1943 Prince Edward Island general election

The 1943 Prince Edward Island general election was held in the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island on September 15, 1943.[1]

1943 Prince Edward Island general election

September 15, 1943
All 30 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island 16 seats needed for a majority
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 27 seats, 53.0% 3 seats, 47.0% Seats won 20 10 Seat change 7 7 Popular vote 35,396 31,849 Percentage 51.3% 46.1% Swing 1.7pp 0.9pp
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 lost seven seats to the Progressive Conservatives led by former Premier William J.P. MacMillan, but were able to retain a strong majority in the Legislature. Jones became Premier in May 1943 following the elevation of his predecessor Thane Campbell to the position of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island.

This election featured the first appearance of the democratic socialist Co-operative Commonwealth Federation in provincial Island politics. Though they had formed an association in 1936, they did not run any candidates provincially until this election. The CCF ran nine candidates throughout the Island and earned just over 2% of the popular vote, though no seats.

This election also took place during the Second World War.

Party Standings

↓

20	10
Liberal	PC

Party		Party Leader	Seats			Popular Vote
			1939	Elected	Change	#	%	Change
	Liberal	J. Walter Jones	27	20	-7	35,396	51.3%	-1.7%
	Progressive Conservative	William J. P. MacMillan	3	10	+7	31,849	46.1%	-0.9%
	Co-operative Commonwealth		-	-	-	1,436	2.1%	+2.1%
	Independent Liberal		-	-	-	379	0.5%	+0.5%

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		Harry S. Francis	Liberal		T. J. Kickham	Liberal
2nd Kings		Harry Cox	Liberal		Thomas R. Cullen	Liberal
3rd Kings		Leslie Hunter	Progressive Conservative		Francis MacPhee	Progressive Conservative
4th Kings		John A. Campbell	Liberal		Murdock McGowan	Progressive Conservative
5th Kings		William Hughes	Liberal		George Saville	Liberal

Queens

District	Assemblyman		Party	Councillor		Party
1st Queens		Walter G. MacKenzie	Progressive Conservative		W. F. Alan Stewart	Liberal
2nd Queens		Philip Matheson	Progressive Conservative		Reginald Bell	Progressive Conservative
3rd Queens		Russell C. Clark	Liberal		Mark R. MacGuigan	Liberal
4th Queens		Dougald MacKinnon	Liberal		John Walter Jones	Liberal
5th Queens		William Prowse	Liberal		William J. P. MacMillan	Progressive Conservative

Prince

District	Assemblyman		Party	Councillor		Party
1st Prince		Joseph A. Bernard	Liberal		Fred Ramsay	Liberal
2nd Prince		George H. Barbour	Liberal		William H. Dennis	Liberal
3rd Prince		Marin Gallant	Liberal		Thomas Linkletter	Liberal
4th Prince		Heath Strong	Progressive Conservative		Horace Wright	Liberal
5th Prince		Daniel F. MacNeill	Progressive Conservative		Ernest Strong	Progressive Conservative

Sources

1. "Provincial General Election Results, 1943" (PDF). Elections PEI.
2. Fred Driscoll. "History and Politics of Prince Edward Island" (PDF). Canadian Parliamentary Review.