Greenwood (British Columbia electoral district)

When the Greenwood riding was formed the Boundary and Slocan mining districts were booming and Greenwood was not a city in name only (as it is today, proudly retaining the city status as official vestige of its wealthy past). Like other ridings in the West Kootenay created in advance of the 1903 election out of the West Kootenay (south riding), during the glory days of the Kootenay and Boundary silver and galena booms. Slocan, Kaslo, Rossland, Grand Forks, Nelson City, Ymir and other ridings were also created at this time out of the former West Kootenay (south riding)).

The need for extra ridings ended when the mining era did, and so as the population of Greenwood and neighbouring towns dwindled the Greenwood riding made its last appearance in the 1924 election and was merged with Grand Forks riding into Grand Forks-Greenwood.

Grand Forks-Greenwood remained on the hustings until 1966 when even lower populations resulted in a merger with the valley of the Similkameen river, also a mining district in decline and represented by Similkameen, which was combined with the smelter and railway towns of the Grand Forks-Greenwood area and the southern end of the Okanagana to form the new riding of Boundary-Similkameen.

For other historical and current electoral districts in the West Kootenay region, please see Kootenay (electoral districts).

• Bill Barlee, BC historian, TV host and folk pundit (ret.)

Note: Winners in each election are in bold.

• Elections BC Historical Returns