1944 Saskatchewan general election

The 1944 Saskatchewan general election, the tenth in the history of the province, was held on June 15, 1944 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan. The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, under the leadership of Tommy Douglas, was elected to a majority government.

1944 Saskatchewan general election

June 15, 1944 (1944-06-15)
52 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan 27 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   PC Leader Tommy Douglas William John Patterson Rupert Ramsay Party Co-operative Commonwealth Liberal Progressive Conservative Leader since July 17, 1942 1935 February 15, 1944 Leader's seat Weyburn Cannington Ran in Saskatoon City (lost) Last election 10 38 0 Seats won 47 5 0 Seat change 37 33 ±0 Popular vote 211,364 140,901 42,511 Percentage 53.13% 35.42% 10.69% Swing 34.4pp 10.03pp 1.18pp   Fourth party Fifth party   Leader — Joseph Needham Party Labor-Progressive Social Credit Leader since — 1935 Leader's seat — Did not run Last election 2 2 Seats won 0 0 Seat change 2 2 Popular vote 2,067 249 Percentage 0.52% 0.06% Swing 1.41pp 15.84pp
Premier before election William John Patterson Liberal Premier after election Tommy Douglas Co-operative Commonwealth

Summary

The 1944 election was held six years after the previous election in 1938. While there is normally a five-year limit on the lifespan of Parliaments and provincial assemblies in Canada, the emergency brought on by the Second World War allowed the government to delay the election temporarily, which William Patterson's governing Liberal Party opted to do.

Douglas standing under a CCF election billboard with C.M. Fines and Clarence Gillis shortly after winning the election.

The 1944 election marked the first time a nominally socialist government was elected anywhere in Canada. With the victory, Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) leader Tommy Douglas became the premier of Saskatchewan. The CCF, which had spent two terms as the Official Opposition, won 47 of the 52 seats in the legislature, and over half the popular vote.

The Liberals, led by Patterson, had run a negative campaign, accusing Douglas and the CCF of being communists. The Liberal popular vote fell by 10 percentage points, and the party won only five seats. This marked the worst defeat of a sitting government in Saskatchewan's history.

The Social Credit Party, which had won 16% of the vote and two seats in the 1938 election, collapsed; the party had only one candidate, who received only 249 votes.

The Communist Party-led Unity movement reverted to the name Labor-Progressive Party, and lost both of the seats it had won in 1938.

The Conservative Party, renamed the Progressive Conservative Party and led by Rupert Ramsay, continued to see its share of the vote drop, taking only just over 10% of the vote, and won no seats.

An at-large service vote was held for Saskatchewan residents in the Canadian armed services fighting during the war. This special vote elected three nonpartisan members to represent Saskatchewan soldiers, sailors and airmen stationed in Great Britain, the Mediterranean region, and Newfoundland and Canada outside the province. Alberta had a similar system during the war.

Results

Party		Party leader	# of candidates	Seats				Popular vote
				1938	Dissol.	Elected	% Change	#	%	% Change
	Co-operative Commonwealth	Tommy Douglas	52	10	11	47	+327.3%	211,364	53.13%	+34.4%
	Liberal	William Patterson	52	38	37	5	-86.5%	140,901	35.42%	-10.03%
	Progressive Conservative	Rupert Ramsay	39	–	–	–	–	42,511	10.69%	-1.18%
	Labor-Progressive		3	2	2	–	–	2,067	0.52%	-1.41%
	Independent		5	–	–	–	–	705	0.18%	-0.73%
	Social Credit	Joseph J. Needham (default)	1	2	2	–	–	249	0.06%	-15.84%
	Independent Liberal		1	*	*	–	*	5	0.00%	*
Total			153	52	52	52	–	397,802	100%
Source: Elections Saskatchewan

Note: * Party did not nominate candidates in previous election.

Percentages

Popular vote CCF   53.13% Liberal   35.42% PC   10.69% Others   0.76%

Seats summary CCF   90.38% Liberal   9.62%

Ranking

Party		Seats	Second	Third	Fourth	Fifth
	Co-operative Commonwealth	47	4	1	0	0
	Liberal	5	47	0	0	0
	Progressive Conservative	0	0	37	2	0
	Other parties	0	1	3	3	3

Riding-by-riding results

Names in bold represent cabinet ministers and the Speaker. Party leaders are italicized. The symbol " ** " indicates MLAs who are not running again.

Northwestern Saskatchewan

Electoral district	Candidates								Incumbent
	CCF		Liberal		PC		Other
Athabasca		Pierre Ephrem Ayotte 57		Louis Marcien Marion 626		Alexander Fred De Laronde 9		Errick Guttormur Erickson (Ind.) 78 Francis Xavier Poitras (Ind. Liberal) 5		Hubert Staines**
Cut Knife		Isidore Charles Nollet 2726		John A. Gordon 1820						William Roseland**
Meadow Lake		Herschel Lee Howell 2034		Donald MacDonald 1805		William Titley 362		Arthur J. Doucet (Labor-Progressive) 716		Donald MacDonald
Redberry		Dmytro Matthew Lazorko 2306		Wilfred James Langley 1285		Ernest Wilson 662		Peter John Semko (Ind.) 99		Orest Zerebko**
Rosthern		Henry Begrand 1541		Peter J. Hooge 2199		Gordon Ellis Goble 473				John Michael Uhrich**
Shellbrook		Albert Victor Sterling 3310		Omer Demers 2177						Omer Alphonse Demers
The Battlefords		Alexander Duff Connon 2783		Paul Prince 2426		Robert Wendell McNair 446				Paul Prince
Turtleford		Bob Wooff 2506		William Franklin Kerr 1766		Chester Hicks 399				William Franklin Kerr

Northeastern Saskatchewan

Electoral district	Candidates								Incumbent
	CCF		Liberal		PC		Other
Cumberland		Leslie Walter Lee 357		Deakin Alexander Hall 242		Raoul Olier St. Denis 11				Deakin Alexander Hall
Humboldt		Ben Putnam 3587		Arnold William Loehr 2673		Stephen David Weese 358				Joseph William Burton**
Kelvington		Peter Anton Howe 3132		Gladstone Mansfield Ferrie 1880		Samuel Edward Hall 649				Peter Anton Howe
Kinistino		William James Boyle 3055		Russell Martin Paul 1544		Andrew Fraser 671				John Richard Parish Taylor**
Melfort		Oakland Woods Valleau 3396		John Duncan MacFarlane 1862		Stanley Beattie Caskey 1450				Oakland Woods Valleau
Prince Albert		Lachlan Fraser McIntosh 6178		Harold John Fraser 3617		Edgar Percy Woodman 655				Harold John Fraser
Tisdale		John Hewgill Brockelbank 5283		Clarence Railsback O'Connor 2269		Isaac Flexman Stothers 703				John Hewgill Brockelbank
Torch River		John Bruce Harris 2609		Donald L. Menzies 846		Keith Acton Baldwin 535				James Archibald Kiteley**

West Central Saskatchewan

Electoral district	Candidates								Incumbent
	CCF		Liberal		PC		Other
Arm River		William R. Fansher 2256		Gustaf Herman Danielson 2343		Thomas Alfred Homersham 1068				Gustaf Herman Danielson
Biggar		Woodrow Stanley Lloyd 3633		Frank Freeman 2156						John Allan Young**
Hanley		James Smith Aitken 2272		Charles Agar 1775		James Hubert Cannon 893				Charles Agar
Kerrobert-Kindersley		John Wellbelove 3236		Donald Laing 2377		Wellington Smith Myers 933				Donald Laing
Rosetown		John Taylor Douglas 3168		William Leith 1864		John Wilbert Stewart 1046				Neil McVicar**
Watrous		James Andrew Darling 3801		Frank Stephen Krenn 2312		Hugh Smith 749				Frank Stephen Krenn
Wilkie		Hans Ove Hansen 3567		John Cunningham Knowles 2527						John Cunningham Knowles

East Central Saskatchewan

Electoral district	Candidates								Incumbent
	CCF		Liberal		PC		Other
Canora		Myron Henry Feeley 3538		Stephen T. Shabbits 2537						Myron Henry Feeley
Last Mountain		Jacob Benson 3803		Henry Philip Mang 2064		James Lindsay Blair 1281				Jacob Benson
Melville		William James Arthurs 4575		Lionel Stilborn 3614		Shamus Patrick Regan 821				John Frederick Herman**
Pelly		Dan Daniels 3273		Reginald John Marsden Parker 2544				William Michael Berezowski (Labor-Progressive) 554		Reginald John Marsden Parker
Saltcoats		Joseph Lee Phelps 3461		Donald Alexander MacKenzie 2874		Rae Melville Salkeld 454				Joseph Lee Phelps
Touchwood		Tom Johnston 3337		John Joseph Collins 1925		William Seneshen 301				Tom Johnston
Wadena		George Hara Williams 4162		George Russell Cook 1686				Walter Elvy Rogers (Ind.) 207		George Hara Williams
Yorkton		Arthur Percy Swallow 3887		Alfred Ariel Brown 2280		Norman Roebuck 958				Alan Carl Stewart** (Unity)

Southwest Saskatchewan

Electoral district	Candidates								Incumbent
	CCF		Liberal		PC		Other
Elrose		Maurice John Willis 3771		Hubert Staines 1807		Ernest J. Ewing 1013				Louis Henry Hantelman**
Gravelbourg		Henry Edmund Houze 2681		Edward M. Culliton 2586						Edward Milton Culliton
Gull Lake		Alvin Cecil Murray 3942		Harvey Harold McMahon 2200		Charles Howard Howlett 1356				Harvey Harold McMahon
Maple Creek		Beatrice Janet Trew 3656		John Joseph Mildenberger 2872		George Chester Stewart 911				John Joseph Mildenberger
Morse		Sidney Merlin Spidell 2763		Benjamin Thomas Hyde 2122		Clifford Bruce Martin 725				Benjamin Thomas Hyde
Notukeu-Willow Bunch		Niles Leonard Buchanan 4176		Charles William Johnson 2862						Charles William Johnson
Swift Current		Harry Gibbs 4756		James Gordon Taggart 3123		Bryan Maxwell Hill 1021				James Gordon Taggart

Southeast Saskatchewan

Electoral district	Candidates								Incumbent
	CCF		Liberal		PC		Other
Bengough		Allan Lister Samuel Brown 3847		Thomas Waddell 2473						Herman Kersler Warren** (Unity)
Cannington		Gladys Strum 3204		William John Patterson 3210		William Armstrong Brigden 687				William John Patterson
Lumsden		William Sancho Thair 2966		James Gallagher Knox 1887		Arthur Maurice Pearson 1220				Robert Scott Donaldson**
Milestone		Frank Keem Malcolm 3302		William Pedersen 2207						William Pedersen
Moosomin		David Alexander Cunningham 3324		Arthur Thomas Procter 3865						Arthur Thomas Procter
Qu'Appelle-Wolseley		Warden Burgess 4339		Frederick Middleton Dundas 3314		William Herman Acres 938				Frederick Middleton Dundas
Souris-Estevan		Charles David Cuming 3933		Norman Leslie McLeod 2660		Herbert Samuel Penny 1259				Norman Leslie McLeod
Weyburn		Thomas Clement Douglas 5605		James Weyburn Adolphe 3489						George Levi Crane**

Urban constituencies

Electoral district	Candidates								Incumbent
	CCF		Liberal		PC		Other
Moose Jaw City		John Wesley Corman 6296 Dempster Henry Ratcliffe Heming 5894		William George Baker 2881 Harold Walpole Pope 2887		Russell Lawrence Brownridge 1271 Hugh Alexander Tiers 1036		Frank Ernest Talbot (Social Credit) 249		William Gladstone Ross** William George Baker
Saskatoon City		John Henry Sturdy 9375 Arthur Thomas Stone 7792		James Wilfred Estey 5084 Robert Mitford Pinder 3924		Rupert David Ramsay 5368 Henry Oswald Wright 3171		Frederick Nelson Clarke (Labor-Progressive) 797 Russell Hartney (Ind.) 200 John Harrison Hilton (Ind.) 121		Robert Mitford Pinder James Wilfred Estey
Regina City		Clarence Melvin Fines 14129 Charles Cromwell Williams 14784		Charles Roberts Davidson 10982 Bernard J. McDaniel 10551		Hugh McGillivray 3536 Claude Henry James Burrows 3114				Bernard J. McDaniel Percy McCuaig Anderson**

By-elections

By-election: Shellbrook, June 29, 1945
CCF hold

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	CCF	Guy Franklin Van Eaton	3,350	53.1	-7.3
	Liberal	Harold Keith Elder	2,514	42.9	+3.2
	Social Credit	Albert M. Courchene	450	15.2	-
Total			6,314

By-election: Wadena, November 21, 1945
CCF hold

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	CCF	Frederick Arthur Dewhurst	2,474	80.9	+12.2
	Labor-Progressive	William Beeching	584	19.1	-
Total			3,085

By-election: Morse, June 27, 1946
CCF hold

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	CCF	James William Gibson	3,006	46.1	-3.1
	Liberal	Herbert Wiebe	2,410	37.0	-0.8
	Progressive Conservative	Rupert Ramsay	1,098	16.9	+3.9
Total			6,514

1944 service elections

Active Service Voters, Saskatchewan members of the Canadian armed services on active duty outside of Saskatchewan, were polled between October 17 and October 30, 1944. One representative was elected from each of three areas. These candidates did not specify any party affiliation.

Area 1 (Great Britain)

Candidate	Votes	%
LAC Delmar Storey Valleau	605
Lt. Col. N.S. Cuthbert	554
Lt. Col. F.E. Bell	330
Major J.R. Mather	319
Lt. P.A. Mahon	311
Sgt. H.S. Bearden	301
RSM A.S. Cochrane	301
Lt. Col. F. Steele	283
F/L C.A. Angus	265
Col. R.B. Martin	260
F/L G. Ward	233
Capt. H.C. Rees	217
S/Sgt. S. Haskell	159
F/O J.C. Cavanagh	149
Lt. J.E. McCann	90
F/O J. Knippelberg	89
Capt. S.A. Giverego	53

Area 2 (Mediterranean Theatre)

Candidate	Votes	%
Lt. Col. Alan Williams Embury	803
BSM H.J. MacBurney	451
Sgt. H.M. Woollard	218
Pte. J.H. Heffernan	216
Capt. E. Horvath	211
Capt. K.A. Calder	203
Cpl. Ian Selkirk	186
Lt. J.H. Archer	168
BSM R.G. Polloc	148
Lt. E.J. Western	105
Sgt. V.C. McCarthy	86
Sgt. C.J. Baker	59
Sgt. D.G. Rice	49
A/PO H.W. Moody	41

Area 3 (Canada outside of Saskatchewan/Newfoundland)

Candidate	Votes	%
Major Malcolm James Dobie	510
S/L John Allan Young	386
C.W.M.S. Clifford Herbert Peet	355
Lt. Col. Henry Austin Hunt	355
Lt. Douglas Hague	347
S/L E.W. Campbell	317
Major Percy H. Maguire	265
AC1 John Bender	209
Lt. Col. Thomas Russell MacNutt	209
Lt. Comdr. Donald Alexander Grant	190
L/Sgt. William Harold Lilwall	186
S/L Angus C. McClaskey	170
F/L Walter Hemming Nelson	124
Sgt. Benjamin Malcolm MacKinnon	114
F/O Robert Bruce Butler	114
Sgt. Irving S. Brown	80
S.Q.M.S. (WO II) David Vogt	74
F/S Gerhard Epp	72
F/S Arthur Rudolph Dohlen	41
F/L H.E.M. Hales	29

Further reading

• Argyle, Ray (2004). Turning Points: The Campaigns that Changed Canada 2004 and Before. Toronto: White Knight Publications. ISBN 978-0-9734186-6-8.

See also

• List of Saskatchewan political parties
• List of Saskatchewan provincial electoral districts

References

• Saskatchewan Election Results By Electoral Division
• Elections Saskatchewan: Previous Elections

External links

• Saskatchewan Election Results By Electoral Division
• Elections Saskatchewan: Provincial Vote Summaries
• Saskatchewan's 1944 CCF Election