1951 Ontario general election

1951 Ontario general election

←  1948 November 22, 1951 1955  →
90 seats in the 24th Legislative Assembly of Ontario 46 seats were needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader Leslie Frost Walter Thomson Party Progressive Conservative Liberal Leader since April 27, 1949 November 10, 1950 Leader's seat Victoria Ran in Ontario (Lost) Last election 53 14 Seats won 79 8 Seat change 26 6 Percentage 48.5% 31.5% Swing 7.0pp 1.7pp   Third party Fourth party   Leader Ted Jolliffe Stewart Smith Party Co-operative Commonwealth Labor-Progressive Leader since April 3, 1942 1951 Leader's seat York South (lost re-election) Last election 21 2 Seats won 2 1 Seat change 19 1 Percentage 19.1% 0.7% Swing 3.3pp 0.3pp
Premier before election Leslie Frost Progressive Conservative Premier after election Leslie Frost Progressive Conservative

The 1951 Ontario general election was held on November 22, 1951, to elect the 90 members of the 24th Legislative Assembly of Ontario (Members of Provincial Parliament, or "MPPs") of the Province of Ontario. ^[1]

Background

Because of Canada's participation in the Korean War, and because previous legislation governing the participation of active service voters stationed overseas had lapsed, ^[2] new provision was made to enable the collection of votes of Ontario residents who had returned to active service because of the present conflict. ^[3] Legislation governing the functioning of elections ^[4] and the preparation of voters' lists ^[5] was also revised.

Opinion Polls

Evolution of voting intentions at provincial level

Polling firm	Last day of survey	Source	PCO	OLP	OCCF	Other	Undecided	ME	Sample
Election 1953	November 22, 1951		48.5	31.5	19.1	0.9
Gallup	October 1951	[6]	44	40	14	3	22	—	—
Gallup	August 1951	[6]	47	40	11	1	30	—	—
Gallup	June 1951	[7]	45	41	13	1	—	—
Gallup	February 1951	[7]	43	42	14	1	23 [6]	—	—
Gallup	July 1950	[6]	44	39	14	3	21	—	—
Election 1948	June 7, 1948		41.28	26.52	29.78	2.42

Campaign

The majority of races were three-way contests between the major parties:

Riding contests, by number of candidates (1951)

Candidates	PC	Lib	L-L	CCF	Lab-Pr	I-PC	I-Lab	Ind	S-L	Total
2	13	13								26
3	64	62	2	64						192
4	12	12		12	5	2	1	3	1	48
5	1	1		1	1			1		5
Total	90	88	2	77	6	2	1	4	1	271

Outcome

The Ontario Progressive Conservative Party, led by Leslie Frost, won a fourth consecutive term in office, increasing its caucus in the legislature from 53 in the previous election to 79—a solid majority.

The Ontario Liberal Party, led by Walter Thomson, lost six seats, but regained the role of official opposition because of the collapse of the CCF vote. Albert Wren was elected as a Liberal-Labour candidate and sat with the Liberal caucus.

The social democratic Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), led by Ted Jolliffe, lost all but two of its previous 21 seats with Jolliffe himself being defeated in the riding of York South.

One seat was won by J.B. Salsberg of the Labor-Progressive Party (which was the Communist Party of Ontario). LPP leader A.A. MacLeod lost his downtown Toronto seat of Bellwoods in this election and three other LPP candidates were also defeated.

Results

^{[1] [8]}

Elections to the 24th Parliament of Ontario (1951)

Political party		Party leader	MPPs					Votes
			Candidates	1948	Dissol.	1951	±	#	%	± (pp)
	Progressive Conservative	Leslie Frost	90	53	53	79	26	860,939	48.46	7.18
	Liberal	Walter Thomson	88	13	13	7	6	551,753	31.06	1.72
	Liberal–Labour		2	1	1	1		7,939	0.45
	Co-operative Commonwealth	Ted Jolliffe	77	21	21	2	19	339,362	19.10	7.42
	Labor–Progressive	Stewart Smith	6	2	2	1	1	11,914	0.67	0.33
	Independent		4					1,869	0.11	0.01
	Independent Labour		1					1,375	0.08	0.07
	Independent PC		2					1,094	0.06	0.13
	Socialist Labour		1					371	0.02	0.03
Total			271	90	90	90		1,776,616	100.00%
Blank and invalid ballots								23,834
Registered voters / turnout								2,745,709	65.57%	2.09

Seats and popular vote by party

Party	Seats	Votes	Change (pp)
█  Progressive Conservative	79 / 90	48.46%	7.18		7.18
█  Liberal/Liberal-Labour	8 / 90	31.51%	1.72		1.72
█  Co-operative Commonwealth	2 / 90	19.10%	-7.42
█ Other	1 / 90	0.93%	-1.48

Synopsis of results

Results by riding - 1951 Ontario general election ^{[1] [8]}

Riding	Winning party								Turnout [a 1]	Votes
Name [a 2]	1948		Party		Votes	Share	Margin #	Margin %		PC	Lib/LL	CCF	Lab-Pr	I-PC	I-Lab	Ind	S-Lab	Total
Addington		PC		PC	7,035	56.04%	2,328	18.55%	73.26%	7,035	4,707	811	–	–	–	–	–	12,553
Algoma—Manitoulin		PC		PC	5,718	47.18%	1,138	9.39%	68.95%	5,718	4,580	1,822	–	–	–	–	–	12,120
Brant		Lib		Lib	8,218	47.49%	1,795	10.37%	70.36%	6,423	8,218	2,665	–	–	–	–	–	17,306
Brantford		Lib		Lib	7,289	38.45%	1,249	6.59%	73.74%	5,630	7,289	6,040	–	–	–	–	–	18,959
Bruce		Lib		PC	7,369	48.93%	652	4.33%	77.21%	7,369	6,717	973	–	–	–	–	–	15,059
Carleton		PC		PC	10,863	59.00%	5,398	29.32%	64.28%	10,863	5,465	1,138	–	945	–	–	–	18,411
Cochrane North		PC		PC	4,009	40.28%	461	4.63%	66.79%	4,009	3,548	2,395	–	–	–	–	–	9,952
Cochrane South		CCF		CCF	10,233	40.82%	1,606	6.41%	69.52%	8,627	5,391	10,233	820	–	–	–	–	25,071
Dufferin—Simcoe		PC		PC	7,535	58.33%	2,966	22.96%	62.52%	7,535	4,569	814	–	–	–	–	–	12,918
Durham		PC		PC	7,389	51.79%	2,279	15.97%	76.75%	7,389	5,110	1,769	–	–	–	–	–	14,268
Elgin		PC		PC	10,501	55.08%	3,367	17.66%	69.74%	10,501	7,134	1,430	–	–	–	–	–	19,065
Essex North		CCF		Lib	10,051	39.85%	2,243	8.89%	70.07%	7,808	10,051	7,362	–	–	–	–	–	25,221
Essex South		PC		PC	9,797	64.50%	5,266	34.67%	66.29%	9,797	4,531	861	–	–	–	–	–	15,189
Fort William		Lib		PC	8,057	42.60%	722	3.82%	72.57%	8,057	7,335	3,157	–	–	–	366	–	18,915
Glengarry		PC		PC	5,298	55.23%	1,003	10.46%	76.01%	5,298	4,295	–	–	–	–	–	–	9,593
Grenville—Dundas		PC		PC	7,797	66.01%	3,783	32.03%	56.63%	7,797	4,014	0	–	–	–	–	–	11,811
Grey North		PC		PC	9,068	58.74%	4,813	31.18%	74.85%	9,068	4,255	2,115	–	–	–	–	–	15,438
Grey South		Lib		Lib	6,256	49.44%	939	7.42%	76.75%	5,317	6,256	1,080	–	–	–	–	–	12,653
Haldimand—Norfolk		PC		PC	11,298	51.58%	2,430	11.09%	69.31%	11,298	8,868	1,739	–	–	–	–	–	21,905
Halton		PC		PC	9,063	51.61%	2,762	15.73%	67.60%	9,063	6,301	2,197	–	–	–	–	–	17,561
Hamilton East		CCF		PC	9,336	44.36%	1,850	8.79%	51.77%	9,336	4,224	7,486	–	–	–	–	–	21,046
Hamilton Centre		CCF		PC	7,753	42.44%	1,577	8.63%	61.16%	7,753	4,341	6,176	–	–	–	–	–	18,270
Hamilton—Wentworth		PC		PC	11,865	55.58%	6,800	31.85%	63.10%	11,865	5,065	4,417	–	–	–	–	–	21,347
Hastings East*		PC		PC	6,294	56.76%	2,198	19.82%	72.42%	6,294	4,096	699	–	–	–	–	–	11,089
Hastings West		PC		PC	10,299	55.37%	3,279	17.63%	70.78%	10,299	7,020	1,283	–	–	–	–	–	18,602
Huron		PC		PC	8,005	54.88%	1,424	9.76%	80.51%	8,005	6,581	–	–	–	–	–	–	14,586
Huron—Bruce		PC		PC	7,431	58.48%	2,155	16.96%	76.89%	7,431	5,276	–	–	–	–	–	–	12,707
Kenora		PC		LL	4,776	43.58%	133	1.21%	66.00%	4,643	4,776	1,541	–	–	–	–	–	10,960
Kent East		Lib		PC	6,891	56.75%	1,640	13.51%	72.82%	6,891	5,251	0	–	–	–	–	–	12,142
Kent West		PC		PC	12,194	55.26%	3,858	17.48%	68.55%	12,194	8,336	1,536	–	–	–	–	–	22,066
Kingston*		PC		PC	9,924	57.34%	3,518	20.33%	74.21%	9,924	6,406	978	–	–	–	–	–	17,308
Lambton East		PC		PC	6,610	58.35%	1,891	16.69%	67.25%	6,610	4,719	–	–	–	–	–	–	11,329
Lambton West		PC		PC	10,814	59.13%	5,983	32.72%	64.16%	10,814	4,831	2,642	–	–	–	–	–	18,287
Lanark		PC		PC	12,071	77.56%	9,109	58.53%	70.02%	12,071	2,962	531	–	–	–	–	–	15,564
Leeds		PC		PC	10,658	61.01%	3,848	22.03%	74.32%	10,658	6,810	–	–	–	–	–	–	17,468
Lincoln		PC		PC	15,477	45.61%	5,887	17.35%	65.01%	15,477	9,590	8,032	–	–	–	834	–	33,933
London		Lib		PC	13,926	47.38%	3,112	10.59%	61.06%	13,926	10,814	4,655	–	–	–	–	–	29,395
Middlesex North		PC		PC	8,607	49.29%	2,981	17.07%	57.63%	8,607	5,626	3,229	–	–	–	–	–	17,462
Middlesex South		PC		PC	8,461	58.27%	3,324	22.89%	65.08%	8,461	5,137	922	–	–	–	–	–	14,520
Muskoka—Ontario		PC		PC	9,370	54.17%	2,807	16.23%	73.86%	9,370	6,563	1,364	–	–	–	–	–	17,297
Niagara Falls		Lib		Lib	10,209	48.79%	3,263	15.59%	61.57%	6,946	10,209	3,769	–	–	–	–	–	20,924
Nipissing		PC		PC	8,219	46.73%	1,409	8.01%	65.11%	8,219	6,810	2,561	–	–	–	–	–	17,590
Northumberland		PC		PC	10,140	62.43%	4,039	24.87%	78.11%	10,140	6,101	–	–	–	–	–	–	16,241
Ontario		CCF		CCF	12,054	40.17%	2,178	7.26%	71.44%	9,876	7,806	12,054	–	–	–	268	–	30,004
Ottawa East		Lib		Lib	10,722	50.08%	2,275	10.63%	58.34%	8,447	10,722	2,242	–	–	–	–	–	21,411
Ottawa South		PC		PC	19,908	55.98%	7,464	20.99%	59.72%	19,908	12,444	3,212	–	–	–	–	–	35,564
Oxford		PC		PC	10,026	45.17%	196	0.88%	68.16%	10,026	9,830	2,338	–	–	–	–	–	22,194
Parry Sound		PC		PC	6,348	60.24%	2,158	20.48%	68.87%	6,348	4,190	–	–	–	–	–	–	10,538
Peel		PC		PC	12,528	56.61%	6,817	30.80%	66.22%	12,528	5,711	3,893	–	–	–	–	–	22,132
Perth		PC		PC	11,697	50.21%	2,577	11.06%	69.05%	11,697	9,120	2,477	–	–	–	–	–	23,294
Peterborough		PC		PC	14,442	58.48%	6,802	27.54%	67.14%	14,442	7,640	2,614	–	–	–	–	–	24,696
Port Arthur		CCF		PC	7,758	37.38%	1,586	7.64%	63.89%	7,758	5,447	6,172	–	–	1,375 [a 3]	–	–	20,752
Prescott		PC		PC	7,046	57.11%	1,960	15.89%	76.77%	7,046	5,086	56	–	149	–	–	–	12,337
Prince Edward—Lennox		Lib		PC	7,565	54.30%	1,197	8.59%	100.23%	7,565	6,368	–	–	–	–	–	–	13,933
Rainy River		LL		PC	3,633	44.04%	470	5.70%	72.52%	3,633	3,163	1,454	–	–	–	–	–	8,250
Renfrew North		PC		PC	7,769	57.93%	2,127	15.86%	67.59%	7,769	5,642	–	–	–	–	–	–	13,411
Renfrew South		PC		PC	6,875	56.00%	1,937	15.78%	68.97%	6,875	4,938	463	–	–	–	–	–	12,276
Russell		PC		PC	6,946	44.31%	10	0.06%	55.68%	6,946	6,936	1,794	–	–	–	–	–	15,676
Sault Ste. Marie		CCF		PC	7,359	39.42%	1,308	7.01%	71.24%	7,359	6,051	5,257	–	–	–	–	–	18,667
Simcoe Centre		PC		PC	7,721	57.03%	1,903	14.06%	62.02%	7,721	5,818	–	–	–	–	–	–	13,539
Simcoe East		PC		PC	8,634	55.91%	3,565	23.08%	72.59%	8,634	5,069	1,741	–	–	–	–	–	15,444
Stormont		PC		Lib	9,383	50.32%	1,680	9.01%	70.95%	7,703	9,383	1,560	–	–	–	–	–	18,646
Sudbury		PC		PC	14,056	44.91%	2,418	7.73%	65.77%	14,056	11,638	5,605	–	–	–	–	–	31,299
Temiskaming		CCF		PC	4,328	39.53%	663	6.05%	73.61%	4,328	2,957	3,665	–	–	–	–	–	10,950
Victoria		PC		PC	12,423	81.02%	9,512	62.03%	69.66%	12,423	2,911	–	–	–	–	–	–	15,334
Waterloo North		Lib		PC	9,873	35.22%	161	0.57%	58.54%	9,873	9,712	8,445	–	–	–	–	–	28,030
Waterloo South		CCF		PC	8,239	40.57%	1,249	6.15%	68.30%	8,239	5,078	6,990	–	–	–	–	–	20,307
Welland		Lib		PC	10,390	40.27%	482	1.87%	68.83%	10,390	9,908	4,709	791	–	–	–	–	25,798
Wellington North		Lib		PC	7,159	49.85%	602	4.19%	75.90%	7,159	6,557	645	–	–	–	–	–	14,361
Wellington South		PC		PC	8,208	43.65%	2,235	11.88%	71.77%	8,208	5,973	4,625	–	–	–	–	–	18,806
Wentworth		CCF		PC	11,004	37.97%	408	1.41%	53.08%	11,004	7,383	10,596	–	–	–	–	–	28,983
Windsor—Walkerville		PC		PC	8,858	48.60%	3,801	20.86%	66.24%	8,858	3,451	5,057	859	–	–	–	–	18,225
Windsor—Sandwich		PC		PC	11,666	53.32%	6,501	29.71%	63.81%	11,666	5,050	5,165	–	–	–	–	–	21,881
York East		CCF		PC	30,944	47.78%	8,708	13.45%	56.23%	30,944	11,581	22,236	–	–	–	–	–	64,761
York North		PC		PC	19,518	49.00%	8,159	20.48%	59.64%	19,518	11,359	8,955	–	–	–	–	–	39,832
York South		CCF		PC	13,760	39.61%	514	1.48%	58.74%	13,760	6,870	13,246	867	–	–	–	–	34,743
York West		CCF		PC	24,614	47.62%	7,573	14.65%	65.39%	24,614	10,034	17,041	–	–	–	–	–	51,689
Beaches		CCF		PC	9,904	49.28%	2,679	13.33%	66.15%	9,904	2,970	7,225	–	–	–	–	–	20,099
Bellwoods		Lab-Pr		PC	5,571	33.39%	298	1.79%	64.56%	5,571	5,273	2,483	3,357	–	–	–	–	16,684
Bracondale		CCF		PC	6,213	42.17%	1,720	11.67%	59.11%	6,213	4,028	4,493	–	–	–	–	–	14,734
Dovercourt		CCF		PC	8,595	38.98%	462	2.10%	59.97%	8,595	5,321	8,133	–	–	–	–	–	22,049
Eglinton		PC		PC	21,876	65.20%	14,783	44.06%	66.98%	21,876	7,093	4,585	–	–	–	–	–	33,554
High Park		CCF		PC	10,360	44.30%	2,399	10.26%	67.71%	10,360	5,065	7,961	–	–	–	–	–	23,386
Parkdale		CCF		PC	10,914	42.58%	2,501	9.76%	61.82%	10,914	6,304	8,413	–	–	–	–	–	25,631
Riverdale		CCF		PC	10,736	45.57%	3,570	15.15%	60.36%	10,736	5,285	7,166	–	–	–	–	371	23,558
St. Andrew		Lab-Pr		Lab-Pr	5,220	38.85%	1,365	10.16%	56.64%	3,855	2,046	1,915	5,220	–	–	401	–	13,437
St. David		CCF		PC	6,880	40.64%	1,232	7.28%	57.90%	6,880	4,401	5,648	–	–	–	–	–	16,929
St. George		PC		PC	10,333	56.86%	5,904	32.49%	54.42%	10,333	3,410	4,429	–	–	–	–	–	18,172
St. Patrick		PC		PC	7,400	57.97%	4,496	35.22%	53.52%	7,400	2,462	2,904	–	–	–	–	–	12,766
Woodbine		CCF		PC	10,445	43.97%	1,167	4.91%	61.78%	10,445	4,030	9,278	–	–	–	–	–	23,753

1. including spoilt ballots
2. order is as given in EO reports
3. Bruce Magnuson, who later became the Labor-Progressive leader in Ontario in 1956

  = 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

Analysis

Party candidates in 2nd place

Party in 1st place		Party in 2nd place				Total
		PC	Lib	LL	CCF
	Progressive Conservative		57	1	21	79
	Liberal	6			1	7
	Liberal–Labour	1				1
	Co-operative Commonwealth	2				2
	Labor–Progressive	1				1
Total		10	57	1	22	90

Candidates ranked 1st to 5th place, by party

Parties	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	Total
█  Progressive Conservative	79	10	1			90
█  Liberal	7	57	24			88
█  Co-operative Commonwealth	2	22	50	3		77
█  Liberal–Labour	1	1				2
█  Labor–Progressive	1		1	4		6
█ Independent PC			1	1		2
█  Independent				3	1	4
█  Independent Labour				1		1
█  Socialist Labour				1		1

Resulting composition of the 24th Legislative Assembly of Ontario

Source		Party
		PC	Lib	L-L	CCF	Lab-Pr	Total
Seats retained	Incumbents returned	44	5		2	1
	Open seats held	7
Seats changing hands	Incumbents defeated	26	2
	Open seats gained	2		1
Total		79	7	1	2	1	90

Seats that changed hands

Elections to the 24th Parliament of Ontario – seats won/lost by party, 1948–1951

Party		1948	Gain from (loss to)										1951
			PC		Lib		CCF		Lbr-P		L-L
	Progressive Conservative	53			8	(1)	18		1				79
	Liberal	13	1	(8)			1						7
	Co-operative Commonwealth	21		(18)		(1)							2
	Labor–Progressive	2		(1)									1
	Liberal–Labour	1	1	(1)									1
Total		90	2	(28)	8	(2)	19	–	1	–	–	–	90

There were 29 seats that changed allegiance in the election.

CCF to PC Beaches Bracondale Dovercourt Hamilton Centre Hamilton East High Park Parkdale Port Arthur Riverdale Sault Ste. Marie St. David Timiskaming Waterloo South Wentworth Woodbine York East York South York West

CCF to Liberal Essex North PC to Liberal Stormont PC to Liberal-Labour Kenora Liberal to PC Bruce Fort William Kent East London Prince Edward—Lennox Waterloo North Welland Wellington North Labor-Progressive to PC Bellwoods Liberal-Labour to PC Rainy River

See also

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

References

1. "1951 Ontario general election". Elections Ontario. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
2. The Active Service Election Act, 1945 , S.O. 1945 (1st sess.), c. 1
3. The Active Service Election Act, 1951 , S.O. 1951, c. 1
4. The Election Act, 1951 , S.O. 1951, c. 21
5. The Voters' Lists Act, 1951 , S.O. 1951, c. 93
6. "Canadian conservatives gaining in popularity". The Calgary Herald. October 27, 1951. p. 11.
7. "Survey indicates CCF slipping in Ontario". The Calgary Herald. June 8, 1951. p. 5.
8. Significant EO data transcription errors corrected, using "Results By Constituencies In Ontario Provincial Elections". Ottawa Citizen . November 23, 1951. p. 3.