George Ritchie Maxwell | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the Canadian Parliament for Burrard | |
| In office 1896–1902 | |
| Preceded by | Electoral district was created in 1902 |
| Succeeded by | Robert George Macpherson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 11, 1857 Stonehouse, South Lanarkshire, Scotland |
| Died | November 17, 1902 (aged 45) Vancouver, British Columbia |
| Political party | Liberal |
George Ritchie Maxwell (January 11, 1857 – November 17, 1902) was a Canadian Presbyterian minister and politician.
Born in Stonehouse, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, he was ordained a minister of the Church of Scotland in 1880. He migrated to Canada in 1885 serving as a minister in Quebec eventually setting in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1890.
In 1894, he founded the Nationalist Party, BC's first labour party.[1] He ran as a candidate under that label for the British Columbia riding of Burrard in 1896. He was sometimes identified as a Liberal due to his opposition to the Conservative party. He was elected.
Running as a Liberal, he was re-elected in 1900.
He died in office in 1902 from intestinal cancer at the age of 45.
| 1900 Canadian federal election: Burrard | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Liberal | G.R. Maxwell | 2,716 | 56.52 | +8.31 | ||||
| Conservative | James Ford Garden | 2,089 | 43.48 | +4.77 | ||||
| Total valid votes | 4,805 | 100.0 | ||||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | +1.77 | ||||||
| 1896 Canadian federal election: Burrard | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||||
| Liberal | G.R. Maxwell | 1,512 | 48.21 | |||||
| Conservative | G.H. Cowan | 1,214 | 38.71 | |||||
| Conservative | W.J. Bowser | 410 | 13.07 | |||||
| Total valid votes | 3,136 | 100.0 | ||||||
| This riding was created from New Westminster, which elected a Conservative in the previous election. | ||||||||
- ^ Encyclopedia of BC, p. 486