1949 Newfoundland general election

The 1949 Newfoundland general election was held on 27 May 1949 to elect members of the 29th General Assembly of Newfoundland. It was the first general election held since Newfoundland joined Canadian confederation on 31 March 1949 and the first Newfoundland-wide election of any kind since the suspension of responsible government and the creation of the Commission of Government in 1934. The election was won by the Liberal Party.

1949 Newfoundland general election

May 27, 1949
28 seats of the Newfoundland House of Assembly 15 seats were needed for a majority
Leader Joey Smallwood Harry Mews Party Liberal Progressive Conservative Leader's seat Bonavista North St. John's West (defeated) Seats won 22 5 Popular vote 110,459 54,728 Percentage 65.68% 32.54%
Premier before election New Office Premier after election Joey Smallwood Liberal

Joey Smallwood was invited to form an interim administration when Newfoundland became a part of Canada just before midnight on March 31, 1949. This interim Smallwood administration continued until the results of the May election.

The election was held under the House of Assembly Act of 1932, with the same 27 seats, plus a new seat for Labrador, though the election in the Labrador seat was deferred until July 25. The five seats where Progressive Conservatives won had all voted heavily against confederation in the 1948 Newfoundland referendums.

Results by district

Candidates by district
Electoral District	Liberal		Progressive Conservative		Independent
Bonavista North		Joey Smallwood 4,215		J.M. Wray 637		-
Bonavista South		Ted Russell 3,462		Walter Young 1,583		-
Burgeo and LaPoile		Herman W. Quinton 3,225		E.J. Skinner 256		-
Burin		Phillip Forsey 3,947		Grace Sparkes 416		-
Carbonear-Bay de Verde		Herbert Pottle 3,770		C.W. Puddester 1,627		-
Ferryland		Augustus Greene 456		-		Peter Cashin 2,506 J.J. O'Brien 338
Fogo		Gordon Janes 3,121		Harold Earle 602		-
Fortune Bay and Hermitage		John R. Courage 4,032		C.D. Pinsent 325		-
Grand Falls		Edward Spencer 7,014		L.R. Cooper 1,586		-
Green Bay		Baxter Morgan 2,901		Roy Manuel 429		-
Harbour Grace		James Chalker 2,066		R.A. Parsons 1,237		-
Harbour Main-Bell Island (Multi-Member)		T. Addison Brown 2,927 Myles P. Murray 2,807		David Jackman 4,259 Ronald Fahey 3,808		-
Humber		Charles Ballam 7,174		Pierce Fudge 1,307		Louis Bonnell 136
Labrador (election held July 25, 1949)		Harold Horwood 1,268		R.A. Parsons 133		-
Placentia and St. Mary's		Michael J. Sinnott 2,022		Leonard J. Miller 2,166		-
Placentia West		Patrick Canning 3,100		L.J. Murphy 860		-
Port de Grave		George Makinson 2,243		W.R. Dawe 1,222		-
St. Barbe		Reginald F. Sparkes 2,588		George Whiteley 190		-
St. George's-Port au Port		William Keough 4,076		J.J. Dawson 925		-
St. John's East (Multi-Member)		Geoffrey C. Carnell 6,417 James M. Fagan 6,276		John G. Higgins 6,878 Frank Fogwill 6,611		-
St. John's West (Multi-Member)		Oliver Hardy 8,411 James Spratt 8,363		Harry Mews 7,526 Michael F. Harrington 7,381		-
Trinity North		Samuel J. Hefferton 3,727		James Mifflin 1,027		-
Trinity South		Maxwell Button 3,070		Isaac Mercer 1,152		-
Twillingate		Leslie Curtis 3,100		C.L. Parkins 293		-
White Bay		Sam Drover 4,023		F.M. Wells 417		-

References

• Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, volume 1. Newfoundland Book Publishers (1967) Ltd. 1981. p. 723. Retrieved May 17, 2019.