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The 1935 Canadian federal election was held on October 14, 1935, to elect members of the
House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...
of the 18th Parliament of
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
. The
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
of
William Lyon Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who was the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A Liberal ...
won a
majority government A majority government is a government by one or more governing parties that hold an absolute majority of seats in a legislature. Such a government can consist of one party that holds a majority on its own, or be a coalition government of multi ...
, defeating
Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
R. B. Bennett's
Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...
. The central issue was the economy, which was still in the depths of the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
. In office since the 1930 election, Bennett had sought to stimulate the economy during his first few years through a policy of high tariffs and trade within the
British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
. In the last months of his time in office, he reversed his position, copying the popular
New Deal The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...
of
Franklin Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. Upset about high unemployment and inaction by the federal government, voters were unwilling to allow the Conservatives to continue to govern, despite their change of policy. The Conservatives were also suffering severe internal divisions. During his first years in office, Bennett had alienated those in his party who supported intervention in the economy. His last minute conversion to interventionism alienated the rest of the party. Former cabinet minister H.H. Stevens left to form the Reconstruction Party. Senior minister Sir Joseph Flavelle announced he would be supporting the Liberals. Voters opted for Mackenzie King's promise of mild reforms to restore economic health. The Liberals crushed the Tories, winning 173 seats to the Conservatives' 39, the worst ever performance by the Tories until their collapse in
1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...
. The Liberal Party would continue to hold power until 1957. The 1935 election was also important in it saw the final demise of the Progressive Party and the
United Farmers of Alberta The United Farmers of Alberta (UFA) is an association of Alberta farmers that has served different roles in its 100-year history – as a lobby group, a successful political party, and as a farm-supply retail chain. As a political party, it forme ...
. The Progressive Party, having been in gradual decline over the previous decade, did not run any candidates under its own banner. The federal party, always highly decentralized, ceased to exist sometime circa 1940. However, Liberal-Progressive Premier of Manitoba John Bracken brought the name back into formal use when he moved to federal politics in 1942; his first act as leader of the Conservatives was to rechristen them the Progressive Conservative Party. The United Farmers of Alberta, whose credibility was ruined by a sex scandal involving former leader John E. Brownlee, lost all their seats in the provincial election earlier that year, and subsequently withdrew from electoral politics, likewise fielding no candidates in this federal election. Two new movements rose out of the west, however. The new
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; , FCC) was a federal democratic socialism, democratic socialistThe following sources describe the CCF as a democratic socialist political party: * * * * * * and social democracy, social-democ ...
, a
social democratic Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...
party, first competed in this election and won seven seats, promising social reform. The Social Credit Party of Canada was even more successful, capturing seventeen seats on its platform of monetary reform despite winning less of the popular vote than the former. Fifteen of these seats were in
Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...
, where the party dominated after having swept to power in a landslide less than two months before the federal vote. John Horne Blackmore was chosen to lead the Social Credit caucus after the election. The de facto leader of the national movement was Alberta Premier
William Aberhart William Aberhart (December 30, 1878 – May 23, 1943), also known as "Bible Bill" for his radio sermons about the Bible, was a Canadian politician and the seventh premier of Alberta from 1935 to his death in 1943. He was the founder and first le ...
, who did not stand in the federal election himself.


National results

Notes: * The party did not nominate candidates in the previous election. x - less than 0.005% of the popular vote


Vote and seat summaries


Results by province

*xx - less than 0.05% of the popular vote


See also

*
List of Canadian federal general elections This article provides a summary of results for Elections in Canada, Canadian general elections (where all seats are contested) to the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons, the elected lower half of Canada's Government of Canada, federal ...
*
List of political parties in Canada This article lists political party, political parties in Canada. Federal parties In contrast with the political party systems of many nations, Canadian parties at the federal level are often only loosely connected with parties at the provincial ...
* 18th Canadian Parliament


Further reading

* * MacKenzie, David (2023). ''King and Chaos: The 1935 Canadian General Election''.
University of British Columbia Press The University of British Columbia Press (UBC Press) is a university press that is part of the University of British Columbia. It is a mid-sized scholarly publisher, and the largest in Western Canada. The press is based in Vancouver, British Col ...
. * Neatby, H. Blair Neatby (1976). ''William Lyon Mackenzie King: 1932-1939'' *


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Canadian Federal Election, 1935 Federal
1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...
October 1935 in Canada