Introduction
John Oliver (Hartington, England July 31, 1856 – August 17, 1927) was a politician and farmer in British Columbia, Canada.
Oliver was involved in local politics when he won a seat in the provincial legislature in the 1900 election, and became leader of the opposition. He lost his seat in the 1909 election. He returned to the legislature in the 1916 election as a Liberal member, and became Minister of Agriculture and Railways in the cabinet of Harlan Carey Brewster. Oliver succeeded Brewster to become the 19th Premier when Brewster died in 1918. Oliver's government developed the produce industry in the Okanagan Valley, and tried to persuade the federal government to lower the freight rate for rail transport.Oliver also in 1923 hosted the visit of Warren Harding to Vancouver, the first ever visit of a sitting United States President to Canada.
Oliver remained premier until his death in 1927.
John Oliver Secondary School in Vancouver, British Columbia, John Oliver Park in Delta, BC, Mount John Oliver in the Premier Range of the Cariboo Mountains, the town of Oliver, British Columbia, and Oliver Street in Williams Lake, British Columbia, are all named after him.
Electoral history
| 1900 British Columbia general election: Westminster-Delta | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||||
| Government | John Oliver | 324 | 45.51 | |||||
| Conservative | John Walter Berry | 215 | 30.20 | |||||
| Progressive | Thomas William Forster | 173 | 24.30 | |||||
| Total valid votes | 712 | 100.00 | ||||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | Expenditures | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | William Henry Ladner | 309 | 40.87% | unknown | ||
| Liberal | John Oliver | 447 | 59.13% | unknown | ||
| Total valid votes | 756 | 100.00% | ||||
| Total rejected ballots | ||||||
| Turnout | % | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | Expenditures | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Francis James Anderson MacKenzie | 261 | 37.77% | unknown | ||
| Liberal | John Oliver | 430 | 62.23% | unknown | ||
| Total valid votes | 691 | 100.00% | ||||
| Total rejected ballots | ||||||
| Turnout | % | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | Expenditures | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Francis James Anderson MacKenzie | 765 | 58.13% | unknown | ||
| Liberal | John Oliver | 551 | 41.87% | unknown | ||
| Total valid votes | 1,316 | 100.00% | ||||
| Total rejected ballots | ||||||
| Turnout | % | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | Expenditures | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Francis James Anderson MacKenzie | 748 | 70.83% | unknown | ||
| Liberal | John Oliver | 308 | 29.17% | unknown | ||
| Total valid votes | 1,056 | 100.00% | ||||
| Total rejected ballots | ||||||
| Turnout | % | |||||
| 1920 British Columbia general election: Delta | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||||
| Liberal | John Oliver | 1,334 | 37.50 | |||||
| Soldier–Farmer | Richmond Archie Payne | 1,107 | 31.12 | |||||
| Conservative | Francis James Anderson MacKenzie | 964 | 21.55 | |||||
| Total valid votes | 3,557 | 100.00 | ||||||