McBRIDE, Richard, lawyer, politician, premier 1 June 1903–15 Dec 1915 (b 15 Dec 1870, New Westminster; d 6 Aug 1917, London, England). He graduated in law from Dalhousie Univ in Halifax and practised mainly in NEW WESTMINSTER. First elected to the legislature in 1898, he joined James DUNSMUIR's cabinet in 1900 as minister of mines, but resigned the following year and sat as leader of the opposition. When E.G. PRIOR resigned, McBride took over as PREMIER, the first born in the province and, at 32, the youngest in BC history. In the ensuing election he ran under the CONSERVATIVE PARTY banner, thus introducing party lines to BC politics. Despite a slim majority he rode a booming economy to unprecedented electoral success: he won re-election 3 times, held office longer than any other premier until W.A.C. BENNETT and became the only BC premier to be knighted (1912).
Early in his tenure, when he needed the support of Labour MLAs, McBride introduced an 8-hour work day in the COAL mines. He also tried to ban Asian immigration, but the federal government consistently overturned his legislation. In the 1909 and 1912 elections he virtually eliminated the opposition and no longer needed to consider anyone's agenda but his own. A charming, sociable politician, he was popular with voters, earning the nicknames "Handsome Dick" and "The People's Dick." He presided over an era of unprecedented resource giveaways as he attracted investment to the province with large land grants to railways (including the CANADIAN NORTHERN RWY and the Pacific Great Eastern Rwy, later BC RAIL) and preferential deals with timber and MINING companies. At the same time he launched a campaign for "Better Terms" within Canada, arguing that BC deserved more out of CONFEDERATION. His success in BC gave him considerable stature on the national scene, where there was a move to draft him as a successor to Prime Minister Robert Borden. However, following the 1912 election his popularity was eroded by a pre-war economic depression, growing public suspicion about his railway grants, and his indifference to emerging issues such as workers' rights (see LABOUR MOVEMENT), WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE and PROHIBITION. With his government beset by fiscal problems and by demands for reforms he did not want to make, McBride resigned and took over the post of BC agent general in London, where he died of Bright's disease soon after.