1943 Ontario general election

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1943 Ontario general election

← 1937 August 4, 1943 1945 →

90 seats in the 21st Legislative Assembly of Ontario
46 seats were needed for a majority
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader George Drew Ted Jolliffe Harry Nixon
Party Progressive Conservative Co-operative Commonwealth Liberal
Leader since December 9, 1938 April 3, 1942 April 30, 1943
Leader's seat High Park York South Brant
Last election 23 0 63
Seats won 38 34 15
Seat change Increase15 Increase34 Decrease48
Percentage 35.7% 31.7% 31.2%
Swing Decrease4.3pp Increase26.1pp Decrease20.4pp

Premier before election

Harry Nixon
Liberal

Premier after election

George Drew
Progressive Conservative

The 1943 Ontario general election 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.[1]

Background[edit]

Because of the outbreak of war, the Legislative Assembly had passed Acts in 1942[2] and 1943[3] to defer the calling of a general election. The latter extension had received royal assent in April 1943, but Premier Harry Nixon came into office the following month and opted to call an earlier election on June 30, 1943 for August 4, 1943. Noting that the last extension had been vigorously opposed by the Progressive Conservative opposition, he said, "We know of no precedent in the British Empire where a parliament extended its own life against an opposition vote."[4]

Campaign[edit]

Riding contests, by number of candidates (1943)
Candidates PC CCF Lib Lab Ind-Lib Other Total
2 3 3 6
3 75 74 74 1 1 225
4 9 9 9 2 1 6 36
5 3 3 3 2 4 15
Total 90 86 89 2 4 11 282

Outcome[edit]

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 Labor-Progressive Party was officially formed and Salsberg and MacLeod agreed to sit in the legislature as the party's representatives.

The Legislature's first two female MPPs were elected in 1943:

First female MPPs (1943)
Party MPP Riding
CCF Rae Luckock Bracondale
CCF Agnes Macphail York East

Results[edit]

Elections to the 21st Parliament of Ontario (1943)[a 1]
Political party Party leader MPPs Votes
Candidates 1937 Dissol. 1943 ± # % ± (pp)
Progressive Conservative George Drew 90 23 19 38 15Increase 469,672 35.75% 3.69Decrease
Co-operative Commonwealth Ted Jolliffe 86 34 34Increase 415,441 31.62% 26.30Increase
Liberal Harry Nixon 89 62 59 15 51Decrease 399,185 30.38% 20.65Decrease
Liberal–Progressive[a 2] 3 2
United Farmers[a 3] 1
Labour[a 4] 2 2 2Increase 11,888 0.90% 0.15Increase
Independent Liberal[a 5] 4 1 1 Steady 10,123 0.77% 0.55Decrease
Independent Labour 2 2,215 0.17% 0.16Increase
Independent 3 2,540 0.19% 0.06Decrease
Independent-CCF 1 1,566 0.12% New
Socialist Labour 3 740 0.06% 0.08Decrease
Soldier 2 569 0.04% New
Vacant 10
Total 282 90 90 90 1,313,939 100.00%
Blank and invalid ballots 10,746
Registered voters / turnout 2,269,895 58.36% 12.93Decrease
  1. ^ "1943 General Election (Summary)". elections.on.ca. Elections Ontario. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  2. ^ Roland Patterson (Grey North), Thomas Aston Blakelock (Halton) and Douglas Munro Campbell (Kent East) ran as Liberal candidates in 1943.
  3. ^ Farquhar Oliver (Grey South) became a Liberal on February 24, 1941, upon joining the Cabinet.
  4. ^ A. A. MacLeod (Bellwoods) and J. B. Salsberg (St. Andrew) were elected under the Labour ticket, but switched to the new Labor-Progressive Party on its formation shortly after the election.
  5. ^ Morrison Mann MacBride (Brantford) died in June 1938. Mitchell Hepburn (Elgin) opted not to run as a Liberal candidate in 1943.
Seats and popular vote by party
Party Seats Votes Change (pp)
 Progressive Conservative
38 / 90
35.75%
-3.69
 
 Co-operative Commonwealth
34 / 90
31.62%
26.30 26.3
 
 Liberal/Lib-Prog/UFO
15 / 90
30.38%
-20.65
 
 Other
3 / 90
2.41%
-1.96
 


Synopsis of results[edit]

Results by riding - 1943 Ontario general election[a 1][a 2][a 3]
Riding Winning party Turnout
[a 4]
Votes
Name[a 5] 1937 Party Votes Share Margin
#
Margin
%
PC CCF Lib Lab Ind-Lib Ind Other Total
 
Addington Con PC 5,628 51.36% 1,752 15.99% 73.55% 5,628 1,453 3,876 10,957
Algoma—Manitoulin Lib Lib 3,755 39.03% 729 7.58% 63.52% 2,839 3,026 3,755 9,620
Brant Lib Lib 5,745 56.79% 3,505 34.65% 52.48% 2,240 2,131 5,745 10,116
Brantford Ind-Lib CCF 5,327 39.73% 1,045 7.79% 61.93% 3,800 5,327 4,282 13,409
Bruce Lib Lib 5,066 38.51% 76 0.58% 64.34% 4,990 3,100 5,066 13,156
Carleton Con PC 5,796 54.79% 2,522 23.84% 51.98% 5,796 1,508 3,274 10,578
Cochrane North Lib CCF 3,709 46.18% 414 5.16% 74.91% 1,027 3,709 3,295 8,031
Cochrane South* Lib CCF 12,995 57.01% 7,400 32.46% 67.37% 4,205 12,995 5,595 22,795
Dufferin—Simcoe Con PC 5,134 49.79% 2,513 24.37% 48.90% 5,134 2,557 2,621 10,312
Durham Lib PC 4,412 40.70% 286 2.64% 67.13% 4,412 2,303 4,126 10,841
Elgin Lib Ind-Lib 6,879 50.66% 2,605 19.19% 57.30% 4,274 2,425 6,879 13,578
Essex North Lib CCF 7,999 53.59% 4,846 32.46% 58.65% 2,405 7,999 3,153 1,213 157 14,927
Essex South Lib PC 3,940 41.51% 132 1.39% 49.25% 3,940 1,743 3,808 9,491
Fort William* Con CCF 8,701 60.36% 5,620 38.98% 66.56% 3,081 8,701 2,634 14,416
Glengarry Lib Lib 4,495 59.60% 1,934 25.64% 54.15% 2,561 486 4,495 7,542
Grenville—Dundas Con PC 6,829 64.92% 3,139 29.84% 48.65% 6,829 3,690 10,519
Grey North L-P Lib 4,826 37.52% 385 2.99% 65.35% 4,441 3,596 4,826 12,863
Grey South UFO Lib 5,617 50.46% 2,266 20.36% 63.96% 3,351 2,164 5,617 11,132
Haldimand—Norfolk Lib PC 7,868 44.90% 791 4.51% 61.62% 7,868 2,577 7,077 17,522
Halton L-P PC 4,474 38.51% 832 7.16% 58.89% 4,474 3,391 3,642 111 11,618
Hamilton East Lib CCF 6,739 34.35% 1,079 5.50% 61.82% 5,660 6,739 4,821 2,397 19,617
Hamilton Centre Lib CCF 8,592 47.30% 3,578 19.70% 54.23% 5,014 8,592 4,560 18,166
Hamilton—Wentworth Lib CCF 6,433 36.27% 583 3.29% 64.19% 5,850 6,433 5,453 17,736
Hastings East* Con PC 4,715 51.55% 1,414 15.46% 65.53% 4,715 1,130 3,301 9,146
Hastings West Con PC 6,530 47.91% 2,423 17.78% 60.85% 6,530 2,994 4,107 13,631
Huron Lib PC 4,889 44.00% 470 4.23% 63.64% 4,889 1,803 4,419 11,111
Huron—Bruce* Lib PC 4,588 38.00% 156 1.29% 66.98% 4,588 3,053 4,432 12,073
Kenora Lib CCF 4,891 51.77% 1,861 19.70% 70.39% 1,527 4,891 3,030 9,448
Kent East L-P PC 6,800 58.23% 1,923 16.47% 71.48% 6,800 4,877 11,677
Kent West Lib Lib 7,969 52.00% 2,575 16.80% 56.19% 5,394 1,963 7,969 15,326
Kingston* Con PC 6,555 46.49% 1,380 9.79% 60.82% 6,555 2,370 5,175 14,100
Lambton East Lib Lib 4,520 47.34% 778 8.15% 55.41% 3,742 1,285 4,520 9,547
Lambton West Lib CCF 4,967 35.14% 337 2.38% 68.34% 4,537 4,967 4,630 14,134
Lanark Con PC 7,126 55.95% 3,242 25.46% 62.15% 7,126 1,726 3,884 12,736
Leeds Con PC 7,666 51.52% 2,284 15.35% 67.00% 7,666 1,833 5,382 14,881
Lincoln* Lib PC 10,139 41.46% 2,701 11.04% 62.59% 10,139 7,438 6,880 24,457
London Lib PC 10,312 40.65% 2,360 9.30% 61.20% 10,312 7,952 7,103 25,367
Middlesex North Lib PC 4,670 39.00% 780 6.51% 62.32% 4,670 3,414 3,890 11,974
Middlesex South Lib PC 5,313 48.13% 1,044 9.46% 57.80% 5,313 1,458 4,269 11,040
Muskoka—Ontario Lib Lib 4,219 34.84% 88 0.73% 56.59% 4,131 3,759 4,219 12,109
Niagara Falls Lib CCF 7,519 45.76% 2,462 14.98% 61.66% 3,856 7,519 5,057 16,432
Nipissing Lib CCF 5,642 40.75% 1,637 11.82% 60.90% 2,327 5,642 4,005 1,871 13,845
Northumberland Lib PC 7,412 53.45% 2,136 15.40% 68.92% 7,412 1,178 5,276 13,866
Ontario* Lib CCF 8,745 44.07% 3,170 15.97% 64.58% 5,525 8,745 5,575 19,845
Ottawa East Lib Lib 11,004 74.70% 8,193 55.62% 43.03% 2,811 11,004 916 14,731
Ottawa South Con PC 11,870 43.94% 2,559 9.47% 46.69% 11,870 5,579 9,311 252 27,012
Oxford Lib PC 7,207 41.73% 1,461 8.46% 58.22% 7,207 4,319 5,746 17,272
Parry Sound Lib CCF 4,221 40.90% 889 8.61% 61.36% 2,768 4,221 3,332 10,321
Peel Con PC 7,101 50.27% 3,331 23.58% 62.15% 7,101 3,254 3,770 14,125
Perth Lib Lib 7,563 39.29% 18 0.09% 59.20% 7,545 4,143 7,563 19,251
Peterborough Lib PC 6,884 38.82% 800 4.51% 61.99% 6,884 4,763 6,084 17,731
Port Arthur Lib CCF 7,929 54.28% 3,919 26.83% 73.97% 2,668 7,929 4,010 14,607
Prescott Lib Lib 5,291 55.72% 1,614 17.00% 61.42% 528 3,677 5,291 9,496
Prince Edward—Lennox Con PC 5,863 52.64% 1,307 11.74% 60.40% 5,863 718 4,556 11,137
Rainy River Lib CCF 2,600 39.37% 574 8.69% 69.59% 1,978 2,600 2,026 6,604
Renfrew North Lib PC 4,185 40.82% 606 5.91% 69.61% 4,185 2,489 3,579 10,253
Renfrew South Lib Lib 4,921 53.80% 695 7.60% 58.66% 4,226 4,921 9,147
Russell Lib Lib 4,092 56.50% 1,996 27.56% 42.02% 2,096 1,054 4,092 7,242
Sault Ste. Marie Lib CCF 7,173 55.70% 4,104 31.87% 65.09% 2,637 7,173 3,069 12,879
Simcoe Centre Lib PC 4,176 41.99% 584 5.87% 55.51% 4,176 2,177 3,592 9,945
Simcoe East Con PC 4,766 43.76% 1,622 14.89% 59.42% 4,766 2,980 3,144 10,890
Stormont Lib PC 5,860 42.45% 686 4.97% 64.72% 5,860 2,772 5,174 13,806
Sudbury Lib CCF 15,169 59.89% 7,587 29.96% 68.43% 1,062 15,169 7,582 1,513 25,326
Temiskaming Lib CCF 5,219 54.18% 2,370 24.60% 71.97% 1,565 5,219 2,849 9,633
Victoria Con PC 6,985 57.36% 2,943 24.17% 62.15% 6,985 1,150 4,042 12,177
Waterloo North Lib CCF 7,570 41.10% 1,115 6.05% 49.76% 4,392 7,570 6,455 18,417
Waterloo South Lib CCF 6,831 45.62% 1,958 13.08% 58.13% 3,269 6,831 4,873 14,973
Welland Lib CCF 8,256 47.35% 3,239 18.58% 59.73% 4,163 8,256 5,017 17,436
Wellington North Lib Lib 5,556 48.82% 1,358 11.93% 56.64% 4,198 1,626 5,556 11,380
Wellington South Lib CCF 4,753 38.75% 848 6.91% 59.76% 3,905 4,753 3,607 12,265
Wentworth Lib CCF 9,963 51.21% 4,680 24.05% 58.73% 5,283 9,963 4,210 19,456
Windsor—Walkerville Lib CCF 6,711 44.24% 2,377 15.67% 58.41% 4,124 6,711 4,334 15,169
Windsor—Sandwich Lib CCF 6,455 43.51% 1,332 8.98% 50.63% 5,123 6,455 3,256 14,834
York East Con CCF 13,384 45.47% 1,740 5.91% 52.30% 11,644 13,384 4,410 29,438
York North Lib CCF 6,266 36.25% 531 3.07% 56.94% 5,735 6,266 5,283 17,284
York South Con CCF 11,024 49.32% 2,484 11.11% 48.09% 8,540 11,024 2,788 22,352
York West Lib CCF 10,720 42.05% 1,308 5.13% 53.77% 9,412 10,720 5,364 25,496
Beaches Con PC 6,926 43.75% 42 0.27% 59.02% 6,926 6,884 2,021 15,831
Bellwoods* Lib Lab 4,312 30.37% 526 3.70% 53.58% 3,786 2,681 3,420 4,312 14,199
Bracondale Lib CCF 4,681 38.56% 286 2.36% 49.88% 4,395 4,681 2,765 298 12,139
Dovercourt Con PC 7,265 43.47% 2,002 11.98% 49.39% 7,265 5,263 2,618 1,566 16,712
Eglinton Lib PC 13,832 50.23% 6,887 25.01% 59.15% 13,832 6,759 6,945 27,536
High Park* Con PC 7,953 41.83% 466 2.45% 59.33% 7,953 7,487 3,422 149 19,011
Parkdale Con PC 9,256 44.58% 2,086 10.05% 55.22% 9,256 7,170 4,339 20,765
Riverdale Con CCF 7,640 44.15% 218 1.26% 49.15% 7,422 7,640 2,244 17,306
St. Andrew Lib Lab 7,576 53.13% 5,071 35.56% 56.44% 2,505 1,811 2,368 7,576 14,260
St. David Lib CCF 5,678 41.11% 619 4.48% 55.13% 5,059 5,678 3,074 13,811
St. George* Lib PC 7,205 46.81% 2,764 17.96% 49.46% 7,205 4,441 3,316 160 271 15,393
St. Patrick Lib PC 4,694 43.71% 1,616 15.05% 52.33% 4,694 3,078 2,967 10,739
Woodbine Con CCF 8,848 47.92% 1,616 8.75% 54.10% 7,232 8,848 2,385 18,465
  1. ^ "1943 General Election (Summary)". elections.on.ca. Elections Ontario. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  2. ^ Party affiliations verified with "Tabulation Of Vote For Constituencies; Other Election Gleanings". Ottawa Citizen. August 5, 1943. p. 15.
  3. ^ Turnouts verified with "Sessional Paper No. 40: Return from the records of the General Election to the Legislative Assembly in 1943". Sessional Papers, No. LXXVI - Part IV. Toronto: King's Printer. 1944. pp. 6–7.
  4. ^ including spoilt ballots
  5. ^ order is as given in EO reports

* - seat was vacant when election called

  = open seat
  = turnout is above provincial average
  = winning candidate was in previous Legislature
  = incumbent switched allegiance for the election
  = incumbency arose from byelection gain
  = previously incumbent in another riding
  = other incumbents renominated
  = previously an MP in the House of Commons of Canada
  = multiple candidates

Analysis[edit]

Party candidates in 2nd place
Party in 1st place Party in 2nd place Total
PC CCF Lib
Progressive Conservative 8 30 38
Co-operative Commonwealth 15 19 34
Liberal 13 2 15
Labour 2 2
Independent Liberal 1 1
Total 31 10 49 90
Candidates ranked 1st to 5th place, by party
Parties 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Total
 Progressive Conservative 38 31 20 1 90
 Co-operative Commonwealth 34 10 40 2 86
 Liberal 15 49 25 89
 Labour 2 2
 Independent Liberal 1 2 1 4
 Independent 2 1 3
 Socialist Labour 2 1 3
 Soldier 2 2
 Independent Labour 1 1 2
 Independent-CCF 1 1

Seats that changed hands[edit]

Elections to the 21st Parliament of Ontario – seats won/lost by party, 1937–1943
Party 1937 Gain from (loss to) 1943
PC CCF Lib Lbr-P I-Lib L-Pro UFO
Progressive Conservative 23 (5) 19 1 38
Co-operative Commonwealth 5 28 1 34
Liberal 63 (19) (28) (2) (1) 1 1 15
Labor–Progressive 2 2
Independent-Liberal[a 1] 1 (1) 1 1
Liberal–Progressive[a 2] 2 (1) (1)
United Farmers[a 3] 1 (1)
Total 90 5 (20) (34) 50 (2) (2) 1 (1) 1 1 90
  1. ^ Morrison Mann MacBride (Brantford) had died in office in 1938. Mitchell Hepburn (Elgin) was re-elected as an Independent-Liberal in 1943
  2. ^ Roland Patterson (Grey North) was re-elected as a Liberal, while Douglas Campbell (Kent East) retired from the legislature.
  3. ^ Farquhar Oliver (Grey South) was re-elected as a Liberal.

There were 58 seats that changed allegiance in the election.

Resulting composition of the 21st Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Source Party
PC CCF Lib Lab I-Lib Total
Seats retained Incumbents returned 13 15 28
Open seats held (vacant) 3 3
Open seats held (other) 2 2
Incumbent changed allegiance 1 1
Seats changing hands Incumbents defeated 13 23 1 37
Open seats gained (vacant) 3 3 1 7
Open seats gained (other) 4 7 11
Ouster of byelection gain by third party 1 1
Total 38 34 15 2 1 90

References[edit]

See also[edit]