Prince Edward Island general election, 1935

Last updated
Prince Edward Island general election, 1935
Flag of Prince Edward Island.svg
  1931 July 23, 1935 (1935-07-23) 1939  

30 seats of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island
16 seats needed for a majority
 First partySecond party
  Walter Maxfield Lea.jpg William Macmillan.jpg
Leader Walter Lea William J. P. MacMillan
Party Liberal Conservative
Leader since19301933
Leader's seat 4th Prince 5th Queens (lost)
Last election12 seats, 48.3%18 seats, 51.7%
Seats won300
Seat changeIncrease2.svg18Decrease2.svg18
Popular vote43,82431,840
Percentage57.9%42.1%
SwingIncrease2.svg9.6pp Decrease2.svg9.6pp

Prince Edward Island General Election 1935.png
Map of PEI's ridings coloured in based on how they voted

Premier before election

William J. P. MacMillan
Conservative

Premier-designate

Walter Lea
Liberal

The 1935 Prince Edward Island general election was held in the Canadian Province of Prince Edward Island on 23 July 1935. [1] The Liberal party swept the board by winning every seat in every constituency. This was the first time in the British Commonwealth that a government would face no opposition in an elected chamber. [2] To date, this feat has only been accomplished one other time in Canadian history, the 1987 New Brunswick election.

Canada Country in North America

Canada is a country in the northern part of North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering 9.98 million square kilometres, making it the world's second-largest country by total area. Canada's southern border with the United States, stretching some 8,891 kilometres (5,525 mi), is the world's longest bi-national land border. Its capital is Ottawa, and its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. As a whole, Canada is sparsely populated, the majority of its land area being dominated by forest and tundra. Consequently, its population is highly urbanized, with over 80 percent of its inhabitants concentrated in large and medium-sized cities, with 70% of citizens residing within 100 kilometres (62 mi) of the southern border. Canada's climate varies widely across its vast area, ranging from arctic weather in the north, to hot summers in the southern regions, with four distinct seasons.

Prince Edward Island Province of Canada

Prince Edward Island is a province of Canada consisting of the Atlantic island of the same name along with several much smaller islands nearby. PEI is one of the three Maritime Provinces. It is the smallest province of Canada in both land area and population, but it is the most densely populated. Part of the traditional lands of the Mi'kmaq, it became a British colony in the 1700s and was federated into Canada as a province in 1873. Its capital is Charlottetown. According to the 2016 census, the province of PEI has 142,907 residents.

Contents

Background

The 1935 election took place in the shadow of the Great Depression. In 1931, the Conservative Party, then under James David Stewart, defeated the incumbent Liberal government, installing Stewart as Premier. As Premier, Stewart worked to get federal assistance in combating the Depression, but stress caused him to die in office in 1933.

Great Depression 20th-century worldwide economic depression

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression that took place mostly during the 1930s, beginning in the United States. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations; in most countries it started in 1929 and lasted until the late-1930s. It was the longest, deepest, and most widespread depression of the 20th century. In the 21st century, the Great Depression is commonly used as an example of how intensely the world's economy can decline.

James David Stewart Canadian politician

James David Stewart was a Prince Edward Island educator, lawyer and politician, the province's 15th Premier.

When Stewart's health was failing, he was replaced as acting Premier by William J. P. MacMillan, who took over for Stewart upon his death. MacMillan continued Stewart's policies of increased economic spending and government assistance, until the election in 1935.

William J. P. MacMillan Canadian politician

William Joseph Parnell MacMillan was a physician and Prince Edward Island politician.

Walter Lea, a farmer by trade, had been elected to the Legislature in 1915, and had been Premier before Stewart from 1930-31. During his time as Premier, he "undertook many initiatives to improve and diversify the island’s agricultural industry". [3] After his loss to James Stewart, he continued in opposition until 1935. By the time the 1935 election came around, Lea was very ill. He coordinated most of the campaign "from a hospital bed for six weeks, and then from his home for the remainder of the election. He made only one public appearance during the entire campaign". [3]

Results

30
Liberal
PartyParty LeaderSeatsPopular Vote
1931ElectedChange#%Change
  Liberal Walter Lea 1230+1843,82457.9%+9.6%
  Conservative William J. P. MacMillan 18--1831,84042.1%-9.6%

The Liberal Party, under Lea, won all 30 seats in the House of Assembly, a feat that had never been accomplished before in the Commonwealth. News media across the Commonwealth broadcast the story. When faced with this unusual institutional setup, Lea had several members of his own party act as members of the opposition, as an actual opposition party did not exist within the legislature. [3] This step was also used in the New Brunswick Legislative Assembly after the 1987 election, in which the New Brunswick Liberal Party won all 58 seats in the Legislative Assembly.

New Brunswick Liberal Association political party in New Brunswick, Canada

The New Brunswick Liberal Association, more popularly known as the New Brunswick Liberal Party or Liberal Party of New Brunswick, is one of the two major provincial political parties in New Brunswick, Canada. The party descended from both the Confederation Party and the Anti-Confederation Party whose members split into left-wing and right-wing groups following the creation of Canada as a nation in 1867.

Lea died a few months into his mandate, and was replaced by Thane Campbell, who served as Premier until 1943.

Thane Campbell Canadian politician

Thane Alexander Campbell, was a Prince Edward Island politician and jurist, who served as the 19th Premier of Prince Edward Island from 1936 to 1943.

Members

The Legislature of Prince Edward Island had two levels of membership from 1893 to 1996 - Assemblymen and Councillors. This was a holdover from when the Island had a bicameral legislature, the General Assembly and the Legislative Council.

In 1893, the Legislative Council was abolished and had its membership merged with the Assembly, though the two titles remained separate and were elected by different electoral franchises. Assembleymen were elected by all eligible voters of within a district, while Councillors were only elected by landowners within a district. [4]

Kings

DistrictAssemblymanPartyCouncillorParty
1st Kings    Peter A. MacIsaac Liberal    Herbert H. Acorn Liberal
2nd Kings    Harry Cox Liberal    James P. McIntyre Liberal
3rd Kings    John Mustard Liberal    Stephen Hessian Liberal
4th Kings    John A. Campbell Liberal    Montague Annear Liberal
5th Kings    William Hughes Liberal    George Saville Liberal

Queens

DistrictAssemblymanPartyCouncillorParty
1st Queens    Donald N. McKay Liberal    W. F. Alan Stewart Liberal
2nd Queens    Angus McPhee Liberal    Bradford W. LePage Liberal
3rd Queens    Russell C. Clark Liberal    Mark R. MacGuigan Liberal
4th Queens    Dougald MacKinnon Liberal    John Walter Jones Liberal
5th Queens    T. William L. Prowse Liberal    C. St. Clair Trainor Liberal

Prince

DistrictAssemblymanPartyCouncillorParty
1st Prince    Aeneas Gallant Liberal    Thane Alexander Campbell Liberal
2nd Prince    George H. Barbour Liberal    William H. Dennis Liberal
3rd Prince    Marin Gallant Liberal    Thomas Linkletter Liberal
4th Prince    Cleveland Baker Liberal   
Walter Lea Liberal
5th Prince    Edward P. Foley Liberal    Lucas R. Allan Liberal

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The politics of Prince Edward Island are centred on a provincial government resembling that of the other Canadian provinces. The capital of the province of Prince Edward Island is Charlottetown, where reside the premier, provincial legislature, lieutenant-governor and cabinet.

References

  1. "Provincial General Election Results, 1935" (PDF). Elections PEI.
  2. "Walter Maxfield Lea". PEI Legislative Documents Online.
  3. 1 2 3 "Lea's Landslide". Canada's History. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
  4. Fred Driscoll. "History and Politics of Prince Edward Island" (PDF). Canadian Parliamentary Review.