Wikipedia

1932 Manitoba general election

The 1932 Manitoba general election was held on June 16, 1932 to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada. A Liberal-Progressive majority government was elected.

1932 Manitoba general election
← 1927 June 16, 1932 1936 →
55 seats of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba
27 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader John Bracken Fawcett Taylor John Queen
Party Liberal–Progressive Progressive Conservative Independent Labour
Leader since August 8, 1922 April 5, 1922 1923
Leader's seat The Pas Portage la Prairie Winnipeg
Last election 36 15 3
Seats won 38 10 5
Seat change Increase2 Decrease5 Increase2
Popular vote 101,286 92,660 41,963
Percentage 39.6% 35.4% 16.5%
Swing Decrease13.5pp Increase8.2pp Increase6.0pp
Premier before election

John Bracken
Liberal–Progressive

Premier after election

John Bracken
Liberal–Progressive

This was the second election in Manitoba where two types of preferential voting was used in all electoral divisions. Winnipeg elected ten members through single transferable ballot, while all other constituencies elected one member by instant runoff voting.

The election was called soon after the announcement of an alliance between the governing Progressive Party of John Bracken and the Liberal Party led by Murdoch Mackay. These parties were ideologically similar, and had a common interest in preventing the Conservative Party from coming to power. National Liberal leader William Lyon Mackenzie King supported this alliance, out of concern that a Conservative victory would strengthen the hand of Conservative Prime Minister Richard Bennett.

Bracken tried to bring the Conservatives into his coalition, but was rebuffed by Conservative leader Fawcett Taylor. Taylor's refusal to consider a consensus government was used against him in the campaign.

The election was also contested by the social democratic Independent Labour Party, under the leadership of John Queen. Though it was the second-largest party in the legislature after the 1920 election, Labour had slumped to only three seats in 1927 amid a general period of decline in the Canadian left. While the ILP was poised to improve its showing in the 1932 campaign, it was not a serious contender for government. In the event it elected only five MLAs, four in Winnipeg and one in St. Boniface, evidence of the benefits of preferential balloting to a minority party.

Some members of the provincial Liberal Party opposed the Liberal-Progressive alliance, and contested the election as "continuing Liberals". Their leader was David Campbell, the mayor of St. Boniface.

Leslie Morris and Jacob Penner of the Communist Party campaigned in the city of Winnipeg, and other Communist candidates ran in the outlying areas. As the Communist Party was under legal restrictions at the time, they ran as "United Front Workers" candidates. Former Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) George Armstrong ran as a candidate of the Socialist Party, and Jessie MacLennan campaigned as a labour candidate unaffiliated with the ILP.

The result was a resounding victory for the governing alliance, as Liberals, Progressives and their allies won 38 out of 55 seats. The Conservatives fell from fifteen seats to ten. Having lost his third consecutive election, Fawcett Taylor resigned as Conservative leader in 1933. The Independent Labour Party managed a modest recovery after its poor showing in 1927, increasing its caucus to five members. No other parties' candidates were elected, although two former Progressives were elected as independents. The Continuing Liberals fared especially poorly, and disappeared after the election.

Leslie Morris came 309 votes short of winning the tenth seat in Winnipeg. Had he won, he would have been the first Communist elected to a provincial legislature in Canada.

The new Legislature would see 15 new MLAs, ten arising from incumbents being defeated, and the other five from open seats. Of the latter, four incumbents chose not to run, and one incumbent (John H. Edmison of Brandon) had died in March 1932.[1]

Results

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Manitoba general election (June 16, 1932)[2]
Party Leader First-preference votes Seats
Votes % FPv Cand. 1927 Elected Change
Liberal–Progressive[a 1] John Bracken 97,388 38.26 50 33 36 3 
Conservative Fawcett Taylor 90,135 35.41 48 15 10 5 
  Independent Labour John Queen 35,992 14.14 15 3 5 2 
  Continuing Liberal David Campbell 6,126 2.41 12 – – –
  United Front Workers 5,635 2.21 4 – – –
Independent 3,897 1.53 7 1 – 1 
Independent-Farmer-Labour 3,594 1.41 2 – 1 1 
Independent-LP 3,530 1.39 3 – 2 2 
Independent Ukrainian 2,693 1.06 1 – – –
Independent-Progressive 1,954 0.77 1 2 1 1 
Labour 1,600 0.63 1 – – –
Independent-Farmer 997 0.39 1 1 – 1 
Socialist 848 0.33 1 – – –
Independent-Conservative 173 0.07 1 – – –
Valid 254,562 100.00 147 55 55 –
Rejected n/a
Total votes cast 254,562
Registered voters/Turnout 350,476 72.6
  1. ^ 1927 figure is combined total of Progressive and Liberal seats

First-preference votes by riding

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Riding LP Con ILP CL Ind Ind-Con Ind-Frm Ind-FL Ind-LP Ind-Pr Ind-Ukr Lab Soc UFW Total[2]
Rural single-member ridings
Arthur 1,835 881 2,716
Assiniboia 1,008 2,813 2,349 6,170
Beautiful Plains 2,378 1,729 4,107
Birtle 1,315 1,954 3,269
Brandon City 1,423 2,647 1,574 893 6,537
Carillon 2,590 804 3,394
Cypress 1,795 1,539 3,334
Dauphin 1,668 1,525 578 3,771
Deloraine 2,003 1,523 3,526
Dufferin 2,568 1,966 4,534
Emerson 1,987 1,742 559 4,288
Ethelbert 2,331 1,682 4,013
Fairford 1,011 677 1,688
Fisher 845 352 195 364 1,756
Gilbert Plains 1,601 1,312 2,913
Gimli[a 1] 2,409 858 230 710 4,207
Gladstone 1,902 1,144 3,046
Glenwood 2,020 1,087 3,107
Hamiota 1,847 1,223 3,070
Iberville 807 304 1,488 2,599
Kildonan and St. Andrews 2,308 2,543 1,315 6,166
Killarney 1,571 1,481 3,052
Lakeside 1,969 1,522 3,491
Lansdowne 2,193 1,095 189 302 3,779
La Verendrye 1,587 1,473 374 3,434
Manitou 2,268 1,776 4,044
Minnedosa 2,210 2,336 396 4,942
Morden and Rhineland 2,837 2,390 5,227
Morris 2,526 1,077 3,603
Mountain 3,076 1,182 4,258
Norfolk 1,773 1,537 3,310
Portage la Prairie 1,051 2,016 3,067
Roblin 1,238 1,847 3,085
Rockwood 2,114 1,136 997 4,247
Rupertsland[a 1] 527 111 638
Russell 2,523 1,237 3,760
St. Boniface 3,283 3,483 3,477 1,116 11,359
St. Clements 3,234 2,046 1,774 412 7,466
St. George 1,604 1,104 2,708
Ste. Rose 1,959 1,203 3,162
Springfield 2,407 1,080 235 232 3,035 6,989
Swan River 1,034 1,698 1,279 4,011
The Pas 1,915 1,072 173 3,160
Turtle Mountain 1,277 1,322 2,599
Virden 2,101 1,619 249 3,969
Winnipeg (multi-member riding)
Winnipeg 14,818 27,274 21,938 1,824 1,435 2,693 1,600 848 4,561 76,991
Provincewide
Total 97,386 90,135 35,994 6,126 3,897 173 997 3,594 3,530 1,954 2,693 1,600 848 5,635 254,562
  1. ^ a b two LP candidates fielded, from both the Progressive and Liberal wings

Results by riding

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Incumbents are marked with *.

For Liberal and Progressive incumbents:

( ) = Progressive MLA in previous Legislature
( ) = Liberal MLA in previous Legislature

Seats changing hands

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In the single-member ridings, 13 seats changed allegiance:

(Italics indicate that incumbent changed allegiance)

In Winnipeg, the seat distribution was changed as follows:

Winnipeg - distribution of seats (1927 vs 1922)
Party 1927 1932 change
Liberal–Progressive 4 3 1 
Conservative 3 3  
  ILP 3 4 1 
Total 10 10

Turnover on runoff

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In the single-member ridings, there was only one case where the first-place candidate on first-preference votes failed to win:

St. Boniface - Summary of results (1932)
Party Candidate First-preference votes Maximum votes
Votes % FPv Votes Round Initial vs transfer votes mix
Conservative Joseph Bernier* 3,483 30.66 4,470 3
​​
  Independent Labour Harold Lawrence 3,477 30.61 4,954 3
​​
Liberal–Progressive L.P. Gagnon 3,283 28.90 3,560 2
​​
  Continuing Liberal David Campbell 1,116 9.83 1,116 1
​​
Total 11,359 100.00  
Exhausted votes 1,935 17.03%
​​

In the second count, Lawrence received enough transfers from Campbell to lead by 82 votes. He would receive a significant share from Gagnon's transfers to finish with a lead of 484 votes. Lawrence would become the first-ever ILP MLA for the riding.[3]

Multiple-LP candidate contests

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In two ridings, two LP candidates—respectively nominated by the party's Liberal and Progressive wings—were on the ballot.

Gimli - Summary of results (1932)
Party Candidate First-preference votes Maximum votes
Votes % FPv Votes Round Initial vs transfer votes mix
Liberal–Progressive (Lib) Einar Jonasson 1,340 31.81 1,704 4
​​
Liberal–Progressive (Prog) Ingimar Ingaldson* 1,069 25.37 1,410 4
​​
Conservative Gunnar Thorvaldson 858 20.37 858 3
​​
  United Front Workers Iwan Kapusta 710 16.85 716 2
​​
  Continuing Liberal Michael Ewanchuk 236 5.60 236 1
​​
Total 4,213 100.00  
Exhausted votes 1,099 26.09%
​​
Rupertsland - Summary of results (1932)
Party Candidate First-preference votes Maximum votes
Votes % FPv Votes Round Initial vs transfer votes mix
Liberal–Progressive (Lib) Ewan McPherson 312 48.90 319 2
​​
Liberal–Progressive (Prog) Herbert G. Beresford* 215 33.70 229 2
​​
Independent Capt. Evans Atkinson 111 17.40 111 1
​​
Total 638 100.00  
Exhausted votes 90 14.11%
​​

McPherson had previously failed to unseat Fawcett Taylor in Portage la Prairie on Election Day, so he opted to campaign again in Rupertsland, which had been deferred to July 14. This time he was successful.[4]

Winnipeg

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Winnipeg (ten members):

Valid votes: 76,991 Quota: 7000 votes

Winnipeg MLAs returned by party
Party MLAs
Liberal–Progressive 3
Conservative 3
  ILP 4
Total 10
Winnipeg - Summary of results (1932)
Party Candidate First-preference votes Maximum votes
Votes % FPv Votes Round Initial vs transfer votes mix
Conservative William Sanford Evans* 13,507 17.54 13,507 1
​​
  Independent Labour John Queen* 9,302 12.08 9,302 1
​​
Liberal–Progressive William Major* 5,940 7.72 7,044 17
​​
  Independent Labour Seymour Farmer* 5,053 6.56 7,105 11
​​
Conservative John Thomas Haig* 4,432 5.76 7,019 5
​​
Liberal–Progressive John Stewart McDiarmid 3,540 4.60 6,060 24
​​
Conservative Huntly Ketchen 3,530 4.59 7,486 22
​​
  United Front Workers Leslie Morris 3,455 4.49 4,959 24
​​
  Independent Labour Marcus Hyman 3,366 4.37 6,593 24
​​
Liberal–Progressive Ralph Maybank 2,945 3.83 5,268 24
​​
Independent Ukrainian C. Andrusyshen 2,693 3.50 2,923 20
​​
  Independent Labour William Ivens* 2,262 2.94 5,470 24
​​
Conservative William V. Tobias* 1,991 2.59 2,045 19
​​
Conservative R.W.B. Swail 1,951 2.53 3,547 21
​​
Liberal–Progressive Edward William Montgomery* 1,614 2.10 2,177 18
​​
Labour Jessie MacLennan 1,600 2.08 2,082 16
​​
Conservative James Alexander Barry 1,549 2.01 4,780 23
​​
Independent F.W. Russell 1,339 1.74 1,570 15
​​
  United Front Workers Jacob Penner 1,106 1.44 1,106 13
​​
  Independent Labour V.B. Anderson 1,061 1.38 1,061 14
​​
  Independent Labour Beatrice Brigden 894 1.16 1,084 10
​​
Socialist George Armstrong 848 1.10 880 9
​​
  Continuing Liberal H.P.A. Hermanson 688 0.89 1,331 13
​​
Liberal–Progressive Duncan Cameron 597 0.78 597 7
​​
  Continuing Liberal John Y. Reid 588 0.76 812 8
​​
  Continuing Liberal Clarence G. Keith 548 0.71 588 6
​​
Conservative D.M. Elcheshen 314 0.41 378 4
​​
Liberal–Progressive W.J. Fulton 182 0.24 182 3
​​
Independent Thomas Gargan 96 0.12 96 3
​​
Total 76,991 100.00  
Exhausted votes 11,600 15.07%
​​

Sources

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The first ballot results for Winnipeg and results for all other constituencies are taken from an official Manitoba government publication entitled "Manitoba elections, 1920-1941", cross-referenced with an appendix to the government's report of the 2003 provincial election. The Canadian parliamentary guide lists slightly different results from Kildonan & St. Andrews, Lansdowne, La Verendrye, Morris, Springfield and Turtle Mountain; the other two sources are more comprehensive, however, and may be taken as more reliable.

All ballot results for Winnipeg after the first count are taken from reports in the Winnipeg Free Press newspaper. It is possible that some errors appeared in the original publication.

Post-election changes

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Portage la Prairie (res. Fawcett Taylor, 1933), November 27, 1933:

Arthur (dec. Duncan McLeod, May 10, 1935), June 24, 1935:

Russell (Isaac Griffiths to cabinet, May 28, 1935), July 4, 1935:

Carillon (dec. Albert Prefontaine, 1935), July 4, 1935:

Gimli (res. Einar Jonasson, 1935)

Winnipeg (res. Ralph Maybank, October 1, 1935)

Winnipeg (res. John Thomas Haig, 1935)

Further reading

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  • The Canadian Annual Review of Public Affairs, 1932. Toronto: The Annual Review Company. 1933.

References

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  1. ^ "15 Members of Last House Will Be Missing This Winter". The Winnipeg Tribune. June 20, 1932. p. 1.
  2. ^ a b "Nineteenth General Election Held June 16, 1932 - Summary of Results" (PDF). electionsmanitoba.ca. Elections Manitoba. Retrieved January 25, 2023. - valid for first-preference totals by riding
  3. ^ "Fred Lawrence Beats Bernier in St. Boniface". The Winnipeg Tribune. June 20, 1932. p. 1.
  4. ^ "Premier Wins and McPherson Has Big Lead". The Winnipeg Tribune. July 15, 1932. pp. 1, 4.
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