1936 Manitoba general election


The 1936 Manitoba general election was held July 27, 1936 to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada.
This was the second election in Manitoba after the formation of a Liberal-Progressive alliance in 1932. The Progressive Party, which had governed the province since 1922, forged an alliance with the Liberal Party just prior to the 1932 provincial election to prevent the Conservative Party from winning. This alliance won the 1932 election under Premier John Bracken's leadership, and the two parties had effectively become united by 1936.
The Liberal-Progressives faced opposition from a variety of parties in the 1936 election. The Conservative Party remained the dominant opposition group, and the most serious challenge to the government. On the left, the Independent Labour Party formed an alliance with the national Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, and contested the election as the ILP-CCF. The Communist Party also fielded a strong candidate in Winnipeg, while the upstart Social Credit League also ran candidates, hoping to repeat William Aberhart's surprising victory in Alberta the previous year.
Despite economic hardships in the province, Bracken expected that his government would be returned with another majority. He was mistaken. Although the Liberal-Progressives won the election, they could claim only twenty-two seats out of 53 after the initial results were declared. The Conservative party, under its new leader, former federal Member of Parliament Errick Willis, finished a close second with sixteen. The ILP-CCF won seven seats, while the Social Credit League unexpectedly won five. One independent Liberal was also elected. A number of rural ridings, which had previously supported Liberal-Progressive candidates, shifted to the Conservatives or to Social Credit in this poll.
The greatest surprise of the election occurred in the Winnipeg constituency, which elected ten members via a single transferable ballot. Former judge Lewis Stubbs, an independent leftist, received an astounding 24,805 votes on the first ballot, almost 20,000 more than his nearest competitor. The second-place candidate, moreover, was James Litterick, the first openly declared communist to win election at the state or federal level in North America.
After the election, Bracken attempted to persuade Errick Willis to form a four-year alliance of the Liberal-Progressive and Conservative parties, so as to provide a stable government for the province. Willis rejected the offer the same day, claiming his caucus was unwilling to accept it.
The provincial impasse continued until August 13, when the Social Credit League unexpectedly announced that it would provide support to Bracken's government in the legislature. Social Credit did not formally join with the Liberal-Progressives in a coalition government, but provided critical support to Bracken's minority government for the next four years.
Ironically, Bracken's own constituency of The Pas was the site of one of the two deferred elections. He was re-elected, while a second Independent Liberal was returned in Rupertsland.
Including the Social Credit MLAs, Bracken's government could count on the support of only 28 members out of 55. He was nonetheless able to keep his government intact for four years, and in late 1940 formed a new wartime coalition government with the Conservatives, CCF and Social Credit. This coalition contested the 1941 election, and won a landslide majority.
The Communist Party was not included in this coalition, as it had been rendered illegal after the start of World War II. James Litterick was expelled from the legislature in 1940, and went into hiding. He did not resurface after the war, and his disappearance has been the source of some speculation in the Canadian left. Some believe that he was actually a spy for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and that he was killed as a traitor during the war by other members of the Communist Party. This has never been verified, however.

Results

Results by electoral division

Assiniboia:
First Count
Sanders was eliminated. Morton was eliminated after the second count with 981 votes.
Third Count
Beautiful Plains:
First Count
Duffy was eliminated.
Second Count
Birtle:
First Count
Cameron was eliminated.
Second Count
Brandon City:
First Count
Spafford was eliminated.
Second Count
Carillon:
Cypress:
Dauphin:
First Count
Moore was eliminated.
Second Count
Deloraine:
Dufferin:
Emerson:
First Count
Wachna was eliminated. Podolsky was eliminated after the second count with 1144 votes.
Third Count
Ethelbert:
Fairford:
Fisher:
Gilbert Plains:
Gimli:
First Count
Magnacca was eliminated. Oddson was eliminated after the second count with 1066 votes.
Third Count
Gladstone:
Glenwood:
Hamiota:
Iberville:
Kildonan & St. Andrews:
First Count
Wise was eliminated.
Second Count
Killarney:
Lakeside:
Lansdowne:
First Count
De Gagne was eliminated.
Second Count
La Verendrye:
Manitou:
Minnedosa:
First Count
Morton was eliminated.
Second Count
Morden and Rhineland:
Morris:
Mountain:
Norfolk:
First Count
Burrows was eliminated.
Second Count
Portage la Prairie:
Roblin:
First Count
Barber was eliminated.
Second Count
Rockwood:
Rupertsland :
Russell:
St. Boniface:
First Count
Jodoin was eliminated. McLean was eliminated after the second count with 2890 votes.
Third Count
St. Clements:
First Count
Bates was eliminated.
Second Count
St. George:
Ste. Rose:
First Count
Zaplitny was eliminated.
Second Count
Springfield:
First Count
Barefoot was eliminated.
Second Count
Swan River:
First Count
Holmes was eliminated.
Second Count
The Pas :
Turtle Mountain:
Virden:
Winnipeg:
Elected candidates are italicized
Second Count
Third Count
Fourth Count
Fifth Count
Sixth Count
Seventh Count
Eighth Count
Ninth Count
Tenth Count
Eleventh Count
Twelfth Count
Thirteenth Count
Fourteenth Count
Fifteenth Count
Sixteenth Count
Even after all the seats filled, Dyma was eliminated and her votes transferred although they did not make any difference to the election.
Seventeenth Count
The ILP-CCF parliamentary group became known as CCF after the election.
Winnipeg.
Winnipeg.
Lewis Stubbs was initially the only member of the legislature to remain in opposition when a four-party coalition was formed in 1940. He was later joined by Salome Halldorson of Social Credit, as well as John Poole and Huntly Ketchen of the Conservatives.