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1948 Alberta general election
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| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| election_name | 1948 Alberta general election |
| country | Alberta |
| flag_year | 1921 |
| type | legislative |
| party_colour | no |
| party_name | no |
| previous_election | 1944 Alberta general election |
| previous_year | 1944 |
| outgoing_members | 10th Alberta Legislative Assembly |
| election_date | |
| elected_mps | [members](11th-alberta-legislative-assembly) |
| next_election | 1952 Alberta general election |
| next_year | 1952 |
| seats_for_election | 57 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta |
| 29 seats were needed for a majority | |
| image1 | Ernest Manning.jpg |
| colour1 | |
| leader1 | Ernest Manning |
| party1 | |
| leader_since1 | May 31, 1943 |
| leaders_seat1 | Edmonton |
| last_election1 | 51 seats, 50.5% |
| seats_before1 | 50 |
| seats1 | **51** |
| seat_change1 | 1 |
| popular_vote1 | **164,003** |
| percentage1 | **55.6%** |
| swing1 | 5.1% |
| image2 | Elmer Roper circa 1942.jpg |
| colour2 | |
| leader2 | Elmer E. Roper |
| party2 | |
| leader_since2 | 1942 |
| leaders_seat2 | Edmonton |
| last_election2 | 2 seats, 24.2% |
| seats_before2 | 2 |
| seats2 | 2 |
| seat_change2 | ±0 |
| popular_vote2 | 56,387 |
| percentage2 | 19.1% |
| swing2 | 5.1% |
| image3 | **LIB** |
| colour3 | |
| leader3 | James H. Prowse |
| party3 | |
| leader_since3 | June 26, 1947 |
| leaders_seat3 | Edmonton |
| last_election3 | *did not run* |
| seats_before3 | 1 |
| seats3 | 2 |
| seat_change3 | 1 |
| popular_vote3 | 52,655 |
| percentage3 | 17.9% |
| swing3 | — |
| title | Premier |
| posttitle | Premier after election |
| before_election | Ernest Manning |
| before_party | |
| after_election | Ernest Manning |
| after_party |
29 seats were needed for a majority The 1948 Alberta general election was held on August 17, 1948, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.
Ernest C. Manning led the Social Credit to a fourth term in government, increasing its share of the popular vote further above the 50% mark it had set in the 1944 election. It won the same number of seats — 51 of the 57 seats in the legislature — that it had won in the previous election.
The remaining seats were won by the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation, the Liberal Party and independents.
This provincial election, like the previous five, saw district-level proportional representation (Single transferable voting) used to elect the MLAs of Edmonton and Calgary. City-wide districts were used to elect multiple MLAs in the cities. All the other MLAs were elected in single-member districts through Instant-runoff voting.
Along with this election, voters got to also vote in a province wide plebiscite. The ballot asked voters about their preferred method to distribute electricity in province.
Results
| Party | Leader | Candidates | First-preference votes | Seats | Votes | ± | % Fpv | Change (pp) | [1944](1944-alberta-general-election) | 1948 | ± | 294,793 | 100.00% | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ernest C. Manning | 57 | 164,003 | 17,636 | 55.63 | {{bartable | 5.17 | -2 | 1em | background:green}} | 51 | Elmer Roper | 51 | 56,387 | 13,920 | ||
| **Total** | 173 | |||||||||||||||
| Rejected ballots | 17,707 | 9,625 | ||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 312,500 | 14,327 | 63.5% | 7.2 | ||||||||||||
| Registered voters | 489,311 | 67,810 |
Electrification plebiscite
The fourth plebiscite conducted province-wide in Alberta's history, the 1948 electrification referendum was not a traditional yes–no question but presented two options on electricity generation and transmission. It asked the voter to indicate whether the province should create "a publicly-owned utility administered by the Alberta Government Power Commission" or leave the electricity industry in the hands of companies already in the business, a mixture of municipal operations and private companies. The driving force behind the referendum was whether to provide rural electrification through provincial government ownership or leave it in the hands of private corporations, who had done very little up to that time and did not have the financial resources to perform the task. The referendum result was a slight majority in favour of retention of the existing companies. Despite that, the government sponsored the creation of many Rural Electrification Associations, some of which still are in operation today.
The result shows how evenly divided the province was on the issue, with a majority of only 151 votes in favour of leaving the old system in place. In fact, voters in Edmonton were effectively split and the rural areas were in favour of provincial control, but an even larger majority in Calgary voted to retain the old system.
| Option A | Option B | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Are you in favour of the generation and distribution of electricity being continued by the Power Companies? | Are you in favour of the generation and distribution of electricity being made a publicly owned utility administered by the Alberta Government Power Commission? |
| District | In favour of | Status quo | Public utility |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acadia-Coronation | 1,578 | 38.81% | 2,487 |
| Alexandra | 1,350 | 37.00% | 2,298 |
| Athabasca | 1,262 | 29.08% | 3,077 |
| Banff-Cochrane | 2,624 | 64.31% | 1,456 |
| Beaver River | 2,770 | 65.85% | 1,436 |
| Bow Valley-Empress | 1,737 | 47.02% | 1,957 |
| Bruce | 1,423 | 38.01% | 2,320 |
| Calgary | 26,325 | 69.63% | 11,478 |
| Camrose | 2,164 | 42.79% | 2,893 |
| Cardston | 1,268 | 46.00% | 1,488 |
| Clover Bar | 1,722 | 38.26% | 2,778 |
| Cypress | 1,279 | 47.49% | 1,414 |
| Didsbury | 2,360 | 60.00% | 1,573 |
| Drumheller | 1,862 | 47.58% | 2,051 |
| Edmonton | 22,351 | 50.99% | 21,478 |
| Edson | 1,623 | 33.86% | 3,170 |
| Gleichen | 2,007 | 56.04% | 1,574 |
| Grande Prairie | 2,293 | 49.55% | 2,334 |
| Grouard | 1,673 | 32.21% | 3,520 |
| Hand Hills | 1,759 | 44.95% | 2,154 |
| Lac Ste. Anne | 1,242 | 28.86% | 3,061 |
| Lacombe | 1,994 | 43.32% | 2,608 |
| Leduc | 1,899 | 44.02% | 2,414 |
| Lethbridge | 4,237 | 64.90% | 2,291 |
| Little Bow | 1,653 | 52.14% | 1,517 |
| Macleod | 2,179 | 53.74% | 1,875 |
| Medicine Hat | 5,186 | 81.03% | 1,214 |
| Okotoks-High River | 3,321 | 61.16% | 2,109 |
| Olds | 2,398 | 58.60% | 1,694 |
| Peace River | 1,914 | 42.90% | 2,547 |
| Pembina | 1,710 | 34.29% | 3,276 |
| Pincher Creek-Crowsnest | 1,838 | 44.59% | 2,284 |
| Ponoka | 1,622 | 41.69% | 2,268 |
| Red Deer | 2,963 | 52.79% | 2,649 |
| Redwater | 804 | 22.66% | 2,743 |
| Rocky Mountain House | 2,210 | 45.63% | 2,633 |
| St. Albert | 1,897 | 55.16% | 2,333 |
| St. Paul | 1,945 | 41.50% | 2,741 |
| Sedgewick | 1,962 | 48.17% | 2,111 |
| Spirit River | 1,147 | 31.91% | 2,447 |
| Stettler | 2,190 | 53.91% | 1,872 |
| Stony Plain | 1,360 | 35.88% | 2,430 |
| Taber | 1,485 | 46.46% | 1,711 |
| Vegreville | 1,225 | 32.08% | 2,593 |
| Vermilion | 1,732 | 43.12% | 2,284 |
| Wainwright | 1,813 | 41.00% | 2,608 |
| Warner | 1,265 | 51.33% | 1,199 |
| Wetaskiwin | 2,301 | 46.23% | 2,676 |
| Willingdon | 1,069 | 28.24% | 2,716 |
| **Totals** | 139,991 | 50.03% | 139,840 |
MLAs elected
Synopsis of results
| Riding | First-preference votes | Turnout | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| including spoilt ballots | Final counts | Winning party | Name | SC | CCF | Lib | ICA | Oth | Total | SC | CCF | Lib | ICA | I-SC | [1944](1944-alberta-general-election) | 1948 | |||
| Acadia-Coronation | 2,332 | 641 | 1,254 | – | – | 4,227 | 78.5% | *Elected on 1st count* | SC | SC | |||||||||
| Alexandra | 2,034 | 1,190 | 651 | – | – | 3,875 | 57.7% | *Elected on 1st count* | SC | SC | |||||||||
| Athabasca | 2,374 | 1,226 | 958 | – | – | 4,558 | 59.0% | *Elected on 1st count* | SC | SC | |||||||||
| Banff-Cochrane | 1,084 | – | – | 1,246 | 1,658 | 3,988 | 58.2% | – | – | – | 1,465 | 1,964 | SC | I-SC | |||||
| Beaver River | 1,992 | 1,282 | 1,579 | – | – | 4,853 | 68.9% | 2,117 | – | 1,698 | – | – | SC | SC | |||||
| Bow Valley-Empress | 2,178 | 683 | 1,063 | – | – | 3,924 | 68.9% | *Elected on 1st count* | SC | SC | |||||||||
| Bruce | 2,248 | 1,080 | 615 | – | – | 3,943 | 64.0% | *Elected on 1st count* | SC | SC | |||||||||
| Camrose | 3,041 | 1,315 | 1,003 | – | – | 5,359 | 71.2% | *Elected on 1st count* | SC | SC | |||||||||
| Cardston | 1,981 | – | 944 | – | – | 2,925 | 60.00% | *Elected on 1st count* | SC | SC | |||||||||
| Clover Bar | 2,801 | 1,035 | 761 | – | – | 4,597 | 70.1% | *Elected on 1st count* | SC | SC | |||||||||
| Cypress | 1,723 | 410 | 844 | – | – | 2,977 | 69.2% | *Elected on 1st count* | SC | SC | |||||||||
| Didsbury | 2,647 | 417 | – | 935 | – | 3,999 | 64.5% | *Elected on 1st count* | SC | SC | |||||||||
| Drumheller | 2,982 | – | 271 | – | 856 | 4,109 | 76.4% | *Elected on 1st count* | SC | SC | |||||||||
| Edson | 2,543 | 1,715 | 770 | – | – | 5,028 | 65.4% | *Elected on 1st count* | SC | SC | |||||||||
| Gleichen | 2,354 | – | – | 1,303 | – | 3,657 | 65.4% | *Elected on 1st count* | SC | SC | |||||||||
| Grande Prairie | 2,952 | 1,019 | 768 | – | – | 4,739 | 68.4% | *Elected on 1st count* | SC | SC | |||||||||
| Grouard | 2,493 | 1,249 | 1,850 | – | – | 5,592 | 75.7% | 2,717 | – | 1,917 | – | – | SC | SC | |||||
| Hand Hills | 2,773 | – | 1,607 | – | – | 4,380 | 78.9% | *Elected on 1st count* | SC | SC | |||||||||
| Lac Ste. Anne | 1,899 | 1,558 | 1,023 | – | 39 | 4,519 | 69.7% | 2,401 | 1,742 | – | – | – | SC | SC | |||||
| Lacombe | 3,053 | 1,109 | 643 | – | – | 4,805 | 70.8% | *Elected on 1st count* | SC | SC | |||||||||
| Leduc | 2,548 | 1,071 | 772 | – | – | 4,391 | 61.2% | *Elected on 1st count* | SC | SC | |||||||||
| Lethbridge | 3,829 | 1,441 | 1,768 | – | – | 7,038 | 65.0% | *Elected on 1st count* | SC | SC | |||||||||
| Little Bow | 1,865 | 435 | – | 1,086 | – | 3,386 | 75.1% | *Elected on 1st count* | SC | SC | |||||||||
| Macleod | 2,852 | 756 | 612 | – | – | 4,220 | 67.8% | *Elected on 1st count* | SC | SC | |||||||||
| Medicine Hat | 3,835 | 996 | 1,043 | – | – | 5,874 | 64.0% | *Elected on 1st count* | SC | SC | |||||||||
| Okotoks-High River | 3,876 | 490 | 1,219 | – | – | 5,585 | 62.5% | *Elected on 1st count* | SC | SC | |||||||||
| Olds | 3,260 | 424 | 690 | – | – | 4,374 | 66.8% | *Elected on 1st count* | SC | SC | |||||||||
| Peace River | 3,191 | 1,087 | 829 | – | – | 5,107 | 61.3% | *Elected on 1st count* | SC | SC | |||||||||
| Pembina | 3,165 | 1,462 | 684 | – | – | 5,311 | 72.8% | *Elected on 1st count* | SC | SC | |||||||||
| Pincher Creek-Crowsnest | 2,210 | 815 | 998 | – | 856 | 4,879 | 72.0% | 2,292 | – | 1,045 | – | – | SC | SC | |||||
| Ponoka | 2,679 | 1,023 | 519 | – | – | 4,221 | 69.6% | *Elected on 1st count* | SC | SC | |||||||||
| Red Deer | 4,771 | 1,082 | – | – | – | 5,853 | 66.0% | *Elected on 1st count* | SC | SC | |||||||||
| Redwater | 1,807 | 1,528 | 441 | – | – | 3,776 | 66.9% | 1,912 | 1,572 | – | – | – | SC | SC | |||||
| Rocky Mountain House | 3,582 | 1,365 | – | – | – | 4,947 | 63.4% | *Elected on 1st count* | SC | SC | |||||||||
| St. Albert | 2,702 | 1,047 | 774 | – | – | 4,523 | 67.9% | *Elected on 1st count* | SC | SC | |||||||||
| St. Paul | 2,197 | 1,510 | 1,416 | – | – | 5,123 | 73.3% | 2,980 | 1,584 | – | – | – | SC | SC | |||||
| Sedgewick | 2,867 | 567 | 838 | – | – | 4,272 | 71.6% | *Elected on 1st count* | SC | SC | |||||||||
| Spirit River | 2,155 | 1,194 | 631 | – | – | 3,980 | 68.9% | *Elected on 1st count* | SC | SC | |||||||||
| Stettler | 3,249 | 953 | – | – | – | 4,201 | 67.8% | *Elected on 1st count* | SC | SC | |||||||||
| Stony Plain | 2,188 | 1,037 | 872 | – | – | 4,097 | 68.9% | *Elected on 1st count* | SC | SC | |||||||||
| Taber | 2,559 | 501 | 463 | – | – | 3,523 | 62.6% | *Elected on 1st count* | SC | SC | |||||||||
| Vegreville | 2,101 | 1,276 | 763 | – | – | 4,140 | 70.1% | *Elected on 1st count* | SC | SC | |||||||||
| Vermilion | 1,999 | 1,158 | 1,179 | – | – | 4,336 | 71.9% | 2,196 | – | 1,323 | – | – | SC | SC | |||||
| Wainwright | 2,877 | 887 | 833 | – | – | 4,597 | 70.4% | *Elected on 1st count* | SC | SC | |||||||||
| Warner | 1,691 | – | 598 | – | – | 2,289 | 53.6% | *Elected on 1st count* | SC | SC | |||||||||
| Wetaskiwin | 2,827 | 1,232 | 1,414 | – | – | 5,473 | 75.8% | *Elected on 1st count* | SC | SC | |||||||||
| Willingdon | 2,111 | 1,861 | – | – | – | 3,972 | 72.6% | *Elected on 1st count* | SC | SC |
: = Open seat : = turnout is above provincial average : = Candidate was in previous Legislature : = Incumbent had switched allegiance : = Previously incumbent in another riding : = Not incumbent; was previously elected to the Legislature : = Incumbency arose from by-election gain : = previously an MP in the House of Commons of Canada : = Multiple candidates
Multi-member districts
| District | Seats won | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in order declared) | ||||
| Calgary | AB | Social Credit | background}} | |
| Edmonton |
| Independent Citizen's Association |
|---|
: = Candidate was in previous Legislature : = First-time MLA
STV analysis
Exhausted votes
Ten districts went beyond first-preference counts in order to determine winning candidates:
| District | Counts | Exhausted | 1st preference | Final | Votes | % of 1st pref | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calgary | 39,101 | 36,865 | 2236 | {{bartable | 5.72 | 2 | 1em | background:red}} | |
| Edmonton | 46,150 | 44,256 | 1,894 | {{bartable | 4.10 | 2 | 1em | background:red}} | |
| Banff-Cochrane | 3,988 | 3,429 | 559 | {{bartable | 14.02 | 2 | 1em | background:red}} | |
| Beaver River | 4,853 | 3,815 | 1,038 | {{bartable | 21.39 | 2 | 1em | background:red}} | |
| Grouard | 5,592 | 4,634 | 958 | {{bartable | 17.13 | 2 | 1em | background:red}} | |
| Lac Ste. Anne | 4,519 | 4,143 | 376 | {{bartable | 8.32 | 2 | 1em | background:red}} | |
| Pincher Creek-Crowsnest | 4,879 | 3,337 | 1,542 | {{bartable | 31.60 | 2 | 1em | background:red}} | |
| Redwater | 3,776 | 3,484 | 292 | {{bartable | 7.73 | 2 | 1em | background:red}} | |
| St. Paul | 5,123 | 4,564 | 559 | {{bartable | 10.91 | 2 | 1em | background:red}} | |
| Vermilion | 4,336 | 3,519 | 817 | {{bartable | 18.84 | 2 | 1em | background:red}} |
Calgary
All parties other than the Independent Movement fielded full slates.
| Party | Candidates | MLAs elected | 1944 | 1940 | ± | 1944 | 1940 | ± |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 5 | |||
| **Total** | 22 | 19 | 3 | 5 | 5 |
(In the original official report, exhausted votes were not recorded as a separate total but instead resided with candidate that last had the votes. Here exhausted votes reside with winning candidates but are separated out if they arise from the elimination of a candidate.)
Edmonton
In 1940 and 1944, three parties had full slates. The Independent Movement presented four candidates, and Williams campaigned under his own banner, that of the Veteran's & Active Force.
| Party | Candidates | MLAs elected | 1944 | 1940 | ± | 1944 | 1940 | ± |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5 | ||
| **Total** | 16 | 20 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
(Exhausted votes reside with winning candidates but are separated out if they arise from the elimination of a candidate. On the eleventh count Roper's surplus votes were transferred where possible, but 8684 of his votes did not bear usable back-up preferences so they were retained by Roper.)
References
References
- A Report on Alberta Elections, p. 185
- The People's Weekly, August 14, Sept. 4, 1948
- "Alberta Power Market" website, accessed May 16, 2020
- https://afrea.ab.ca/
- . (August 20, 1948). "Private Hydro Control Swung By City Votes". *[[Calgary Albertan]]*.
- . (2006). ["A Century of Democracy: Elections of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, 1905-2005"](https://archive.org/details/centennialseries04perr/page/484/mode/2up). *[[Legislative Assembly of Alberta]]*.
- . ["A Century of Democracy: Elections of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, 1905-2005"](https://archive.org/details/centennialseries04perr/page/166/mode/2up). *[[Legislative Assembly of Alberta]]*.
- . (August 18, 1948). "2 Social Credit Elected Here". *[[Calgary Herald]]*.
- . (August 19, 1948). "Private Power Vote 109,330". *[[Calgary Herald]]*.
- General Statement by Returning Officer, Calgary, August 17, 1948
- . (August 19, 1948). "Here's How Votes Were Distributed To Elect Five Alberta MLAs Here". *[[Edmonton Bulletin]]*.
- General Statement by Returning Officer Edmonton August 17, 1948
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