1948 Alberta general election

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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

Quick facts 57 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta 29 seats were needed for a majority, Majority party ...
1948 Alberta general election
← 1944
August 17, 1948 (1948-08-17)
1952 â†’
← outgoing members
members â†’
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

Close

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 their preferred method to distribute electricity in province.


Results

More information Party, Leader ...
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 57164,00317,636Increase55.63 5.17
 
 51
51 / 57
 Steady
Co-operative Commonwealth Elmer Roper 5156,38713,920Decrease19.13 -5.11
 
 2
2 / 57
 Steady
Liberal James H. Prowse 4952,65552,655Increase17.86 17.86
 
 –
2 / 57
 2Increase
  Independent Citizen's Association[a 1] John P. Page 912,98334,256Decrease4.40 -11.88
 
 3
1 / 57
 2Decrease
Independent Social Credit 32,9582,958Increase1.00 1.00
 
 –
1 / 57
 1Increase
Veteran's & Active Force Did not campaign -1.22
 
 1
0 / 57
 1Decrease
Labour 13,5793,579Increase1.21 1.21
 
Labor-Progressive Ben Swankey 21,37210,631Decrease0.47 -3.67
 
  United Labour 1856932Decrease0.30 -0.32
 
Total173 294,793 100.00%
Rejected ballots 17,7079,625Increase
Turnout 312,50014,327Increase 63.5%7.2Decrease
Registered voters 489,31167,810Increase
Close
  1. [1]
    Formerly known as the Independent Movement or the Citizens' Slate


Electrification plebiscite

The fourth plebiscite conducted province-wide in Alberta's history, the 1948 electrification referendum was not a traditional yes–no question but presented two options on electricity generation and transmission. It asked the voter to indicate whether 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 provincial government ownership or leave it in the hands of private corporations, who had done very little up to that time and did not have the financial resources to perform the task.[2] The referendum result was a slight majority in favour of retention of the existing companies. Despite that, the government sponsored the creation of many Rural Electrification Associations, some of which still are in operation today.[3][4]

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.[5]

More information Option A, Option B ...
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?
Close


More information District, In favour of ...
Results by district â€“ 1948 Alberta electricity plebiscite[6]
District In favour of
Status quo Public utility
Acadia-Coronation 1,57838.81%2,48761.19%
Alexandra 1,35037.00%2,29863.00%
Athabasca 1,26229.08%3,07770.92%
Banff-Cochrane 2,62464.31%1,45635.69%
Beaver River 2,77065.85%1,43634.15%
Bow Valley-Empress 1,73747.02%1,95752.98%
Bruce 1,42338.01%2,32061.99%
Calgary 26,32569.63%11,47830.37%
Camrose 2,16442.79%2,89357.21%
Cardston 1,26846.00%1,48854.00%
Clover Bar 1,72238.26%2,77861.74%
Cypress 1,27947.49%1,41452.51%
Didsbury 2,36060.00%1,57340.00%
Drumheller 1,86247.58%2,05152.42%
Edmonton 22,35150.99%21,47849.01%
Edson 1,62333.86%3,17066.14%
Gleichen 2,00756.04%1,57443.96%
Grande Prairie 2,29349.55%2,33450.45%
Grouard 1,67332.21%3,52067.79%
Hand Hills 1,75944.95%2,15455.05%
Lac Ste. Anne 1,24228.86%3,06171.14%
Lacombe 1,99443.32%2,60856.68%
Leduc 1,89944.02%2,41455.98%
Lethbridge 4,23764.90%2,29135.10%
Little Bow 1,65352.14%1,51747.86%
Macleod 2,17953.74%1,87546.26%
Medicine Hat 5,18681.03%1,21418.97%
Okotoks-High River 3,32161.16%2,10938.84%
Olds 2,39858.60%1,69441.40%
Peace River 1,91442.90%2,54757.10%
Pembina 1,71034.29%3,27665.71%
Pincher Creek-Crowsnest 1,83844.59%2,28455.41%
Ponoka 1,62241.69%2,26858.31%
Red Deer 2,96352.79%2,64947.21%
Redwater 80422.66%2,74377.31%
Rocky Mountain House 2,21045.63%2,63354.37%
St. Albert 1,89755.16%2,33344.84%
St. Paul 1,94541.50%2,74158.50%
Sedgewick 1,96248.17%2,11151.83%
Spirit River 1,14731.91%2,44768.09%
Stettler 2,19053.91%1,87246.09%
Stony Plain 1,36035.88%2,43064.12%
Taber 1,48546.46%1,71153.54%
Vegreville 1,22532.08%2,59367.92%
Vermilion 1,73243.12%2,28456.88%
Wainwright 1,81341.00%2,60859.00%
Warner 1,26551.33%1,19948.67%
Wetaskiwin 2,30146.23%2,67653.77%
Willingdon 1,06928.24%2,71671.76%
Totals 139,99150.03%139,84049.47%
Close

MLAs elected

Synopsis of results

More information Riding, First-preference votes ...
Results by riding â€“ 1948 Alberta general election (all except Calgary, Edmonton and servicemember MLAs)[7]
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 2,3326411,254––4,227 78.5% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Alexandra 2,0341,190651––3,875 57.7% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Athabasca 2,3741,226958––4,558 59.0% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Banff-Cochrane 1,084––1,2461,6583,988 58.2% –––1,4651,964 SC I-SC
Beaver River 1,9921,2821,579––4,853 68.9% 2,117–1,698–– SC SC
Bow Valley-Empress 2,1786831,063––3,924 68.9% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Bruce 2,2481,080615––3,943 64.0% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Camrose 3,0411,3151,003––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 2,8011,035761––4,597 70.1% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Cypress 1,723410844––2,977 69.2% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Didsbury 2,647417–935–3,999 64.5% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Drumheller 2,982–271–8564,109 76.4% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Edson 2,5431,715770––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 2,9521,019768––4,739 68.4% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Grouard 2,4931,2491,850––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 1,8991,5581,023–394,519 69.7% 2,4011,742––– SC SC
Lacombe 3,0531,109643––4,805 70.8% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Leduc 2,5481,071772––4,391 61.2% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Lethbridge 3,8291,4411,768––7,038 65.0% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Little Bow 1,865435–1,086–3,386 75.1% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Macleod 2,852756612––4,220 67.8% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Medicine Hat 3,8359961,043––5,874 64.0% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Okotoks-High River 3,8764901,219––5,585 62.5% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Olds 3,260424690––4,374 66.8% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Peace River 3,1911,087829––5,107 61.3% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Pembina 3,1651,462684––5,311 72.8% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Pincher Creek-Crowsnest 2,210815998–8564,879 72.0% 2,292–1,045–– SC SC
Ponoka 2,6791,023519––4,221 69.6% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Red Deer 4,7711,082–––5,853 66.0% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Redwater 1,8071,528441––3,776 66.9% 1,9121,572––– SC SC
Rocky Mountain House 3,5821,365–––4,947 63.4% Elected on 1st count SC SC
St. Albert 2,7021,047774––4,523 67.9% Elected on 1st count SC SC
St. Paul 2,1971,5101,416––5,123 73.3% 2,9801,584––– SC SC
Sedgewick 2,867567838––4,272 71.6% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Spirit River 2,1551,194631––3,980 68.9% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Stettler 3,249953–––4,201 67.8% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Stony Plain 2,1881,037872––4,097 68.9% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Taber 2,559501463––3,523 62.6% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Vegreville 2,1011,276763––4,140 70.1% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Vermilion 1,9991,1581,179––4,336 71.9% 2,196–1,323–– SC SC
Wainwright 2,877887833––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 2,8271,2321,414––5,473 75.8% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Willingdon 2,1111,861–––3,972 72.6% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Close
  1. [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

More information District, Seats won (in order declared) ...
Close
  = Candidate was in previous Legislature
  = First-time MLA

STV analysis

Exhausted votes

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

More information District, Counts ...
Exhausted votes (1948)
District Counts Exhausted
1st preference Final Votes % of 1st pref
Calgary 39,10136,8652236 5.72
 
Edmonton 46,15044,2561,894 4.10
 
Banff-Cochrane 3,9883,429559 14.02
 
Beaver River 4,8533,8151,038 21.39
 
Grouard 5,5924,634958 17.13
 
Lac Ste. Anne 4,5194,143376 8.32
 
Pincher Creek-Crowsnest 4,8793,3371,542 31.60
 
Redwater 3,7763,484292 7.73
 
St. Paul 5,1234,564559 10.91
 
Vermilion 4,3363,519817 18.84
 
Close

Calgary

All parties other than the Independent Movement fielded full slates.

More information Party, Candidates ...
Party Candidates MLAs elected
1944 1940 ± 1944 1940 ±
Social Credit 55Steady22Steady
Co-operative Commonwealth 55Steady11Steady
Liberal 5–5Increase1–1Increase
  Independent Citizen's Association 341Decrease121Decrease
Labor-Progressive 154Decrease–––
Labour 1–1Increase–––
Independent Social Credit 2–2Increase–––
Total 22193Increase55Steady
Close
More information Party, Candidate ...
Calgary (1948 Alberta general election) (five members elected, candidates ranked in order of 1st preference vote tallies)[8][9]
PartyCandidateFPv%Count
12345678910111213141516171819
Social Credit Rose Wilkinson 18.29% 7,153 6528
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 6764 6520
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% 737 753 756 764 765 843 856 857
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 — — 0 13 27 53 87 106 150 212 234 344 396 470 532 634 771 1,021 1,021 2,222
Electorate: 76,939   Valid: 39,101   Spoilt: 2,359   Quota: 6,517   Turnout: 41,460 (53.9%)  
Close

(In the original official report, exhausted votes were not recorded as a separate total but instead resided with candidate that last had the votes. Here exhausted votes reside with winning candidates but are separated out if they arise from the elimination of a candidate.)[10]

More information Party, Candidate ...
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 votes   Transfer 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%
​​
Close

Edmonton

In 1940 and 1944, three parties had full slates. The Independent Movement presented four candidates, and Williams campaigned under his own banner, that of the Veteran's & Active Force.

More information Party, Candidates ...
Party Candidates MLAs elected
1944 1940 ± 1944 1940 ±
Social Credit 55Steady321Increase
Co-operative Commonwealth 55Steady11Steady
Liberal 5–5Increase1–1Increase
  Independent Citizen's Association 143Decrease–11Decrease
Veteran's & Active Force –11Decrease–11Decrease
Labor-Progressive –55Decrease–––
Total 16204Decrease55Steady
Close
More information Party, Candidate ...
Edmonton (1948 Alberta general election) (five members elected, candidates ranked in order of 1st preference)[11]
PartyCandidateFPv%Count
1234567891011121314
Social Credit Ernest Manning 47.70% 22,014 7692
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 8684
Liberal James Harper Prowse 13.66% 6,303 7,124 7,191 7,192 7,199 7,516 7,534 8,167 7692
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 0
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 0
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 0
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 0
Co-operative Commonwealth Mary Crawford 1.34% 618 652 657 697 859 866 0
Liberal Francis Ford 1.22% 565 728 770 780 786 0
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 0
Co-operative Commonwealth Arthur Thornton 1.08% 498 522 526 561 0
Co-operative Commonwealth Joseph Dowler 0.80% 370 381 385 0
Liberal William Brownlee 0.42% 195 224 0
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%)  
Close

(Exhausted votes reside with winning candidates but are separated out if they arise from the elimination of a candidate. On the eleventh count Roper's surplus votes were transferred where possible, but 8684 of his votes did not bear usable back-up preferences so they were retained by Roper.)[12]

More information Party, Candidate ...
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 votes   Transfer 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%
​​
Close

See also

References

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