Vancouver South (federal electoral district)

This article is about the federal electoral district. For the defunct provincial electoral district of the same name, see Vancouver South (provincial electoral district). For the federal electoral district of a similar area, see, see Vancouver Fraserview—South Burnaby. For similarly named topics, see South Vancouver (disambiguation).

Vancouver South (French: Vancouver-Sud) was a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1917 to 1997, and again from 2004 to 2025. It covers the southern portion of the city of Vancouver, British Columbia. The district was replaced by Vancouver Fraserview—South Burnaby for the 2025 Canadian federal election.

Vancouver South

British Columbia electoral district
Boundaries in relation to other Vancouver ridings
Defunct federal electoral district
Legislature	House of Commons
District created	2003
District abolished	2023
First contested	2004
Last contested	2021
District webpage	profile, map
Demographics
Population (2021)[1]	109,339
Electors (2015)	68,733
Area (km²)[1]	20.69
Census division(s)	Metro Vancouver
Census subdivision(s)	Vancouver

Demographics

The riding is one of the most diverse in Canada, with less than one-fifth of the population being of European descent.^[2][3] As of 2021, four pan-ethnic groups form greater than 10 percent of the riding; 38.1% East Asian, 18.7% European, 17.8% South Asian and 16% Southeast Asian.

Vancouver South is the centre of the city's South Asian community; the colourful Punjabi Market (Little India) and the close-knit community of religious Sikhs dominate the area.^[4] The service sector, retail trade and manufacturing are the major sources of employment in Vancouver South. Nearly 30% of residents over the age of 25 years have obtained a university certificate or degree. The average family income is over $71,000. Unemployment is around 6.3%.^[5]

Panethnic groups in Vancouver South (2001−2021)

Panethnic group	2021[6]		2016[7]		2011[8]		2006[9]		2001[10]
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
East Asian[a]	41,190	38.14%	41,115	40.6%	40,960	41.37%	54,545	45.87%	49,735	44.66%
European[b]	20,175	18.68%	19,180	18.94%	19,180	19.37%	28,240	23.75%	31,435	28.23%
South Asian	19,260	17.84%	17,655	17.43%	18,070	18.25%	17,990	15.13%	15,825	14.21%
Southeast Asian[c]	17,275	16%	15,360	15.17%	13,815	13.95%	11,295	9.5%	9,305	8.36%
Latin American	2,520	2.33%	1,950	1.93%	2,025	2.05%	1,855	1.56%	1,370	1.23%
Indigenous	1,520	1.41%	1,355	1.34%	1,435	1.45%	1,070	0.9%	870	0.78%
African	1,350	1.25%	1,070	1.06%	980	0.99%	1,060	0.89%	890	0.8%
Middle Eastern[d]	1,075	1%	840	0.83%	715	0.72%	1,180	0.99%	815	0.73%
Other[e]	3,615	3.35%	2,745	2.71%	1,835	1.85%	1,655	1.39%	1,095	0.98%
Total responses	107,985	98.76%	101,265	98.39%	99,010	100%	118,905	98.84%	111,355	98.49%
Total population	109,339	100%	102,927	100%	100,966	100%	120,295	100%	113,065	100%
Notes: Totals greater than 100% due to multiple origin responses. Population drop between 2006 census and 2011 census due to 2012 Canadian federal electoral redistribution.

1. Statistic includes total responses of "Chinese", "Korean", and "Japanese" under visible minority section on census.
2. Statistic includes all persons that did not make up part of a visible minority or an indigenous identity.
3. Statistic includes total responses of "Filipino" and "Southeast Asian" under visible minority section on census.
4. Statistic includes total responses of "West Asian" and "Arab" under visible minority section on census.
5. Statistic includes total responses of "Visible minority, n.i.e." and "Multiple visible minorities" under visible minority section on census.

History

This electoral district was formed in 1914 from Vancouver City riding.

In 1996, it was abolished and used to create Vancouver South—Burnaby with portions of New Westminster—Burnaby.

Vancouver South was re-created in 2003 when the Burnaby sections were moved into the new ridings Burnaby—Douglas and Burnaby—New Westminster.

The 2012 federal electoral boundaries redistribution concluded that the electoral boundaries of Vancouver South should be adjusted, and a modified electoral district of the same name will be contested in future elections.^[11] The redefined Vancouver South loses a portion of its current territory west of Cambie Street to the new district of Vancouver Granville, and gains a small area in the northeast currently included in Vancouver Kingsway. These new boundaries were legally defined in the 2013 representation order, which came into effect upon the call of the 42nd Canadian federal election, scheduled for October 2015.^[12] After the 2022 Canadian federal electoral redistribution, district was replaced by Vancouver Fraserview—South Burnaby, Vancouver Granville and Vancouver Kingsway.^[13]

Historical boundaries

• 
  1914 representation order
• 
  1933 representation order
• 
  1947 representation order
• 
  1952 representation order
• 
  1966 representation order
• 
  1976 representation order
• 
  1987 representation order
• 
  1996 representation order (as Vancouver South—Burnaby)
• 
  2003 representation order
• 
  2013 representation order
• 
  2023 representation order (as Vancouver Fraserview—South Burnaby)

Members of Parliament

This riding has elected the following members of Parliament:

Parliament	Years	Member		Party
Vancouver South Riding created from Vancouver City
13th	1917–1921		Richard Clive Cooper	Government (Unionist)
14th	1921–1925		Leon Johnson Ladner	Conservative
15th	1925–1926
16th	1926–1930
17th	1930–1935		Angus MacInnis	Independent Labour
18th	1935–1940		Howard Charles Green	Conservative
19th	1940–1945			National Government
20th	1945–1949			Progressive Conservative
21st	1949–1953		Arthur Laing	Liberal
22nd	1953–1957		Elmore Philpott
23rd	1957–1958		Ernest James Broome	Progressive Conservative
24th	1958–1962
25th	1962–1963		Arthur Laing	Liberal
26th	1963–1965
27th	1965–1968
28th	1968–1972
29th	1972–1974		John Allen Fraser	Progressive Conservative
30th	1974–1979
31st	1979–1980
32nd	1980–1984
33rd	1984–1988
34th	1988–1993
35th	1993–1997		Herb Dhaliwal	Liberal
Riding dissolved into Vancouver South—Burnaby
Riding re-created from Vancouver South—Burnaby
38th	2004–2006		Ujjal Dosanjh	Liberal
39th	2006–2008
40th	2008–2011
41st	2011–2015		Wai Young	Conservative
42nd	2015–2019		Harjit Sajjan	Liberal
43rd	2019–2021
44th	2021–2025
Riding dissolved into Vancouver Fraserview—South Burnaby, Vancouver Granville and Vancouver Kingsway

Election results

Vancouver South, 2004–present

Its current representing MP is Harjit Sajjan, who is Minister of International Development in the current federal Cabinet. He has been its MP since the 2015 federal election, when he beat the Conservative then-incumbent by more than 6,000 votes.

Graph of election results in Vancouver South (since 2004, minor parties that never got 2% of the vote or didn't run consistently are omitted)

v t e 2021 Canadian federal election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Harjit Sajjan	19,910	49.4	+8.2	$82,846.68
	New Democratic	Sean McQuillan	9,922	24.6	+6.0	$3,175.98
	Conservative	Sukhbir Singh Gill	9,060	22.5	-10.7	$90,407.62
	People's	Anthony Cook	1,104	2.7	+1.5	$1,151.17
	Marxist–Leninist	Anne Jamieson	287	0.7	–	$0.00
Total valid votes/expense limit			40,283	100.0	–	$108,408.40
Total rejected ballots			493
Turnout			40,776	54.5
Eligible voters			74,785
	Liberal hold		Swing		+7.1
Source: Elections Canada[14][15]

v t e 2019 Canadian federal election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Harjit Sajjan	17,808	41.2	-7.61	$96,879.65
	Conservative	Wai Young	14,388	33.3	-0.58	$82,900.36
	New Democratic	Sean McQuillan	8,015	18.6	+4.63	none listed
	Green	Judy Zaichkowsky	2,451	5.7	+3.12	none listed
	People's	Alain Deng	532	1.2	–	$11,771.39
Total valid votes/expense limit			43,194	100.0
Total rejected ballots			431
Turnout			43,625	58.9
Eligible voters			74,114
	Liberal hold		Swing		-3.52
Source: Elections Canada[16][17]

2015 Canadian federal election: Vancouver South
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Harjit Sajjan	21,773	48.81	+15.05	$161,402.16
	Conservative	Wai Young	15,115	33.88	-8.54	$118,748.27
	New Democratic	Amandeep Nijjar	6,230	13.97	-7.10	$63,954.79
	Green	Elain Ng	1,149	2.58	+0.37	$5,232.68
	Marxist–Leninist	Charles Boylan	178	0.40	-0.09	–
	Progressive Canadian	Raj Gupta	166	0.37	–	–
Total valid votes/Expense limit			44,611	100.00		$203,440.39
Total rejected ballots			259	0.58	–
Turnout			44,870	64.04	–
Eligible voters			70,062
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing		+11.80
Source: Elections Canada[18][19]

2011 federal election redistributed results[20]
Party		Vote	%
	Conservative	15,571	42.43
	Liberal	12,389	33.76
	New Democratic	7,732	21.07
	Green	808	2.20
	Others	202	0.55

2011 Canadian federal election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Wai Young	19,504	43.31	+4.87
	Liberal	Ujjal Dosanjh	15,604	34.65	-3.84
	New Democratic	Meena Wong	8,552	18.99	+1.37
	Green	Jean Hakizimana	1,151	2.55	-2.38
	Marxist–Leninist	Charles Boylan	222	0.49	-0.01
Total valid votes			45,033	100.0
Total rejected ballots			281	0.62	+0.09
Turnout			45,314	55.77	+3.77
Eligible voters			81,245
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing		+4.36

2008 Canadian federal election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Ujjal Dosanjh	16,110	38.49	-9.56	$74,163
	Conservative	Wai Young	16,090	38.44	+11.30	$80,086
	New Democratic	Ann Chambers	7,376	17.62	-3.45	$22,765
	Green	Csaba Gulyas	2,065	4.93	+1.65	$413
	Marxist–Leninist	Charles Boylan	211	0.50	+0.04
Total valid votes/Expense limit			41,852	100.0		$85,093
Total rejected ballots			223	0.53	+0.12
Turnout			42,075	52.00	-4.00
	Liberal hold		Swing		-10.43

2006 Canadian federal election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Ujjal Dosanjh	20,991	48.05	+3.54	$62,784
	Conservative	Tarlok Sablok	11,856	27.14	+1.64	$68,523
	New Democratic	Bev Meslo	9,205	21.07	-3.48	$30,481
	Green	Doug Perry	1,435	3.28	-0.30	$1,280
	Marxist–Leninist	Charles Boylan	202	0.46	+0.17
Total valid votes			43,689	100.0
Total rejected ballots			181	0.41	-0.29
Turnout			43,870	56.00
	Liberal hold		Swing		+0.95

2004 Canadian federal election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Ujjal Dosanjh	18,196	44.51	$67,157
	Conservative	Victor Soo Chan	10,426	25.50	$70,471
	New Democratic	Bev Meslo	10,038	24.55	$33,575
	Green	Doug Perry	1,465	3.58	$1,451
	Christian Heritage	Frank Wagner	339	0.82
	Marxist–Leninist	Charles Boylan	119	0.29	$150
	Communist	Stephen Von Sychowski	105	0.25	$389
	Independent	H. Sandhu	98	0.23	$5,846
	Canadian Action	Joe Sixpack Horrocks	90	0.22
Total valid votes			40,876	100.0
Total rejected ballots			284	0.69
Turnout			41,160	56
This riding was re-created from parts of Vancouver South—Burnaby, which elected a Liberal in the previous election.

Vancouver South, 1917–1997

Graph of election results in Vancouver South (1917-1993, minor parties that never got 2% of the vote or didn't run consistently are omitted)

1993 Canadian federal election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Herb Dhaliwal	17,215	35.62	+6.83
	Reform	Gordon Shreeve	12,291	25.43	+23.34
	Progressive Conservative	K. K. Wan	11,357	23.50	-18.73
	New Democratic	John Maté	3,625	7.50	-16.26
	National	Cameron Ward	2,113	4.37	–
	Libertarian	John Clarke	554	1.15	-0.74
	Green	Valerie Jerome	418	0.86	+0.21
	Natural Law	Prince Pabbies	285	0.59	–
	Independent	Jas Mangat	278	0.58	–
	Independent	Dan Logan	69	0.14	–
	Independent	Robert Walter Ross	60	0.12	–
	Marxist–Leninist	Allan H. Bezanson	47	0.10	–
	Independent	Issam Mansour	20	0.04	–
Total valid votes			48,332	100.0
	Liberal gain from Progressive Conservative		Swing		-8.26

1988 Canadian federal election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	John Allen Fraser	21,222	42.23	-12.64
	Liberal	Woody MacLaren	14,468	28.79	+8.31
	New Democratic	Martin Toren	11,939	23.76	+0.25
	Reform	Don Evans	1,052	2.09	–
	Libertarian	John Clarke	946	1.88	–
	Green	Douglas Dunn	327	0.65	-0.49
	Rhinoceros	Brian Godzilla Salmi	173	0.34	–
	Independent	Barbara Waldern	74	0.15	–
	Communist	Reginald Walters	54	0.11	–
Total valid votes			50,255	100.0
	Progressive Conservative hold		Swing		-10.48

1984 Canadian federal election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	John Allen Fraser	25,469	54.87	+1.59
	New Democratic	Brian Ernest Emery	10,909	23.50	+2.24
	Liberal	Harkirpal S. Sara	9,507	20.48	-4.03
	Green	Don Smardon	529	1.14	–
Total valid votes			46,414	100.0
	Progressive Conservative hold		Swing		-0.32

1980 Canadian federal election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	John Allen Fraser	22,288	53.28	-0.51
	Liberal	Patrick F. Graham	10,254	24.51	-0.56
	New Democratic	Judy McManus	8,896	21.27	+0.36
	Rhinoceros	Linda Fleming	327	0.78	–
	Marxist–Leninist	Amarjit S. Dhillon	63	0.15	-0.07
Total valid votes			41,828	100.0
	Progressive Conservative hold		Swing		+0.02

1979 Canadian federal election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	John Allen Fraser	22,653	53.80	+0.92
	Liberal	Tony Toth	10,558	25.07	-6.50
	New Democratic	Judy McManus	8,806	20.91	+5.83
	Marxist–Leninist	Amarjit Dhillon	91	0.22	+0.04
Total valid votes			42,108	100.0
	Progressive Conservative hold		Swing		+3.71

1974 Canadian federal election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	John Allen Fraser	23,247	52.88	+12.84
	Liberal	Peter Oberlander	13,881	31.57	-1.22
	New Democratic	Roger Howard	6,629	15.08	-10.04
	Communist	James W. Beyon	129	0.29	–
	Marxist–Leninist	Anne Boylan	79	0.18	–
Total valid votes			43,965	100.0
	Progressive Conservative hold		Swing		+7.03

1972 Canadian federal election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	John Allen Fraser	17,762	40.03	+16.29
	Liberal	Gordon Gibson	14,549	32.79	-16.47
	New Democratic	Roger Howard	11,145	25.12	+2.47
	Social Credit	Tony Jefferson	765	1.72	-2.23
	Independent	Sean Griffin	102	0.23	–
	Independent	Rick Hundal	44	0.10	–
Total valid votes			44,367	100.0
	Progressive Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing		+16.38

1968 Canadian federal election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Arthur Laing	19,757	49.26	+5.73
	Progressive Conservative	John Allen Fraser	9,521	23.74	+7.70
	New Democratic	Joe Warnock	9,086	22.65	-2.14
	Social Credit	Daniel A. Devlin	1,585	3.95	-10.57
	Communist	Robin Smith	157	0.39	-0.71
Total valid votes			40,106	100.0
	Liberal hold		Swing		-0.98

1965 Canadian federal election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Arthur Laing	18,669	43.54	-1.53
	New Democratic	Norman Levi	10,633	24.80	+2.08
	Progressive Conservative	Mary Southin	6,877	16.04	-6.04
	Social Credit	Norman Howard	6,228	14.52	+5.20
	Communist	William Evans Stewart	474	1.11	+0.29
Total valid votes			42,881	100.0
	Liberal hold		Swing		-1.80

1963 Canadian federal election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Arthur Laing	19,140	45.07	+8.63
	New Democratic	Cliff Greer	9,649	22.72	+0.02
	Progressive Conservative	J. Ferguson Browne	9,374	22.07	-7.73
	Social Credit	Earl Backman	3,960	9.32	-0.50
	Communist	Thomas A. McEwen	345	0.81	-0.41
Total valid votes			42,468	100.0
	Liberal hold		Swing		+4.30

1962 Canadian federal election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Arthur Laing	14,660	36.44	+18.74
	Progressive Conservative	Ernest James Broome	11,990	29.81	-30.65
	New Democratic	Cliff Greer	9,132	22.70	+7.20
	Social Credit	Erling L. Backman	3,953	9.83	+4.64
	Communist	William E. Stewart	492	1.22	+0.08
Total valid votes			40,227	100.0
	Liberal gain from Progressive Conservative		Swing		+24.70
New Democrate vote is compared to the Co-operative Commonwealth vote and Communist vote is compared to Labor–Progressive vote from 1958 election.

1958 Canadian federal election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Ernest James Broome	22,292	60.46	+15.60
	Liberal	Elmore Philpott	6,528	17.70	-3.44
	Co-operative Commonwealth	Cliff Greer	5,717	15.50	+1.96
	Social Credit	Hilliard Beyerstein	1,914	5.19	-12.98
	Labor–Progressive	Thomas A. McEwen	422	1.14	-1.14
Total valid votes			36,873	100.0
	Progressive Conservative hold		Swing		+9.52

1957 Canadian federal election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Ernest James Broome	16,058	44.86	+27.41
	Liberal	Elmore Philpott	7,568	21.14	-15.46
	Social Credit	Hilliard Beyerstein	6,505	18.17	-5.16
	Co-operative Commonwealth	Cliff Greer	4,849	13.55	-6.09
	Labor–Progressive	Thomas A. McEwen	817	2.28	-0.70
Total valid votes			35,797	100.0
	Progressive Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing		+21.44

1953 Canadian federal election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Elmore Philpott	10,459	36.60	-3.11
	Social Credit	Ira N. Monson	6,668	23.34	–
	Co-operative Commonwealth	Cliff Augustine Greer	5,610	19.63	-11.93
	Progressive Conservative	Lorraine Johnston	4,986	17.45	-11.28
	Labor–Progressive	Gordon Wesley Elder	852	2.98	–
Total valid votes			28,575	100.0
	Liberal hold		Swing		-13.22

1949 Canadian federal election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Arthur Laing	13,082	39.71	+14.66
	Co-operative Commonwealth	Grace MacInnis	10,397	31.56	+13.90
	Progressive Conservative	Jonathan Webster Cornett	9,462	28.72	-25.06
Total valid votes			32,941	100.0
	Liberal gain from Progressive Conservative		Swing		+0.38

1945 Canadian federal election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Howard Charles Green	25,878	53.78	+5.15
	Liberal	Richard Rowe Holland	12,056	25.06	-10.36
	Co-operative Commonwealth	Edward Alexander Lucas	8,497	17.66	+1.70
	Democratic	George Rayburn Smith	920	1.91	–
	Social Credit	Walter Redvers Dent	766	1.59	–
Total valid votes			48,117	100.0
	Progressive Conservative hold		Swing		+7.76
Progressive Conservative vote is compared to the National Government vote in 1940 election.

1940 Canadian federal election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National Government	Howard Charles Green	18,470	48.63	+17.94
	Liberal	Sidney Alexander Smith	13,451	35.41	+5.63
	Co-operative Commonwealth	Arthur James Turner	6,062	15.96	-11.95
Total valid votes			37,983	100.0
	National Government hold		Swing		+6.16
National Government vote is compared to Conservative vote in 1935 election.

1935 Canadian federal election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Howard Charles Green	9,491	30.69	-16.54
	Liberal	Alexander Malcolm Manson	9,212	29.78	–
	Co-operative Commonwealth	Robert Skinner	8,632	27.91	–
	Reconstruction	Archie Bertram Carey	2,896	9.36	–
	Independent	Paul McDowell Kerr	699	2.26	–
Total valid votes			30,930	100.0
	Conservative gain from Independent Labour		Swing		-23.16

1930 Canadian federal election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent Labour	Angus MacInnis	15,732	50.03	+34.58
	Conservative	Leon Johnson Ladner	14,850	47.23	-8.78
	Communist	William Bennett	861	2.74	–
Total valid votes			31,443	100.0
	Independent Labour gain from Conservative		Swing		+21.68

1926 Canadian federal election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Leon Johnson Ladner	9,762	56.01	+8.75
	Liberal	Paul McDowell Kerr	4,973	28.53	-8.88
	Labour	Alfred Hurry	2,693	15.45	+0.13
Total valid votes			17,428	100.0
	Conservative hold		Swing		+8.82

1925 Canadian federal election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Leon Johnson Ladner	8,587	47.27	+9.52
	Liberal	Robert George MacPherson	6,797	37.41	+5.63
	Labour	Alfred Hurry	2,783	15.32	-6.49
Total valid votes			18,167	100.0
	Conservative hold		Swing		+1.94

1921 Canadian federal election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Leon Johnson Ladner	4,893	37.75	-27.39
	Liberal	Victor Wentworth Odlum	4,120	31.79	+8.51
	Labour	Thomas Richardson	2,827	21.81	+10.69
	Independent	John Kavanagh	810	6.25	–
	Progressive	John Isaac Richmond	312	2.41	–
Total valid votes			12,962	100.0
	Conservative hold		Swing		-17.95
Conservative vote is compared to Unionist vote in 1917 election.

1917 Canadian federal election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
	Government (Unionist)	Richard Clive Cooper	6,890	65.14
	Opposition (Laurier Liberals)	Charles MacDonald	2,462	23.27
	Labour	James Hackett McVety	1,176	11.12
	Unknown	Edward Gold	50	0.47
Total valid votes			10,578	100.0
This riding was created from parts of Vancouver City, which elected a Conservative in the previous election.

See also

• List of Canadian electoral districts
• Historical federal electoral districts of Canada