Jump to content

1948 Alberta general election

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1948 Alberta general election

← 1944 August 17, 1948 (1948-08-17) 1952 →

57 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
29 seats were needed for a majority
  Majority party Minority party Third party
 
LIB
Leader Ernest Manning Elmer E. Roper James H. Prowse
Party Social Credit Co-operative Commonwealth Liberal
Leader since May 31, 1943 1942 June 26, 1947
Leader's seat Edmonton Edmonton Edmonton
Last election 51 seats, 50.5% 2 seats, 24.2% did not run
Seats before 50 2 1
Seats won 51 2 2
Seat change Increase1 ±0 Increase1
Popular vote 164,003 56,387 52,655
Percentage 55.6% 19.1% 17.9%
Swing Increase5.1% Decrease5.1%

Premier before election

Ernest Manning
Social Credit

Premier after election

Ernest Manning
Social Credit

The 1948 Alberta general election was held on August 17, 1948, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.

Ernest C. Manning led the Social Credit to a fourth term in government, increasing its share of the popular vote further above the 50% mark it had set in the 1944 election. It won the same number of seats — 51 of the 57 seats in the legislature — that it had won in the previous election.

The remaining seats were won by the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation, the Liberal Party and independents.

This provincial election, like the previous five, saw district-level proportional representation (Single transferable voting) used to elect the MLAs of Edmonton and Calgary. City-wide districts were used to elect multiple MLAs in the cities. All the other MLAs were elected in single-member districts through Instant-runoff voting.

Along with this election, voters got to also vote in a province wide plebiscite. The ballot asked voters about utility regulation.


Results

[edit]
Elections to the 11th Alberta Legislative Assembly (1948)
Party Leader Candidates First-preference votes Seats
Votes ± % Fpv Change (pp) 1944 1948 ±
Social Credit Ernest C. Manning 57 164,003 17,636Increase 55.63 5.17 5.17
 
51
51 / 57
Steady
Co-operative Commonwealth Elmer Roper 51 56,387 13,920Decrease 19.13 -5.11
 
2
2 / 57
Steady
Liberal James H. Prowse 49 52,655 52,655Increase 17.86 17.86 17.86
 
2 / 57
2Increase
  Independent Citizen's Association[a 1] John P. Page 9 12,983 34,256Decrease 4.40 -11.88
 
3
1 / 57
2Decrease
Independent Social Credit 3 2,958 2,958Increase 1.00 1.00 1
 
1 / 57
1Increase
Veteran's & Active Force Did not campaign -1.22
 
1
0 / 57
1Decrease
Labour 1 3,579 3,579Increase 1.21 1.21 1.21
 
Labor–Progressive Ben Swankey 2 1,372 10,631Decrease 0.47 -3.67
 
  United Labour 1 856 932Decrease 0.30 -0.32
 
Total 173 294,793 100.00%
Rejected ballots 17,707 9,625Increase
Turnout 312,500 14,327Increase 63.5% 7.2Decrease
Registered voters 489,311 67,810Increase
  1. ^ Formerly known as the Independent Movement or the Citizens' Slate


Electrification plebiscite

[edit]

The fourth plebiscite conducted province-wide in Alberta's history, it was not a traditional yes–no question, but presented two options on electricity generation and transmission, asking if the province should create "a publicly-owned utility administered by the Alberta Government Power Commission"[1] or leave the electricity industry in the hands of companies already in the business (a mixture of municipal operations and private companies). The driving force behind the referendum was whether to provide rural electrification through public ownership or leave it in the hands of private corporations that had done very little up to that time and did not have the financial resources to perform the task.[2] Despite the referendum result, the government sponsored the creation of many Rural Electrification Associations, of which some still exist today.[3]

The result shows how evenly divided the province was on the issue, with a majority of only 151 votes in favour of leaving the old system in place. In fact, voters in Edmonton were effectively split and the rural areas were in favour of provincial control, but an even larger majority in Calgary voted to retain the old system.[4]

Option A Option B
Are you in favour of the generation and distribution of electricity being continued by the Power Companies? Are you in favour of the generation and distribution of electricity being made a publicly owned utility administered by the Alberta Government Power Commission?


Results by district – 1948 Alberta electricity plebiscite[5]
District In favour of
Status quo Public utility
Acadia-Coronation 1,578 38.81% 2,487 61.19%
Alexandra 1,350 37.00% 2,298 63.00%
Athabasca 1,262 29.08% 3,077 70.92%
Banff-Cochrane 2,624 64.31% 1,456 35.69%
Beaver River 2,770 65.85% 1,436 34.15%
Bow Valley-Empress 1,737 47.02% 1,957 52.98%
Bruce 1,423 38.01% 2,320 61.99%
Calgary 26,325 69.63% 11,478 30.37%
Camrose 2,164 42.79% 2,893 57.21%
Cardston 1,268 46.00% 1,488 54.00%
Clover Bar 1,722 38.26% 2,778 61.74%
Cypress 1,279 47.49% 1,414 52.51%
Didsbury 2,360 60.00% 1,573 40.00%
Drumheller 1,862 47.58% 2,051 52.42%
Edmonton 22,351 50.99% 21,478 49.01%
Edson 1,623 33.86% 3,170 66.14%
Gleichen 2,007 56.04% 1,574 43.96%
Grande Prairie 2,293 49.55% 2,334 50.45%
Grouard 1,673 32.21% 3,520 67.79%
Hand Hills 1,759 44.95% 2,154 55.05%
Lac Ste. Anne 1,242 28.86% 3,061 71.14%
Lacombe 1,994 43.32% 2,608 56.68%
Leduc 1,899 44.02% 2,414 55.98%
Lethbridge 4,237 64.90% 2,291 35.10%
Little Bow 1,653 52.14% 1,517 47.86%
Macleod 2,179 53.74% 1,875 46.26%
Medicine Hat 5,186 81.03% 1,214 18.97%
Okotoks-High River 3,321 61.16% 2,109 38.84%
Olds 2,398 58.60% 1,694 41.40%
Peace River 1,914 42.90% 2,547 57.10%
Pembina 1,710 34.29% 3,276 65.71%
Pincher Creek-Crowsnest 1,838 44.59% 2,284 55.41%
Ponoka 1,622 41.69% 2,268 58.31%
Red Deer 2,963 52.79% 2,649 47.21%
Redwater 804 22.66% 2,743 77.31%
Rocky Mountain House 2,210 45.63% 2,633 54.37%
St. Albert 1,897 55.16% 2,333 44.84%
St. Paul 1,945 41.50% 2,741 58.50%
Sedgewick 1,962 48.17% 2,111 51.83%
Spirit River 1,147 31.91% 2,447 68.09%
Stettler 2,190 53.91% 1,872 46.09%
Stony Plain 1,360 35.88% 2,430 64.12%
Taber 1,485 46.46% 1,711 53.54%
Vegreville 1,225 32.08% 2,593 67.92%
Vermilion 1,732 43.12% 2,284 56.88%
Wainwright 1,813 41.00% 2,608 59.00%
Warner 1,265 51.33% 1,199 48.67%
Wetaskiwin 2,301 46.23% 2,676 53.77%
Willingdon 1,069 28.24% 2,716 71.76%
Totals 139,991 50.03% 139,840 49.47%


MLAs elected

[edit]

Synopsis of results

[edit]
Results by riding – 1948 Alberta general election (all except Calgary, Edmonton and servicemember MLAs)[6]
Riding First-preference votes Turnout
[a 1]
Final counts Winning party
Name SC CCF Lib ICA Oth Total SC CCF Lib ICA I-SC 1944 1948
 
Acadia-Coronation 2,332 641 1,254 4,227 78.5% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Alexandra 2,034 1,190 651 3,875 57.7% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Athabasca 2,374 1,226 958 4,558 59.0% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Banff-Cochrane 1,084 1,246 1,658 3,988 58.2% 1,465 1,964 SC I-SC
Beaver River 1,992 1,282 1,579 4,853 68.9% 2,117 1,698 SC SC
Bow Valley-Empress 2,178 683 1,063 3,924 68.9% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Bruce 2,248 1,080 615 3,943 64.0% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Camrose 3,041 1,315 1,003 5,359 71.2% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Cardston 1,981 944 2,925 60.00% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Clover Bar 2,801 1,035 761 4,597 70.1% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Cypress 1,723 410 844 2,977 69.2% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Didsbury 2,647 417 935 3,999 64.5% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Drumheller 2,982 271 856 4,109 76.4% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Edson 2,543 1,715 770 5,028 65.4% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Gleichen 2,354 1,303 3,657 65.4% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Grande Prairie 2,952 1,019 768 4,739 68.4% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Grouard 2,493 1,249 1,850 5,592 75.7% 2,717 1,917 SC SC
Hand Hills 2,773 1,607 4,380 78.9% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Lac Ste. Anne 1,899 1,558 1,023 39 4,519 69.7% 2,401 1,742 SC SC
Lacombe 3,053 1,109 643 4,805 70.8% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Leduc 2,548 1,071 772 4,391 61.2% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Lethbridge 3,829 1,441 1,768 7,038 65.0% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Little Bow 1,865 435 1,086 3,386 75.1% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Macleod 2,852 756 612 4,220 67.8% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Medicine Hat 3,835 996 1,043 5,874 64.0% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Okotoks-High River 3,876 490 1,219 5,585 62.5% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Olds 3,260 424 690 4,374 66.8% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Peace River 3,191 1,087 829 5,107 61.3% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Pembina 3,165 1,462 684 5,311 72.8% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Pincher Creek-Crowsnest 2,210 815 998 856 4,879 72.0% 2,292 1,045 SC SC
Ponoka 2,679 1,023 519 4,221 69.6% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Red Deer 4,771 1,082 5,853 66.0% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Redwater 1,807 1,528 441 3,776 66.9% 1,912 1,572 SC SC
Rocky Mountain House 3,582 1,365 4,947 63.4% Elected on 1st count SC SC
St. Albert 2,702 1,047 774 4,523 67.9% Elected on 1st count SC SC
St. Paul 2,197 1,510 1,416 5,123 73.3% 2,980 1,584 SC SC
Sedgewick 2,867 567 838 4,272 71.6% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Spirit River 2,155 1,194 631 3,980 68.9% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Stettler 3,249 953 4,201 67.8% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Stony Plain 2,188 1,037 872 4,097 68.9% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Taber 2,559 501 463 3,523 62.6% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Vegreville 2,101 1,276 763 4,140 70.1% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Vermilion 1,999 1,158 1,179 4,336 71.9% 2,196 1,323 SC SC
Wainwright 2,877 887 833 4,597 70.4% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Warner 1,691 598 2,289 53.6% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Wetaskiwin 2,827 1,232 1,414 5,473 75.8% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Willingdon 2,111 1,861 3,972 72.6% Elected on 1st count SC SC
  1. ^ including spoilt ballots
  = Open seat
  = turnout is above provincial average
  = Candidate was in previous Legislature
  = Incumbent had switched allegiance
  = Previously incumbent in another riding
  = Not incumbent; was previously elected to the Legislature
  = Incumbency arose from by-election gain
  = previously an MP in the House of Commons of Canada
  = Multiple candidates

Multi-member districts

[edit]
  = Candidate was in previous Legislature
  = First-time MLA

STV analysis

[edit]

Exhausted votes

[edit]

Ten districts went beyond first-preference counts in order to determine winning candidates:

Exhausted votes (1948)
District Counts Exhausted
1st preference Final Votes % of 1st pref
Calgary 39,309 36,238 3,071 5.72 5.72
 
Edmonton 46,150 44,256 1,894 4.10 4.1
 
Banff-Cochrane 3,988 3,429 559 14.02 14.02
 
Beaver River 4,853 3,815 1,038 21.39 21.39
 
Grouard 5,592 4,634 958 17.13 17.13
 
Lac Ste. Anne 4,519 4,143 376 8.32 8.32
 
Pincher Creek-Crowsnest 4,879 3,337 1,542 31.60 31.6
 
Redwater 3,776 3,484 292 7.73 7.73
 
St. Paul 5,123 4,564 559 10.91 10.91
 
Vermilion 4,336 3,519 817 18.84 18.84
 

Calgary

[edit]

All parties other than the Independent Movement fielded full slates.

Party Candidates MLAs elected
1944 1940 ± 1944 1940 ±
Social Credit 5 5 Steady 2 2 Steady
Co-operative Commonwealth 5 5 Steady 1 1 Steady
Liberal 5 5Increase 1 1Increase
  Independent Citizen's Association 3 4 1Decrease 1 2 1Decrease
Labor–Progressive 1 5 4Decrease
Labour 1 1Increase
Independent Social Credit 2 2Increase
Total 22 19 3Increase 5 5 Steady
Calgary (1948 Alberta general election) (five members elected, candidates ranked in order of 1st preference)[7][8]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
Social Credit Rose Wilkinson 18.29% 7,153
Social Credit Frederick C. Colborne 10.03% 3,923 4,196 4,200 4,205 4,209 4,291 4,299 4,313 4,499 4,562 4,580 4,696 4,805 5,809 5,883 6,764
Independent Citizen's Association Howard B. Macdonald 9.82% 3,840 3,847 3,849 3,849 3,854 3,884 4,155 4,162 4,190 4,238 4,245 4,300 5,195 5,205 5,464 5,490 5,985 5,988 6,339
Labour Peter Morrison 9.15% 3,579 3,596 3,596 3,613 3,664 3,700 3,719 3,744 3,789 3,835 3,880 3,908 3,959 3,982 4,031 4,083 4,160 4,168
Co-operative Commonwealth Aylmer Liesemer 6.33% 2,475 2,479 2,568 2,726 2,925 2,944 2,954 3,339 3,355 3,368 4,214 4,227 4,258 4,270 4,327 4,343 4,416 4,417 5,742
Social Credit James Leslie Hill 6.30% 2,464 2,535 2,537 2,540 2,543 2,671 2,677 2,689 2,809 2,831 2,842 2,856 2,886 3,087 3,128 4,265 4,351 4,580 5,535
Liberal Hugh John MacDonald 5.06% 1,977 1,981 1,982 1,982 1,986 2,000 2,034 2,037 2,051 2,237 2,240 2,824 2,892 2,901 3,951 3,972 5,876 5,879 6,215
Social Credit R.B. Estabrook 4.48% 1,751 1,830 1,830 1,831 1,835 1,885 1,891 1,909 1,991 2,004 2,011 2,013 2,041 2,241 2,289
Liberal J. Roger Flumerfelt 4.32% 1,691 1,696 1,702 1,704 1,710 1,717 1,728 1,737 1,750 1,874 1,889 2,145 2,223 2,226
Liberal Mary Dover 4.10% 1,602 1,610 1,613 1,615 1,616 1,621 1,688 1,692 1,704 1,929 1,936 2,225 2,307 2,320 2,866 2,885
Liberal Michael J. McCormick 3.16% 1,237 1,242 1,244 1,244 1,246 1,251 1,258 1,261 1,272 1,429 1,432
Independent Citizen's Association M.V. Anderson 3.15% 1,233 1,242 1,242 1,246 1,250 1,272 1,385 1,390 1,412 1,444 1,448 1,461
Social Credit George M. Whicher 2.79% 1,091 1,203 1,203 1,207 1,207 1,245 1,253 1,257 1,479 1,510 1,512 1,522 1,537
Liberal Loftus Dudley Ward 2.42% 948 951 951 955 957 966 974 977 994
Independent Social Credit A.P. Van Buren 1.89% 738 754 757 765 766 849 857 858
Independent Citizen's Association Edwina Milvain 1.48% 578 580 586 587 589 598
Independent Social Credit Art Larsen 1.44% 563 572 575 577 582
Co-operative Commonwealth George Ellinson 1.38% 539 539 596 655 718 721 723
Co-operative Commonwealth George R. Austin 1.32% 518 519 542 724 863 871 872 1,058 1,066 1,078
Labor–Progressive Terry Levis 1.32% 516 516 518 521
Co-operative Commonwealth W. Orr 1.13% 442 442 469
Co-operative Commonwealth Mary A. Hart 0.62% 243 243
Exhausted ballots 11 24 38 64 98 117 161 223 245 355 407 481 543 645 782 1,032 1,035 2,236
Electorate: 76,939   Valid: 39,101   Spoilt: 2,359   Quota: 6,517   Turnout: 41,460 (53.9%)  
Calgary (1948 Alberta general election)
(analysis of transferred votes, candidates ranked in order of 1st preference)
Party Candidate Maximum
round
Maximum
votes
Share in
maximum
round
Maximum votes
First round votesTransfer votes


Social Credit Rose Wilkinson 1 7,153 18.29%
Social Credit Frederick C. Colborne 16 6,764 17.65%
ICA Howard B. Macdonald 19 6,339 17.20%
Independent Labour Peter Morrison 18 4,168 10.95%
CCF Aylmer Liesemer 19 5,742 15.58%
Social Credit James Leslie Hill 19 5,535 15.01%
Liberal Hugh John MacDonald 19 6,215 16.86%
Social Credit R.B. Estabrook 15 2,289 5.95%
Liberal J. Roger Flumerfelt 14 2,226 5.77%
Liberal Mary Dover 16 2,885 7.53%
Liberal Michael J. McCormick 11 1,432 3.70%
ICA M.V. Anderson 12 1,461 3.78%
Social Credit George M. Whicher 13 1,537 3.98%
Liberal Loftus Dudley Ward 9 994 2.56%
Independent Social Credit A.P. Van Buren 8 858 2.20%
ICA Edwina Milvain 6 598 1.53%
Independent Social Credit Art Larsen 5 582 1.49%
CCF George Ellinson 7 723 1.85%
CCF George R. Austin 10 1,078 2.77%
LPP Terry Levis 4 521 1.33%
CCF W. Orr 3 469 1.20%
CCF Mary A. Hart 2 243 0.62%
Exhausted votes 2,236 5.72%


Edmonton

[edit]

Three parties had full slates. The Independent Movement presented four candidates, and Williams campaigned under his own banner.

Party Candidates MLAs elected
1944 1940 ± 1944 1940 ±
Social Credit 5 5 Steady 3 2 1Increase
Co-operative Commonwealth 5 5 Steady 1 1 Steady
Liberal 5 5Increase 1 1Increase
  Independent Citizen's Association 1 4 3Decrease 1 1Decrease
Veteran's & Active Force 1 1Decrease 1 1Decrease
Labor–Progressive 5 5Decrease
Total 16 20 4Decrease 5 5 Steady
Edmonton (1948 Alberta general election) (five members elected, candidates ranked in order of 1st preference)[9]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Social Credit Ernest Manning 47.70% 22,014
Co-operative Commonwealth Elmer Roper 14.11% 6,511 6,712 6,721 6,876 7,102 7,125 7,511 7,536 7,543 8,869
Liberal James Harper Prowse 13.66% 6,303 7,124 7,191 7,192 7,199 7,516 7,534 8,167
Independent Citizen's Association John Percy Page 5.90% 2,723 3,913 3,917 3,925 3,941 4,068 4,105 4,148 4,190 4,226 4,306 4,353 4,725 4,883
Liberal Peter Lazarowich 2.67% 1,234 1,371 1,390 1,395 1,399 1,518 1,529 1,702 2,083 2,115 2,142 2,167
Co-operative Commonwealth Jack Hampson 2.27% 1,046 1,065 1,066 1,167 1,245 1,250 1,544 1,562 1,567
Social Credit Clayton Adams 2.05% 946 4,881 4,894 4,895 4,914 4,938 4,958 5,026 5,037 5,047 5,071 5,769 5,938 7,559
Liberal Mary Scullion 2.04% 942 1,039 1,060 1,060 1,060 1,122 1,133
Social Credit Lou Heard 1.93% 890 4,778 4,785 4,792 4,797 4,818 4,828 4,864 4,875 4,891 4,910 5,271 5,479 7,746
Social Credit John Gillies 1.67% 772 3,198 3,203 3,203 3,209 3,246 3,258 3,304 3,317 3,343 3,357 4,110 4,274
Co-operative Commonwealth Mary Crawford 1.34% 618 652 657 697 859 866
Liberal Francis Ford 1.22% 565 728 770 780 786
Social Credit Walter Crockett 1.13% 523 1,870 1,874 1,879 1,883 1,905 1,928 1,948 1,953 1,968 1,989
Co-operative Commonwealth Arthur Thornton 1.08% 498 522 526 561
Co-operative Commonwealth Joseph Dowler 0.80% 370 381 385
Liberal William Brownlee 0.42% 195 224
Exhausted ballots 0 19 36 64 86 130 201 201 307 307 412 1,666 1,894
Electorate: 84,391   Valid: 46,150   Spoilt: 1,126   Quota: 7,692   Turnout: 47,276 (56.0%)  
Edmonton (1944 Alberta general election)
(analysis of transferred votes, candidates ranked in order of 1st preference)
Party Candidate Maximum
round
Maximum
votes
Share in
maximum
round
Maximum votes
First round votesTransfer votes


Social Credit Ernest Manning 1 22,014 47.70%
CCF Elmer Roper 10 8,869 19.35%
Liberal James Harper Prowse 8 8,167 17.77%
ICA John Percy Page 14 4,883 11.03%
Liberal Peter Lazarowich 12 2,167 4.74%
CCF Jack Hampson 9 1,567 3.41%
Social Credit Clayton Adams 14 7,559 17.08%
Liberal Mary Scullion 7 1,133 2.46%
Social Credit Lou Heard 14 7,746 17.50%
Social Credit John Gillies 13 4,274 9.61%
CCF Mary Crawford 6 866 1.88%
Liberal Francis Ford 5 786 1.71%
Social Credit Walter Crockett 11 1,989 4.34%
CCF Arthur Thornton 4 561 1.22%
CCF Joseph Dowler 3 385 0.83%
Liberal William Brownlee 2 224 0.49%
Exhausted votes 1,894 4.10%

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ A Report on Alberta Elections, p. 185
  2. ^ The People's Weekly, August 14, Sept. 4, 1948
  3. ^ "Alberta Power Market" website, accessed May 16, 2020
  4. ^ "Private Hydro Control Swung By City Votes". Calgary Albertan. August 20, 1948. p. 3.
  5. ^ A Century of Democracy: Elections of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, 1905-2005. Edmonton: Legislative Assembly of Alberta. pp. 484–485. ISBN 0-9689217-9-5.
  6. ^ A Century of Democracy: Elections of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, 1905-2005. Edmonton: Legislative Assembly of Alberta. pp. 166–178. ISBN 0-9689217-9-5.
  7. ^ "2 Social Credit Elected Here". Calgary Herald. August 18, 1948. pp. 1, 10.
  8. ^ "Private Power Vote 109,330". Calgary Herald. August 19, 1948. pp. 1, 2.
  9. ^ "Here's How Votes Were Distributed To Elect Five Alberta MLAs Here". Edmonton Bulletin. August 19, 1948. p. 7.