Manitoba general election, 1945

Manitoba's general election of October 15, 1945 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada.

The 1945 provincial election was extremely different from the previous election, which was held in 1941. In the 1941 election, the province's four legal political parties were united in a coalition government -- and while coalition partners ran against one another in some constituencies, the final outcome was never in doubt.

By 1945, the coalition had been reduced to three parties. The dominant party was the Liberal-Progressive Party, whose leader was Premier Stuart Garson. The Progressive Conservative Party of Errick Willis (formerly called the Conservative Party) was the junior partner in government, while the small Social Credit League and some independents also supported the coalition.

The social-democratic Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) left the coalition in 1943, and experienced a surge in popularity over the next two years. This party was the primary opposition to the coalition government in 1945. When Tommy Douglas's CCF won a landslide election victory in 1944 in neighbouring Saskatchewan, many believed that the Manitoba party had a chance of forming government.

The communist Labour Progressive Party, which had been banned in 1941, also contested the election against the coalition. A revived Socialist Party of Canada also fielded one candidate in Winnipeg.

The CCF experienced numerous difficulties during the campaign. Two of its incumbent members, Dwight Johnson and Beresford Richards, were accused of holding communist sympathies, and broke from the party to seek re-election as "Independent CCF" candidates. Party members were divided on the positions held by Johnson and Richards, and the CCF entered the campaign in a divided state. The party also suffered a series of unexpected technical problems: some candidates were unable to campaign because of late nomination filing, insufficient signatures on their nomination forms, and related reasons.

The result of the election was a landslide majority government for the coalition. Twenty-five Liberal-Progressives and thirteen Progressive Conservatives were elected, along with two Social Crediters and three independent coalitionists. This gave the coalition forty-three of fifty-seven seats. Most of the coalition's members were from rural constituencies.

The Cooperative Commonwealth Federation won four of ten seats in Winnipeg, but could not duplicate this success in the rest of the province. The party won only nine seats in total, up from three in the previous election. Richards, who was re-elected as an Independent CCF candidate, later rejoined the caucus as a tenth member. The CCF actually received more votes than any other party, but this meant little in practical terms: the combined coalition vote was well above the CCF total, and some coalition seats were won by acclamation.

Labour Progressive Party leader William A. Kardash also won a Winnipeg seat, as did independent leftist Lewis St. George Stubbs.

Results

Party		Party leader	# of candidates	Seats			Popular vote
				1941	Elected	% Change	#	%	% Change
	Liberal-Progressive	Stuart Garson			25			32.2%
	Progressive Conservative	Errick Willis			13			15.9%
	Co-operative Commonwealth	Seymour Farmer			9			33.8%
	Social Credit	none			2			2.0%
	Labour Progressive	William Kardash			1			4.8%
	Independent				5
Total					57			100%

Preceded by 1941 Manitoba election

List of Manitoba elections

Succeeded by 1949 Manitoba election

See also

• List of Manitoba political parties

Riding results

Note: The 1945 election was determined by preferential balloting in all constituencies. The constituency of Winnipeg elected ten members; all other constituencies elected one member. The results listed below are taken from reports in the Winnipeg Free Press newspaper and the Canadian Parliamentary Guide, and may differ from the final official results in some minor particulars. (In some instances, the Winnipeg Free Press results were not listed in full.)

Arthur:

• (x)John R. Pitt (LP) 1158
• Guy Craven (CCF) 448

Assiniboia:

First Count:

• Ernest Draffin (CCF) 2948
• (x)David Best (PC) 2778
• William Cecil Ross (LPP) 388

Second Count:

• Ernest Draffin (CCF) 3082
• David Best (PC) 2902

Beautiful Plains:

• (x)John Poole (PC) 1775
• A.J.M. Poole (CCF) 902

Birtle:

• (x)Francis Campbell Bell (LP) 1887
• G.B. Reed (CCF) 792

Brandon:

First Count :

• Leslie McDorman (LP) 3088
• Peter McDuffe (CCF) 1650
• (x)Dwight Johnson (Ind CCF) 1554

Second Count:

• Leslie McDorman (LP) 3288
• Peter McDuffe (Ind CCF) 2046

Carillon:

• (x)Edmond Prefontaine (LP) accl.

Cypress:

• (x)James Christie (LP) 1434
• Robin Parsons (Ind/Coalition) 870

[Note: Parsons had previously defeated Christie for the coalition nomination, by one vote.]

Dauphin:

• (x)Robert Hawkins (LP) 2312
• M.W. Cryderman (CCF) 1277

Deloraine:

• James O. Argue (PC) accl.
• B.P. Hathaway (CCF) withdrew

Dufferin:

• (x)Earl Collins (Ind/Coalition) accl.

Emerson:

• (x)John Solomon (LP) 2039
• N.C. McLean (CCF) 1097
• P.J. Olchowecki (Ind/Coalition[?]) 753

Ethelbert:

• Michael Sawchuk (CCF) 2081
• (x)Nicholas A. Hryhorczuk (LP) 1743
• John Dubno (LPP) 163

Fairford:

• (x)Stuart Garson (LP) 1254
• G.W. Leanord (CCF) 295

Fisher:

• (x)Nicholas Bachynsky (LP) 879
• L.W. Michalchuk (CCF) 758
• John Kapusta (LPP) 166

Gilbert Plains:

• (x)Stanley Fox (SC) 1375
• W.G. Doak (CCF) 1179

Gimli:

• Steinn Thompson (LP) 2133
• S.S. Johnson (CCF) 1437
• M.J. Sago (LPP) 246

Gladstone:

• (x)William Morton (LP) accl.

Glenwood:

• Gilbert Grant (LP) 1741
• Leslie Robinson (CCF) 698
• James Breakey (LP) withdrew

Hamiota:

• (x)Norman Turnbull (SC) 1578
• Stanley Dawley (CCF) 380

Iberville:

First Count:

• John McDowell (IPC/Coalition) 1390
• W.D. Lawrence (LP) 842
• H.P. Kendall (CCF) 683

Second Count:

• John McDowell (IPC/Coalition) 1452
• W.D. Lawrence (LP) 1016

Kildonan and St. Andrews:

• (x)James McLenaghen (PC) 3518
• William Grundy (CCF) 2313
• William Gilbey (LPP) 426

[Note: Frank Simmonds appears to have lost the coalition nomination by one vote.]

Killarney:

First Count:

• (x)Abram Harrison (PC) 1045
• G.M. Anderson (LP) 939
• G.W. McMillan (CCF) 560

Second Count:

• (x)Abram Harrison (PC) 1165
• G.M. Anderson (LP) 1015

Lakeside:

• (x)Douglas Campbell (LP) accl.

Lansdowne:

• (x)Matthew Sutherland (LP) 1759
• W. Hargreaves (CCF) 720

La Verendrye:

• (x)Sauveur Marcoux (LP) 1506
• Paul Prince (SC/Opposition) 913
• A. Lagimodiere (IL/Coalition) 824

Manitou:

• (x)Hugh Morrison (PC) accl.
• W.R. Wallcraft (CCF) missed deadline

Minnedosa:

• (x)Earl Rutledge (PC) 2639
• R.G. Frith (CCF) 1430

Morden-Rhineland:

• (x)Wallace Miller (PC) 2093
• J.R. Walkof (LP) 1860
• Edward Freison (CCF) 326

Morris:

• (x)John Dryden (LP) 1676
• Ivan Langtry (CCF) 714

Mountain:

• (x)Ivan Schultz (LP) 2300
• David McBrien (CCF) 723

Norfolk:

• (x)John Lawrie (PC) 1710
• James Wood (CCF) 870

Portage La Prairie:

• (x)Charles Greenlay (PC) 1878
• Margaret Mann (CCF) 746
• Earl Moffat (LPP) 105

Roblin:

• Ronald Robertson (Independent/Coalition) 1247
• Leslie Thompson (CCF) 1092

Rockwood:

• W.J. Campbell (PC) 1879
• (x)Mungo Lewis (LP) 1582

Rupertsland:

• (x)Daniel Hamilton (LP) 438
• W. Olafson (Ind/Coalition) 230
• W.H.G. Gibbs (Independent LP/Coalition) 175
• M.R. Burritt (LPP) 55
• Rev. J. Jones (CCF) not enough signatures

Russell:

• (x)William Wilson (LP) 2250
• M.J. Tokar (CCF) 1768

St. Boniface:

First Count:

• Edwin Hansford (CCF) 6350
• Walter Tod (LP) 3939
• Laurier Regnier (Independent LP/Coalition) 1710
• Angus McDonald (Independent/Opposition) 876
• Jules Pinoo (LPP) 467

Second Count (Pinoo eliminated):

• Edwin Hansford (CCF) 6451
• Walter Tod (LP) 3967
• Laurier Regnier (Independent LP/Coalition) 1726
• Angus McDonald (Independent/Opposition) 900

Third Count (McDonald eliminated, Hansford declared elected):

• Edwin Hansford (CCF) 6606
• Walter Tod (LP) 4351
• Laurier Regnier (Independent LP/Coalition) 1812

St. Clements:

• Wilbert Doneleyko (CCF) 3615
• (x)Nicholas J. Stryk (LP) 3395
• Andrew Bileski (LPP) 1041

[Note: Donelyko & Stryk’s numbers are from the second count.]

St. George:

• Christian Halldorson (LP) 1150
• Eric Stefanson Sr. (Opposition) 892
• John Howardson (Ind/Opposition) 237
• Olfe Johnson (LPP) 56

Ste. Rose:

• (x)Dane MacCarthy (LP) 1907
• J. Heesaker (CCF) 823

Springfield:

• George Olive (CCF) 3106
• Murdoch Mackay (LP) 1992
• M.J. Hoban (Independent LP/Coalition) 1392
• Joseph Ilohena (LPP) 480

[Note: Olive and Mackay’s numbers appear to be from the third count.]

Swan River:

• (x)George Renouf (PC) 2519
• Robert Niven (CCF) 1448

The Pas:

• (x)Beresford Richards (Ind CCF) 2840
• Robert Milton (PC) 2759

Turtle Mountain:

• (x)Errick Willis (PC) accl.
• Alex Cochrane (CCF) not enough signatures

Virden:

• (x)Robert Mooney (LP) 2030
• Cecil Nichol (CCF) 856

Winnipeg (ten members):

First Count (quota: 7222; Farmer, McDiarmid, Stubbs and Stinson declared elected):

• (x)Seymour Farmer (CCF) 11237
• (x)J.S. McDiarmid (LP) 10771
• (x)Lewis St. George Stubbs (Ind/Opposition) 8309
• Lloyd Stinson (CCF) 7773
• (x)Charles Rhodes Smith (LP) 4909
• (x)Morris Gray (CCF) 4075
• (x)William Kardash (LPP) 4014
• (x)Gunnar Thorvaldson (PC) 3941
• William Scraba (LP) 3616
• Mark Long (PC) 3012
• Joseph Zuken (LPP) 2939
• Morley Lougheed (PC) 2681
• Donovan Swailes (CCF) 2663
• George Stapleton (CCF) 2329
• (x)Paul Bardal (LP) 2053
• M. Walsh (LP) 1867
• A.N. Robertson (CCF) 1796
• T.H. Taylor (SC) 635
• Roy Sully (PC) 592
• James Milne (SPC) 222

Second Count (Farmer surplus) :

• (x)Seymour Farmer (CCF) 7222
• (x)John McDiarmid (LP) 10771
• (x)Lewis Stubbs (Ind/Opposition) 8309
• Lloyd Stinson (CCF) 7773
• (x)Morris Gray (CCF) 5743
• (x)Charles Rhodes Smith (LP) 4946
• (x)William Kardash (LPP) 4067
• (x)Gunnar Thorvaldson (PC) 3966
• Donovan Swailes (CCF) 3682
• William Scraba (LP) 3656
• Mark Long (PC) 3035
• Joseph Zuken (LPP) 2963
• Morley Lougheed (PC) 2715
• George Stapleton (CCF) 2687
• A.N. Robertson (CCF) 2391
• (x)Paul Bardal (LP) 2094
• M. Walsh (LP) 1898
• T.H. Taylor (SC) 656
• Roy Sully (PC) 623
• James Milne (SPC) 236

Third Count (McDiarmid surplus) :

• (x)Seymour Farmer (CCF) 7222
• (x)John McDiarmid (LP) 7222
• (x)Lewis Stubbs (Ind/Opposition) 8309
• Lloyd Stinson (CCF) 7773
• (x)Charles Rhodes Smith (LP) 6059
• (x)Morris Gray (CCF) 5787
• (x)Gunnar Thorvaldson (PC) 4592
• (x)William Kardash (LPP) 4076
• William Scraba (LP) 3790
• Donovan Swailes (CCF) 3709
• Mark Long (PC) 3227
• Morley Lougheed (PC) 3200
• Joseph Zuken (LPP) 2974
• George Stapleton (CCF) 2698
• (x)Paul Bardal (LP) 2677
• A.N. Robertson (CCF) 2419
• M. Walsh (LP) 2127
• Roy Sully (PC) 665
• T.H. Taylor (SC) 663
• James Milne (SPC) 254

Fourth Count (Stubbs surplus) :

• (x)Seymour Farmer (CCF) 7222
• (x)John McDiarmid (LP) 7222
• (x)Lewis Stubbs (Ind/Opposition) 7222
• Lloyd Stinson (CCF) 7773
• (x)Charles Rhodes Smith (LP) 6174
• (x)Morris Gray (CCF) 5915
• (x)Gunnar Thorvaldson (PC) 4671
• (x)William Kardash (LPP) 4133
• Donovan Swailes (CCF) 3876
• William Scraba (LP) 3828
• Morley Lougheed (PC) 3285
• Mark Long (PC) 3272
• Joseph Zuken (LPP) 3010
• (x)Paul Bardal (LP) 2766
• George Stapleton (CCF) 2757
• A.N. Robertson (CCF) 2483
• M. Walsh (LP) 2166
• Roy Sully (PC) 706
• T.H. Taylor (SC) 689
• James Milne (SPC) 263

Fifth Count (Stinson surplus):

• (x)Seymour Farmer (CCF) 7222
• (x)John McDiarmid (LP) 7222
• (x)Lewis Stubbs (Ind/Opposition) 7222
• Lloyd Stinson (CCF) 7222
• (x)Charles Rhodes Smith (LP) 6181
• (x)Morris Gray (CCF) 6026
• (x)Gunnar Thorvaldson (PC) 4677
• (x)William Kardash (LPP) 4138
• Donovan Swailes (CCF) 4087
• William Scraba (LP) 3833
• Morley Lougheed (PC) 3291
• Mark Long (PC) 3276
• Joseph Zuken (LPP) 3014
• George Stapleton (CCF) 2838
• (x)Paul Bardal (LP) 2773
• A.N. Robertson (CCF) 2568
• M. Walsh (LP) 2171
• Roy Sully (PC) 716
• T.H. Taylor (SC) 692
• James Milne (SPC) 264

Sixth Count (Sully, Taylor and Milne eliminated) :

• (x)Seymour Farmer (CCF) 7222
• (x)John McDiarmid (LP) 7222
• (x)Lewis Stubbs (Ind/Opposition) 7222
• Lloyd Stinson (CCF) 7222
• (x)Charles Rhodes Smith (LP) 6313
• (x)Morris Gray (CCF) 6111
• (x)Gunnar Thorvaldson (PC) 4830
• Donovan Swailes (CCF) 4210
• (x)William Kardash (LPP) 4183
• William Scraba (LP) 3900
• Mark Long (PC) 3425
• Morley Lougheed (PC) 3407
• Joseph Zuken (LPP) 3049
• George Stapleton (CCF) 2928
• (x)Paul Bardal (LP) 2882
• A.N. Robertson (CCF) 2659
• M. Walsh (LP) 2253

Seventh Count (Walsh eliminated) :

• (x)Seymour Farmer (CCF) 7222
• (x)John McDiarmid (LP) 7222
• (x)Lewis Stubbs (Ind/Opposition) 7222
• Lloyd Stinson (CCF) 7222
• (x)Charles Rhodes Smith (LP) 6889
• (x)Morris Gray (CCF) 6165
• (x)Gunnar Thorvaldson (PC) 5099
• Donovan Swailes (CCF) 4243
• (x)William Kardash (LPP) 4212
• William Scraba (LP) 4032
• Mark Long (PC) 3776
• Morley Lougheed (PC) 3637
• (x)Paul Bardal (LP) 3213
• Joseph Zuken (LPP) 3092
• George Stapleton (CCF) 2942
• A.N. Robertson (CCF) 2694

Eighth Count (Robertson eliminated) :

• (x)Seymour Farmer (CCF) 7222
• (x)John McDiarmid (LP) 7222
• (x)Lewis Stubbs (Ind/Opposition) 7222
• Lloyd Stinson (CCF) 7222
• (x)Charles Rhodes Smith (LP) 6973
• (x)Morris Gray (CCF) 6664
• (x)Gunnar Thorvaldson (PC) 5128
• Donovan Swailes (CCF) 4902
• (x)William Kardash (LPP) 4237
• William Scraba (LP) 4085
• George Stapleton (CCF) 3942
• Mark Long (PC) 3806
• Morley Lougheed (PC) 3664
• (x)Paul Bardal (LP) 3237
• Joseph Zuken (LPP) 3103

Ninth Count (Zuken eliminated, Gray declared elected) :

• (x)Seymour Farmer (CCF) 7222
• (x)John McDiarmid (LP) 7222
• (x)Lewis Stubbs (Ind/Opposition) 7222
• Lloyd Stinson (CCF) 7222
• (x)Morris Gray (CCF) 7462
• (x)Charles Rhodes Smith (LP) 6995
• (x)William Kardash (LPP) 6141
• (x)Gunnar Thorvaldson (PC) 5145
• Donovan Swailes (CCF) 4924
• William Scraba (LP) 4135
• George Stapleton (CCF) 3960
• Mark Long (PC) 3819
• Morley Lougheed (PC) 3679
• (x)Paul Bardal (LP) 3290

Tenth Count (Gray surplus) :

• (x)Seymour Farmer (CCF) 7222
• (x)John McDiarmid (LP) 7222
• (x)Lewis Stubbs (Ind/Opposition) 7222
• Lloyd Stinson (CCF) 7222
• (x)Morris Gray (CCF) 7222
• (x)Charles Rhodes Smith (LP) 7010
• (x)William Kardash (LPP) 6319
• (x)Gunnar Thorvaldson (PC) 5148
• Donovan Swailes (CCF) 4941
• William Scraba (LP) 4143
• George Stapleton (CCF) 3971
• Mark Long (PC) 3822
• Morley Lougheed (PC) 3683
• (x)Paul Bardal (LP) 3291

Eleventh Count (Bardal eliminated, Smith declared elected) :

• (x)Seymour Farmer (CCF) 7222
• (x)John McDiarmid (LP) 7222
• (x)Lewis Stubbs (Ind/Opposition) 7222
• Lloyd Stinson (CCF) 7222
• (x)Morris Gray (CCF) 7222
• (x)Charles Rhodes Smith (LP) 7957
• (x)William Kardash (LPP) 6388
• (x)Gunnar Thorvaldson (PC) 5818
• Donovan Swailes (CCF) 5065
• William Scraba (LP) 4479
• Mark Long (PC) 4121
• George Stapleton (CCF) 4047
• Morley Lougheed (PC) 3993

Twelfth Count (Smith surplus) :

• (x)Seymour Farmer (CCF) 7222
• (x)John McDiarmid (LP) 7222
• (x)Lewis Stubbs (Ind/Opposition) 7222
• Lloyd Stinson (CCF) 7222
• (x)Morris Gray (CCF) 7222
• (x)Charles Rhodes Smith (LP) 7222
• (x)William Kardash (LPP) 6394
• (x)Gunnar Thorvaldson (PC) 6013
• Donovan Swailes (CCF) 5089
• William Scraba (LP) 4712
• Morley Lougheed (PC) 4192
• Mark Long (PC) 4191
• George Stapleton (CCF) 4055

Thirteenth Count (Stapleton eliminated, Swailes declared elected) :

• (x)Seymour Farmer (CCF) 7222
• (x)John McDiarmid (LP) 7222
• (x)Lewis Stubbs (Ind/Opposition) 7222
• Lloyd Stinson (CCF) 7222
• (x)Morris Gray (CCF) 7222
• (x)Charles Rhodes Smith (LP) 7222
• Donovan Swailes (CCF) 7863
• (x)William Kardash (LPP) 6512
• (x)Gunnar Thorvaldson (PC) 6067
• William Scraba (LP) 4847
• Morley Lougheed (PC) 4242
• Mark Long (PC) 4232

Fourteenth Count (Swailes surplus):

• (x)Seymour Farmer (CCF) 7222
• (x)John McDiarmid (LP) 7222
• (x)Lewis Stubbs (Ind/Opposition) 7222
• Lloyd Stinson (CCF) 7222
• (x)Morris Gray (CCF) 7222
• (x)Charles Rhodes Smith (LP) 7222
• Donovan Swailes (CCF) 7222
• (x)William Kardash (LPP) 6832
• (x)Gunnar Thorvaldson (PC) 6162
• William Scraba (LP) 4931
• Morley Lougheed (PC) 4315
• Mark Long (PC) 4273

Fifteenth Count (Long eliminated; Thorvaldson, Kardash and Scraba declared elected) :

• (x)Seymour Farmer (CCF) 7222
• (x)John McDiarmid (LP) 7222
• (x)Lewis Stubbs (Ind/Opposition) 7222
• Lloyd Stinson (CCF) 7222
• (x)Morris Gray (CCF) 7222
• (x)Charles Rhodes Smith (LP) 7222
• Donovan Swailes (CCF) 7222
• (x)Gunnar Thorvaldson (PC) 7256
• (x)William Kardash (LPP) 6892
• William Scraba (LP) 5774
• Morley Lougheed (PC) 5621

Post-election changes

Beresford Richards (Ind CCF) was re-admitted to the CCF caucus in December 1945.

Special elections for members of the armed forces were held in January 1946, in light of the fact that many Manitoba citizens had served overseas in World War II and were unable to vote in the general election. Gordon Churchill was elected to represent the Canadian Army, Alex J. Stringer was elected for the Canadian Navy and Ronald Turner was elected for the Canadian Air Force. Stringer later became a Progressive Conservative, while Turner became a Liberal-Progressive. Churchill sat as an Independent.

Minnedosa (res. Earl Rutledge, July 13, 1948), November 2, 1948:

• Henry Rungay (LP) 3470
• Frith (CCF) 1362

Fairford (res. Stuart Garson, November 13, 1948), December 23, 1948:

• James Anderson (LP) elected
• Michael Taczynski (CCF)

Beresford Richards and Wilbert Doneleyko were expelled from the CCF in July 1949, and sat as independent members.

Iberville (res. John McDowell, 1949)

Winnipeg (res. Gunnar Thorvaldson, 1949)

Gordon Churchill, Army Representative, resigns in 1949.