1969 Manitoba general election explained

Election Name:	1969 Manitoba general election
Country:	Manitoba
Type:	parliamentary
Ongoing:	no
Party Colour:	no
Party Name:	no
Previous Election:	1966 Manitoba general election
Previous Year:	1966
Next Election:	1973 Manitoba general election
Next Year:	1973
Seats For Election:	57 seats of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba 29 seats were needed for a majority
Election Date:	June 25, 1969
Leader1:	Edward Schreyer
Leaders Seat1:	Rossmere
Last Election1:	11
Seats1:	28
Seat Change1:	17
Popular Vote1:	128,080
Percentage1:	38.27%
Swing1:	15.13pp
Leader2:	Walter Weir
Leaders Seat2:	Minnedosa
Last Election2:	31
Seats2:	22
Seat Change2:	9
Popular Vote2:	119,021
Percentage2:	35.56%
Swing2:	4.40pp
Image4:	LIB
Leaders Seat4:	Ran in
Last Election4:	14
Seats4:	5
Seat Change4:	9
Popular Vote4:	80,288
Percentage4:	23.99%
Swing4:	9.14pp
Map Size:	350px
Premier
Posttitle:	Premier after election
Before Election:	Walter Weir
After Election:	Edward Schreyer
Image5:	SC
Leader5:	Jacob Froese
Leaders Seat5:	Rhineland
Last Election5:	1
Seats5:	1
Seat Change5:	0
Popular Vote5:	4,535
Percentage5:	1.36%
Swing5:	2.18pp

The 1969 Manitoba general election was held on June 25, 1969 to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) of the Canadian province of Manitoba. It was a watershed moment in the province's political history. The social-democratic New Democratic Party emerged for the first time as the largest party in the legislature, winning 28 out of 57 seats. The governing Progressive Conservative Party fell to 22, and the once-dominant Liberal Party fell to an historical low of five. The Social Credit Party won one seat, and there was also one Independent elected.

Although the NDP had risen from third place to only one seat short of a majority, it was not clear what form the government would take in the days immediately following the election. There were negotiations among the Liberals and Progressive Conservatives to form a minority coalition government, supported by the Social Credit and Independent members; under this scenario, former Liberal leader Gildas Molgat would have become Premier. These plans came to nothing when Liberal MLA Laurent Desjardins announced that he would sit as a "Liberal Democrat" supporting the NDP, allowing the NDP to form government by one seat. Edward Schreyer became the province's first social democratic Premier shortly thereafter.

The Manitoba NDP had a total election budget of $45,000. Although very small by modern standards, this was the most the party had ever spent up to this time.^[1]

The Liberals had managed to remain as the Official Opposition for a decade after losing power in 1959. However, this would be the start of almost 20 years in the political wilderness; the party would not come close to governing again until winning opposition status in 1988.

Results

Party	Party Leader	of candidates	Seats			Popular Vote
1966	Party Leader	of candidates	Elected	% Change		%	Change	New Democratic	Edward Schreyer	57	11	28	+154.5%	128,080	38.27%	+15.13	Progressive Conservative	Walter Weir	57	31	22	-29.0%	119,021	35.56%	align="right"	-4.40	Liberal	Robert Bend	57	14	5	align="right"	-64.3%	80,288	23.99%	align="right"	-9.14	Jacob Froese (?)	6	1	1	align="right"	-	4,535	1.36%	align="right"	-2.18	William Cecil Ross	2	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	744	0.22%	+0.02	Independent		5	align="right"	-	1		2,020	0.60%	+0.57
Total			184	57	57	-	334,688	100%