Alberta general election, 1944
The Alberta general election of 1944 was the tenth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on August 8, 1944 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.
After the death of Social Credit Party founder and premier William Aberhart in 1943, Ernest C. Manning became leader. Manning steered the party down a more moderate path, largely dispensing with the party's social credit policies of monetary reform that it had been unable to implement.
Manning led Social Credit to a third term in government with a resounding victory in the 1944 election, winning over 50% of the popular vote. The Liberal and Conservative parties continued their strategy of running joint candidates as independents, but were even less successful that in the 1940 election: independents' share of the popular vote declined by 25 percentage points. This brought the "Independents Movement" or "Unity Movement" to an end.
The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation won almost a quarter of the popular vote, but only two seats in the legislature.
| Contents |
Results
| Party | Party Leader | # of candidates | Seats | Popular Vote | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940 | Elected | % Change | # | % | % Change | ||||
| Social Credit | 57 | 36 | 51 | +41.7% | 146,367 | 51.88% | +8.98% | ||
| Independent | 36 | 19 | 3 | -84.2% | 47,239 | 16.75% | -25.72% | ||
| Cooperative Commonwealth | <center> | 57 | - | 2 | 70,307 | 24.92% | +13.81 | ||
| Veteran's & Active Force | <center> William J. Williams | 1 | * | 1 | * | 3,532 | 1.25% | * | |
| Labour Progressive 1 | <center> | 30 | - | - | - | 12,003 | 4.26% | +3.91% | |
| Labour United | <center> | 1 | * | - | * | 1,788 | 0.63% | * | |
| Single Tax | <center> | 1 | * | - | * | 480 | 0.17% | * | |
| Farmer's Labour | <center> | 1 | * | - | * | 390 | 0.14% | * | |
| Total | 184 | 57 | 57 | - | 282,106 | 100% | <center> | ||
| Source: Elections Alberta | |||||||||
Notes:
1 Compared to the Communist Party results from the previous election.
* Party did not nominate candidates in the previous election.
1944 soldiers' vote
Three members of the armed forces fighting in World War II were elected after the 1944 election to represent Alberta troops fighting overseas. The soldiers' Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) were non-partisan and sat on the opposition side. The number of seats increased to 60. One member represented each branch of the service: Army, Navy and Air Force. This was the second at-large soldiers' vote held in the province's history, the first being in 1917.
| 10th Alberta Legislative Assembly Soldiers representatives | |||
| Branch | Member | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Air Force | Wing Commander Fred Colborne | ||
| Navy | Chief Petty Officer Loftus Ward | ||
| Army | Captain James Prowse | ||
Note:
- Vote counts, losing candidates and exact date are not avalible
- The Veterans and Active Force that ran in the main election was not affiliated with this sub-election.
Members elected
For complete electoral history, see individual districts
| 10th Alberta Legislative Assembly General Election | |||
| District | Member | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acadia-Coronation | C.H. Gerhart | Social Credit | |
| Alexandria | Selmer Berg | Social Credit | |
| Athabasca | Gordon Lee | Social Credit | |
| Banff-Cochrane | Arthur Wray | Social Credit | |
| Beaver River | Lucien Maynard | Social Credit | |
| Bow Valley-Empress | Wilson Cain | Social Credit | |
| Bruce | J.L. McPherson | Social Credit | |
| Calgary #1 | Rose Wilkinson | Social Credit | |
| Calgary #2 | Howard Macdonald | Independent | |
| Calgary #3 | Andrew Davison | Independent | |
| Calgary #4 | Fred Anderson | Social Credit | |
| Calgary #5 | A.J.E. Liesemer | Cooperative Commonwealth | |
| Camrose | Chester Sayers | Social Credit | |
| Cardston | N.E. Tanner | Social Credit | |
| Clover Bar | Floyd Baker | Social Credit | |
| Cypress | Edith Thurston | Social Credit | |
| Didsbury | Howard Hammell | Social Credit | |
| Drumheller | Gordon Taylor | Social Credit | |
| Edmonton #1 | Elmer Roper | Cooperative Commonwealth | |
| Edmonton #2 | Ernest Manning | Social Credit | |
| Edmonton #3 | John P. Page | Independent | |
| Edmonton #4 | William J. Williams | Veteran's & Active Force | |
| Edmonton #5 | Norman James | Social Credit | |
| Edson | Norman Willmore | Social Credit | |
| Gliechen | George E. Bell | Social Credit | |
| Grand Prarie | Ira McLaughlin | Social Credit | |
| Grouard | W.A. Fallow | Social Credit | |
| Hand Hills | W.W. Cross | Social Credit | |
| Innisfail | A.E. MacLellan | Social Credit | |
| Lac St. Anne | A.V. Bourcier | Social Credit | |
| Lacombe | D.B. MacMillan | Social Credit | |
| Leduc | Ronald Ansley | Social Credit | |
| Lethbridge | John Landeryou | Social Credit | |
| Little Bow | Peter Dawson | Social Credit | |
| Macleod | James Hartley | Social Credit | |
| Medicine Hat | John L. Robinson | Social Credit | |
| Okotoks-High River | Ivan Casey | Social Credit | |
| Olds | Norman E. Cook | Social Credit | |
| Peace River | William Gilliland | Social Credit | |
| Pembina | Robin Jorgenson | Social Credit | |
| Pincher Creek-Crowsnest | E.O. Duke | Social Credit | |
| Ponoka | Ora Moore | Social Credit | |
| Red Deer | David A. Ure | Social Credit | |
| Redwater | James Popil | Social Credit | |
| Rocky Mountain House | Alfred Hooke | Social Credit | |
| Sedgewick | Albert Fee | Social Credit | |
| Spirit River | Henry DeBolt | Social Credit | |
| St. Albert | Charles Holder | Social Credit | |
| St. Paul | J.W. Beaudry | Social Credit | |
| Stettler | William Mackie | Social Credit | |
| Stony Plain | Cornelia Wood | Social Credit | |
| Taber | Roy S. Lee | Social Credit | |
| Vegreville | Michael Ponich | Social Credit | |
| Vermillion | William Cornish | Social Credit | |
| Wainwright | William Masson | Social Credit | |
| Warner | Solon Low | Social Credit | |
| Wetaskiwin | John Wingblade | Social Credit | |
| Willingdon | William Tomyn | Social Credit | |
See also
| Preceded by: 1940 Alberta election | Alberta elections | Followed by: 1948 Alberta election |