House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

William Lyon Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A L ...

minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in t ...

majority A majority, also called a simple majority or absolute majority to distinguish it from related terms, is more than half of the total.Dictionary definitions of ''majority'' aMerriam-Websterhad been fighting in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. In May 1945, the war in Europe ended, allowing King to call an election. As the war in Asia was still raging on, King promised a voluntary force to fight in

Operation Downfall Operation Downfall was the proposed Allied plan for the invasion of the Japanese home islands near the end of World War II. The planned operation was canceled when Japan surrendered following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ...

, the planned invasion of Japan, while Progressive Conservative Party (PC Party) leader John Bracken promised

conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to Ancient history, antiquity and it continues in some countries to th ...

, which was an unpopular proposal and led to the PCs' third consecutive defeat. The Liberals were also re-elected because of their promise to expand welfare programs. However, they lost about a third of their seats; the stark decline in support was partly attributed to their introduction of conscription in 1944, which was unpopular in many parts of Canada. In addition, the

democratic socialist Democratic socialism is a left-wing political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-management within ...

Co-operative Commonwealth Federation The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; french: Fédération du Commonwealth Coopératif, FCC); from 1955 the Social Democratic Party of Canada (''french: Parti social démocratique du Canada''), was a federal democratic socialistThe follo ...

made a minor breakthrough while the Social Credit Party made slight gains. Although the election officially resulted in a minority government, the election of eight "Independent Liberal" MPs, most of whom did not run as official Liberals because of their opposition to

conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to Ancient history, antiquity and it continues in some countries to th ...

, gave the King government an effective working majority in parliament. Most of the Independent Liberal MPs joined (or re-joined) the Liberal caucus following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

when the conscription issue became moot. As King was defeated in his own riding of Prince Albert, fellow Liberal

William MacDiarmid William Burton MacDiarmid (23 May 1875 – 13 May 1947) was a Liberal party member of the House of Commons of Canada. He was born in Athol, Ontario and became a physician by career. MacDiarmid graduated from McGill University where he re ...

, who was re-elected in the

safe seat A safe seat is an electoral district (constituency) in a legislative body (e.g. Congress, Parliament, City Council) which is regarded as fully secure, for either a certain political party, or the incumbent representative personally or a combina ...

of Glengarry, resigned so that a by-election could be held, which was subsequently won by King.

Background

In the 1935 election, the Liberal Party led by

William Lyon Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A L ...

returned to power (King's Liberals had previously governed Canada from 1921 to 1930) with a

landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of environmen ...

majority government A majority government is a government by one or more governing parties that hold an absolute majority of seats in a legislature. This is as opposed to a minority government, where the largest party in a legislature only has a plurality of seats ...

. The King government's success in combatting the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

led to their second landslide majority victory in the 1940 election. From 1939 to 1945, the King government's main priority was aiding the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. In the period leading up to the election, the

Co-operative Commonwealth Federation The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; french: Fédération du Commonwealth Coopératif, FCC); from 1955 the Social Democratic Party of Canada (''french: Parti social démocratique du Canada''), was a federal democratic socialistThe follo ...

was rising in popularity. A Gallup poll from September 1943 showed the CCF with a one-point lead over both the Liberals and Progressive Conservatives. Many predicted a major breakthrough for the CCF nationally and the party was expected to win 70 to 100 seats, possibly even enough to form a

minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in t ...

. In the Saskatchewan provincial election, the CCF won a landslide victory, forming a provincial government for the first time. In 1942, members of the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

held the Port Hope Conference, which established several Conservative goals including support for free enterprise and conscription, and more radical policies such as full-employment, low-cost housing,

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...

rights, as well as a whole range of

social security Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...

measures, including a government financed medicare system. Progressive Party

Premier of Manitoba The premier of Manitoba (french: premier ministre du Manitoba) is the first minister (i.e., head of government or chief executive) for the Canadian province of Manitoba—as well as the ''de facto'' President of the province's Executive Council ...

John Bracken became the Conservative Party's leader that same year, and changed the party's name to the Progressive Conservative Party as a result of this policy shift.

Campaign

Liberals

A key issue in this election seems to have been electing a stable government. The Liberals urged voters to "Return the Mackenzie King Government", and argued that only the Liberal Party had a "preponderance of members in all nine provinces". Mackenzie King threatened to call a new election if he was not given a majority: "We would have confusion to deal with at a time when the world will be in a very disturbed situation. The war in Europe is over, but unrest in the east is not over." Social welfare programs were also an issue in the campaign. Another Liberal slogan encouraged voters to "Build a New Social Order" by endorsing the Liberal platform, which included * $750 million to provide land, jobs and business support for veterans; * $400 million of public spending to build housing; * $250 million for family allowances; * establishing an Industrial development Bank; * loans to farmers, floor prices for agricultural products; * tax reductions.

Progressive Conservatives

The Progressive Conservatives tried to capitalize on the massive mid-campaign victory by the

Ontario Progressive Conservative Party The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (french: Parti progressiste-conservateur de l'Ontario), often shortened to the Ontario PC Party or simply the PCs, colloquially known as the Tories, is a centre-right political party in Ontario, Canada ...

in the 1945 Ontario provincial election. PC campaign ads exhorted voters to rally behind their party: "Ontario shows! Only Bracken can win!", and suggesting that it would be impossible to form a majority government in the country without a plurality of seats in Ontario, which only the Tories could win.

Operation Downfall Operation Downfall was the proposed Allied plan for the invasion of the Japanese home islands near the end of World War II. The planned operation was canceled when Japan surrendered following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ...

, the invasion of Japan, was scheduled for late 1945-early 1946. Bracken had promised conscription for the invasion of Japan whereas King had promised to commit one division of volunteers to the planned invasion of Japan. Based on the way that the Japanese had fought the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa it was widely expected that the invasion of the Japanese home islands would be a bloody campaign, and Bracken's promise of conscription for the planned invasion of Japan did much to turn voters against his party.Morton, Desmond A Military History of Canada, Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1999 page 223-224.

Co-operative Commonwealth Federation

Campaigning under the slogan, "Work, Security, and Freedom for All – with the CCF", the CCF promised to retain war-time taxes on high incomes and excess profits in order to fund social services, and to abolish the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the ...

. The CCF fought hard to prevent the support of labour from going to the Labor-Progressive Party (i.e., the

Communist Party of Canada The Communist Party of Canada (french: Parti communiste du Canada) is a federal political party in Canada, founded in 1921 under conditions of illegality. Although it does not currently have any parliamentary representation, the party's can ...

). The LPP, for its part, pointed out that the CCF's refusal to enter into an electoral pact with the LPP had cost the CCF 100,000 votes in the Ontario election, and had given victory to the Ontario PCs. It urged voters to "Make Labour a Partner in Government."

Social Credit

The Social Credit Party of Canada tried, with modest success, to capitalize on the positive image of the Alberta Socred government of William Aberhart, asking voters, "Good Government in Alberta -- Why Not at Ottawa?". Referring to

social credit Social credit is a distributive philosophy of political economy developed by C. H. Douglas. Douglas attributed economic downturns to discrepancies between the cost of goods and the compensation of the workers who made them. To combat what he ...

monetary theories, the party encouraged voters to "Vote for the National Dividend".

National results

Notes: * The party did not nominate candidates in the previous election. x - less than 0.005% of the popular vote. ¹ 1945 Progressive Conservative vote compared to 1940 National Government + Conservative vote. ² 1945 Social Credit vote compared to 1940 New Democracy + Social Credit vote. ³ 1945 Labor-Progressive vote compared to 1940 Communist vote. ⁴ The successful "Independent CCF" candidate ran as a People's Co-operative Commonwealth Federation candidate. ⁵ One Progressive Conservative candidate ran under the "National Government" label that the party had used in the 1940 election.

Results by province

xx - less than 0.05% of the popular vote.

References

{{election canada 1945 Federal June 1945 events in Canada

Background

Campaign

Liberals

Progressive Conservatives

Co-operative Commonwealth Federation

Social Credit

National results

Results by province

Further reading

See also

References