill
Independent
1
James Mowat
21st Parliament (1952–1953)
Party
No. of Seats
Leader
Labour
18
Harold Edward Winch PC (PM)
Social Credit
15
Ernest George Hansell (OO)
Liberal
9
Björn Ingemar Jónsson PC
Conservative
5
Herbert Anscomb
Labour Progressive
1
Thomas Aubert Uphill
22nd Parliament (1953–1956)
Party
No. of Seats
Leader
Social Credit
28
Sir William Andrew Cecil Bennett KCMG KBC OD PC (PM)
Labour
14
Robert Martin Strachan OD PC (OO)
Liberal
4
Arthur Laing OBC OD
Labour Progressive
1
Thomas Aubert Uphill
Conservative
1
Lorenzo Giovando
23rd Parliament (1956–1960)
Party
No. of Seats
Leader
Social Credit
39
Sir William Andrew Cecil Bennett KCMG KBC OD PC (PM)
Labour
10
Robert Martin Strachan OD PC (OO)
Liberal
2
Arthur Laing OBC OD
Labour Progressive
1
Thomas Aubert Uphill
24th Parliament (1960–1963)
Party
No. of Seats
Leader
Social Credit
32
Sir William Andrew Cecil Bennett KCMG KBC OD PC (PM)
Labour
16
Robert Martin Strachan OD PC (OO)
Liberal
4
Raymond Joseph Perrault
25th Parliament (1963–1966)
Party
No. of Seats
Leader
Social Credit
33
Sir William Andrew Cecil Bennett KCMG KBC OD PC (PM)
Labour
14
Robert Martin Strachan OD PC (OO)
Liberal
5
Raymond Joseph Perrault
26th Parliament (1966–1969)
Party
No. of Seats
Leader
Social Credit
33
Sir William Andrew Cecil Bennett KCMG KBC OD PC (PM)
Labour
16
Robert Martin Strachan OD PC (OO)
Liberal
6
Raymond Joseph Perrault
27th Parliament (1969–1972)
Party
No. of Seats
Leader
Social Credit
38
Sir William Andrew Cecil Bennett KCMG KBC OD PC (PM)
Labour
12
Robert Martin Strachan OD PC (OO)
Liberal
5
Patrick Lucey McGeer
28th Parliament (1972–1975)
Party
No. of Seats
Leader
Labour
38
David Barrett MBC PC (PM)
Social Credit
10
Sir William Andrew Cecil Bennett KCMG KBC OD PC (OO)
Liberal
5
David A. Anderson MBC
Conservative
2
Derril Thomas Warren
29th Parliament (1975–1979)
Party
No. of Seats
Leader
Social Credit
35
William Richards Bennett OD PC (PM)
Labour
18
David Barrett MBC PC (OO)
Liberal
1
Gordon Gibson OBC
Conservative
1
George Scott Wallace
30th Parliament (1979–1983)
Party
No. of Seats
Leader
Social Credit
31
William Richards Bennett OD PC (PM)
Labour
26
David Barrett MBC PC (OO)
31st Parliament (1983–1986)
Party
No. of Seats
Leader
Social Credit
35
William Richards Bennett OD PC (PM)
Labour
22
David Barrett MBC PC (OO)
32nd Parliament (1986–1991)
Party
No. of Seats
Leader
Social Credit
47
Dame Grace Mary McCarthy DBC PC (PM)
Labour
22
Robert Skelly (OO)
33rd Parliament (1991–1993)
Party
No. of Seats
Leader
Social Credit
39
Dame Grace Mary McCarthy DBC PC (PM)
Labour
29
Sir Michael Franklin Harcourt KBC PC (OO)
Liberal
7
Gordon Wilson
34th Parliament (1993–1996)
Party
No. of Seats
Leader
Social Credit
31
Andrew William O'Connor MBC PC (PM)
Labour
20
Sir Michael Franklin Harcourt KBC PC (OO)
Liberal
16
Sir Wilson F. T. Leung KBC PC
Conservative
8
Wolfgang Schauerhammer
35th Parliament (1996–2001)
Party
No. of Seats
Leader
Labour
38
Sir Michael Franklin Harcourt KBC PC (PM)
Liberal
32
Sir Wilson F. T. Leung KBC PC (OO)
Conservative
3
Wolfgang Schauerhammer
Social Credit
1
Andrew William O'Connor MBC PC
Progressive Democratic Alliance
1
Gordon Wilson
36th Parliament (2001–2005)
Party
No. of Seats
Leader
Liberal
36
Sir Wilson F. T. Leung KBC PC (PM)
Labour
23
David Thomas Cattanach (OO)
Conservative
19
Wolfgang Schauerhammer
Progressive Democratic Alliance
1
Gordon Wilson
37th Parliament (2005–2009)
Party
No. of Seats
Leader
Liberal
29
Sir Wilson F. T. Leung KBC PC (PM)
Labour
26
David Thomas Cattanach (OO)
Conservative
20
Wolfgang Schauerhammer
Green
5
Blake Matsumura
38th Parliament (2009–2013)
Party
No. of Seats
Leader
Liberal-Conservative Coalition
42
Sir Wilson F. T. Leung KBC PC (PM)
Labour
33
David Thomas Cattanach (OO) (2009–2011; resigned) Dame Victoria Elizabeth Spintlum DBC OD PC (OO) (2011 - 2013)