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27 seats of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly 14 seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1932 Newfoundland general election was held on 11 June 1932 to elect members of the 28th General Assembly of Newfoundland. This vote proved to be the final general election held by the Dominion of Newfoundland. As a result of a riot which occurred in 1932 due to Newfoundland's deteriorating economic situation, Prime Minister Sir Richard Squires dissolved the House of Assembly and called an election. His Liberals were reduced to two seats while Frederick C. Alderdice's United Newfoundland Party won 24 seats and was elected to government. The size of the House was reduced from 40 to 27 as an economy measure.
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Alderdice was not able to rescue the public finances. By this time Newfoundlanders despaired of the ability of their politicians to solve the problems. The British government commissioned a report from William Warrender Mackenzie, 1st Baron Amulree which was scathing about the political culture of Newfoundland. [1]
The price of British government financial aid was the abandonment of responsible and representative government. The legislature was dissolved. The Commission of Government came into operation on 16 February 1934 ending more than a century of legislative democracy in Newfoundland.
