1948 Ontario general election

1948 Ontario general election

←  1945 June 7, 1948 1951  →
90 seats in the 23rd Legislative Assembly of Ontario 46 seats were needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader George Drew Ted Jolliffe Party Progressive Conservative Co-operative Commonwealth Leader since December 9, 1938 April 3, 1942 Leader's seat High Park (lost re-election) York South Last election 66 8 Seats won 53 21 Seat change 13 13 Percentage 41.28% 26.52% Swing 2.97pp 4.11pp   Third party Fourth party   LP Leader Farquhar Oliver A. A. MacLeod Party Liberal Labor-Progressive Leader since May 16, 1947 1945 Leader's seat Grey South Bellwoods Last election 14 2 Seats won 14 2 Seat change – – Percentage 29.78% 1.00% Swing 0.66pp 1.63pp
Premier before election George Drew Progressive Conservative Premier after election George Drew [a] Progressive Conservative

The 1948 Ontario general election was held on June 7, 1948, to elect the 90 members of the 23rd Legislative Assembly of Ontario (Members of Provincial Parliament, or "MPPs") of the Province of Ontario. ^[1]

The Ontario Progressive Conservative Party, led by George Drew, won a third consecutive term in office, winning a solid majority of seats in the legislature—53, down from 66 in the previous election. Drew unexpectedly lost his seat, and thereafter announced that rather than return to the legislature, he would seek the leadership of the federal Progressive Conservative Party of Canada.

Campaign

The majority of races were three-way contests:

Riding contests, by number of candidates (1948)

Candidates	PC	CCF	Lib	L-L	Lab-Pr	UE/SC	S-L	I-PC	I-CCF	I-Lab	Ind	Total
2	7		6	1								14
3	61	59	60	1		1		1				183
4	18	18	18		2	11	3	2				72
5	4	4	4			3	2		1	1	1	20
Total	90	81	88	2	2	15	5	3	1	1	1	289

Opinion Polls

Evolution of voting intentions at national level

Polling firm	Last day of survey	Source	PCO	OCCF	OLP	LPP	Other	ME	Sample
Election 1948	June 7, 1948		41.28	26.52	29.78	1.00	1.42
Gallup	September 1947	[2]	44	18	35	1	2	—	—
Election 1945	June 4, 1945		44.3	22.4	29.8	2.4	1.1

Outcome

George Drew (right) in the offices of the Ontario Department of Transportation the day after his party's election victory

Despite winning a majority, Drew lost his own seat to temperance crusader Bill Temple. Instead of seeking a seat in a by-election, Drew left provincial politics to run for, and win, the leadership of the federal Progressive Conservative Party.

Drew was replaced as Ontario PC leader and premier by Thomas Kennedy on an interim basis, and then by Leslie Frost.

The Ontario Liberal Party, led by Farquhar Oliver, increased its caucus from 11 to 14, but lost the role of official opposition. Only one of the three Liberal-Labour MPPs sitting with the Liberal caucus, James Newman, was re-elected.

The social democratic Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (Ontario Section), led by Ted Jolliffe, formed the official opposition by increasing its caucus from 8 to 21 seats.

Two Toronto seats were won by Labor-Progressive Party MPPs J. B. Salsberg and A.A. MacLeod. The LPP was the official name of the Communist Party of Ontario. The LPP only ran two candidates, Salsberg and MacLeod, in 1948 down from 31 candidates in 1945.

Results

^{[1] [3]}

Elections to the 23rd Parliament of Ontario (1948)

Political party		Party leader	MPPs					Votes
			Candidates	1945	Dissol.	1948	±	#	%	± (pp)
	Progressive Conservative	George Drew	90	66	66	53	13	725,799	41.28%	2.97
	Co-operative Commonwealth	Ted Jolliffe	81	8	8	21	13	466,274	26.52%	4.11
	Liberal	Farquhar Oliver	88	11	11	13		515,795	29.34%	0.66
	Liberal–Labour		2	3	3	1		7,682	0.44%
	Labor–Progressive	A.A. MacLeod	2	2	2	2		17,654	1.00%	1.63
	Union of Electors	Ron Gostick	13	–	–	–	–	9,214	0.52%	0.51
	Social Credit		2	–	–	–		734	0.04%
	Independent-CCF		1	–	–	–		8,613	0.49%	New
	Independent PC		3	–	–	–		3,340	0.19%	0.17
	Independent		1	–	–	–		1,766	0.10%	0.30
	Socialist Labour		5	–	–	–		913	0.05%	–
	Independent Labour		1	–	–	–		253	0.01%	0.60
	Vacant
Total			289	90	90	90		1,758,037	100.00%
Blank and invalid ballots								16,935
Registered voters / turnout								2,623,281	67.66%	5.12

Seats and popular vote by party

Party	Seats	Votes	Change (pp)
█  Progressive Conservative	53 / 90	41.28%	-2.97
█  Co-operative Commonwealth	21 / 90	26.52%	4.11		4.11
█  Liberal	13 / 90	29.34%	2.44		2.44
█  Labor–Progressive	2 / 90	1.00%	-1.44
█  Liberal–Labour	1 / 90	0.44%	-1.89
█ Other	0 / 90	1.42%	-0.25

Synopsis of results

Results by riding - 1948 Ontario general election ^{[1] [3]}

Riding	Winning party								Turnout [a 1]	Votes
Name [a 2]	1945		Party		Votes	Share	Margin #	Margin %		PC	Lib/LL	CCF	Lab-Pr	I-CCF	I-PC	I-Lab	Ind	UE/SC	S-Lab	Total
Addington		PC		PC	6,497	53.05%	1,891	15.44%	70.02%	6,497	4,606	1,143	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	12,246
Algoma—Manitoulin		PC		PC	4,907	37.93%	751	5.81%	74.89%	4,907	4,156	3,873	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	12,936
Brant		Lib		Lib	9,557	65.56%	4,537	31.12%	63.78%	5,020	9,557	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	14,577
Brantford		PC		Lib	7,018	37.58%	1,172	6.28%	73.80%	4,843	7,018	5,846	–	–	966	–	–	–	–	18,673
Bruce		PC		Lib	7,171	46.81%	636	4.15%	74.45%	6,535	7,171	1,614	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	15,320
Carleton		PC		PC	9,343	61.88%	5,971	39.55%	61.12%	9,343	3,372	2,100	–	–	–	–	–	284	–	15,099
Cochrane North		Lib		PC	3,838	36.89%	1,253	12.04%	78.55%	3,838	2,321	2,585	–	–	–	–	–	1,659	–	10,403
Cochrane South		CCF		CCF	14,190	50.91%	5,999	21.52%	72.55%	8,191	4,307	14,190	–	–	–	–	–	1,186	–	27,874
Dufferin—Simcoe		PC		PC	7,035	54.13%	2,499	19.23%	57.91%	7,035	4,536	1,425	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	12,996
Durham		PC		PC	5,858	45.39%	1,336	10.35%	71.27%	5,858	4,522	2,525	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	12,905
Elgin		PC		PC	7,713	44.58%	592	3.42%	64.40%	7,713	7,121	2,467	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	17,301
Essex North		LL		CCF	7,497	36.49%	790	3.84%	67.38%	6,344	6,707	7,497	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	20,548
Essex South		PC		PC	8,354	55.46%	2,559	16.99%	66.29%	8,354	5,795	914	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	15,063
Fort William		CCF		Lib	6,860	35.93%	225	1.18%	73.47%	5,596	6,860	6,635	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	19,091
Glengarry		Lib		PC	5,557	55.75%	1,788	17.94%	71.63%	5,557	3,769	–	–	–	–	–	–	642	–	9,968
Grenville—Dundas		PC		PC	6,994	59.30%	3,385	28.70%	52.91%	6,994	3,609	1,191	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	11,794
Grey North		PC		PC	6,649	39.78%	383	2.29%	76.85%	6,649	6,266	3,801	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	16,716
Grey South		Lib		Lib	7,822	61.28%	3,892	30.49%	71.91%	3,930	7,822	764	–	–	–	–	–	249	–	12,765
Haldimand—Norfolk		PC		PC	9,805	46.67%	1,778	8.46%	65.42%	9,805	8,027	3,175	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	21,007
Halton		PC		PC	6,377	39.45%	113	0.70%	67.96%	6,377	6,264	3,524	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	16,165
Hamilton East		PC		CCF	10,528	42.82%	153	0.62%	69.79%	10,375	3,683	10,528	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	24,586
Hamilton Centre		PC		CCF	10,561	42.15%	1,688	6.74%	66.67%	8,873	5,619	10,561	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	25,053
Hamilton—Wentworth		PC		PC	10,542	46.42%	4,108	18.09%	69.12%	10,542	5,734	6,434	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	22,710
Hastings East*		PC		PC	5,163	54.14%	2,048	21.48%	63.69%	5,163	3,115	1,258	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	9,536
Hastings West		PC		PC	8,501	50.85%	3,221	19.27%	61.88%	8,501	5,280	2,937	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	16,718
Huron		PC		PC	7,566	50.35%	106	0.71%	75.35%	7,566	7,460	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	15,026
Huron—Bruce		PC		PC	6,678	50.97%	255	1.95%	75.50%	6,678	6,423	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	13,101
Kenora		CCF		PC	4,292	38.82%	579	5.24%	64.20%	4,292	3,713	3,051	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	11,056
Kent East		PC		Lib	7,536	55.06%	1,385	10.12%	77.18%	6,151	7,536	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	13,687
Kent West		PC		PC	9,825	50.75%	291	1.50%	62.38%	9,825	9,534	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	19,359
Kingston*		PC		PC	7,367	46.42%	1,008	6.35%	67.97%	7,367	6,359	2,143	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	15,869
Lambton East		PC		PC	5,632	47.85%	511	4.34%	66.08%	5,632	5,121	1,018	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	11,771
Lambton West		PC		PC	7,765	48.90%	2,495	15.71%	66.15%	7,765	5,270	2,845	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	15,880
Lanark		PC		PC	10,077	65.43%	5,879	38.17%	67.91%	10,077	4,198	1,127	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	15,402
Leeds		PC		PC	9,018	51.94%	2,605	15.00%	74.41%	9,018	6,413	1,932	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	17,363
Lincoln		PC		PC	13,826	41.69%	3,297	9.94%	71.26%	13,826	8,361	10,529	–	–	–	–	–	450	–	33,166
London		PC		Lib	12,730	40.75%	1,027	3.29%	64.23%	11,703	12,730	6,803	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	31,236
Middlesex North		PC		PC	6,601	43.35%	1,255	8.24%	63.62%	6,601	5,346	3,281	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	15,228
Middlesex South		PC		PC	6,957	50.74%	1,413	10.31%	68.06%	6,957	5,544	1,209	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	13,710
Muskoka—Ontario		PC		PC	7,197	41.42%	306	1.76%	71.15%	7,197	6,891	3,288	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	17,376
Niagara Falls		PC		Lib	8,253	40.07%	491	2.38%	67.94%	4,582	8,253	7,762	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	20,597
Nipissing		Lib		PC	6,903	40.01%	1,296	7.51%	68.61%	6,903	5,607	3,683	–	–	–	–	–	1,060	–	17,253
Northumberland		PC		PC	8,361	55.88%	3,047	20.36%	70.94%	8,361	5,314	1,288	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	14,963
Ontario		PC		CCF	11,758	42.23%	2,731	9.81%	73.25%	9,027	7,058	11,758	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	27,843
Ottawa East		Lib		Lib	9,407	45.83%	1,630	7.94%	55.25%	7,777	9,407	2,859	–	–	–	–	–	485	–	20,528
Ottawa South		PC		PC	18,955	55.13%	9,142	26.59%	56.58%	18,955	9,813	5,151	–	–	–	–	–	279	185	34,383
Oxford		PC		PC	9,404	45.81%	941	4.58%	61.71%	9,404	8,463	2,662	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	20,529
Parry Sound		Lib		PC	4,343	37.57%	439	3.80%	75.55%	4,343	3,904	3,314	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	11,561
Peel		PC		PC	9,070	47.25%	3,677	19.16%	65.35%	9,070	5,393	4,733	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	19,196
Perth		PC		PC	10,686	45.04%	1,077	4.54%	68.16%	10,686	9,609	3,432	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	23,727
Peterborough		PC		PC	10,257	42.89%	2,528	10.57%	73.09%	10,257	7,729	5,927	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	23,913
Port Arthur		CCF		CCF	8,734	44.93%	2,602	13.39%	62.77%	4,572	6,132	8,734	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	19,438
Prescott		Lib		PC	6,537	56.01%	2,193	18.79%	73.85%	6,537	4,344	179	–	–	–	–	–	611	–	11,671
Prince Edward—Lennox		PC		Lib	6,202	46.45%	55	0.41%	70.16%	6,147	6,202	–	–	–	1,003	–	–	–	–	13,352
Rainy River		LL		LL	3,969	56.32%	891	12.64%	65.70%	3,078	3,969	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	7,047
Renfrew North		PC		PC	5,864	44.51%	377	2.86%	72.32%	5,864	5,487	1,824	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	13,175
Renfrew South		PC		PC	6,744	54.07%	1,743	13.97%	69.49%	6,744	5,001	728	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	12,473
Russell		Lib		PC	5,292	41.89%	697	5.52%	58.29%	5,292	4,595	1,611	–	–	–	–	–	1,134	–	12,632
Sault Ste. Marie		CCF		CCF	6,514	41.77%	1,433	9.19%	67.36%	5,081	4,000	6,514	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	15,595
Simcoe Centre		PC		PC	5,791	41.73%	1,782	12.84%	67.22%	5,791	4,009	1,805	–	–	–	–	1,766	506	–	13,877
Simcoe East		PC		PC	6,376	43.17%	1,002	6.78%	71.60%	6,376	5,374	3,018	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	14,768
Stormont		Lib		PC	6,729	39.96%	250	1.48%	72.01%	6,729	6,479	2,976	–	–	–	–	–	655	–	16,839
Sudbury		CCF		PC	8,892	29.01%	279	0.91%	72.57%	8,892	6,949	5,821	–	8,613	–	–	–	378	–	30,653
Temiskaming		CCF		CCF	4,851	41.40%	561	4.79%	79.83%	4,290	2,576	4,851	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	11,717
Victoria		PC		PC	8,830	59.92%	4,173	28.32%	68.21%	8,830	4,657	1,249	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	14,736
Waterloo North		LL		Lib	10,200	37.44%	1,250	4.59%	62.20%	6,726	10,200	8,950	–	–	1,371	–	–	–	–	27,247
Waterloo South		PC		CCF	7,210	35.68%	705	3.49%	69.85%	6,505	6,495	7,210	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	20,210
Welland		PC		Lib	8,961	36.33%	11	0.04%	72.48%	6,756	8,961	8,950	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	24,667
Wellington North		Lib		Lib	7,764	53.05%	893	6.10%	71.06%	6,871	7,764	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	14,635
Wellington South		PC		PC	6,913	36.97%	666	3.56%	78.82%	6,913	6,247	5,541	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	18,701
Wentworth		CCF		CCF	13,190	46.35%	2,327	8.18%	67.98%	10,863	4,405	13,190	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	28,458
Windsor—Walkerville		PC		PC	7,730	41.51%	1,422	7.64%	53.63%	7,730	4,585	6,308	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	18,623
Windsor—Sandwich		PC		PC	10,781	53.46%	5,213	25.85%	70.32%	10,781	3,624	5,568	–	–	–	–	–	–	192	20,165
York East		PC		CCF	21,628	42.81%	881	1.74%	63.76%	20,747	7,772	21,628	–	–	–	–	–	370	–	50,517
York North		PC		PC	10,444	39.21%	1,902	7.14%	66.63%	10,444	7,653	8,542	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	26,639
York South		PC		CCF	19,320	49.52%	4,465	11.44%	67.97%	14,855	4,838	19,320	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	39,013
York West		PC		CCF	18,627	43.41%	2,383	5.55%	69.42%	16,244	8,041	18,627	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	42,912
Beaches		PC		CCF	9,910	44.03%	440	1.96%	71.98%	9,470	3,126	9,910	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	22,506
Bellwoods		Lab-Pr		Lab-Pr	7,764	37.17%	1,286	6.16%	69.55%	6,478	2,292	4,353	7,764	–	–	–	–	–	–	20,887
Bracondale		PC		CCF	7,956	45.00%	1,184	6.70%	63.97%	6,772	2,952	7,956	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	17,680
Dovercourt		PC		CCF	12,262	48.16%	3,039	11.93%	64.28%	9,223	3,978	12,262	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	25,463
Eglinton		PC		PC	18,767	51.62%	9,543	26.25%	69.16%	18,767	9,224	8,366	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	36,357
High Park		PC		CCF	11,562	42.24%	1,017	3.72%	74.88%	10,545	5,262	11,562	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	27,369
Parkdale		PC		CCF	11,778	39.52%	650	2.18%	68.34%	11,128	6,900	11,778	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	29,806
Riverdale		PC		CCF	12,429	47.55%	2,159	8.26%	65.32%	10,270	3,195	12,429	–	–	–	–	–	–	245	26,139
St. Andrew		Lab-Pr		Lab-Pr	9,890	49.40%	4,926	24.61%	71.22%	4,964	1,757	3,408	9,890	–	–	–	–	–	–	20,019
St. David		PC		CCF	8,539	41.39%	676	3.28%	66.08%	7,863	3,908	8,539	–	–	–	253	–	–	69	20,632
St. George		PC		PC	10,161	45.23%	2,711	12.07%	61.19%	10,161	4,853	7,450	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	22,464
St. Patrick		PC		PC	6,946	44.06%	1,597	10.13%	66.48%	6,946	3,469	5,349	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	15,764
Woodbine		PC		CCF	12,986	47.36%	2,292	8.36%	68.97%	10,694	3,516	12,986	–	–	–	–	–	–	222	27,418

1. including spoilt ballots
2. order is as given in EO reports

  = open seat

  = turnout is above provincial average

  = winning candidate was in previous Legislature

  = incumbent had switched allegiance

  = other incumbents renominated

  = campaigned as a Liberal-Labour candidate

  = campaigned as a Social Credit candidate

Analysis

Party candidates in 2nd place

Party in 1st place		Party in 2nd place					Total
		PC	Lib	LL	CCF	Ind-CCF
	Progressive Conservative		43	1	8	1	53
	Liberal	8			5		13
	Liberal–Labour	1					1
	Co-operative Commonwealth	19	2				21
	Labor–Progressive	2					2
Total		30	45	1	13	1	90

Candidates ranked 1st to 5th place, by party

Parties	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	Total
█  Progressive Conservative	53	30	7			90
█  Co-operative Commonwealth	21	13	45	2		81
█  Liberal	13	45	28	2		88
█  Labor–Progressive	2					2
█  Liberal–Labour	1	1				2
█ Independent-CCF		1				1
█  Union of Electors			2	9	2	13
█ Independent PC			1	2		3
█  Socialist Labour				3	2	5
█  Social Credit				2		2
█  Independent Labour				1		1
█  Independent				1		1

Resulting composition of the 23rd Legislative Assembly of Ontario

Source		Party
		PC	CCF	Lib	L-L	Lab-Pr	Total
Seats retained	Incumbents returned	40	4	4	1	2	51
	Open seats held	4	1				5
Seats changing hands	Incumbents defeated	8	12	7			27
	Open seats gained	1	4	2			7
Total		53	21	13	1	2	90

Seats that changed hands

Elections to the 23rd Parliament of Ontario – seats won/lost by party, 1945–1948

Party		1943	Gain from (loss to)										1945
			PC		CCF		Lib		Lbr-P		L-L
	Progressive Conservative	66			2	(15)	7	(7)					53
	Co-operative Commonwealth	8	15	(2)				(1)			1		21
	Liberal	11	7	(7)	1						1		13
	Labor–Progressive	2											2
	Liberal–Labour	3				(1)		(1)					1
Total		90	22	(9)	3	(16)	7	(9)	–	–	2	–	90

There were 34 seats that changed allegiance in the election.

PC to CCF Beaches Bracondale Dovercourt Hamilton Centre Hamilton East High Park Ontario Parkdale Riverdale St. David Waterloo South Woodbine York East York South York West PC to Liberal Brantford Bruce Kent East London Niagara Falls Prince Edward—Lennox Welland

CCF to PC Kenora Sudbury CCF to Liberal Fort William Liberal to PC Cochrane North Glengarry Nipissing Parry Sound Prescott Russell Stormont Liberal-Labour to CCF Essex North Liberal-Labour to Liberal Waterloo North

See also

• Politics of Ontario
• List of Ontario political parties
• Premier of Ontario
• Leader of the Opposition (Ontario)

Notes

1. While Drew legally continued to be Premier until he assumed leadership of the federal Progressive Conservatives in October 1948, Thomas Laird Kennedy acted as interim Premier until the election of Leslie Frost in May 1949.

References

1. "1948 Ontario general election". Elections Ontario. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
2. "Shifting vote support seen throughout Ontario, Quebec". The Windsor Daily Star. October 8, 1947. p. 12.
3. EO data errors on some riding results and candidate affiliations corrected per "Vote Polled By Candidates In Ontario Constituencies". Ottawa Citizen . June 8, 1948. p. 15.