Manitoba general election, 1949

Manitoba's general election of November 10, 1949 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada.

This election pitted the province's coalition government, made up of the Liberal-Progressive Party and the Progressive Conservative Party, against a variety of opponents.

The social democratic Manitoba Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) was the coalition's primary challenger, while the communist Labour Progressive Party and an assortment of independent candidates also challenged the coalition in some constituencies.

Liberal-Progressive and Progressive Conservative candidates ran against each other in some ridings, generally where no anti-coalition candidates had a serious chance of winning.

The result was a landslide victory for the coalition. Premier Douglas Campbell's Liberal-Progressives remained the dominant party in government, increasing their caucus to thirty-one seats out of fifty-seven—enough to form a majority government even without assistance from other parties. One of these candidates was elected simply as a "Liberal", but sat as a full member of the Liberal-Progressive caucus.

The Progressive Conservative Party, led by Errick Willis, remained the junior partner in government, falling to nine seats from thirteen in the previous election. Five independent "Conservative" or "Progressive Conservative" candidates were also elected, with all but one opposing the coalition government. These results provoked serious debate in the Progressive Conservative Party about the wisdom of staying with the coalition.

The CCF under Edwin Hansford fell to seven seats, down from nine in the previous election. William A. Kardash of the LPP retained his seat in north-end Winnipeg. Three pro-coalition independents were also elected, as was Edmond Prefontaine, an independent Liberal opposing the coalition.

The Social Credit League did not contest the election, having fallen into a state of internal disorganization.

Results

Party Party leader # of
candidates		 Seats Popular vote
1945 Elected % Change # % % Change
     Liberal-Progressive
Douglas Campbell
     31     38.7%  
     Progressive Conservative
Errick Willis
     9     19.1%  
     Co-operative Commonwealth
Edwin Hansford
     7     25.6%  
     Labour Progressive
William Cecil Ross
     1        
     Independent     9        
Total     57     100%  
Preceded by
1945 Manitoba election		 List of Manitoba elections Succeeded by
1953 Manitoba election

See also

Riding results

Party key:

(x) denotes incumbent.

Arthur:

Assiniboia:

Birtle:

Brandon City:

Carillon:

Cypress:

Dauphin:

Deloraine-Glenwood:

Dufferin:

Emerson:

Ethelbert:

Fairford:

Fisher:

Gilbert Plains:

Gimli:

Gladstone:

Hamiota:

Iberville:

Kildonan-Transcona:

Killarney:

Lakeside:

Lansdowne:

La Verendrye:

Manitou-Morden:

Minnedosa:

Morris:

Mountain:

Norfolk-Beautiful Plains:

Portage La Prairie:

Rhineland:

Roblin:

Rockwood:

Rupertsland:

Russell:

St. Andrews:

Party Candidate Votes % ±%
     Progressive Conservative (Coalition) James McLenaghen 3,478 67.80
     Cooperative Commonwealth Federation William Earl Gordon 1,652 32.30
Total valid votes 5,130 100.00
Rejected votes 102
Turnout 5,232 68.3

St. Boniface (two members):

First Count (quota: 4,901 votes; no candidates elected)

Second Count (Gagnon eliminated)

Third Count (Shearer eliminated, Van Belleghen and Hansford declared elected)

St. Clements:

St. George:

Ste. Rose:

Springfield:

Swan River:

The Pas:

Turtle Mountain:

Virden:

Winnipeg Centre (four members):

First Count (quota: 4,112 votes; Smith and Swailes declared elected)

Second Count (Smith surplus)

Third Count (Swailes surplus)

Fourth Count (Walker eliminated)

Fifth Count (Juba eliminated)

Sixth Count (McNeil eliminated)

Seventh Count (Thompson eliminated; Fines declared elected)

Eighth Count (Fines surplus, Bardal declared elected)

Winnipeg North (four members):

First Count (quota: 4,917 votes; Gray declared elected)

Second Count (Gray surplus)

Third Count (Yallits and Callis eliminated)

Fourth Count (Wach eliminated)

Fifth Count (Shaak eliminated)

Sixth Count (Carrick eliminated)

Seventh Count (Scraba eliminated)

Eighth Count (Simkin eliminated; Kardash, Chester and Hawryluk declared elected)

Winnipeg South (four members):

First Count (quota: 5,522 votes; McDiarmid, Stinson and Turner declared elected)

Second Count (McDiarmid surplus)

Third Count (Stinson surplus)

Fourth Count (Stringer eliminated)

Fifth Count (Harvey eliminated; Roblin declared elected)

post-election changes:

On August 15, 1950, Progressive Conservative leader Errick Willis resigned his seat in cabinet. The party formally left the coalition later in the summer, and John McDowell, Hugh Morrison and Dufferin Roblin joined the party caucus.

Some Progressive Conservative MLAs opposed their party's decision, and chose to remain with the coalition side. Charles Greenlay and Wallace Miller chose to remain in cabinet, while James Argue and Joseph Donaldson sat as pro-coalition independents. Argue rejoined the Progressive Conservatives in 1953, while Donaldson resigned his seat. Thomas Seens did not initially support the party's decision to leave the coalition, but sat with the Progressive Conservatives in the legislature.

Ronald Robertson and Edmond Prefontaine rejoined the Liberal-Progressives, while independents Rod Clement and Walter Weir also remained on the government side. Harry Shewman appears to have sided with the opposition.

St. Andrews (dec. James McLenaghen, June 23, 1950), October 24, 1950:

St. Clements (dec. Nicholas Stryk, 1950), October 24, 1950:

Brandon City (res. Joseph Donaldson, April 18, 1951), January 21, 1952:

La Verendrye (dec. Sauveur Marcoux, November 16, 1951), January 21, 1952:

Winnipeg South (res. Charles Rhodes Smith, 1952)

St. Clements (dec. Albert Trapp, January 9, 1953)

Cypress (dec. James Christie, January 19, 1953)

Virden (dec. Robert Mooney, January 30, 1953)

Ste. Rose (dec. Maurice MacCarthy, June 8, 1953)

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