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1941 Manitoba general election

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The 1941 Manitoba general election was held on April 22, 1941 to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada.

1941 Manitoba general election
← 1936 April 22, 1941 1945 →
55 seats of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba
27 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader John Bracken Errick Willis Seymour Farmer
Party Liberal–Progressive Progressive Conservative Co-operative Commonwealth
Leader since August 8, 1922 June 9, 1936 1936
Leader's seat The Pas Turtle Mountain Winnipeg
Last election 23 16 7
Seats won 27 12 3
Seat change Increase4 Decrease4 Decrease4
Popular vote 58,337 25,940 28,301
Percentage 35.1% 19.9% 17.0%
Swing Decrease0.2pp Decrease7.9pp Increase5.0pp
Premier before election

John Bracken
Liberal–Progressive

Premier after election

John Bracken
Liberal–Progressive

This election was held shortly after the formation of a coalition government in December 1940. The coalition was created after the start of World War II, as a display of unity among the different parties in the legislature.

Premier John Bracken's Liberal-Progressives were the dominant force in government, while the Conservative Party under Errick Willis held a secondary position. The smaller Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and Social Credit League were also included in the government, and had cabinet representation.

The four coalition parties were the only legal political parties in Manitoba in 1941. The Communist Party had been declared illegal the previous year. Its only Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA), James Litterick, had been expelled from the legislature and had gone into hiding.

When the coalition was created, Independent MLA Lewis Stubbs was the only legislator who did not join the government side. He claimed that a healthy opposition was necessary in a parliamentary democracy, and rejected offers to join the government. Later, Social Credit MLA Salome Halldorson and Conservatives Huntly Ketchen and John Poole also crossed to the opposition. And more were elected in the 1941 election.

The coalition's victory was a foregone conclusion: in most constituencies, there were no anti-coalition candidates. The opposition came mostly from anti-coalition dissidents in the governing parties. These candidates did not run a coordinated campaign, and did not seriously threaten the government.

The Social Credit League split before the election, and most of its candidates were opposed to the coalition. The party's most prominent MLAs, however, remained on the government side.

In some constituencies, the coalition parties ran candidates against one other. This had little effect on the overall result, though it did influence the relative strength of the coalition partners after the election. In most instances, the incumbent candidates were re-elected. The CCF agreed to limit its challenges against incumbent members, although this courtesy was not always reciprocated by other parties.[1]

As expected, the coalition won a landslide victory. The government parties, along with pro-coalition independents, won 50 of the 55 seats in the legislature.

The election confirmed the Liberal-Progressives and Conservatives as the dominant parties in government. The Liberal-Progressives increased their representation from 23 MLAs to 27, only two short of an overall majority. The Conservatives were not as successful, falling from 16 seats to 12. The party remained influential in cabinet, however, and its leadership remained committed to the coalition.

For the CCF and Social Credit, the election was problematic. Many CCF members opposed the coalition, and due to the party's official support for the coalition the party had difficulty mobilizing its supporters to the voting booths. The CCF won only two seats in Winnipeg, and the Gimli constituency, for a total of three seats. John Queen, the CCF Mayor of Winnipeg, lost the legislative seat he had held since 1920.

After this result, the CCF's tenure in government was brief. Farmer left the coalition ministry in late 1942, and the party formally voted to leave the coalition at its 1943 convention. Many CCF officials later described their period in the coalition as a disaster for the party.

The result was also bad for Social Credit, which lost its internal cohesion during the campaign. All of the party's anti-coalition candidates were defeated, while three pro-government incumbents were re-elected. These MLAs effectively became an adjunct of the government, and did little in the way of promoting party policy. The Manitoba Social Credit League was marginalized in the 1940s, and did not become a functioning party again until 1953.

Five pro-coalition Independent MLAs were also elected.

Five anti-coalition MLAs were elected - three dissident Conservatives (one of whom later rejoined the government), Independent Lewis Stubbs, and Bill Kardash. Kardash, who ran as a "Worker's candidate", was widely known to be associated with the banned Communist Party. He did not proclaim this association openly, however, and was able to take his seat without a legal challenge. (He was re-elected under the label "Labor-Progressive Party" once being a Communist was no longer illegal.)

Three Sound Money Economics System candidates also ran in Winnipeg. All fared poorly, and the group disappeared soon after the election.[2]

Like previous elections, all the voters cast preferential votes. Ten MLAs were elected in city-wide Winnipeg district through Single transferable vote; all other MLAs were elected through Instant-runoff voting.

Results

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Manitoba general election (April 22, 1941)[3]
Party Leader First-preference votes Seats
Votes % FPv Cand. 1936 Elected Change
  Coalition candidates
█ Liberal–Progressive John Bracken 58,337 35.7 42 23 27 4 
█ Co-operative Commonwealth Seymour Farmer 28,301 17.3 14 7 3 4 
█ Conservative Errick Willis 25,940 15.8 18 16 12 4 
█ Independent 18,883 11.5 14 3 5 2 
█ Social Credit 2,723 1.7 5 5 3 2 
  Anti-Coalition candidates
█ Social Credit 9,156 5.6 6 – – –
█ Conservative 7,199 4.4 3 – 3 3 
█ Independent 5,801 4.1 2 – 1 1 
█ Communist 4,889 3.0 1 1 1  
█ Sound Money Economics 864 0.5 3 – – –
█ Liberal 701 0.4 1 – – –
Valid 163,608 100.0 109 55 55 –
Rejected 2,780
Total votes cast 166,388
Registered voters/Turnout 405,459 50.5

Results by riding

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Bold names indicate members returned by acclamation. Italicized names indicate Anti-Coalition candidates returned. Incumbents are marked with *.

Winnipeg

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Winnipeg:

Ten MLAs were elected through Single transferable vote.

Winnipeg MLAs returned by party
Party Coalition Anti-Coalition
Liberal–Progressive 3
Co-operative Commonwealth 2
Conservative 1 1
Independent 1 1
Communist 1
Total 7 3


Winnipeg (ten members)
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Liberal–Progressive John Stewart McDiarmid* 11.87 6,963
Independent Lewis Stubbs* 9.89 5,801 5,801
Liberal–Progressive Charles Rhodes Smith 8.44 4,955 5,485 5,485
Communist Bill Kardash 8.33 4,889 4,895 4,931 4,931 4,931 4,931 4,939 4,953 4,973 4,977 4,979 5,036 5,050 5,060 5,099 5,108 5,162 5,171 5,242 5,281 5,351
Independent Stephen Krawchyk 7.96 4,673 4,697 4,713 4,714 4,716 4,717 4,720 4,788 4,804 4,811 4,831 4,858 4,877 4,885 4,900 4,932 4,940 4,970 5,031 5,207 5,315
Conservative Huntly Ketchen* 7.03 4,123 4,209 4,270 4,273 4,279 4,322 4,335 4,335 4,402 4,419 4,468 4,563 4,721 5,176 5,217
Conservative Gunnar Thorvaldson 5.49 3,220 3,363 3,381 3,396 3,408 3,418 3,424 3,432 3,456 3,475 3,698 3,740 3,787 3,862 3,872 4,024 4,098 4,723 4,825 5,796 5,796
Co-operative Commonwealth Morris Gray 5.26 3,086 3,093 3,107 3,108 3,113 3,117 3,127 3,132 3,141 3,156 3,161 3,171 3,179 3,185 3,235 3,242 4,364 4,391 4,552 4,674 5,140
Conservative James A. Barry* 4.25 2,492 2,569 2,586 2,592 2,594 2,609 2,611 2,664 2,678 2,696 2,767 2,778 2,946 3,012 3,033 3,101 3,188 3,552 3,612
Co-operative Commonwealth Seymour Farmer* 3.83 2,249 2,294 2,349 2,353 2,356 2,376 2,433 2,466 2,482 2,623 2,635 2,664 2,687 2,703 3,031 3,115 3,159 3,263 4,461 4,718 6,494
Co-operative Commonwealth John Queen* 3.70 2,170 2,248 2,302 2,304 2,315 2,326 2,345 2,361 2,388 2,470 2,487 2,542 2,579 2,595 2,732 2,793 2,980 3,103 3,631 3,892
Liberal–Progressive Paul Bardal 3.62 2,127 2,408 2,435 2,510 2,525 2,537 2,547 2,559 2,582 2,627 2,664 2,728 2,897 2,932 2,952 3,390 3,462 4,007 4,174 4,867 5,324
Co-operative Commonwealth Stanley Knowles 3.15 1,849 1,867 1,900 1,900 1,903 1,907 1,915 1,920 1,946 2,000 2,021 2,051 2,078 2,089 2,442 2,525 2,545 2,611
Independent W.V. Tobias 3.09 1,815 1,829 1,843 1,845 1,848 1,853 1,855 1,857 1,859 1,873 1,881 1,887 1,897 1,904 1,907 1,927
Conservative F.E. Warriner 2.91 1,706 1,808 1,825 1,838 1,844 1,846 1,853 1,861 1,882 1,906 1,982 1,991 2,026 2,069 2,082 2,227 2,268
Liberal–Progressive H. Dick 1.80 1,059 1,164 1,174 1,189 1,194 1,198 1,202 1,212 1,220 1,230 1,266 1,285 1,337 1,362 1,369
Co-operative Commonwealth William Ivens 1.64 962 966 986 986 987 993 1,003 1,013 1,021 1,068 1,072 1,106 1,113 1,120
Conservative Harrison Dysart 1.33 780 802 814 815 817 836 836 844 857 859 884 904 931
Liberal Laurier Regnier 1.19 701 742 753 762 766 768 770 785 793 801 823 853
Conservative James Cowan 1.07 627 641 646 647 648 654 655 656 662 665
Social Credit Asta Oddson 0.98 575 580 587 587 594 594 691 695 716 719 721
Liberal–Progressive James Simpkin 0.87 510 522 538 538 539 545 552 559 563
Sound Money Economics T.H. Elliott 0.62 361 366 373 374 414 416 422 484
Sound Money Economics Madeline Hrynlewlecki 0.54 316 318 321 321 348 349 353
Social Credit J. J. Evans 0.50 294 297 303 303 304 311
Independent J.K. Downes 0.50 192 193 198 198 198
Sound Money Economics Thomas McConochie 0.32 187 191 193 193
Exhausted ballots — — – – – 36 54 89 101 252 305 337 520 572 723 806 958 1,176 1,545 1,814 2,907 3,922
Electorate: 137,437   Valid: 58,682   Spoilt: 1,033   Quota: 5,335   Turnout: 59,715 (43.45%)  
* - Incumbent
(Italics indicate Anti-Coalition candidate; bold indicates candidate was declared elected)
Winnipeg (analysis of transferred votes, ranked in order of 1st preference votes)
Party Candidate Maximum
round 		Maximum
votes 		Share in
maximum
round 		Maximum votes
First round votesTransfer votes


Liberal-Progressive John Stewart McDiarmid 1 6,963 11.87%
​​
Independent Lewis Stubbs 1 5,801 9.89%
​​
Liberal-Progressive Charles Rhodes Smith 3 5,485 9.35%
​​
Communist Bill Kardash 21 5,351 9.77%
​​
Independent Stephen Krawchyk 21 5,315 9.71%
​​
Conservative Huntly Ketchen 15 5,217 9.01%
​​
Conservative Gunnar Thorvaldson 21 5,796 10.58%
​​
CCF Morris Gray 21 5,140 9.39%
​​
Conservative James A. Barry 19 3,612 6.35%
​​
CCF Seymour Farmer 21 6,494 11.86%
​​
CCF John Queen 20 3,892 6.98%
​​
Liberal-Progressive Paul Bardal 21 5,324 9.72%
​​
CCF Stanley Knowles 18 2,611 4.57%
​​
Independent W.V. Tobias 16 1,927 3.34%
​​
Conservative F.E. Warriner 17 2,268 3.94%
​​
Liberal-Progressive H. Dick 15 1,369 2.37%
​​
CCF William Ivens 14 1,120 1.93%
​​
Conservative Harrison Dysart 13 931 1.60%
​​
Liberal Laurier Regnier 12 853 1.47%
​​
Conservative James Cowan 11 665 1.14%
​​
Social Credit Asta Oddson 11 721 1.24%
​​
Liberal-Progressive James Simpkin 9 563 0.96%
​​
Sound Money Economics T.H. Elliott 8 484 0.83%
​​
Sound Money Economics Madeline Hrynlewlecki 7 353 0.60%
​​
Social Credit J. J. Evans 6 311 0.53%
​​
Independent J.K. Downes 5 198 0.34%
​​
Sound Money Economics Thomas McConochie 4 193 0.33%
​​
Exhausted votes 3,922 6.73%
​​

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 the 1942 Canadian Parliamentary Guide and the "Historical Statement of Votes" section of the 2003 provincial election report. Unfortunately, the second-ballot results are not listed in these sources.

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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John Poole appears to have returned to the coalition shortly after the election. The CCF left the governing coalition in 1943.

Dufferin (dec. John Munn, 1941), June 22, 1943:

Killarney (dec. John Laughlin, 1941), June 22, 1943:

The Pas (res. John Bracken, January 15, 1943), August 17, 1943:

Brandon (dec. George Dinsdale, 1943), November 18, 1943:

Portage la Prairie (dec. Toby Sexsmith, 1943), November 18, 1943:

Winnipeg (dec. Stephen Krawchyk, 1943)

St. Boniface (dec. Austin Clarke, 1945)

Morden-Rhineland (res. Wallace C. Miller, 1945

Dwight Johnson and Beresford Richards were expelled from the CCF caucus in 1945.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Ian Stewart, Just One Vote: Jim Walding's nomination to constitutional defeat, (Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press), 2009, p. 14.
  2. ^ Harold John Jansen (Spring 1998). The Single Transferable Vote in Alberta and Manitoba (PDF) (PhD thesis). University of Alberta.
  3. ^ "Twenty-First General Election Held April 22, 1941 - Summary of Results" (PDF). electionsmanitoba.ca. Elections Manitoba. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
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