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1943 Prince Edward Island general election

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1943 Prince Edward Island general election

← 1939 September 15, 1943 (1943-09-15) 1947 →

All 30 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island
16 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party
 
Leader J. Walter Jones William J. P. MacMillan
Party Liberal Progressive Conservative
Leader since 1943 1933
Leader's seat 4th Queens 5th Queens
Last election 27 seats, 53.0% 3 seats, 47.0%
Seats won 20 10
Seat change Decrease7 Increase7
Popular vote 35,396 31,849
Percentage 51.3% 46.1%
Swing Decrease1.7pp Decrease0.9pp

Map of PEI's ridings coloured in based on how they voted

Premier before election

J. Walter Jones
Liberal

Premier after election

J. Walter Jones
Liberal

The 1943 Prince Edward Island general election was held in the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island on September 15, 1943.[1]

The governing Liberals of Premier J. Walter Jones lost seven seats to the Progressive Conservatives led by former Premier William J.P. MacMillan, but were able to retain a strong majority in the Legislature. Jones became Premier in May 1943 following the elevation of his predecessor Thane Campbell to the position of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island.

This election featured the first appearance of the democratic socialist Co-operative Commonwealth Federation in provincial Island politics. Though they had formed an association in 1936, they did not run any candidates provincially until this election. The CCF ran nine candidates throughout the Island and earned just over 2% of the popular vote, though no seats.

This election also took place during the Second World War.

Party Standings

[edit]
20 10
Liberal PC
Party Party Leader Seats Popular Vote
1939 Elected Change # % Change
  Liberal J. Walter Jones 27 20 -7 35,396 51.3% -1.7%
  Progressive Conservative William J. P. MacMillan 3 10 +7 31,849 46.1% -0.9%
  Co-operative Commonwealth - - - 1,436 2.1% +2.1%
  Independent Liberal - - - 379 0.5% +0.5%

Members Elected

[edit]

The Legislature of Prince Edward Island had two levels of membership from 1893 to 1996 - Assemblymen and Councillors. This was a holdover from when the Island had a bicameral legislature, the General Assembly and the Legislative Council.

In 1893, the Legislative Council was abolished and had its membership merged with the Assembly, though the two titles remained separate and were elected by different electoral franchises. Assembleymen were elected by all eligible voters of within a district, while Councillors were only elected by landowners within a district.[2]

Kings

[edit]
District Assemblyman Party Councillor Party
1st Kings     Harry S. Francis Liberal     T. J. Kickham Liberal
2nd Kings     Harry Cox Liberal     Thomas R. Cullen Liberal
3rd Kings     Leslie Hunter Progressive
Conservative
    Francis MacPhee Progressive
Conservative
4th Kings     John A. Campbell Liberal     Murdock McGowan Progressive
Conservative
5th Kings     William Hughes Liberal     George Saville Liberal

Queens

[edit]
District Assemblyman Party Councillor Party
1st Queens     Walter G. MacKenzie Progressive
Conservative
    W. F. Alan Stewart Liberal
2nd Queens     Philip Matheson Progressive
Conservative
    Reginald Bell Progressive
Conservative
3rd Queens     Russell C. Clark Liberal     Mark R. MacGuigan Liberal
4th Queens     Dougald MacKinnon Liberal     John Walter Jones Liberal
5th Queens     William Prowse Liberal     William J. P. MacMillan Progressive
Conservative

Prince

[edit]
District Assemblyman Party Councillor Party
1st Prince     Joseph A. Bernard Liberal     Fred Ramsay Liberal
2nd Prince     George H. Barbour Liberal     William H. Dennis Liberal
3rd Prince     Marin Gallant Liberal     Thomas Linkletter Liberal
4th Prince     Heath Strong Progressive
Conservative
   
Horace Wright Liberal
5th Prince     Daniel F. MacNeill Progressive
Conservative
    Ernest Strong Progressive
Conservative

Sources

[edit]
  1. ^ "Provincial General Election Results, 1943" (PDF). Elections PEI. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 25, 2015.
  2. ^ Fred Driscoll. "History and Politics of Prince Edward Island" (PDF). Canadian Parliamentary Review.