Alberta general election, 1948
The Alberta general election of 1948 was the eleventh general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on August 17, 1948 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.
Ernest C. Manning led the Social Credit to a fourth term in government, increasing its share of the popular vote further above the 50% mark it had set in the 1944 election. It won the same number of seats -- 51 of the 57 seats in the legislature -- that it had won in the previous election.
The remaining seats were won by the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation, the Liberal Party and independents.
Along with this election voters got to also vote in the first province wide plebiscite in the provinces history. The ballot asked voters about utility regulation.
| Contents |
Results
| Party | Party Leader | # of candidates | Seats | Popular Vote | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1944 | Elected | % Change | # | % | % Change | ||||
| Social Credit | 57 | 51 | 51 | - | 164,003 | 55.63% | +3.75% | ||
| Cooperative Commonwealth | <center> | 51 | 2 | 2 | - | 56,387 | 19.13% | -5.79% | |
| Liberal | <center> | 49 | * | 2 | * | 52,655 | 17.86% | * | |
| Independent | 7 | 3 | 1 | -66.7% | 9,014 | 3.05% | -13.70% | ||
| Independent Social Credit | 3 | * | 1 | * | 2,958 | 1.00% | * | ||
| Independent Citizen's | <center> | 2 | * | - | * | 3,969 | 1.35% | * | |
| Labour | <center> | 1 | * | - | * | 3,579 | 1.21% | * | |
| Labour Progressive | <center> | 2 | - | - | 1,372 | 0.47% | -3.79% | ||
| United Labour | <center> | 1 | * | - | *. | 856 | 0.30% | * | |
| Total | 173 | 57 | 57 | - | 294,793 | 100% | <center> | ||
| Source: Elections Alberta | |||||||||
Note:
* Party did not nominate candidates in the previous election.
Electrification plebiscite
The electrification plebiscite was the first of four plebiscites conducted province-wide in Alberta's history. The ballot was not a traditional yes/no question, but presented two options on electricity regulation, asking if the province should create a Crown corporation to manage electricity, or leave the electricity industry unregulated.
The result shows how divided the province was on the issue, with a plurality of only 151 votes in favour of leaving the province deregulated.
| Option A | Option B |
|---|---|
| Are you in favour of the generation and distribution of electricity being continued by the Power Companies? | Are you in favour of the generation and distribution of electricity being made a publicly owned utility administered by the Alberta Government Power Commission? |
| 139,991 50.03% | 139,840 49.97% |
For a break down of results, please see individual districts.
Members elected
For complete electoral history, see individual districts
| 11th Alberta Legislative Assembly | |||
| District | Member | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acadia-Coronation | C.H. Gerhart | Social Credit | |
| Alexandria | Andres Aalborg | Social Credit | |
| Athabasca | Gordon Lee | Social Credit | |
| Banff-Cochrane | Arthur Wray | Independent Social Credit | |
| Beaver River | Harry Lobay | Social Credit | |
| Bow Valley-Empress | Wilson Cain | Social Credit | |
| Bruce | Earl Hardy | Social Credit | |
| Calgary #1 | Rose Wilkinson | Social Credit | |
| Calgary #2 | Fred Colborne | Social Credit | |
| Calgary #3 | Howard Macdonald | Independent | |
| Calgary #4 | Hugh John Macdonald | Liberal | |
| 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 | James Underdahl | Social Credit | |
| Didsbury | Howard Hammell | Social Credit | |
| Drumheller | Gordon Taylor | Social Credit | |
| Edmonton #1 | Elmer Roper | Cooperative Commonwealth | |
| Edmonton #2 | Lou Heard | Social Credit | |
| Edmonton #3 | Ernest Manning | Social Credit | |
| Edmonton #4 | James Prowse | Liberal | |
| Edmonton #5 | Clayton Adams | Social Credit | |
| Edson | Norman Willmore | Social Credit | |
| Gliechen | George E. Bell | Social Credit | |
| Grand Prarie | Ira McLaughlin | Social Credit | |
| Grouard | J.B.T. Wood | 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 | William Kovach | Social Credit | |
| Ponoka | Ora Moore | Social Credit | |
| Red Deer | David A. Ure | Social Credit | |
| Redwater | Peter Chaba | Social Credit | |
| Rocky Mountain House | Alfred Hooke | Social Credit | |
| Sedgewick | Albert Fee | Social Credit | |
| Spirit River | Henry DeBolt | Social Credit | |
| St. Albert | Lucien Maynard | 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 | Leonard Halmrast | Social Credit | |
| Wetaskiwin | John Wingblade | Social Credit | |
| Willingdon | William Tomyn | Social Credit | |
See also
- 1957 Liquor Plebiscite
- 1967 Daylight Savings Plebiscite
- 1971 Daylight Savings Plebiscite
- List of Alberta political parties
| Preceded by: 1944 Alberta election | Alberta elections | Followed by: 1952 Alberta election |