Ralph Smith (August 8, 1858 – February 17, 1917) was a Canadian coal miner, labour leader, and politician. Born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, he emigrated to Canada with his wife in 1891 settling in Nanaimo, British Columbia. A miner by trade, Smith was a moderate trade unionist in Nanaimo. In 1898, he won election to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia on a moderate "Liberal-Labour" platform. He ran for Vancouver's seat in the House of Commons of Canada in the 1900 federal election. Reports vary on whether he ran as an Independent Labour-Liberal candidate defeating the official Liberal and Conservative candidates, but once elected, he joined the Liberal caucus. He was re-elected in the 1904 and 1908 elections as a Liberal. He was defeated in the 1911 election. Smith subsequent