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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 Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...
, Canada. This election was held shortly after the formation of a
coalition government A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...
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 Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...
John Bracken John Bracken (22 June 1883 – 18 March 1969) was a Canadian agronomist and politician who was the 11th and longest-serving premier of Manitoba (1922–1943) and later the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (1942–194 ...
's Liberal-Progressives were the dominant force in government, while the Conservative Party under
Errick Willis Errick French Willis (March 21, 1896 – January 9, 1967) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served as leader of the province's Conservative Party between 1936 and 1954, and was responsible for beginning and ending the party's all ...
held a secondary position. The smaller
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 ...
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 A Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected to sit in a legislative assembly. The term most commonly refers to members of the legislature of a federated state or an autonomous region, but is also used for several nation ...
(MLA), James Litterick, had been expelled from the legislature and had gone into hiding. When the coalition was created, Independent MLA
Lewis Stubbs Lewis St. George Stubbs (June 14, 1878 – May 12, 1958) was a prominent judge and politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1936 to 1949 as an Independent, He promoted left-wing and socially progress ...
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. 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 Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...
, and the Gimli constituency, for a total of three seats. John Queen, the CCF
Mayor of Winnipeg The mayor of Winnipeg is a member of Winnipeg City Council, but does not represent a ward. The position of mayor was created in 1873 following the incorporation of Winnipeg. Since 1998, the term of office has been for four years. The 44th and ...
, 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 William Arthur Kardash (June 10, 1912 – January 17, 1997) was a politician and member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1941 until 1958. He served as Winnipeg MLA from 1941 to 1958, as Worker's Candidate at first, then as a repres ...
. 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. Like previous elections, all the voters cast preferential votes. Ten MLAs were elected in city-wide Winnipeg district through
Single transferable vote The single transferable vote (STV) or proportional-ranked choice voting (P-RCV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which each voter casts a single vote in the form of a ranked ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vot ...
; all other MLAs were elected through
Instant-runoff voting Instant-runoff voting (IRV; ranked-choice voting (RCV), preferential voting, alternative vote) is a single-winner ranked voting election system where Sequential loser method, one or more eliminations are used to simulate Runoff (election), ...
.


Results


Results by riding

Bold names indicate members returned by
acclamation An acclamation is a form of election that does not use a ballot. It derives from the ancient Roman word ''acclamatio'', a kind of ritual greeting and expression of approval towards imperial officials in certain social contexts. Voting Voice vot ...
. Italicized names indicate Anti-Coalition candidates returned. Incumbents are marked with *.


Winnipeg

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...
: Ten MLAs were elected through
Single transferable vote The single transferable vote (STV) or proportional-ranked choice voting (P-RCV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which each voter casts a single vote in the form of a ranked ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vot ...
. :''* - Incumbent'' :(''Italics'' indicate Anti-Coalition candidate; bold indicates candidate was declared elected)


Sources

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

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: * Earl Collins (C) accl.
Killarney Killarney ( ; , meaning 'church of sloes') is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is on the northeastern shore of Lough Leane, part of Killarney National Park, and is home to St Mary's Cathedral, Killar ...
(dec. John Laughlin, 1941), June 22, 1943: *
Abram Harrison Abram William Harrison (July 15, 1898– November 14, 1979) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1943 to 1966, initially as a Conservative and later as a Progressive Conservative, a ...
(C) 1378 *Chapman 987
The Pas The Pas ( , ) is a town in Manitoba, Canada, at the confluence of the Pasquia River and the Saskatchewan River and surrounded by the unorganized Northern Region of the province. It is approximately northwest of the provincial capital, Winn ...
(res.
John Bracken John Bracken (22 June 1883 – 18 March 1969) was a Canadian agronomist and politician who was the 11th and longest-serving premier of Manitoba (1922–1943) and later the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (1942–194 ...
, January 15, 1943), August 17, 1943: *
Beresford Richards Beresford (Berry) Richards (August 26, 1914, Aiegnmouth, Cornwall, England – May 1982) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1943 to 1949. Elected as a candidate of the Cooperative C ...
(CCF) 3504 *McIsaac 1270 *Wright 526 *Mainwaring 480 Brandon (dec. George Dinsdale, 1943), November 18, 1943: * Dwight Johnson (CCF) 3722 *Young 3204
Portage la Prairie Portage la Prairie () is a small city in the Central Plains Region of Manitoba, Canada. In 2016, the population was 13,304 and the land area was . Portage la Prairie is approximately west of Winnipeg, along the Trans-Canada Highway (exactly ...
(dec.
Toby Sexsmith William Raymond "Toby" Sexsmith (August 23, 1885August 23, 1943) was a Canadian politician and ice hockey administrator. He was elected three times as a Progressive Conservative Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba representin ...
, 1943), November 18, 1943: * Charles Greenlay (C) 1762 *Ireland 621 *Miller 436
Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...
(dec. Stephen Krawchyk, 1943) St. Boniface (dec. Austin Clarke, 1945) Morden-Rhineland (res. Wallace C. Miller, 1945 Dwight Johnson and
Beresford Richards Beresford (Berry) Richards (August 26, 1914, Aiegnmouth, Cornwall, England – May 1982) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1943 to 1949. Elected as a candidate of the Cooperative C ...
were expelled from the CCF caucus in 1945.


See also

* List of Manitoba political parties


References

{{Manitoba elections 1941 elections in Canada
1941 The Correlates of War project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 3.49 million. However, the Uppsala Conflict Data Program estimates that the subsequent year, 1942, wa ...
1941 in Manitoba April 1941 in Canada