1956 Quebec general election explained

Election Name:	1956 Quebec general election
Country:	Quebec
Type:	parliamentary
Ongoing:	no
Party Colour:	no
Party Name:	no
Previous Election:	1952 Quebec general election
Previous Year:	1952
Previous Mps:	24th Quebec Legislature
Next Election:	1960 Quebec general election
Next Year:	1960
Elected Members:	25th Quebec Legislature
Seats For Election:	93 seats in the 24th Legislative Assembly of Quebec 47 seats were needed for a majority
Election Date:	June 20, 1956
Image1:	Maurice Duplessis.jpg
Image1 Size:	180x180px
Leader1:	Maurice Duplessis
Leader Since1:	June 20, 1936
Leaders Seat1:	Trois-Rivières
Last Election1:	68 seats, 50.5%
Seats1:	72
Seat Change1:	4
Percentage1:	51.8%
Swing1:	1.3pp
Image2 Size:	180x180px
Leader2:	Georges-Émile Lapalme
Leader Since2:	May 20, 1950
Leaders Seat2:	Montréal-Outremont
Last Election2:	23 seats, 45.77%
Seats2:	20
Seat Change2:	3
Percentage2:	44.87%
Swing2:	0.9pp
Premier
Before Election:	Maurice Duplessis
After Election:	Maurice Duplessis
Posttitle:	Premier after election

The 1956 Quebec general election was held on June 20, 1956, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec, Canada. The incumbent Union Nationale, led by Maurice Duplessis, won re-election, defeating the Quebec Liberal Party, led by Georges-Émile Lapalme.^[1]

This was the fifth and final time (and the fourth in a row) that Duplessis led his party to a general election victory. No party has since been able to win more than three elections in a row. Duplessis died in office in 1959.

It was Lapalme's second (and final) loss in a row as Liberal leader. The Liberals did not manage to improve on their performance in the previous 1952 election.

Expansion of the Legislative Assembly and titles

An Act passed in 1954 provided for the creation of the new electoral district of Jonquière-Kénogami for the next election, which was carved out from Chicoutimi and Lac-Saint-Jean.^[2] In 1955, a bill was passed designated members of the assembly as Members of Provincial Parliament or MPPs.^[3]

Campaign

The Liberals and the Union des électeurs pooled their resources to conduct a joint campaign against the UN in at least 50 ridings.^[4] They collaborated to such a degree that in February 1956 the Liberal MPP René Hamel had proposed a motion espousing social credit theory in the Assembly, and a joint rally was held in May 1956 in Shawinigan to mark that event. While the strategy was viewed within the parties as a means to maximize their strength in opposing the UN, the electorate tended to view it as being confusing, while the Montreal Gazette called it "an irresponsible alliance".^[5] There were also Liberals in the old guard that wanted the UN to win.

The Liberals supported four UdE and two Nationalist candidates,^[6] respectively running as Liberals and Independents, of which none won:^[7]

• on the Social Credit side, there were Réal Caouette (Abitibi-Est),^[6] Arthur Marcoux (Beauce),^[8] Urbain Lajeunesse (Îles-de-la-Madeleine)^[9] and Paul-Eugène Drolet (Portneuf),^[10]

• René Chaloult^[7] campaigned in the new riding of Jonquière-Kénogami, and came within 320 votes of winning. This would be his last campaign.

• Pierre Laporte,^[7] director of the magazine L'Action nationale and previously parliamentary correspondent for Le Devoir, ran in Montréal-Laurier. He would later campaign and win as a Liberal candidate in a 1961 byelection in Chambly.

One observer noted, "The Union Nationale’s strongly entrenched position could not be seriously challenged unless a united front was formed of all opposing groups." The UN chose to campaign on Quebec's right to fiscal autonomy, the party's accomplishments and the future of Ungava, while the Liberals' chances were restrained by their alliance with the UdE (while shutting out the Parti social démocratique), the choice of Chaloult and Laporte not to identify themselves as Liberal candidates, and the party's tendency to side with Ottawa's centralizing policies. The UN correctly assumed that Quebec voters, when given a choice, would prefer a nationalist policy over a social one.

Riding contests, by number of candidates (1956)

Candidates	align="center"	UN	align="center"	Lib	align="center"	PSD	align="center"	Lab-Pr	align="center"	Ind	align="center"	I-Lib	align="center"	I-UN	align="center"	Lab	align="center"	UN-Lab	align="center"	CF	Total
2	50	49			1						100
3	20	20	7	10	1		1	1			60
4	13	12	10	12	1	2	1			1	52
5	5	5	4	5	1	1	3	1			25
6	2	2	2	2	1		2		1		12
7	1	1	1	1		3					7
8	2	2	2	2	2	2	3	1			16
Total	93	91	26	32	7	8	10	3	1	1	272

Results

^[11] |-! colspan=2 rowspan=2 | Political party! rowspan=2 | Party leader! colspan=4 | MPPs! colspan=4 | Votes|-! Candidates!1952!1956!±!#! ±!%! ± (pp)|style="text-align:left;"|Maurice Duplessis|93||68||72||4||956,082||108,099||51.80%||1.30|style="text-align:left;"|Georges-Émile Lapalme|92||23||20||3||828,264||59,725||44.87%||0.90|style="text-align:left;"|Thérèse Casgrain|26|| - || - || - ||11,232||4,807||0.61%||0.35|style="text-align:left;"|Gui Caron|32|| - || - || - ||6,517||2,585||0.35%||0.12|-|rowspan="7" |  |style="text-align:left;" colspan="10"|Other candidates|-|style="text-align:left;" ||style="text-align:left;"| |7||1||1||||33,205||19,359||1.80%||0.98|-|style="text-align:left;" ||style="text-align:left;"||7|| - || - || - ||4,438||528||0.24%||0.06|-|style="text-align:left;" ||style="text-align:left;"||10|| - || - || - ||4,108||9,089||0.22%||0.57|-|style="text-align:left;" ||style="text-align:left;"||3|| - || - || - ||1,274||247||0.07%||0.01|-|style="text-align:left;" ||style="text-align:left;"||1|| - || - || - ||516||New||0.03%||New|-|style="text-align:left;" ||style="text-align:left;"||1|| - || - || - ||93||New||0.01%||New|-! colspan="3" style="text-align:left;" | Total|272||92! " colspan="2"|93! " colspan="2"|1,845,729! " colspan="2"| 100%|-| colspan="7" style="text-align:left;" | Rejected ballots| 28,781| 3,133| colspan="2"||-| colspan="7" style="text-align:left;" | Voter turnout| 1,874,510| 169,599| 78.32| 2.44|-| colspan="7" style="text-align:left;" | Registered electors| 2,393,360| 146,362| colspan="2"||}

Synopsis of results

Results by riding - 1956 Quebec general election^[12]

Riding	Winning party								Turnout ^[13]	Votes
Name	1952		Party		Votes	Share	Margin #	Margin %		UN	Lib								Total
Abitibi-Est		UN		UN	13,967	53.94%	2,200	8.50%	81.31%	13,967	11,767	–	–	–	–	–	160	–	25,894
Abitibi-Ouest		UN		Lib	6,207	50.66%	161	1.31%	89.27%	6,046	6,207	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	12,253
Argenteuil		UN		UN	7,153	55.54%	1,427	11.08%	86.07%	7,153	5,726	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	12,879
		UN		UN	10,189	54.74%	1,765	9.48%	92.72%	10,189	8,424	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	18,613
Bagot		UN		UN	5,696	61.46%	2,124	22.92%	90.76%	5,696	3,572	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	9,268
Beauce		UN		UN	13,432	56.66%	3,158	13.32%	88.52%	13,432	10,274	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	23,706
Beauharnois		UN		UN	11,928	58.31%	3,450	16.87%	87.96%	11,928	8,478	–	50	–	–	–	–	–	20,456
Bellechasse		UN		UN	6,243	57.89%	1,702	15.78%	82.86%	6,243	4,541	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	10,784
Berthier		UN		UN	7,123	56.17%	1,565	12.34%	90.30%	7,123	5,558	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	12,681
Bonaventure		UN		Lib	8,551	52.68%	869	5.35%	84.06%	7,682	8,551	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	16,233
Brome		UN		Lib	3,274	51.66%	245	3.87%	83.36%	3,029	3,274	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6,338
Chambly		UN		Lib	20,031	49.43%	767	1.89%	76.45%	19,264	20,031	877	150	–	205	–	–	–	40,527
Champlain		UN		UN	12,579	58.93%	3,814	17.87%	90.32%	12,579	8,765	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	21,344
Charlevoix		UN		UN	7,729	60.37%	2,655	20.74%	87.17%	7,729	5,074	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	12,803
Châteauguay		UN		UN	5,936	57.10%	1,477	14.21%	85.59%	5,936	4,459	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	10,395
Chicoutimi		UN		UN	19,103	67.22%	9,788	34.44%	87.25%	19,103	9,315	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	28,418
Compton		UN		Lib	5,542	51.41%	401	3.72%	85.72%	5,141	5,542	98	–	–	–	–	–	–	10,781
Deux-Montagnes		UN		UN	8,133	72.31%	5,162	45.90%	83.43%	8,133	2,971	143	–	–	–	–	–	–	11,247
Dorchester		UN		UN	9,569	60.74%	3,385	21.49%	85.40%	9,569	6,184	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	15,753
Drummond		Lib		UN	13,211	53.83%	1,928	7.86%	91.52%	13,211	11,283	–	47	–	–	–	–	–	24,541
Frontenac		Lib		UN	6,451	52.12%	524	4.23%	89.65%	6,451	5,927	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	12,378
Gaspé-Nord		UN		UN	4,574	50.40%	135	1.49%	84.26%	4,574	4,439	–	–	62	–	–	–	–	9,075
Gaspé-Sud		UN		UN	8,016	56.03%	1,726	12.06%	85.67%	8,016	6,290	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	14,306
Gatineau		UN		UN	8,206	55.96%	1,748	11.92%	76.32%	8,206	6,458	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	14,664
Hull		UN		Lib	10,564	45.70%	143	0.62%	83.05%	10,421	10,564	157	79	–	–	1,895	–	–	23,116
Huntingdon		UN		UN	3,273	52.33%	291	4.65%	84.69%	3,273	2,982	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6,255
Iberville		UN		UN	3,903	57.22%	985	14.44%	88.13%	3,903	2,918	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6,821
Îles-de-la-Madeleine		UN		UN	2,591	56.72%	614	13.44%	89.09%	2,591	1,977	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	4,568
Jacques-Cartier		Lib		Lib	31,385	55.39%	9,094	16.05%	70.68%	22,291	31,385	2,322	668	–	–	–	–	–	56,666
Joliette		UN		UN	11,500	64.88%	5,275	29.76%	86.06%	11,500	6,225	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	17,725
Jonquière-Kénogami	New			UN	11,946	50.68%	320	1.36%	88.00%	11,946	–	–	–	11,626	–	–	–	–	23,572
Kamouraska		UN		UN	6,489	58.30%	1,847	16.59%	81.48%	6,489	4,642	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	11,131
		UN		UN	7,260	55.53%	1,445	11.05%	87.97%	7,260	5,815	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	13,075
L'Islet		UN		UN	5,322	53.25%	649	6.49%	86.54%	5,322	4,673	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	9,995
Labelle		UN		UN	6,717	62.07%	2,658	24.56%	87.41%	6,717	4,059	–	46	–	–	–	–	–	10,822
Lac-Saint-Jean		UN		UN	8,544	54.49%	1,408	8.98%	92.66%	8,544	7,136	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	15,680
Laval		UN		UN	50,417	53.91%	9,203	9.84%	70.51%	50,417	41,214	1,129	763	–	–	–	–	–	93,523
Laviolette		UN		UN	11,848	59.46%	3,769	18.91%	82.94%	11,848	8,079	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	19,927
Lévis		Lib		UN	12,220	54.30%	2,114	9.39%	90.04%	12,220	10,106	–	18	–	–	161	–	–	22,505
Lotbinière		UN		UN	7,052	57.23%	1,781	14.45%	89.41%	7,052	5,271	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	12,323
Maisonneuve		Lib		UN	20,668	50.93%	2,469	6.08%	68.96%	20,668	18,199	227	176	249	119	941	–	–	40,579
Maskinongé		UN		UN	5,588	57.26%	1,417	14.52%	93.04%	5,588	4,171	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	9,759
Matane		UN		UN	10,109	57.93%	2,769	15.87%	84.28%	10,109	7,340	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	17,449
Matapédia		UN		UN	7,205	54.66%	1,229	9.32%	86.00%	7,205	5,976	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	13,181
Mégantic		UN		UN	12,123	52.50%	1,155	5.00%	92.22%	12,123	10,968	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	23,091
Missisquoi		UN		UN	7,001	56.72%	1,658	13.43%	86.03%	7,001	5,343	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	12,344
Montcalm		UN		UN	4,585	56.67%	1,079	13.34%	89.26%	4,585	3,506	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	8,091
Montmagny		UN		UN	6,403	55.92%	1,355	11.83%	87.37%	6,403	5,048	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	11,451
Montmorency		UN		UN	6,628	59.53%	2,165	19.44%	90.72%	6,628	4,463	–	43	–	–	–	–	–	11,134
		Lib		UN	29,076	49.76%	3,439	5.88%	66.38%	29,076	25,637	334	239	238	1,798	91	1,025	–	58,438
		UN		UN	17,154	60.26%	7,491	26.31%	70.86%	17,154	–	–	–	9,663	1,652	–	–	–	28,469
		UN		UN	18,165	60.03%	6,705	22.16%	65.79%	18,165	11,460	162	383	–	–	–	89	–	30,259
		Lib		Lib	28,175	77.44%	21,106	58.01%	55.29%	7,069	28,175	629	510	–	–	–	–	–	36,383
		Lib		Lib	24,348	67.83%	14,331	39.93%	55.80%	10,017	24,348	726	802	–	–	–	–	–	35,893
		Lib		Lib	17,344	51.30%	1,960	5.80%	70.57%	15,384	17,344	234	156	–	–	172	–	516	33,806
		UN		UN	11,206	62.36%	4,922	27.39%	63.90%	11,206	6,284	279	200	–	–	–	–	–	17,969
		Lib		Lib	12,276	49.47%	2,461	9.92%	52.88%	9,815	12,276	425	649	–	1,650	–	–	–	24,815
		Ind		Ind	10,520	66.01%	6,432	40.36%	60.75%	587	4,088	145	167	10,520	–	429	–	–	15,936
		Lib		UN	15,051	54.80%	3,853	14.03%	67.93%	15,051	11,198	195	172	847	–	–	–	–	27,463
		Lib		Lib	20,175	70.12%	13,361	46.43%	64.50%	6,814	20,175	1,785	–	–	–	–	–	–	28,774
Napierville-Laprairie		UN		UN	7,861	53.81%	1,166	7.98%	89.28%	7,861	6,695	–	52	–	–	–	–	–	14,608
Nicolet		UN		UN	8,498	59.33%	2,673	18.66%	86.53%	8,498	5,825	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	14,323
Papineau		UN		UN	11,164	56.21%	2,467	12.42%	87.78%	11,164	8,697	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	19,861
Pontiac		UN		UN	6,201	71.83%	3,769	43.66%	79.30%	6,201	2,432	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	8,633
Portneuf		UN		UN	12,810	60.72%	4,523	21.44%	87.52%	12,810	8,287	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	21,097
Québec-Centre		UN		UN	10,983	60.18%	3,715	20.36%	81.48%	10,983	7,268	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	18,251
Québec-Comté		Lib		UN	21,272	56.22%	5,047	13.34%	85.59%	21,272	16,225	–	63	–	–	280	–	–	37,840
Québec-Est		Lib		UN	20,173	55.47%	4,090	11.25%	85.85%	20,173	16,083	–	112	–	–	–	–	–	36,368
		Lib		Lib	10,073	50.40%	158	0.79%	82.76%	9,915	10,073	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	19,988
Richelieu		Lib		UN	9,552	54.28%	1,590	9.03%	89.78%	9,552	7,962	66	19	–	–	–	–	–	17,599
Richmond		Lib		Lib	9,470	51.49%	742	4.03%	90.47%	8,728	9,470	–	194	–	–	–	–	–	18,392
Rimouski		UN		Lib	9,911	51.05%	408	2.10%	85.03%	9,503	9,911	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	19,414
Rivière-du-Loup		UN		Lib	8,623	51.24%	556	3.30%	87.88%	8,067	8,623	–	–	–	–	139	–	–	16,829
Roberval		UN		UN	10,903	52.50%	1,038	5.00%	88.94%	10,903	9,865	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	20,768
Rouville		UN		UN	5,277	52.84%	567	5.68%	87.54%	5,277	4,710	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	9,987
Rouyn-Noranda		UN		Lib	7,561	51.16%	1,007	6.81%	84.35%	6,554	7,561	665	–	–	–	–	–	–	14,780
Saguenay		UN		UN	10,899	58.60%	3,198	17.19%	75.91%	10,899	7,701	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	18,600
Saint-Hyacinthe		UN		Lib	9,965	51.67%	669	3.47%	83.85%	9,296	9,965	–	24	–	–	–	–	–	19,285
Saint-Jean		UN		UN	8,279	56.17%	1,901	12.90%	85.62%	8,279	6,378	55	27	–	–	–	–	–	14,739
Saint-Maurice		Lib		Lib	13,851	51.37%	741	2.75%	90.44%	13,110	13,851	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	26,961
Saint-Sauveur		UN		UN	16,117	68.77%	8,862	37.81%	87.43%	16,117	7,255	–	64	–	–	–	–	–	23,436
Shefford		Lib		UN	11,534	53.59%	1,627	7.56%	85.31%	11,534	9,907	–	82	–	–	–	–	–	21,523
		UN		UN	16,588	55.30%	3,438	11.46%	78.62%	16,588	13,150	73	185	–	–	–	–	–	29,996
		UN		UN	7,815	50.26%	81	0.52%	82.63%	7,815	7,734	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	15,549
		Lib		UN	4,078	50.83%	133	1.66%	86.26%	4,078	3,945	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	8,023
		UN		UN	6,299	59.35%	1,985	18.70%	85.36%	6,299	4,314	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	10,613
Terrebonne		UN		UN	20,984	57.57%	5,704	15.65%	85.34%	20,984	15,280	107	77	–	–	–	–	–	36,448
Trois-Rivières		UN		UN	16,263	61.73%	6,327	24.02%	88.23%	16,263	9,936	–	52	–	–	–	–	93	26,344
Vaudreuil-Soulanges		UN		UN	7,681	51.00%	370	2.46%	85.94%	7,681	7,311	70	–	–	–	–	–	–	15,062
Verchères		Lib		UN	5,104	53.06%	627	6.52%	89.67%	5,104	4,477	39	–	–	–	–	–	–	9,620
		Lib		Lib	13,808	80.05%	10,870	63.02%	51.26%	2,938	13,808	255	248	–	–	–	–	–	17,249
Wolfe		Lib		UN	4,058	50.31%	50	0.62%	93.33%	4,058	4,008	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	8,066
Yamaska		UN		UN	4,736	66.22%	2,320	32.44%	85.90%	4,736	2,416	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	7,152

= open seat

= turnout is above provincial average

= winning candidate was in previous Legislature

= incumbent had switched allegiance

= not incumbent; was previously elected to the Legislature

= incumbency arose from byelection gain

= previously incumbent in another riding

= other incumbents renominated

= UdE candidates under the Liberal banner

= Nationalist candidates supported by the Liberals

= multiple candidates

Analysis

Party candidates in 2nd place

Party in 1st place		Party in 2nd place			Total
		UN	Lib	Ind
	70	2	72
20			20
	1		1
Total		20	71	2	93

Candidates ranked 1st to 5th place, by party

Parties	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	Total
	72	20	1			93
	20	71				92
	1	2	2		1	6
			16	6	2	24
			13	11	5	29
			5	3	1	9
			3	2		5
			1	1	1	3
			1			1
			1			1

Source !!colspan="4"

Party
align="center"	UN	align="center"	Lib	align="center"	Ind	Total
Seats retained	Incumbents returned	55	9	1	65
	Open seats held	3	1		4
Seats changing hands	Incumbents defeated	9	6		15
	Incumbents defeated - previous incumbents returned	3			3
	Open seats gained	1	4		5
New ridings	New MPP elected	1			1
Total		72	20	1	93

See also

• List of Quebec premiers
• Politics of Quebec
• Timeline of Quebec history
• List of Quebec political parties
• 25th Legislative Assembly of Quebec

Further reading

• Book: Lemieux. Vincent. 1969. Quatre élections provinciales au Québec. Four provincial elections in Quebec. French. Montreal. Les presses de l'Université Laval.

Notes and References

1. Book: The Chief: A Political Biography of Maurice Duplessis . Leslie Roberts. 1963. Clarke, Irwin.
2. An Act to constitute the electoral district of Jonquière-Kénogami. S.Q.. 1953-54. 42. https://www.bibliotheque.assnat.qc.ca/DepotNumerique_v2/AffichageFichier.aspx?idf=115605.
3. Book: Débats de l'Assemblée législative. November 17, 1955.
4. News: . June 15, 1956. Relations entre Libéraux et Créditistes. Liberal-Créditiste Relations. French. Vers Demain. Montreal. 2.
5. News: . June 18, 1956. An irresponsible alliance. . 8.
6. News: Arkison. Wilbur . June 21, 1956. Liberals Gain 9 Seats - But Lose 13. Montreal Gazette. 1.
7. News: . June 21, 1956. The extremists were repudiated. Montreal Gazette. 8.
8. News: . June 21, 1956. Les candidats créditistes tous défaits. The Créditiste candidates are all defeated. French. La Presse. Montreal. 24. See p. 25 for candidate listings.
9. News: . July 15, 1956. La campagne électorale aux Îles-de-la-Madeleine . The electoral campaign in the Magdalen Islands . French. Vers Demain. Montreal. 6.
10. News: . June 1, 1956. La manifestation du 6 mai à Shawinigan. The May 6 rally in Shawinigan . French. Vers Demain. Montreal. 6-7.
11. Web site: Élections québécoises de 1956. Drouilly. Pierre. December 4, 2017. donneesquebec.ca . Atlas des élections au Québec .
12. Web site: Les membres de l'Assemblée nationale par circonscription. French. National Assembly members by riding. . National Assembly of Quebec. September 13, 2023.
13. including spoilt ballots