Prince Edward Island general election, 1947

Prince Edward Island general election, 1947

December 11, 1947

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 +4 -4 Popular vote 40,758 36,661 Percentage 50.3% 45.3% Swing -1.0pp -0.8pp

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

Premier before election J. Walter Jones Liberal Premier-designate J. Walter Jones Liberal

The 46th Prince Edward Island general election was held in the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island on December 11, 1947.^[1]

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

↓

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%

Members Elected

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

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

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

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

1. "Provincial General Election Results, 1947" (PDF). Elections PEI.
2. Fred Driscoll. "History and Politics of Prince Edward Island" (PDF). Canadian Parliamentary Review.