1947 Prince Edward Island general election

The 1947 Prince Edward Island general election was held in the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island on December 11, 1947.[1]

1947 Prince Edward Island general election

← 1943 December 11, 1947 (1947-12-11) 1951 →

All 30 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island
16 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party
 
Leader J. Walter Jones William J. P. MacMillan
Party Liberal Progressive Conservative
Leader since 1943 1933
Leader's seat 4th Queens 5th Queens
Last election 20 seats, 51.3% 10 seats, 46.1%
Seats won 24 6
Seat change Increase4 Decrease4
Popular vote 40,758 36,661
Percentage 50.3% 45.3%
Swing Decrease1.0pp Decrease0.8pp

Map of PEI's ridings coloured in based on how they voted

Premier before election

J. Walter Jones
Liberal

Premier after election

J. Walter Jones
Liberal

The governing Liberals of Premier J. Walter Jones were able to increase their majority in the Legislature over the opposition Progressive Conservatives, led by former Premier William J.P. MacMillan. This would be MacMillan's last election as PC leader.

The democratic socialist Co-operative Commonwealth Federation increased their share of the vote marginally, but were unable to capture any seats. Cyrus Gallant, the CCF's candidate for Assembleyman in 3rd Prince, made history as the first third party candidate to place second in an electoral contest over one of the two major party candidates.

Party Standings

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24 6
Liberal PC
Party Party Leader Seats Popular Vote
1943 Elected Change # % Change
  Liberal J. Walter Jones 20 24 +4 40,758 50.3% -1.0%
  Progressive Conservative William J. P. MacMillan 10 6 -4 36,661 45.3% -0.8%
  Co-operative Commonwealth - - - 3,509 4.3% +2.2%
  Independent - - - 89 0.1% +0.1%
Popular vote
Liberal
50.31%
PC
42.25%
CCF
4.33%
Others
0.11%
Seats summary
Liberal
80.00%
PC
20.00%

Members Elected

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The Legislature of Prince Edward Island had two levels of membership from 1893 to 1996 - Assemblymen and Councillors. This was a holdover from when the Island had a bicameral legislature, the General Assembly and the Legislative Council.

In 1893, the Legislative Council was abolished and had its membership merged with the Assembly, though the two titles remained separate and were elected by different electoral franchises. Assembleymen were elected by all eligible voters of within a district, while Councillors were only elected by landowners within a district.[2]

Kings

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District Assemblyman Party Councillor Party
1st Kings     John R. McLean Progressive
Conservative
    T. J. Kickham Liberal
2nd Kings     Harry Cox Liberal     Lou Burge Progressive
Conservative
3rd Kings     Joseph G. Campbell Liberal     Keir Clark Liberal
4th Kings     John A. Campbell Liberal     Alexander Wallace Matheson Liberal
5th Kings     William Hughes Liberal     George Saville Liberal

Queens

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District Assemblyman Party Councillor Party
1st Queens     Frederic Large Liberal     W. F. Alan Stewart Liberal
2nd Queens     Philip Matheson Progressive
Conservative
    Reginald Bell Progressive
Conservative
3rd Queens     Russell C. Clark Liberal     Eugene Cullen Liberal
4th Queens     Dougald MacKinnon Liberal     John Walter Jones Liberal
5th Queens     David L. Matheson Progressive
Conservative
    William J. P. MacMillan Progressive
Conservative

Prince

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District Assemblyman Party Councillor Party
1st Prince     Hector Richard Liberal     Fred Ramsay Liberal
2nd Prince     George H. Barbour Liberal     Forrest Phillips Liberal
3rd Prince     J. Wilfred Arsenault Liberal     Thomas Linkletter Liberal
4th Prince     Cleveland Baker Liberal    
Horace Wright Liberal
5th Prince     Carrol Delaney Liberal     Lorne H. MacFarlane Liberal

Sources

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  1. ^ "Provincial General Election Results, 1947" (PDF). Elections PEI. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 25, 2015.
  2. ^ Fred Driscoll. "History and Politics of Prince Edward Island" (PDF). Canadian Parliamentary Review.