1949 Canadian federal election explained

Election Name:	1949 Canadian federal election
Country:	Canada
Flag Year:	1921
Type:	parliamentary
Ongoing:	no
Party Colour:	no
Party Name:	no
Opinion Polls:	Opinion polling for the 1949 Canadian federal election
Previous Election:	1945 Canadian federal election
Previous Year:	1945
Next Election:	1953 Canadian federal election
Next Year:	1953
Seats For Election:	262 seats in the House of Commons
Majority Seats:	132
Turnout:	73.8%^[1] (1.5pp)
Election Date:	June 27, 1949
Elected Members:	21st Canadian Parliament
Outgoing Members:	20th Canadian Parliament
Image1:	Louis St. Laurent portrait.jpg
Leader1:	Louis St. Laurent
Leader Since1:	August 7, 1948
Leaders Seat1:	Quebec East
Last Election1:	118
Seats1:	191
Seat Change1:	73
Popular Vote1:	2,874,813
Percentage1:	49.15%
Swing1:	9.37pp
Leader2:	George A. Drew
Leader Since2:	October 2, 1948
Leaders Seat2:	Carleton
Last Election2:	65
Seats2:	41
Seat Change2:	24
Popular Vote2:	1,734,261
Percentage2:	29.65%
Swing2:	2.03pp
Image4:	Major James Coldwell (cropped).jpg
Leader4:	Major James Coldwell
Leader Since4:	March 22, 1942
Leaders Seat4:	Rosetown—Biggar
Last Election4:	28
Seats4:	13
Seat Change4:	15
Popular Vote4:	784,770
Percentage4:	13.42%
Swing4:	2.13pp
Image5:	Solon Earl Low (cropped2).jpg
Leader5:	Solon Earl Low
Leader Since5:	April 6, 1944
Leaders Seat5:	Peace River
Last Election5:	13
Seats5:	10
Seat Change5:	3
Popular Vote5:	135,217
Percentage5:	2.31%
Swing5:	1.74pp
Prime Minister
Posttitle:	Prime Minister after election
Before Election:	Louis St. Laurent
After Election:	Louis St. Laurent
Map2 Image:	Chambre des Communes 1949.png
Map2 Size:	380px
Map2 Caption:	The Canadian parliament after the 1949 election

The 1949 Canadian federal election was held June 27, 1949, to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada of the 21st Parliament of Canada.

The Liberal Party of Canada was re-elected with its fourth consecutive government, winning 191 seats (73 percent of the seats in the House of Commons), with just under 50 percent of the popular vote.

It was the Liberals' first election in almost thirty years not under the leadership of William Lyon Mackenzie King. King had retired in 1948, and was replaced as Liberal leader and Prime Minister by Louis St. Laurent.

It was the first federal election with Newfoundland voting, having joined Canada in March of that year. It was also the first election since 1904 in which part of the remaining parts of the Northwest Territories were granted representation, following the partitioning off of the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan.

The Liberal Party victory won the largest majority in Canadian history to that point., it remains the third largest majority government in Canadian history, and the largest in the party's history (the Progressive Conservative Party won larger seat majorities in 1958 and 1984).

The Progressive Conservative Party, led by former Premier of Ontario George Drew, gained little ground in this election. The party lost over a third of their seats.

Smaller parties, such as the social democratic Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, and Social Credit, a party that advocated monetary reform, lost support to the Liberals and, to a lesser extent, the Conservatives.

Opinion polling

Evolution of voting intentions at national level

Polling firm	Last day of survey	Source	LPC	PC	CCF	SC		Other	Undecided		Sample
Election 1949	June 27, 1949		49.15	29.65	13.42	2.31	—	5.47
Gallup	June 1949	^[2]	style='background:#F8C1BE'	49	29	15			6	22
Gallup	May 1949	^[3]	style='background:#F8C1BE'	49	29	16			6	18
Gallup	April 1949	^[4]	style='background:#F8C1BE'	42	32	17	5		4	22
Gallup	January 1949		style='background:#F8C1BE'	40	33	18			9	23
Gallup	October 1948		style='background:#F8C1BE'	39	27	21	7		6
Gallup	August 1948	^[5]	style='background:#F8C1BE'	41	28	20	6		5
Gallup	June 1948	^[6]	style='background:#F8C1BE'	41	28	19	6		6
Gallup	February 1948		style='background:#F8C1BE'	43	28	15	7		7
Gallup	January 1948		style='background:#F8C1BE'	42	28	16	6		8	26
Gallup	October 1947		style='background:#F8C1BE'	43	28	16	6		7
Gallup	July 1947	^[7]	style='background:#F8C1BE'	42	27	16	6		9
Bloc populaire dissolved (July 6, 1947)
Gallup	May 1947	^[8]	style='background:#F8C1BE'	43	26	16	6		9
Gallup	February 1947	^[9]	style='background:#F8C1BE'	41	27	18	7	4	3
Gallup	December 1946		style='background:#F8C1BE'	41	26	18	6	5	4
Gallup	September 1946	^[10]	style='background:#F8C1BE'	41	27	17	5		10
Gallup	May 1946		style='background:#F8C1BE'	44	26	16	4		10
Gallup	January 1946		style='background:#F8C1BE'	45	24	16	4		10
Gallup	November 1945		style='background:#F8C1BE'	44	26	17	4		9
Election 1945	June 11, 1945		39.78	27.62	15.55	4.05	3.29	9.71

National results

Party	Party leader	of candidates	Seats			Popular vote
1945			Elected	% Change		%	Change		Louis St. Laurent	258	117	191	+63.2%	2,874,813	49.15%	+9.37pp		George Drew	249	65	41	-21.5%	1,734,261	29.65%	+2.03pp		M.J. Coldwell	180	28	13	-53.6%	784,770	13.42%	-2.13pp	Solon Low	28	13	10	-23.1%	135,217	2.31%	-1.74pp	Independent		28	6	4	-33.3%	119,827	2.05%	-2.84pp	Independent Liberal		15	8	1	-87.5%	30,407	0.52%	-1.27pp	Liberal-Labour		2	-	1		11,730	0.20%	+0.19pp		1	1	1	-	9,192	0.16%	+0.04pp	Union of Electors	Réal Caouette	56	-	-	-	86,087	1.47%	+1.46pp		17	1	-	-100%	32,623	0.56%	-1.58pp	Independent PC		6	1	-	-100%	8,195	0.14%	-0.14pp	Farmer-Labour		1	-	-	-	6,161	0.11%	-0.07pp		Adrien Arcand	1		-		5,590	0.10%		Nationalist		1		-		4,994	0.09%		Independent Social Credit		2		-		4,598	0.08%			2	-	-	-	415	0.01%	x	Socialist Labour		1		-		271	x
Total	848	245	262	+7.8%	5,849,151	100%
Sources: http://www.elections.ca -- History of Federal Ridings since 1867

Notes:

* The party did not nominate candidates in the previous election.

x - less than 0.005% of the popular vote

Results by province

Party name	BC	AB	SK	MB	ON	QC	NB	NS	PE	NL	Terr	Total	Liberal	Seats:	11 <	--BC-->	5<	--Alb-->	14 <	--Sask-->	11<	--Man-->	55 <	--Ont-->	68<	--Que-->	8<	--NB-->	10<	--NS-->	3 <	--PEI-->	5 <	--NL-->	1 <	--Terr-->	191<	--Canada/Total-->	Popular Vote:	36.7<	--BC-->	33.8<	--Alb-->	43.4<	--Sask-->	45.1<	--Man-->	45.1<	--Ont-->	60.4<	--Que-->	53.8<	--NB-->	52.7<	--NS-->	49.2<	--PEI-->	71.9 <	--NL-->	49.0 <	--Terr-->	49.1<	--Canada/Total-->	Progressive Conservative	Seats:	3 <	--BC-->	2<	--Alb-->	1<	--Sask-->	1<	--Man-->	25<	--Ont-->	2<	--Que-->	2<	--NB-->	2<	--NS-->	1<	--PEI-->	2 <	--NL-->	- <	--Terr-->	41<	--Canada/Total-->	Vote:	27.9<	--BC-->	16.8<	--Alb-->	14.4<	--Sask-->	22.0<	--Man-->	37.4<	--Ont-->	24.5<	--Que-->	39.4<	--NB-->	37.5<	--NS-->	48.4<	--PEI-->	27.9<	--NL-->	<	--Terr-->	29.7<	--Canada/Total-->	Co-operative Commonwealth	Seats:	3 <	--BC-->	align="right"	-	5 <	--Sask-->	3<	--Man-->	1<	--Ont-->	-<	--Que-->	align="right"	-	1 <	--NS-->	align="right"	-	- <	--NL-->	align="right"	-	13<	--Canada/Total-->	Vote:	31.5<	--BC-->	10.0<	--Alb-->	40.9<	--Sask-->	25.9<	--Man-->	15.2<	--Ont-->	1.1<	--Que-->	4.2<	--NB-->	9.9<	--NS-->	2.4<	--PEI-->	0.2<	--NL-->	17.0 <	--Terr-->	13.4 <	--Canada/Total-->	Social Credit	Seats:	align="right"	-	10 <	--Alb-->	align="right"	-	<	--Man-->	align="right"	-	<	--Que-->	<	--NB-->	<	--NS-->	<	--PEI-->	<	--NL-->	<	--Terr-->	10<	--Canada/Total-->	Vote:	0.5 <	--BC-->	37.4 <	--Alb-->	0.9 <	--Sask-->	<	--Man-->	0.2 <	--Ont-->	<	--Que-->	<	--NB-->	<	--NS-->	<	--PEI-->	<	--NL-->	<	--Terr-->	2.3<	--Canada/Total-->	Independent	Seats:	1 <	--BC-->	<	--Alb-->	<	--Sask-->	align="right"	-	-<	--Ont-->	3 <	--Que-->	align="right"	-	<	--NS-->	<	--PEI-->	<	--NL-->	<	--Terr-->	4<	--Canada/Total-->	Vote:	2.6<	--BC-->	<	--Alb-->	<	--Sask-->	2.1<	--Man-->	0.1<	--Ont-->	6.1<	--Que-->	0.2<	--NB-->	<	--NS-->	<	--PEI-->	<	--NL-->	34.0 <	--Terr-->	2.1<	--Canada/Total-->	Independent Liberal	Seats:	<	--BC-->	<	--Alb-->	<	--Sask-->	<	--Man-->	1<	--Ont-->	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	<	--NS-->	<	--PEI-->	<	--NL-->	<	--Terr-->	1<	--Canada/Total-->	Vote:	<	--BC-->	<	--Alb-->	<	--Sask-->	<	--Man-->	0.3<	--Ont-->	1.3<	--Que-->	1.4<	--NB-->	<	--NS-->	<	--PEI-->	<	--NL-->	<	--Terr-->	0.5<	--Canada/Total-->	Liberal-Labour	Seats:	<	--BC-->	<	--Alb-->	<	--Sask-->	<	--Man-->	1<	--Ont-->	align="right"	-	<	--NB-->	<	--NS-->	<	--PEI-->	<	--NL-->	<	--Terr-->	1<	--Canada/Total-->	Vote:	<	--BC-->	<	--Alb-->	<	--Sask-->	<	--Man-->	0.6<	--Ont-->	xx<	--Que-->	<	--NB-->	<	--NS-->	<	--PEI-->	<	--NL-->	<	--Terr-->	0.2 <	--Canada/Total-->	Liberal-Progressive	Seats:	<	--BC-->	<	--Alb-->	<	--Sask-->	1 <	--Man-->	<	--Ont-->	<	--Que-->	<	--NB-->	<	--NS-->	<	--PEI-->	<	--NL-->	<	--Terr-->	1<	--Canada/Total-->	Vote:	<	--BC-->	<	--Alb-->	<	--Sask-->	2.9<	--Man-->	<	--Ont-->	<	--Que-->	<	--NB-->	<	--NS-->	<	--PEI-->	<	--NL-->	<	--Terr-->	0.2<	--Canada/Total-->
Total Seats			18 <	--BC-->	17 <	--Alb-->	20 <	--Sask-->	16 <	--Man-->	83<	--Ont-->		73 <	--Que-->	10 <	--NB-->	13 <	--NS-->	4<	--PEI-->	7 <	--NL-->	1 <	--Terr-->	262<	--Canada/Total-->
Parties that won no seats:
Union of Electors	Vote:	<	--BC-->	<	--Alb-->	<	--Sask-->	<	--Man-->	0.1<	--Ont-->	5.1<	--Que-->	1.0 <	--NB-->	<	--NS-->	<	--PEI-->	<	--NL-->	<	--Terr-->	1.5 <	--Canada/Total-->	Vote:	0.8<	--BC-->	0.7<	--Alb-->	0.4<	--Sask-->	2.0<	--Man-->	0.7<	--Ont-->	0.3<	--Que-->	<	--NB-->	<	--NS-->	<	--PEI-->	<	--NL-->	<	--Terr-->	0.6<	--Canada/Total-->	Independent PC	Vote:	<	--BC-->	<	--Alb-->	<	--Sask-->	<	--Man-->	xx<	--Ont-->	0.5<	--Que-->	<	--NB-->	<	--NS-->	<	--PEI-->	<	--NL-->	<	--Terr-->	0.1<	--Canada/Total-->	Farmer-Labour	Vote:	<	--BC-->	<	--Alb-->	<	--Sask-->	<	--Man-->	0.3<	--Ont-->	<	--Que-->	<	--NB-->	<	--NS-->	<	--PEI-->	<	--NL-->	<	--Terr-->	0.1 <	--Canada/Total-->	National Unity	Vote:	<	--BC-->	<	--Alb-->	<	--Sask-->	<	--Man-->	<	--Ont-->	0.4<	--Que-->	<	--NB-->	<	--NS-->	<	--PEI-->	<	--NL-->	<	--Terr-->	0.1<	--Canada/Total-->	Nationalist	Vote:	<	--BC-->	<	--Alb-->	<	--Sask-->	<	--Man-->	<	--Ont-->	0.3<	--Que-->	<	--NB-->	<	--NS-->	<	--PEI-->	<	--NL-->	<	--Terr-->	0.1<	--Canada/Total-->	Independent Social Credit	Vote:	<	--BC-->	1.4<	--Alb-->	<	--Sask-->	<	--Man-->	<	--Ont-->	<	--Que-->	<	--NB-->	<	--NS-->	<	--PEI-->	<	--NL-->	<	--Terr-->	0.1<	--Canada/Total-->	Vote:	<	--BC-->	<	--Alb-->	<	--Sask-->	<	--Man-->	xx<	--Ont-->	xx<	--Que-->	<	--NB-->	<	--NS-->	<	--PEI-->	<	--NL-->	<	--Terr-->	xx <	--Canada/Total-->	Socialist Labour	Vote:	<	--BC-->	<	--Alb-->	<	--Sask-->	<	--Man-->	xx<	--Ont-->	<	--Que-->	<	--NB-->	<	--NS-->	<	--PEI-->	<	--NL-->	<	--Terr-->	xx <	--Canada/Total-->

• xx - less than 0.05% of the popular vote

See also

• List of Canadian federal general elections
• List of political parties in Canada
• 21st Canadian Parliament

Further reading

• Book: LeDuc . Lawrence . Pammett . Jon H. . McKenzie . Judith L. . Turcotte . André . Dynasties and Interludes: Past and Present in Canadian Electoral Politics . 2010 . Dundurn Press . Toronto . 978-1-55488-886-3 . registration.
• Book: Beck . James Murray . Pendulum of Power; Canada's Federal Elections . 1968 . Prentice-Hall of Canada . Scarborough . 978-0-13-655670-1 . registration.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Voter Turnout at Federal Elections and Referendums. Elections Canada. 10 March 2019.
2. News: Survey gives Liberals margin over others . June 18, 1949 . The Calgary Gazette . 22.
3. News: Drew versus the pollsters . June 20, 1949 . The Leader-Post . 6.
4. News: Canada's election watched for socialistic trends . June 4, 1949 . The Schenectady Gazette . 8.
5. News: Liberal support falls below '45 vote level. October 16, 1948 . The Calgary Gazette . 2.
6. News: CCF gaining support at liberals' expense . June 30, 1948 . The Ottawa Citizen . 1.
7. News: Party strength in Canada stays virtually unchanged . October 4, 1947 . The Windsor Star. 16.
8. News: Party strength in Canada stays virtually unchanged . October 4, 1947 . The Windsor Star. 16.
9. News: Few changes noted in political set-up . March 1, 1947 . The Calgary Herald . 16.
10. News: No Notable Shift in Party Support . March 1, 1947 . The Evening Citizen . 1.