Wikipedia

1944 Alberta general election

The 1944 Alberta general election was held on August 8, 1944 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.

1944 Alberta general election
← 1940 August 8, 1944 (1944-08-08) 1948 →
60 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
31 seats were needed for a majority
  Majority party Minority party
 
IM
Leader Ernest Manning James H. Walker
Party Social Credit Independent Movement
Leader since May 31, 1943 1944
Leader's seat Edmonton Warner
(lost re-election)
Last election 36 seats, 42.9% 19 seats, 42.5%
Seats before 35 15
Seats won 51 3
Seat change Increase16 Decrease12
Popular vote 146,367 47,239
Percentage 50.5% 16.3%
Swing Increase7.6% Decrease26.2%
  Third party Fourth party
 
V&AF
Leader Elmer E. Roper William J. Williams
Party Co-operative Commonwealth Veterans' and Active Force
Leader since 1942 1944
Leader's seat Edmonton Edmonton
Last election 0 seats, 11.1% pre-creation
Seats before 1 0
Seats won 2 1
Seat change Increase1 Increase1
Popular vote 70,307 3,532
Percentage 24.2% 1.2%
Swing Increase13.1% —
Premier before election

Ernest Manning
Social Credit

Premier after election

Ernest Manning
Social Credit

As well, in late 1944 and early 1945, Armed Forces voters voted for separate representation - by electing an Army, an Air Force and a Navy representative.[1]

The election was the first contested by leader Ernest C. Manning. Previously Provincial Secretary, he became leader of the Social Credit Party and premier after party founder, Premier William Aberhart, died in 1943. Manning steered the party down a more moderate path, largely dispensing with the party's social credit policies of monetary reform that it had been mostly unable to implement. The provinces's improved economic position meanwhile made such reforms less pressing.

Manning led Social Credit to a third term in government with a resounding victory in the 1944 election, winning 85 percent of the seats with just over 50 percent of the popular vote on the first count of ballots. Preferential voting was used, under Single transferable voting in the cities and Instant-runoff voting elsewhere.

The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation entered the election with only one seat in the legislature belonging to party leader Elmer Roper who had won a 1942 by-election. Despite winning almost a quarter of the popular vote the party won only two seats in the general election.

The Conservative party and former United Farmers continued their strategy of running joint candidates as Independents. Not supported by the Liberals, who left the coalition, the anti-SC joint effort lost much of its previous share of the popular vote.

Albertan servicemen and veterans from World War II were able to vote in the first phase of the election on August 4, 1944. There was also a second vote held to elect three Canadian Armed Forces representatives from amongst the Albertans who were in active service overseas, or those who missed the first vote.

This provincial election, like the previous four, 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. All voters in the province had the opportunity to cast ranked ballots. The Army, Navy and Air Force members were elected through single-winner first-past-the-post voting.[2]

The campaign

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The 1944 election, was the first general election contested by Premier Ernest Manning. Manning had taken over the Social Credit Party from William Aberhart who died unexpectedly a year earlier. Social Credit faced opposition from the Independents led by James Walker who had also just been elected leader and the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation who had just managed to win a seat in a by-election in Edmonton and win a majority in the 1944 Saskatchewan general election. Like Social Credit and the Independents they were also contesting their first general election with new leader Elmer Roper.

The stage for the general election was set when Social Credit won a critical by-election in Red Deer in December 1943. The by-election win gave momentum to Social Credit as they picked it up from the Independents. After the election they decided to speed up their plans and hold the election in the summer time.[3]

Two major changes occurred this election with the way that votes were to be counted and who could vote. Ballots in single member electoral districts were now allowed to be marked with an "X" to indicate a first choice preference. Prior to this election high numbers of ballots had been declared as spoiled because they were not marked with a "1". Preferences beyond the first choice still had to be marked with a number indicating that preference.[4] The 1944 election also marked the first time that Japanese Canadians were eligible to vote in a provincial election. There were two thousand Japanese who had previously been evacuated from British Columbia to Alberta under war time provisions who were qualified to vote under the eligibility rules.[5]

After the writ was dropped the single biggest issue of the campaign turned out to be a referendum on the future of the Cooperative Commonwealth. The Independents and Social Credit were each asking their supporters to vote "1" and "2" for their respective parties to ensure the Commonwealth is defeated.[6]

Social Credit

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The Social Credit governmenthad been re-elected with a thin majority government in 1940 after failing to fulfill many of its promises of monetary reform whose popularity had allowed it to sweep to power in the 1935 election. The party was also rising in popularity since Ernest Manning became Premier in 1943 after the death of William Aberhart. Manning steered the party away from its previous policies that included Social Credit monetary theory and media control.

The centrepiece of Social Credit's policy in this election was a plan on refunding Alberta's large debt that had been built up under the Liberal and by the United Farmer and Social Credit governments during the Depression.

Independents

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The Independents, led into the election by James Walker, had been organized as a coalition of Conservatives, Liberals and United Farmers who grouped together to defeat the Social Credit government in 1937. The coalition which was organized under the parent group, the Independent Citizen's Association. Despite being an organized party all candidates ran and those who were elected did so as Independents. The coalition started falling apart when the Alberta Liberal Party left just before the 4th Legislative Session opened in February 1944.[7]

Walker was elected leader of the Independent Citizens Association at a convention held in Calgary on January 23, 1944. He defeated David Elton in a two-way contest.[8] There was considerable interest in the convention as over 300 delegates from across Alberta showed up to vote. Walker was elected on the first ballot winning a decisive victory. This was the first time since the Association had been created that a permanent leader was selected.[9]

Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF)

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The Cooperative Commonwealth Federation had enjoyed tremendous growth over the past couple of years. In 1942 the provincial branch reorganized at a convention in Edmonton and merged the provincial branch of the Canadian Labor Party into the CCF. Prior to that date the two parties had been affiliated but had operated separately.[10] After the merger the party won an Edmonton by-election on September 22, 1942 to elect their leader Elmer Roper to the Assembly.[11] Shortly before the writs were dropped in this election the Saskatchewan CCF swept the 1944 Saskatchewan general election. Manning called the general election to defuse a possible surge in support for the CCF.[7]

The CCF provincially had struck a deal with the Labor Progressive Party (the Communist Party) to run fusion candidates in some electoral districts. The first time this agreement was put to work was in the December 1943 Red Deer by-election where James MacPherson, LPP leader, endorsed CCF candidate E.P. Johns. This was the first provincial election where the CCF fielded a full slate of candidates. They were the only other party in 1944 to do so other than Social Credit. (The need for fusion candidates was not great as transferable votes used at that time in all districts in Alberta avoided the harmful effects of vote splitting.)

Labor Progressive Party

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The LPP had contested elections previously under the Communist banner, but had changed its name to be in line with the federal party, after they had all been outlawed.

The Labor Progressive Party, led by James MacPherson, aimed to run candidates in the major cities and in mining communities.[7] They did run 30 candidates.

In some electoral districts where LPP candidates did not run, the LPP and the CCF ran fusion candidates.[12] A proposal by the Labor Progressive Party to run fusion candidates with the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation at the federal level was rejected by the national council.

Farmer-Labor

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Victor Johanson Farmer-Labor Leader

The Farmer-Labor election committee was a minor political party created by Victor Johanson. He was a farmer residing near the small town of Bentley, Alberta. Johanson was originally selected as a fusion candidate for the Labor Progressive Party and Cooperative Commonwealth Federation to contest the Rocky Mountain House electoral district.

Shortly before the general election was called, the Rocky Mountain House CCF constituency association broke away and voted not to support Johanson and to nominate its own candidate instead.

Johanson then created his own Farmer-Labor banner that he and his supporters operated under.[13]

Johanson's Farmer-Labor banner was the least successful of the four single candidate slates that operated in the general election. Johanson finished last in his district and in the provincial standings, winning just 0.13% of the total popular vote in the province. After the election Johanson did not contest another provincial election, effectively ending the party.

Farmer-Labor's 1944 election platform had seven policy planks. These planks covered primarily local issues to appeal to coal miners working and living at Nordegg, Alberta. Crop insurance and raised commodity prices was also promised to appeal to area farmers. Other policy planks promised help to veterans returning from the war. Improvements for local transportation infrastructure rounded out the Farmer-Labor platform.[14]

Farmer-Labor Platform

  • Adequate prices for all farm produce.
  • Better system for providing for crop losses and improvement in the Prairie Farmers' Assistance Act.
  • More liberal grants for roads in rural areas, based on funds collected from car and truck licenses and taxes collected from gasoline sales in each district.
  • A hard-surfaced road to the company town of Nordegg. Labor Legislation and a Labor Code of Rights to be administered by the Minister of Labor.
  • Old age pensions at a younger age, regardless of property owned. A more liberal monthly pay so that the pensioners can enjoy a better life then at present.
  • Rehabilitation of the Armed Forces in Peacetime Production and a higher standard of living than in the past.
  • Better opportunities for the youth in the post-war years.

Election night

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On election night Manning's Social Credit party won a landslide victory with 52 percent of the vote.

Opposition MLAs were contained in Calgary and Edmonton, where STV ensured proportional results, and Social Credit swept the rural districts. Many rural districts were decided in SC's favour on the First Counts, But in others, where no candidate took a majority of the votes in the First Count, the Alternative Voting system used at the time necessitating vote transfer(s). Even where votes were transferred, the final winner in each single-member district was the same as would have won under First past the post.

The anti-SC coalition Independents had failed to run a candidate in every riding and were seen by the voters as lacking credibility. Most of their voters swung to Social Credit as a strategic vote to prevent the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation from electing members.[15]

The anti-SC coalition had lost its whipping boy, William Aberhart. The 1944 election was fought mostly as a two-party contest between the conservative Ernest Manning government and the leftist CCF, running relatively high due to wartime anti-fascist sentiment.

The opposition parties conceded defeat just twenty six minutes after the polls closed.[16]

Key races

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Edmonton

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The Edmonton electoral district elected five members by single transferable vote. There were twenty candidates running in the district including four party leaders. Social Credit leader Ernest Manning, who had been appointed premier in 1943, was easily the most recognizable candidate in the field. Elmer Roper, CCF leader, had won a seat in Edmonton almost two years earlier in a by-election and was running for re-election. The other party leaders were James MacPherson, of the Labor Progressive Party, and William J. Williams, of the Veterans' and Active Force group.

Manning won his seat in the First Count. It took 16 vote transfers to fill the last seat but in the end candidates of four different groups were elected to represent Edmonton - 2 SC, 1 (anti-SC) Independent, 1 CCF and Williams of the Veterans and Active Force group.[17] The three opposition MLAS elected in Edmonton joined with the three elected in Calgary. Those six were the only opposition MLAs elected to the Legislature in this election.

Red Deer

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The results of the December 1943 by-election in Red Deer had led Social Credit government to speed up plans for the general election. Incumbent Social Credit MLA David Ure was running for his second term in office.

Rocky Mountain House

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Farmer-Labor candidate and leader Victor Johanson was nominated at a joint Cooperative Commonwealth Federation/Labor Progressive convention on February 17, 1944. Shortly before the election the CCF riding association broke off and nominated candidate George Morrison to run under their banner.[13] Incumbent Social Credit MLA Alfred Hooke was running for re-election. He had been appointed by Premier Manning as Provincial Secretary, when he had formed his cabinet in 1943, after Aberhart's death. The Independents did not nominate a candidate in this riding. On election night Hooke was easily re-elected, winning a majority of the votes on the first count.[18][19]

Warner

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The Warner electoral district was hotly contested by Independent leader James Walker and Provincial Treasurer Solon Low. Low had been defeated by Walker in the 1940 general election and won a by-election held in the Vegreville electoral district on June 20, 1940. The field of candidates was rounded out by W.M. Madge who ran under the Single Tax banner and R.B. Eshorn of the CCF. On election night, Low won a stunning first count victory, taking a majority of the votes first off and defeating Walker.

Results

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Elections to the 10th Alberta Legislative Assembly (1944)
Party Leader Candidates First-preference votes Seats
Votes ± % Fpv Change (pp) 1940 1944 ±
  Canadian Armed Forces representatives[a 1]
█ Canadian Army 22 6,125
█ Royal Canadian Air Force 7 1,207
█ Royal Canadian Navy 3 653
Military vote 32 7,985 7,985  2.75 2.75 2.75
 
 –
3 / 60
 3 
Social Credit Ernest C. Manning 57 146,367 13,860  50.46 7.56 7.56
 
 36
51 / 60
 15 
Independent Movement James H. Walker 36 47,239 83,364  16.28 -26.00
 
 19
3 / 60
 16 
Co-operative Commonwealth Elmer Roper 57 70,307 35,991  24.24 13.13 13.13
 
 –
2 / 60
 2 
Veteran's & Active Force William Williams 1 3,532 3,532  1.22 1.22 1.22
 
 –
1 / 60
 1 
Labor–Progressive[a 2] James A. MacPherson 30 12,003 10,936  4.14 3.79 3.79
 
 –
0 / 60
 –
Liberal Did not campaign -0.89
 
 1
0 / 60
 1 
Labour Did not campaign -1.05
 
 1
0 / 60
 1 
  Labor United 1 1,788 1,788  0.62
Single Tax 1 480 480  0.16
Farmer–Labour 1 390 390  0.13
Total 216 290,091 100.00%
Rejected ballots 8,082 2,533 
Turnout 298,173 21,306  70.7% 4.1 
Registered voters 421,501 5,834 
  1. ^ One for each branch, elected under first past the post rules
  2. ^ compared against 1940 Communist results


MLAs elected

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Synopsis of results

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Results by riding – 1944 Alberta general election (all except Calgary, Edmonton and servicemember MLAs)[20]
Riding First-preference votes Turnout
[a 1] 		Final counts Winning party
Name SC CCF IndM LPP Oth Total SC CCF IndM Lab 1940 1944
 
Acadia-Coronation 2,930 1,215 595 – – 4,740 82.3% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Alexandra 2,212 1,504 – 151 – 3,867 65.9% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Athabasca 2,288 1,410 – 560 – 4,258 61.4% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Banff-Cochrane 1,568 902 1,602 – – 4,072 73.5% 1,805 – 1,757 – IndM SC
Beaver River 2,747 1,403 – 385 – 4,535 69.5% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Bow Valley-Empress 2,131 1,033 625 – – 3,789 74.3% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Bruce 2,024 1,274 467 – – 3,765 67.2% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Camrose 2,763 1,590 623 – – 4,976 72.1% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Cardston 2,104 569 592 – – 3,265 72.2% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Clover Bar 2,969 1,693 – – – 4,662 71.9% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Cypress 1,747 705 973 – – 3,425 74.8% Elected on 1st count IndM SC
Didsbury 2,485 728 966 – – 4,179 70.6% Elected on 1st count IndM SC
Drumheller 2,243 671 – 713 – 3,627 78.2% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Edson 2,536 1,280 – 587 – 4,403 66.9% Elected on 1st count Lab SC
Gleichen 2,032 942 1,072 – – 4,046 74.8% Elected on 1st count IndM SC
Grande Prairie 2,366 1,128 736 – – 4,230 97.7% Elected on 1st count IndM SC
Grouard 2,612 1,560 – 387 – 4,559 67.3% Elected on 1st count Lib SC
Hand Hills 3,125 873 532 – – 4,530 80.5% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Lac Ste. Anne 2,209 1,767 – – – 3,976 63.6% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Lacombe 2,442 1,324 775 – – 4,541 73.6% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Leduc 2,764 1,186 – 155 – 4,105 67.2% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Lethbridge 2,367 1,464 2,247 219 – 6,297 69.0% 2,692 – 2,388 – IndM SC
Little Bow 1,958 767 826 – – 3,551 76.3% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Macleod 2,440 972 989 152 – 4,553 75.4% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Medicine Hat 2,977 696 1,457 536 – 5,366 71.3% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Okotoks-High River 2,932 1,444 2,196 – – 6,572 67.8% 3,425 – 2,347 – IndM SC
Olds 3,196 776 832 – – 4,804 90.3% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Peace River 2,503 940 806 385 – 4,634 62.7% Elected on 1st count IndM SC
Pembina 2,400 1,498 820 – – 4,718 71.2% Elected on 1st count IndM SC
Pincher Creek-Crowsnest 2,109 962 – – 1,788 4,859 73.2% 2,228 – – 1,870 SC SC
Ponoka 2,208 1,016 778 237 – 4,239 72.9% Elected on 1st count IndM SC
Red Deer 3,012 1,282 1,545 – – 5,839 73.1% Elected on 1st count IndM SC
Redwater 2,390 817 – 882 – 4,089 68.4% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Rocky Mountain House 2,936 1,302 – – 390 4,628 67.3% Elected on 1st count SC SC
St. Albert 2,097 1,222 918 – – 4,237 68.5% 2,491 1,357 – – IndM SC
St. Paul 1,851 1,503 – 771 – 4,125 63.7% 1,949 1,588 – – SC SC
Sedgewick 2,793 840 813 – – 4,446 76.0% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Spirit River 1,984 1,178 – 302 – 3,464 64.5% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Stettler 2,811 1,103 760 – – 4,674 77.2% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Stony Plain 2,557 1,371 – – – 3,928 70.0% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Taber 2,490 679 413 – – 3,582 73.8% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Vegreville 1,874 1,306 – 653 – 3,833 64.7% 1,923 1,493 – – SC SC
Vermilion 2,239 991 – 999 – 4,229 68.2% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Wainwright 2,939 1,300 – 234 – 4,473 70.8% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Warner 1,621 415 629 – 480 3,145 75.1% Elected on 1st count IndM SC
Wetaskiwin 2,700 1,259 1,007 164 – 5,130 62.2% Elected on 1st count SC SC
Willingdon 1,771 1,328 – 899 – 3,998 68.1% 1,844 1,448 – – 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

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  = Candidate was in previous Legislature
  = First-time MLA

(Liesemer (CCF) was 5th candidate to be elected in Calgary, receiving the least number of votes of the successful candidates.[21])

STV and instant-runoff voting analysis

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Exhausted votes

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

Exhausted votes (1944)
District Counts Exhausted
1st preference Final Votes % of 1st pref
Calgary 39,309 36,238 3,071 7.81 7.81
 
Edmonton 37,834 35,087 2,747 7.26 7.26
 
Banff-Cochrane 4,072 3,562 800 12.52 12.52
 
Lethbridge 6,297 5,080 1,217 19.33 19.33
 
Okotoks-High River 6,572 5,772 130 19.65 19.65
 
Pincher Creek-Crowsnest 4,859 4,108 751 15.46 15.46
 
St. Albert 4,237 3,848 389 9.18 9.18
 
St. Paul 4,125 3,537 588 14.25 14.25
 
Vegreville 3,833 3,416 417 10.88 10.88
 
Willingdon 3,998 3,292 706 17.66 17.66
 

In Edmonton and Calgary, a high proportion of the votes that were not exhausted were used to elect a member.

In Edmonton, only 5171 of the active votes (only 12 percent of valid votes) were not used to elect the winners. These were the votes received by Kennedy, the only candidate not to be either elected or eliminated.[22]

In Calgary, only 3608 of the active votes (only 9 percent of valid votes) were not used to elect the winners. These were the votes received by Robert Alderman, the only candidate not to be either elected or eliminated.[21]

Calgary

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All parties other than the Independent Movement fielded full slates.

Party Candidates MLAs elected
1944 1940 ± 1944 1940 ±
Independent Movement 4 6 2  2 3 3 
Social Credit 5 4 1  2 2  
Co-operative Commonwealth 5 2 3  1 – 1 
Independent Labour – 1 1  – – –
Independent – 1 1  – – –
Labor–Progressive 5 – 5  – – –
Total 19 14 5  5 5  
Calgary (1944 Alberta general election) (five members elected, candidates ranked in order of 1st preference)[23]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Independent Movement Andrew Davison 19.73% 7,754
Social Credit Fred Anderson 16.93% 6,695
Social Credit Rose Wilkinson 12.83% 5,042 5,071 5,115 5,121 5,130 5,136 5,146 5,162 5,511 5,605 5,970 6,028 6,069 6,107 8,338
Co-operative Commonwealth Alymer Liesemer 9.06% 3,560 3,572 3,572 3,574 3,579 3,580 3,597 3,654 3,662 3,754 3,769 4,556 4,567 5,850 5,926 5,926 6,077
Independent Movement Howard MacDonald 6.02% 2,365 2,638 2,638 2,639 2,639 2,643 2,647 2,649 2,650 2,665 2,676 2,687 3,682 3,696 3,724 3,796 6,897
Independent Movement John J. Bowlen 5.58% 2,192 2,597 2,597 2,599 2,605 2,609 2,611 2,613 2,633 2,649 2,655 2,658 3,439 3,445 3,464 3,541
Co-operative Commonwealth Robert Alderman 5.31% 2,088 2,096 2,096 2,098 2,104 2,106 2,107 2,355 2,364 2,405 2,426 2,873 2,892 3,456 3,494 3,556 3,608
Co-operative Commonwealth C.W.J. Helmer 4.22% 1,659 1,663 1,663 1,663 1,663 1,666 1,678 1,728 1,732 1,779 1,815 2,063 2,070
Co-operative Commonwealth Ken Tory 3.71% 1,458 1,460 1,460 1,466 1,469 1,473 1,477 1,589 1,592 1,615 1,625
Independent Movement R.C. Carlile 3.65% 1,433 1,865 1,865 1,867 1,868 1,871 1,878 1,878 1,887 1,899 1,906 1,909
Social Credit Art Larsen 3.44% 1,351 1,358 1,368 1,369 1,370 1,372 1,375 1,379 1,545 1,574 2,555 2,564 2,579 2,632
Social Credit Edward Geehan 2.96% 1,162 1,168 1,183 1,184 1,184 1,190 1,210 1,211 1,494 1,526
Social Credit C.M. Baker 2.12% 834 840 868 870 873 876 881 886
Co-operative Commonwealth Herbert Wiertz 1.28% 504 504 504 505 506 510 512
Labor–Progressive Pat Lenihan 1.25% 491 493 493 505 547 640 1,012 1,014 1,016
Labor–Progressive Lionel Edwards 0.77% 304 309 309 317 339 487
Labor–Progressive Mike Daniels 0.66% 258 261 261 262 308
Labor–Progressive Gordon Wray 0.33% 128 128 128 148
Labor–Progressive Audrey Staples 0.18% 71 71 71
Exhausted ballots — — 8 14 18 21 46 74 87 119 734 807 867 907 1,019 1,259 2,834 3,071
Electorate: 62,807   Valid: 39,309   Spoilt: 1,517   Quota: 6,552   Turnout: 40,826 (65.0%)  
Calgary (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


Independent Movement Andrew Davison 1 7,754 19.73%
​​
Social Credit Fred Anderson 1 6,655 16.93%
​​
Social Credit Rose Wilkinson 15 8,338 21.69%
​​
CCF Alymer Liesemer 17 6,077 15.81%
​​
Independent Movement Howard MacDonald 17 6,897 17.94%
​​
Independent Movement John J. Bowlen 16 3,541 9.21%
​​
CCF Robert Alderman 17 3,608 9.39%
​​
CCF C.W.J. Helmer 13 2,070 5.38%
​​
CCF Ken Tory 11 1,625 4.22%
​​
Independent Movement R.C. Carlile 12 1,909 4.97%
​​
Social Credit Art Larsen 14 2,632 6.85%
​​
Social Credit Edward Geehan 10 1,526 3.96%
​​
Social Credit C.M. Baker 8 886 2.26%
​​
CCF Herbert Wiertz 7 512 1.30%
​​
LPP Pat Lenihan 9 1,016 2.59%
​​
LPP Lionel Edwards 6 487 3.49%
​​
LPP Mike Daniels 5 308 0.78%
​​
LPP Gordon Wray 4 148 0.38%
​​
LPP Audrey Staples 3 71 0.18%
​​
Exhausted votes 3,071 7.81%
​​


Edmonton

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Three parties had full slates. The Independent Movement presented four candidates, and Williams (V&A.F.) campaigned under his own banner.

Party Candidates MLAs elected
1944 1940 ± 1944 1940 ±
Social Credit 5 5   2 2  
Co-operative Commonwealth 5 3 2  1 – 1 
Independent Movement 4 7 3  1 3 2 
Veteran's & Active Force 1 – 1  1 – 1 
Labor–Progressive 5 1 4  – – –
Independent Progressive – 2 2  – – –
Independent – 1 1  – – –
Total 20 19 1  5 5  
Edmonton (1944 Alberta general election) (five members elected, candidates ranked in order of 1st preference)[24]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Social Credit Ernest Manning 37.72% 14,271
Co-operative Commonwealth Elmer Roper 13.88% 5,253 5,429 5,441 5,457 5,471 5,557 5,566 5,595 5,773 6,345
Independent Movement John Percy Page 12.17% 4,603 4,998 5,032 5,039 5,261 5,267 5,602 5,611 5,621 5,647 5,705 5,794 5,828 7,171
Veterans' and Active Force William Williams 9.34% 3,532 3,996 4,012 4,030 4,051 4,060 4,077 4,088 4,120 4,142 4,298 4,508 4,554 4,805 5,366 5,535
Independent Movement Johnnie Caine 3.70% 1,400 1,545 1,548 1,548 1,646 1,653 1,826 1,837 1,860 1,869 1,891 1,954 1,977
Social Credit Henry Carrigan 3.14% 1,188 2,443 2,449 2,451 2,458 2,462 2,469 2,477 2,494 2,500 2,515 2,687 3,090 3,174 3,307
Social Credit Orvis A. Kennedy 2.32% 876 3,495 3,501 3,512 3,519 3,523 3,527 3,545 3,556 3,577 3,627 3,684 4,116 4,175 4,264 5,171
Co-operative Commonwealth Clifford Lee 2.26% 854 892 896 901 903 957 962 973 1,074
Social Credit Norman B. James 2.06% 781 2,491 2,504 2,510 2,514 2,515 2,519 2,547 2,555 2,563 2,587 2,613 3,376 3,421 3,476 5,397
Social Credit John Gillies 2.00% 755 1,674 1,676 1,681 1,684 1,690 1,694 1,703 1,705 1,714 1,730 1,806
Labor–Progressive James A. MacPherson 1.96% 742 774 804 978 980 983 984 1,351 1,357 1,386
Co-operative Commonwealth James Enright 1.72% 649 684 688 689 690 989 999 1,006 1,233 1,531 1,624
Co-operative Commonwealth M. E. Butterworth 1.45% 549 578 578 581 584 635 638 642
Co-operative Commonwealth Joseph Dowler 1.44% 545 557 560 562 565
Labor–Progressive William Halina 1.31% 496 512 547 585 586 590 594
Independent Movement Cecil Chapman 1.26% 476 509 510 510 580 584
Independent Movement Clarence Richards 1.12% 422 458 463 463
Labor–Progressive Jan Lakeman 0.66% 251 270 302
Labor–Progressive Alex Herd 0.31% 119 125
Labor–Progressive G.V. Murdoch 0.19% 72 98
Exhausted ballots — — 0 17 31 36 63 71 153 180 254 1,206 2,137 2,242 2,437 2,437 2,747
Electorate: 65,651   Valid: 37,834   Spoilt: 2,213   Quota: 6,306   Turnout: 40,047 (61.0%)  
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 14,271 37.72%
​​
CCF Elmer Roper 10 6,345 16.88%
​​
Independent Movement John Percy Page 14 7,171 20.26%
​​
Veterans' and Active Force William Williams 16 5,535 15.78%
​​
Independent Movement Johnnie Caine 13 1,977 5.55%
​​
Social Credit Henry Carrigan 15 3,307 9.34%
​​
Social Credit Orvis A. Kennedy 16 5,171 14.74%
​​
CCF Clifford Lee 9 1,074 2.85%
​​
Social Credit Norman B. James 16 5,397 15.38%
​​
Social Credit John Gillies 12 1,806 5.06%
​​
LPP James A. MacPherson 10 1,386 3.69%
​​
CCF James Enright 11 1,624 4.43%
​​
CCF M. E. Butterworth 8 642 1.70%
​​
CCF Joseph Dowler 5 565 1.49%
​​
LPP William Halina 7 594 1.57%
​​
Independent Movement Cecil Chapman 6 584 1.55%
​​
Independent Movement Clarence Richards 4 463 1.22%
​​
LPP Jan Lakeman 3 302 0.80%
​​
LPP Alex Herd 2 125 0.33%
​​
LPP G.V. Murdoch 2 98 0.26%
​​
Exhausted votes 2,747 7.26%
​​

Soldiers' vote

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The second phase of the general election took place beginning in November 1944 and ending January 1945. Three members of the armed forces commissioned in World War II were elected to represent Alberta service men and women fighting or stationed overseas. In addition those who were in veterans hospitals at the time of the vote and retired service personnel who already returned from duty but missed the August 4, 1944, vote.

The votes for the special seats set aside for Albertans serving in the armed forces were tallied from four geographic areas:[25]

Area Description
1 Canada (outside Alberta), Newfoundland, Bermuda, the United States of America, and any other country not included in the other areas listed.
2 Italy and all other countries bordering on the Mediterranean Sea (excepting France.
3 Europe, excepting those countries in Areas 2 and 4.
4 Great Britain, Northern Ireland and Iceland

The following votes were received:[25]

Branch Area
1 2 3 4 Total
Army 673 2,388 1,972 1,092 6,125
Air Force 689 18 121 379 1,207
Navy 419 5 8 221 653
Total 1,781 2,411 2,101 1,692 7,985

Servicemembers inside Alberta used special ballots for voting in their districts. Only Calgary provided a detailed breakdown.[23]

District Party Total
SC CCF IndM LPP
Calgary 331 244 192 43 810

Approximately 4,000 military votes were received in Edmonton,[26] but no separate figures were reported in the final results. After 3,000 had been counted, some officials said that the vote was mainly for Social Credit.[26]

This election was not run under the Elections Act and was instead run from an executive council order. This meant that the laws regarding eligibility by age and the Instant runoff voting system did not apply to the armed forces' vote. Saskatchewan was the only other province or state to implement an election for service men in World War II.[27]

The service men vote had been pushed for by the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) opposition. Elmer Roper harshly criticized the Social Credit government for having no plans to make voting options available for persons serving overseas.

The Social Credit government responded by announcing that there would be an election of the soldiers' representatives, but it had not decided the date of the vote prior to the first phase of general election being completed.[28]

The soldiers' Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) were meant to be non-partisan and sat on the opposition side of the Assembly. The order in council forebode any candidate running in the election from contesting it along party lines. The vote also temporarily increased the number of seats in the Assembly from 57 to 60. One member represented each branch of the service: Army, Navy and Air Force. This was the second soldiers' wartime vote held in the province's history, the first being the soldiers' and nurses vote held as the second part of the 1917 Alberta general election.

The writ period began in late November 1944. A total of 32 candidates registered to run in the election. The seat provided for the Army was hotly contested with 22 candidates, the Navy had three candidates and the Air Force had 7 candidates. The polls were open a record length of time as the voting was conducted from January 8, 1945, to January 20, 1945. Polling stations were set up on the front lines and at army bases where Albertans were stationed around the world. Four Chief Returning Officers were appointed to conduct the vote, a record that stands to this day. The vote was conducted under First Past the Post rules with no ballot transfers. Elsewhere in the Alberta 1944 election, Instant-runoff voting was used to elect single members, and votes were transferred if necessary because to be elected a successful candidate had to have a majority of votes.

The official results from the vote conducted in Alberta were released on January 31, 1945. The votes for the rest of the world were released on January 6, 1945.

An oddity of this vote is that the Government of Alberta did not print an official document detailing the election results or expenses of operating the election for the general public as it did with the rest of the general election that year. This was because the executive council order made by the Social Credit government did not require it.

Full printing of the official results did appear in both the Calgary Herald and the Calgary Albertan as they were announced by the Chief Electoral Officer at a press conference held in Edmonton on February 5, 1945. The Herald was the only newspaper to break down the results by counting station.[29]

Turnout for this election was generally low; the election came during the closing months of World War II when Germany was on its heels and starting to collapse and the tables had turned for Japanese forces as well. In addition to the heavy fighting there were also large numbers of troops in transit during the voting period. Chief Returning Officer Robert Addison estimated that almost 3,300 Alberta soldiers eligible were unable to vote because of being in transit to various fronts.

The returns themselves were counted in four places, voting conducted in Alberta was counted and released in Edmonton first, while voting conducted overseas was counted in London and sent to Edmonton by telegraph.

The highest turnout came by Army soldiers fighting in Italy and the lowest turnout was in the Mediterranean with only five service-men voting. No statistics were released on how many service men and woman were eligible to vote in total.

Voters for this election were eligible to cast a ballot if they were residents of Alberta for one full calendar year prior to enlisting in the military. The only other eligibility requirement was that they missed casting a ballot in their home electoral district during the first phase of the election.

The Government of Alberta commissioned four Chief Electoral Officers to help run the election. The election proved to be a logistical challenge as no similar election had ever been conducted on a worldwide scale. Robert Addison was in charge of overseeing the election in Edmonton and coordination operations around the world. James Thompson was Chief Returning Office in charge of overseeing the vote in the Mediterranean and the Franco-Belgian Fighting Fronts. A.P. Van Buren was in charge of Canada, United States and Alaska, Newfoundland, Bermuda, Nassau and Jamaica. L.P. Danis was the Chief Returning Officer for France, Belgium and Holland. The jobs of the Chief Electoral Officers included finding out where Albertans were stationed, setting up polling stations, and overseeing collection of ballots. In some cases polling stations were set up directly in the trenches causing delays to the election as election staff came under hostile fire.[30]

Not much is known about the election campaigns, as there was very little information published in the press about the election. The results showed there were no clear front runners in all three races. The Navy vote saw Loftus Dudley Ward hold a lead when the first votes for Alberta were released by the Chief Electoral Officer on January 31, 1945. Ward managed to hang on to win despite getting very few overseas votes. In the Air Force vote, Joseph Roy Burton was marginally leading the field after the Alberta votes were released. On the final total Frederick C. Colborne won with a surge of overseas votes. James Harper Prowse was the biggest surprise in the Army race as he had only 34 votes before surging to win with 1,050 after the final totals were released.

The result of these elections, conducted using the First past the post voting system, shows the uncertainty of that system. All three winners won with only a minority of the votes cast in their respective constituencies. James Harper Prowse won with only 17 percent of the votes cast by army voters.

Results

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Canadian Army vote official results[31]
Service rank Name Votes % Home
Captain James Harper Prowse 1,050 17.14% Edmonton
Lieutenant Colonel Eric Wyld Cormack 1,020 16.65% Alix
Colonel E.B. Wilson 514 8.39% Edmonton
Sapper Eric Joseph Poole 472 7.71% Red Deer
Brigadier M.C. Gernard Renvoize Bradbrook 384 6.27% Calgary
Captain James Blakley Corbet 236 3.85% Edmonton
Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant A. Begg 224 3.66% Medicine Hat
Captain William Thomas Sabine 224 3.66% Edmonton
Craftsman Arthur Frank Balfour 221 3.61% Calgary
Sergeant Clarence Alexander Mumford 203 3.31% Calgary
Corporal Donald Hugh McLeod 201 3.28% Calgary
Captain Robert Hugh Miller 187 3.05% Edmonton
Sergeant Douglas Sterling McLaughlin 170 2.78% Kinuso
Sergeant Alfred Sigman Brooks 160 2.61% Purple Springs
Major Wilford Addinell 157 2.56% Edmonton
Lieutenant James Reginald Dowdell 120 1.96% Edmonton
Squadron Quartermaster Sergeant David Elliot Scott 118 1.93% Stony Plain
Major William Graham Ledingham 110 1.80% Calgary
Corporal Alex Brown Johnston 106 1.73% Picture Butte
Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant H.A.L. Duffin 102 1.67% Calgary
Warrant Officer Class II Robert Duncan McIlroy 92 1.50% Vulcan
Support Bernard LaFleur 54 0.88% McLennan
Total Valid Ballots 6,125 100%
Royal Canadian Air Force vote official results[31]
Service rank Name Votes % Home
Wing Commander Frederick C. Colborne 252 20.88% Calgary
Warrant Officer Joseph Roy Burton 244 20.22% Edmonton
Sergeant James Melville Bell 181 14.99% Edmonton
Flight Officer Niel Allen Bell 178 14.75% Wayne
Sergeant Frank Pierpoint Appleby 149 12.34% Athabasca
Flight Officer Claude Andrew Cambell 126 10.44% Edmonton
Flight Officer Harold E. Bronson 77 6.38% Cherhill
Total Valid Ballots 1,207 100%
Royal Canadian Navy vote official results[31]
Service rank Name Votes % Home
Chief Petty Officer Loftus Dudley Ward 293 44.87% Calgary
Lieutenant John P. Dewis 191 29.25% Canmore
Leading Writer John Francis McVean 169 25.88% Edmonton
Total Valid Ballots 653 100%

References

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  1. ^ A Century of Democracy (Centennial series)
  2. ^ Report on Alberta Elections. 1982.
  3. ^ "Some Campaign Notes". VOL. XLIII, No. 2. Red Deer Advocate. January 12, 1944. p. 2.
  4. ^ "Election Topics". Camrose Canadian. August 2, 1944. p. 1.
  5. ^ "Decision". Time Magazine. August 14, 1944. Archived from the original on December 14, 2008. Retrieved May 28, 2008.
  6. ^ "Can The C.C.F. Make It?". Vol. XLIII, No. 30. Red Deer Advocate. July 26, 1944. p. 2.
  7. ^ a b c "Mr. Manning says "GO"". Red Deer Advocate. July 12, 1944. p. 2.
  8. ^ "James H. Walker Elected Leader of the Independent Assn". Vol XXXII, No. 46. The Herald-Tribune. January 27, 1944. p. 1.
  9. ^ "Dr. L.J. O'Brien, M.L.A. Gives Impressions of the Calgary Convention". Vol XXXII, No. 46. The Herald-Tribune. January 27, 1944. p. 1.
  10. ^ "The C.C.F. in Alberta". Red Deer Advocate. January 28, 1992. p. 2.
  11. ^ "Past by-election results". Elections Alberta. Archived from the original on December 25, 2007. Retrieved May 28, 2008.
  12. ^ "Eckville News". Vol. XLIII, No.4. Red Deer Advocate. January 26, 1944. p. 6.
  13. ^ a b I. Kaila (August 2, 1944). "Use Your Vote". Vol XLIII, No.31. Red Deer Advocate. p. 5.
  14. ^ "Programme Farmer-Labor Candidate". XLIII, No. 30. Red Deer Advocate. July 26, 1944. p. 2.
  15. ^ "Two Elections". Time Magazine. August 21, 1944. Archived from the original on December 14, 2008. Retrieved May 28, 2008.
  16. ^ "Social Credit Government Wins in Landslide". Vol 47. – No. 32. The Olds Gazette. August 10, 1944.
  17. ^ Official Returns filed by the Returning officer, PAA (Edmonton), 1971.138, 158
  18. ^ "Rocky Mountain House 1944 election results". Alberta Heritage Foundation. Archived from the original on June 12, 2011. Retrieved June 2, 2008.
  19. ^ A Report on Alberta Elections, 1905-1982
  20. ^ A Century of Democracy: Elections of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, 1905-2005. Edmonton: Legislative Assembly of Alberta. pp. 150–162. ISBN 0-9689217-9-5.
  21. ^ a b General Statement by Returning Officer, Calgary. 1944.
  22. ^ General Statement by Returning Officer, Edmonton. 1944.
  23. ^ a b "Independents Elect 2 Here". Calgary Herald. August 10, 1944. pp. 1–2.
  24. ^ "General Statement of Returning Officer: Electoral Division of Edmonton". Edmonton Bulletin. August 10, 1944. p. 1.
  25. ^ a b A Century of Democracy: Elections of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, 1905-2005. Edmonton: Legislative Assembly of Alberta. pp. 162–163. ISBN 0-9689217-9-5.
  26. ^ a b "Manning Far Out in Front, Roper Is Second in City". Edmonton Journal. August 9, 1944. pp. 1–2.
  27. ^ "Experiment in Democracy". Time Magazine. October 16, 1944. Archived from the original on February 4, 2013. Retrieved May 27, 2008.
  28. ^ "Alberta election to be Tuesday August 8th". Red Deer Advocate. July 12, 1944. p. 1.
  29. ^ "Two Calgarians Win Elections For Servicemen". Calgary Herald. February 6, 1945. p. 2.
  30. ^ "Service vote begins January 8, 1945, and ended January 20, 1945". Calgary Herald. January 5, 1945. p. 2.
  31. ^ a b c "2 Calgarians Elected in Servicemen's Vote". The Albertan. February 6, 1945. p. 12.
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