Ontario general election, 1943
Encyclopedia
The Ontario general election of 1943 was held on August 4, 1943, to elect the 90 Members of the 21st Legislative Assembly of Ontario
(Members of Provincial Parliament, or "MPPs") of the Province of Ontario
, Canada
.
The Ontario Progressive Conservative Party, led by George Drew, defeated the Ontario Liberal Party
government. The Liberal government had disintegrated over the previous two years because of a conflict between Mitchell Hepburn
, the Ontario caucus
and the federal Liberal Party of Canada
.
Hepburn resigned and was eventually succeeded by Harry Nixon
in early 1943. The change in leadership was not enough to save the government. The election held later that year resulted in the Conservative Party, recently renamed the "Progressive Conservative Party", winning a minority government
. This began forty-two uninterrupted years of government by the Tories who combined moderate progressive policies with pragmatism and caution.
The Liberals fell to third place behind a new force, the socialist Ontario Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
(CCF), led by Ted Jolliffe
, went from obscurity to form the Official Opposition, winning 32% of the vote and 34 seats in the legislature, just four short of Drew's Tories. The Liberals and their Liberal-Progressive
allies fell from 66 seats to a mere 15.
Two members of the banned Communist Party of Ontario
running as "Labour" candidates won seats in the Legislature for the first time in this election: A.A. MacLeod in the Toronto
riding of Bellwoods, and J.B. Salsberg in the Toronto
riding of St. Andrews. Several days following the election the Labour-Progressive Party
was officially formed and Salsberg and MacLeod agreed to sit in the legislature as the party's representatives.
Note:
1 The Conservative Party renamed itself the "Progressive Conservative Party" in 1943.
2Salsberg and MacLeod, members of the banned Communist Party, ran and were elected as "Labour" candidates. The Labour-Progressive Party was formally founded several days after the election and Salsberg and Macleod agreed to sit in the legislature as LPP representatives.
3In 1940, United Farmers of Ontario
MLA Farquhar Oliver
formally joined the Liberal Party when he entered Hepburn's Cabinet
after having supported the Hepburn government from outside the Liberal caucus
for several years. Oliver was re-elected as a Liberal in the 1943 election.
4 The Liberal-Progressive MLAs supported the Liberal government of Mitchell Hepburn
since it took office in 1934. Liberal-Progressive leader Harry Nixon
formally joined the Liberal Party in 1937 and was elected its leader in 1943. Two remaining Liberal-Progressives were elected in 1937, Liberal-Progressive MLA Roland Patterson was re-elected as a Liberal in 1943 while the other Liberal-Progressive, Douglas Campbell of Kent East left the legislature.
21st Legislative Assembly of Ontario
The 21st Legislative Assembly of Ontario was in session from August 4, 1943 until March 24, 1945, just prior to the 1945 general election. The Ontario Progressive Conservative Party, formerly the Ontario Conservative Party, led by George Drew formed a minority government...
(Members of Provincial Parliament, or "MPPs") of the Province of Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
The Ontario Progressive Conservative Party, led by George Drew, defeated the Ontario Liberal Party
Ontario Liberal Party
The Ontario Liberal Party is a provincial political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. It has formed the Government of Ontario since the provincial election of 2003. The party is ideologically aligned with the Liberal Party of Canada but the two parties are organizationally independent and...
government. The Liberal government had disintegrated over the previous two years because of a conflict between Mitchell Hepburn
Mitchell Hepburn
Mitchell Frederick Hepburn was the 11th Premier of Ontario, Canada, from 1934 to 1942. He was the youngest Premier in Ontario history, appointed at age 37....
, the Ontario caucus
Caucus
A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a political party or movement, especially in the United States and Canada. As the use of the term has been expanded the exact definition has come to vary among political cultures.-Origin of the term:...
and the federal Liberal Party of Canada
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
.
Hepburn resigned and was eventually succeeded by Harry Nixon
Harry Nixon
Harry Corwin Nixon was a Canadian politician and briefly the 13th Premier of Ontario.He was born on a farm near St...
in early 1943. The change in leadership was not enough to save the government. The election held later that year resulted in the Conservative Party, recently renamed the "Progressive Conservative Party", winning a minority government
Minority government
A minority government or a minority cabinet is a cabinet of a parliamentary system formed when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament but is sworn into government to break a Hung Parliament election result. It is also known as a...
. This began forty-two uninterrupted years of government by the Tories who combined moderate progressive policies with pragmatism and caution.
The Liberals fell to third place behind a new force, the socialist Ontario Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (Ontario Section)
The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation – The Farmer-Labor Party of Ontario, or more informally and commonly known as The Ontario CCF, was a democratic socialist political party that existed from 1932 to 1961. It was the provincial wing of the National CCF. The party officially had no leader in...
(CCF), led by Ted Jolliffe
Ted Jolliffe
Edward Bigelow "Ted" Jolliffe, QC was a Canadian social democratic politician and lawyer from Ontario. He was the first leader of the Ontario section of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and leader of the Official Opposition in the Ontario Legislature during the 1940s and 1950s...
, went from obscurity to form the Official Opposition, winning 32% of the vote and 34 seats in the legislature, just four short of Drew's Tories. The Liberals and their Liberal-Progressive
Liberal-Progressive
Liberal-Progressive was a label used by a number of candidates in Canadian elections between 1926 and 1953. In federal and Ontario politics, there was no formal Liberal-Progressive party, but it was an alliance between two separate parties...
allies fell from 66 seats to a mere 15.
Two members of the banned Communist Party of Ontario
Communist Party of Ontario
The Communist Party of Canada is the Ontario, Canada provincial wing of the Communist Party of Canada. In the 1940s and 1950s under the name Labour-Progressive Party, the group won two seats in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario: A.A. MacLeod and J.B...
running as "Labour" candidates won seats in the Legislature for the first time in this election: A.A. MacLeod in the Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
riding of Bellwoods, and J.B. Salsberg in the Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
riding of St. Andrews. Several days following the election the Labour-Progressive Party
Labour-Progressive Party
For the Labour-Progressive Coalition Government in New Zealand see the Fifth Labour Government of New ZealandThe Labor-Progressive Party was the legal political organization of the Communist Party of Canada between 1943 and 1959....
was officially formed and Salsberg and MacLeod agreed to sit in the legislature as the party's representatives.
Results
| Party | Leader | 1937 Ontario general election, 1937 The Ontario general election, 1937 was held on October 6, 1937, to elect the 90 Members of the 20th Legislative Assembly of Ontario . It was the 20th general election held in the Province of Ontario, Canada.... |
Elected | % change | Popular vote | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | change |
Progressive Conservative 1 | George Drew | 23 | 38 | +65.2% | 35.7% | -4.3% |
Co-operative Commonwealth Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (Ontario Section) The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation – The Farmer-Labor Party of Ontario, or more informally and commonly known as The Ontario CCF, was a democratic socialist political party that existed from 1932 to 1961. It was the provincial wing of the National CCF. The party officially had no leader in... |
Ted Jolliffe Ted Jolliffe Edward Bigelow "Ted" Jolliffe, QC was a Canadian social democratic politician and lawyer from Ontario. He was the first leader of the Ontario section of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and leader of the Official Opposition in the Ontario Legislature during the 1940s and 1950s... |
0 | 34 | 31.7% | +26.1% |
Liberal Ontario Liberal Party The Ontario Liberal Party is a provincial political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. It has formed the Government of Ontario since the provincial election of 2003. The party is ideologically aligned with the Liberal Party of Canada but the two parties are organizationally independent and... 2 |
Harry Nixon Harry Nixon Harry Corwin Nixon was a Canadian politician and briefly the 13th Premier of Ontario.He was born on a farm near St... |
63 | 15 | -76.2% | 31.2% | -20.4% |
Labour-Progressive Party Communist Party of Ontario The Communist Party of Canada is the Ontario, Canada provincial wing of the Communist Party of Canada. In the 1940s and 1950s under the name Labour-Progressive Party, the group won two seats in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario: A.A. MacLeod and J.B... 2 |
- | 2 | |
Liberal Independent | 1 | 1 | - | |
United Farmers United Farmers of Ontario The United Farmers of Ontario was a political party in Ontario, Canada. It was the Ontario provincial branch of the United Farmers movement of the early part of the 20th century.- Foundation and rise :... 3 |
1 | * | - | |
Liberal-Progressive Liberal-Progressive Liberal-Progressive was a label used by a number of candidates in Canadian elections between 1926 and 1953. In federal and Ontario politics, there was no formal Liberal-Progressive party, but it was an alliance between two separate parties... 4 |
2 | * | - | |||||||||||
| Total | 90 | 90 | - | 100% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Note:
1 The Conservative Party renamed itself the "Progressive Conservative Party" in 1943.
2Salsberg and MacLeod, members of the banned Communist Party, ran and were elected as "Labour" candidates. The Labour-Progressive Party was formally founded several days after the election and Salsberg and Macleod agreed to sit in the legislature as LPP representatives.
3In 1940, United Farmers of Ontario
United Farmers of Ontario
The United Farmers of Ontario was a political party in Ontario, Canada. It was the Ontario provincial branch of the United Farmers movement of the early part of the 20th century.- Foundation and rise :...
MLA Farquhar Oliver
Farquhar Oliver
Farquhar Robert Oliver was a politician in Ontario, Canada.Oliver was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a United Farmers of Ontario Member of the Legislative Assembly in the 1926 provincial election at the age of 22.Oliver was re-elected as a UFO MLA in the 1929 election and was...
formally joined the Liberal Party when he entered Hepburn's Cabinet
Executive Council of Ontario
The Executive Council of Ontario plays an important role in theGovernment of Ontario, in accordance with the Westminster system....
after having supported the Hepburn government from outside the Liberal caucus
Caucus
A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a political party or movement, especially in the United States and Canada. As the use of the term has been expanded the exact definition has come to vary among political cultures.-Origin of the term:...
for several years. Oliver was re-elected as a Liberal in the 1943 election.
4 The Liberal-Progressive MLAs supported the Liberal government of Mitchell Hepburn
Mitchell Hepburn
Mitchell Frederick Hepburn was the 11th Premier of Ontario, Canada, from 1934 to 1942. He was the youngest Premier in Ontario history, appointed at age 37....
since it took office in 1934. Liberal-Progressive leader Harry Nixon
Harry Nixon
Harry Corwin Nixon was a Canadian politician and briefly the 13th Premier of Ontario.He was born on a farm near St...
formally joined the Liberal Party in 1937 and was elected its leader in 1943. Two remaining Liberal-Progressives were elected in 1937, Liberal-Progressive MLA Roland Patterson was re-elected as a Liberal in 1943 while the other Liberal-Progressive, Douglas Campbell of Kent East left the legislature.
See also
- Politics of OntarioPolitics of OntarioThe Province of Ontario is governed by a unicameral legislature, the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, which operates in the Westminster system of government...
- List of Ontario political parties
- Premier of OntarioPremier of OntarioThe Premier of Ontario is the first Minister of the Crown for the Canadian province of Ontario. The Premier is appointed as the province's head of government by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, and presides over the Executive council, or Cabinet. The Executive Council Act The Premier of Ontario...
- Leader of the Opposition (Ontario)Leader of the Opposition (Ontario)The Leader of the Opposition in Ontario is usually leader of the largest party in the Ontario legislature which is not the government. The current official opposition is formed by the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party, and Tim Hudak is the current Leader of the Opposition.Ontario's first...