1928 Newfoundland general election

1928 Newfoundland general election

←  1924 October 29, 1928 1932  →
←  outgoing members members  →
40 seats of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly 21 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader Richard Squires and J. H. Scammell Frederick C. Alderdice Party Liberal Liberal-Conservative Progressive Leader since 1928 / 1926 1928 Leader's seat Humber / Bonavista Centre [a] St. John's City East [a] Last election 10 [b] 25 Seats won 28 12 Seat change 18 13 Popular vote 58,750 45,787 Percentage 54.98% 42.85% Swing 14.10% 15.09%
Prime Minister before election Walter Monroe Liberal-Conservative Progressive Prime Minister after election Richard Squires Liberal

The 1928 Newfoundland general election was held on 29 October 1928 to elect members of the 27th General Assembly of Newfoundland in the Dominion of Newfoundland. The Liberal Party led by Richard Squires defeated the Conservative Party led by Frederick C. Alderdice and formed the government with the support of Fishermen's Protective Union members. Legislation had been introduced so that persons named to the Executive Council were no longer required to run for reelection.

In April 1925, women over the age of 25 had been granted the right to vote; in the 1928 general election, 90 per cent of women eligible to vote cast a ballot. Helena Squires became the first woman elected to the Newfoundland assembly in a 1930 by-election. ^[1]

Results by party

	Party	Leader	1924	Candidates	Seats won	Seat change	% of seats (% change)	Popular vote	% of vote (% change)
	Liberal	Richard Squires	10 [b]	40 Liberal 26 FPU 14 [c]	28	18	70.00% (42.22%)	58,750	54.98% (14.10%)
	Fishermen's Protective Union [d]	J. H. Scammell	–
	Liberal-Conservative Progressive	Frederick C. Alderdice	25	40	12	13	30.00% (39.44%)	45,787	42.85% (15.09%)
	Other		1	8	0	1	0.00% (2.50%)	2,317	2.17% (0.99%)
Totals			36	88	40	4	100%	106,854	100%

Results by district

• Names in boldface type represent party leaders.
• † indicates that the incumbent did not run again.
• ‡ indicates that the incumbent ran in a different district.

St. John's

Electoral district	Candidates						Incumbent
	Liberal-Conservative		Liberal (historical)		Other
St. John's City East		Frederick C. Alderdice 3,826 28.91%		William Brophy 2,956 22.34%				William Higgins† St. John's East
								Cyril Fox† St. John's East
		Gerald G. Byrne 3,687 27.86%		St. Clair Churchill 2,764 20.89%				William Brophy St. John's East
St. John's East Extern		John Tobin 1,256 57.43%		Thomas S. Devine 931 42.57%				New district
St. John's City West		William Howley 3,373 21.73%		Alexander Campbell 4,352 28.04%		J. Sinclair Tait (Independent) 296 1.91%		John Crosbie† St. John's West
								William Browne St. John's West
		William Browne 3,333 21.47%		Joseph Fitzgibbon 4,169 26.86%				William Linegar† St. John's West
St. John's West Extern		Frank Bennett 1,317 51.53%		Kenneth Ruby 1,239 48.47%				New district

Conception Bay

Electoral district	Candidates						Incumbent
	Liberal-Conservative		Liberal (historical)		Other
Bay de Verde		John Puddester 1,638 59.46%		William Cave 1,117 40.54%				Richard Cramm (ran in Carbonear)
								John Puddester
Bay Roberts		Augustus Calpin 608 33.76%		John Parsons 1,193 66.24%				New district
Bell Island		Richard A. Howley 582 34.62%		Joseph Greene 1,099 65.38%				New district
Carbonear		James Moore 1,065 45.92%		Henry Cowan 689 29.71%		Richard Cramm (Independent) 565 24.36%		Robert Duff†
Harbour Grace		Edward Oke 388 19.72%		Frank Archibald 1,440 73.17%		Ernest Simmons (Independent) 140 7.11%		Albert Hickman†
								John R. Bennett†
								Charles Russell†
Harbour Main		Charles Furey 1,468 24.70%		Philip Lewis 1,532 25.78%				William Woodford†
		William Walsh 1,463 24.62%		Albert Walsh 1,480 24.90%				Cyril Cahill‡ (ran in Placentia East)
Port de Grave		Henry Burt 331 15.00%		Robert Smith 1,349 61.15%		Joseph Cantwell (Independent) 526 23.84%		F. Gordon Bradley‡ (ran in Trinity Centre)

Avalon Peninsula

Electoral district	Candidates						Incumbent
	Liberal-Conservative		Liberal (historical)		Other
Ferryland		Michael Shea 1,146 48.01%		Peter Cashin 1,241 51.99%				Peter Cashin
								Philip Moore†
Placentia East		Edward Emerson 753 43.00%		Cyril Cahill 733 41.86%		T. F. McGrath (Independent) 265 15.13%		Michael Sullivan‡ Placentia and St. Mary's (ran in Placentia West)
								William Walsh‡ Placentia and St. Mary's (ran in Harbour Main)
								Edward Sinnott† Placentia and St. Mary's
St. Mary's		Charles J. Ellis 713 41.67%		James Bindon 966 56.46%		Michael Condon (Independent) 32 1.87%		New district
Trinity South		Harold Mitchell 962 43.02%		Edwin Godden 1,274 56.98%				Edwin Godden Trinity Bay

Eastern Newfoundland

Electoral district	Candidates				Incumbent
	Liberal-Conservative		FPU
Bonavista Centre		Walter Monroe 839 39.06%		J. H. Scammell 1,309 60.94%		Walter Monroe Bonavista Bay
Bonavista East		Frederick House 784 27.36%		William Coaker 2,081 72.64%		Lewis Little† Bonavista Bay
Bonavista North		William C. Winsor 1,149 42.00%		Robert G. Winsor 1,587 58.00%		William C. Winsor Bonavista Bay
Bonavista South		Herman Quinton 973 51.98%		Samuel Brown 899 48.02%		New district
Trinity Centre		Wallace Goobie 609 30.16%		F. Gordon Bradley (Liberal) 1,410 69.84%		Isaac Randell† Trinity Bay
Trinity North		John G. Stone 846 46.43%		William Halfyard 976 53.57%		William Halfyard Trinity Bay

Central Newfoundland

Electoral district	Candidates						Incumbent
	Liberal-Conservative		FPU		Other
Fogo		Robert G. Brown 482 23.29%		Richard Hibbs 1,588 76.71%				Richard Hibbs
Grand Falls		James S. Ayre 1,087 37.04%		William Earle (Liberal) 1,848 62.96%				New district
Green Bay		Walter Milley 389 21.26%		Roland Starkes (Liberal) 1,357 74.15%		Peter Parsons (Independent) 84 4.59%		New district
Lewisporte		William Drover 334 24.94%		George Grimes 1,005 75.06%				New district
Twillingate		Thomas Ashbourne 804 46.58%		Kenneth Brown 922 53.42%				Kenneth Brown
								George Grimes‡ (ran in Lewisporte)
								Thomas Ashbourne

Southern Newfoundland

Electoral district	Candidates				Incumbent
	Liberal-Conservative		Liberal (historical)
Burgeo		Walter Chambers 1,070 52.02%		Arthur Barnes 987 47.98%		Walter Chambers Burgeo and LaPoile
Burin East		James Winter 1,187 50.81%		Jacob Hanham 1,149 49.19%		J. J. Long† Burin
Burin West		Samuel Foote 1,026 43.24%		H. B. C. Lake 1,347 56.76%		H. B. C. Lake Burin
Fortune Bay		Harry A. Winter 928 45.94%		Harris Mosdell 1,092 54.06%		Harris Mosdell
Hermitage		Rendell Jeans 644 38.89%		Philip Fudge 1,012 61.11%		New district
Placentia West [4]		Michael Sullivan 1,512 62.95%		Thomas J. Connors 890 37.05%		New district

Western Newfoundland

Electoral district	Candidates						Incumbent
	Liberal-Conservative		Liberal (historical)		Other
Humber		John A. Barrett 632 17.35%		Richard Squires 3,011 82.65%				New district
Port au Port		William Abbott 623 52.13%		John Joy 572 47.87%				New district
St. Barbe		Joseph Quinton 548 30.65%		Walter Skanes 1,240 69.35%				J. H. Scammell‡ (ran in Bonavista Centre)
St. George's		Thomas Power 489 29.73%		Joseph Downey 747 45.41%		Edwin Gillis (Independent) 409 24.86%		Thomas Power
White Bay		Joseph Moore 923 43.54%		Joseph Strong 1,197 56.46%				New district

Notes

1. Not the incumbent, but stood in this district and won
2. As the Liberal-Progressive Party
3. In a 1932 Fishermen's Advocate article, Coaker states that the FPU fielded 14 candidates in the 1928 election, and that all of them were elected except for Samuel Brown, who was narrowly defeated in Bonavista South. However, he does not identify these candidates. ^[2] The results by district table below only denotes those who had previously been elected as a member of the FPU, as well as the above-mentioned Samuel Brown.
4. As part of an electoral alliance with the Liberal party ^[3]

References

1. "Women's Suffrage". Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage. Memorial University.
2. Coaker, William. Past, Present and Future: Being a Series of Articles Contributed to the Fishermen's Advocate, 1932 (PDF). Port Union, Newfoundland: William Coaker. p. 18. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
3. "Fishermen's Protective Union After 1918". Maritime History Archive . Retrieved May 4, 2025.
4. "District of Placentia West - Returning Officer's Statement at Conclusion of Counting". The Newfoundland Gazette. December 4, 1928. Retrieved May 4, 2025.

Further reading

• Riggs, Bert (1981). "General Election #27: October 29, 1928". Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, volume 1. St. John's: Harry Cuff Publications Ltd. Retrieved May 4, 2025.