Prince Edward Island general election, 1959

Prince Edward Island general election, 1959

September 1, 1959

All 30 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island 16 seats needed for a majority   First party Second party   PC Leader Walter R. Shaw Alex W. Matheson Party Progressive Conservative Liberal Leader since 1957 1953 Leader's seat 1st Queens 4th Kings Last election 3 seats, 45.0% 27 seats, 55.0% Seats won 22 8 Seat change +19 -19 Popular vote 43,845 42,214 Percentage 50.9% 49.1% Swing +5.9pp -5.9pp

Premier before election Alex W. Matheson Liberal Premier-designate Walter R. Shaw Progressive Conservative

The 49th Prince Edward Island general election was held in the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island on September 1, 1959.^[1]

The governing Liberals of Premier Alex W. Matheson were defeated by the Progressive Conservatives led by Walter R. Shaw, who gained a massive number of districts across the Island to earn a majority government, despite a close result in the popular vote.

The defeat of the Matheson-led Liberals marked the end of the longest serving government in Island history. The Liberals had governed for 24 straight years since their initial victory in the 1935 general election, a feat that would not be rivaled by any other provincial government on the Island.

Party Standings

↓

22	8
PC	Liberal

Party		Party Leader	Seats			Popular Vote
			1955	Elected	Change	#	%	Change
	Progressive Conservative	Walter R. Shaw	3	22	+19	43,845	50.9%	+5.9%
	Liberal	Alex W. Matheson	27	8	-19	42,214	49.1%	-5.9%

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		Melvin J. McQuaid	Progressive Conservative
2nd Kings		Walter Dingwell	Progressive Conservative		Leo Rossiter	Progressive Conservative
3rd Kings		Thomas A. Curran	Progressive Conservative		Douglas McGowan	Progressive Conservative
4th Kings		Lorne Bonnell	Liberal		Alexander Wallace Matheson	Liberal
5th Kings		Stephen Hessian	Liberal		George Saville	Liberal

Queens

District	Assemblyman		Party	Councillor		Party
1st Queens		Frank Myers	Progressive Conservative		Walter Russell Shaw	Progressive Conservative
2nd Queens		Philip Matheson	Progressive Conservative		Reginald Bell	Progressive Conservative
3rd Queens		Andrew B. MacRae	Progressive Conservative		J. Russell Driscoll	Progressive Conservative
4th Queens		J. Stewart Ross	Liberal		Harold P. Smith	Liberal
5th Queens		J. David Stewart	Progressive Conservative		Alban Farmer	Progressive Conservative

Prince

District	Assemblyman		Party	Councillor		Party
1st Prince		Hubert Gaudet	Progressive Conservative		Don Campbell	Progressive Conservative
2nd Prince		George Dewar	Progressive Conservative		Robert Grindlay	Progressive Conservative
3rd Prince		Henry Wedge	Progressive Conservative		Keith Harrington	Progressive Conservative
4th Prince		J. George MacKay	Liberal		Cleveland Baker	Liberal
5th Prince		Hubert B. MacNeill	Progressive Conservative		G. Lorne Monkley	Progressive Conservative

Sources

1. "Provincial General Election Results, 1959" (PDF). Elections PEI.
2. Fred Driscoll. "History and Politics of Prince Edward Island" (PDF). Canadian Parliamentary Review.