1922 Manitoba general election

The 1922 Manitoba general election was held on July 18, 1922 to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada. The United Farmers of Manitoba won a narrow majority in the legislature.

1922 Manitoba general election

← 1920 July 18, 1922 1927 →
55 seats of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba 27 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader none Tobias Norris Party Progressive Liberal Leader since 1910 Leader's seat Lansdowne Last election 10 21 Seats won 28 8 Seat change 18 13 Popular vote 49,767 35,225 Percentage 32.8% 23.2% Swing 18.7pp 11.9pp   Third party Fourth party   Leader Fawcett Taylor Fred Dixon Party Conservative Dominion Labour Leader since April 5, 1922 March 1918 Leader's seat Portage la Prairie Winnipeg Last election 8 8 Seats won 7 5 Seat change 1 3 Popular vote 23,539 16,781 Percentage 15.5% 11.1% Swing 2.0pp 5.2pp
Premier before election Tobias Norris Liberal Premier after election John Bracken Progressive

As in the previous election of 1920, the city of Winnipeg elected ten members by the single transferable ballot. All other constituencies elected one member by first-past-the-post balloting. Before the next election, the 1927 Manitoba general election, the districts outside Winnipeg switched to Instant-runoff voting.

Summary

This election was a watershed moment in Manitoba's political history. Since the formal introduction of partisan government in 1888, Manitoba had been governed alternately by the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party. Although the previous election of 1920 sustained the Liberals in power, it also saw the two-party dichotomy weakened by the rise of farmer and labour parliamentary blocs. Having a minority government, the Liberals had not control of the majority in the Legislature and therefore had had to depend on support from other parties to remain in power. The support had been there until MLA P.A. Talbot learned that the government had not abolished the public utilities commission as a majority of MLAs had voted to happen in the first season of the government. He proposed a vote of censure on the government, and when that passed, Premier Norris's cabinet resigned.^[1]

In 1922, the old parties were mostly swept away by the United Farmers of Manitoba (UFM). The UFM and Progressives candidates won 25 seats out of 52. Elections in three northern seats were deferred until later dates for logistical reasons.

The UFM had existed for several years as a farmer's organization, but some of its members ran as "Independent-Farmers" in the 1920 election. In 1921, however, the UFM announced it would field candidates during the 1922 campaign. The UFM was opposed to partisanship, and its most prominent members insisted that it was not a "party" in the traditional sense. UFM candidates often highlighted their lack of experience in partisan politics, and promised to govern the province in a restrained and responsible manner if elected to office.

The UFM membership was also heterogeneous. Although many supporters were free-trade agrarian Liberals before 1920, a number were also Conservatives. Some prominent UFM figures were also notable members of Manitoba's francophone community, which generally supported the Conservative Party before 1920.

The United Farmers fielded candidates in rural constituencies, and also endorsed candidates of the Progressive Association in Winnipeg. Even with these endorsements, the UFM operated on a shoestring budget, and fielded candidates in only two-thirds of the ridings. However, in a major upset, the UFM and Progressives won 25 seats out of 52.

Not even the UFM had expected to win government. Indeed, its expectations were so low that it had not had a formal leader during the campaign. Thus, when the UFM caucus met after the election, its first task was to choose a leader who would become premier. Thomas Crerar and Robert Hoey declined invitations to govern, and the caucus turned to John Bracken, president of the Manitoba Agricultural College. Although he had no political experience, Bracken accepted the appointment. He ran in one of the deferred elections, in The Pas, and was elected.

The UFM also won the deferred elections in Ethelbert and Rupertsland. This gave the government a bare majority of two seats. The UFM's political arm branded itself as the Progressive Party of Manitoba.

The other parties fared poorly in the 1922 campaign. The Liberals, led by outgoing premier Tobias Norris, fell from twenty-one seats to eight. The Conservatives, under their newly chosen leader Fawcett Taylor, fell from eight seats to seven.

The Independent Labour Party also experienced difficulties. In the 1920 election, Manitoba's various left-wing and working-class groups submerged their differences to run a united campaign. This cooperation was successful, and eleven labour candidates were elected to form the second-largest parliamentary bloc. By the 1922 election, however, the Labour Party was beset by long-standing divisions among socialists, communists and conservative trade unionists.

A total of thirteen labour candidates ran for ten seats in Winnipeg. Six were members of the ILP, and a seventh, former Social Democrat John Queen, ran as an "Independent Workers" candidate allied with the ILP. The other candidates were divided among themselves. The banned Communist Party ran three candidates under its legal front, the Workers Party. These candidates disrupted meetings of Socialist incumbent George Armstrong, and accused him of selling out his principles to moderates and social gospellers. Two conservative trade-unionists also ran as Union Labour candidates, opposing radicalism in the labour movement.

Five ILP candidates were elected, and John Queen was also elected in Winnipeg. Labour leader Fred Dixon topped the poll in Winnipeg for a second time, although by a reduced margin from 1920. George Armstrong lost his Winnipeg seat, and no other labour candidates were elected. Six independent candidates were also elected.

The Progressives would go on to govern Manitoba alone until 1932, when they joined forces with the Liberals to form the "Liberal-Progressive Party." The Liberal-Progressives would go on to govern Manitoba, either alone or in coalition, until 1959.

Results

Summary of the 1922 election results for the 17th Manitoba Legislature

Party		Party leader	Candidates	Seats			Popular vote[a 1]
				1920	1922	+/—	1920	1922	+/—	%	Change
	Progressive	none	49	10	28	+18	20,299	49,767	+29,468	32.8%	+18.7%
	Liberal	Tobias Norris	38	21	8	-13	50,422	35,225	-15,197	23.2%	-11.9%
	Conservative	Fawcett Taylor	26	8	7	-1	25,083	23,539	-1,544	15.5%	-2.0%
	Dominion Labour Party	Fred Dixon	12	8	5	-3	23,390	16,781	-6,609	11.1%	-5.2%
	Independent		20	1	5	+4	14,145	15,434	+1,289	10.2%	+0.4%
	Moderation League	J.K. Downes	1	–	1	+1	–	3,621	+3,621	2.8%	n/a
	Independent Workers	John Queen[a 2]	1	1	1	–	1,253	2,348	+1,095	2.7%	+1.8%
	Brandon Labour Party	Albert Edward Smith	1	1	–	-1	2,007	2,060	+53	1.4%	–
	Labour		5	–	–	–	–	1,728	+1,728	1.1%	n/a
	Socialist	George Armstrong	1	1	–	-1	2,767	1,271	-1,496	0.8%	-1.1%
	Independent Farmer		–	3	–	-3	2,863	–	-2,863	–	n/a
	Independent-Conservative		–	1	–	-1	1,434	–	-1,434	–	n/a
Totals			154	55	55	–	143,663	151,774	+8,111	100.0%	–
Registered voters and turnout							209,760	222,499	+12,739	69.4%	-1.2%

1. includes first-preference votes in Winnipeg STV count
2. elected in 1920 under the Social Democratic ticket

Popular vote Progressive   32.79% Liberal   23.21% Conservative   15.51% DLP   11.06% Others   17.43%

Seats summary Progressive   50.91% Liberal   14.55% Conservative   12.73% DLP   9.09% Others   12.73%

Rural Manitoba

Electoral district	Candidates										Incumbent
	Progressive		Liberal		Conservative		Labour		Other
Arthur		Duncan Lloyd McLeod 1130		John Williams 777								John Williams
Beautiful Plains		George Little 1534		James A. Dempsey 429		Richard E. Coad 939						George Little
Birtle		William Short 1307		William Iverbach 710								George Malcolm
Brandon City								Albert Edward Smith (Brandon Labour Party/CLP) 2060		John Edmison (Ind) 3281		Albert Edward Smith
Carillon		Albert Prefontaine 1010								Maurice Duprey (Ind) 694		Maurice Duprey
Cypress		John Alexander Young 1205				William Spinks 1252						William Spinks
Dauphin		Henry Pears Nicholson 658		Archibald Esplen 825				George Palmer (ILP) 742				George Palmer
Deloraine		Duncan Stuart McLeod 1012		Robert Thornton 810		William Chalmers 829						Robert Thornton
Dufferin		William Brown 1645								Herbert Robinson (Ind) 1504		Edward August
Emerson		Robert Curran 566		H. Stewart 435		D.H. McFadden 567				Dmytro Yakimischak (Ind. Farmer) 998		Dmytro Yakimischak
Fairford		G.L. Marron 398		Albert Kirvan 810								Albert Kirvan
Fisher		Nicholas Bachynsky 581		John Garfield Hamilton 262						Henry L. Mabb (Ind) 354		Henry L. Mabb
Gilbert Plains		Arthur Berry 1034		George Darling Shortreed 317						Horace Priestly Barrett (Ind) 499		William Findlater
Gimli		Ingimar Ingaldson 1310		Michael Rojeski 1570		Elias Grabosky 103						Gudmundur Fjelsted
Gladstone		Albert McGregor 1527		David Smith 649		F.J. Erick Rhind 387						James Armstrong
Glenwood		Wellington Geddas Rathwell 950		James Breakey 1468								William Robson Ind. Farmer
Hamiota		Thomas Wolstenholme 1338		John Henry McConnell 935								John Henry McConnell
Iberville		Arthur Boivin 902		H.A. Mullins 290								Arthur Boivin
Killarney		Andrew Foster 949		Thomas H. Buck 394		G.W. Waldon 747						Samuel Fletcher
Lakeside		Douglas Campbell 1591				Herbert Muir 1101						Charles Duncan McPherson
Lansdowne		John Morrison Allen 1219		Tobias Norris 1680								Tobias Norris
La Verendrye		Philippe Adjutor Talbot 1134		L.P. Roy 694								Philippe Adjutor Talbot
Manitou		George Compton 1049		G.E. Davidson 531		John Ridley 1018				Joseph B. Lane (Ind) 548		John Ridley
Minnedosa		Neil Cameron 1966		A.W. Shaw 1160								George Grierson
Morden and Rhineland		John Sweet 960				John Kennedy 1297						John Kennedy
Morris		William Clubb 1222		Alex Ayotte 751								William Clubb
Mountain		Charles Cannon 1580		James Baird 968		George M. Fraser 578						James Baird
Norfolk		John Muirhead 1279				Reuben J. Waugh 1142						Reuben J. Waugh
Portage la Prairie				Charles D. McPherson 1307		Fawcett Taylor 1436						Fawcett Taylor
Roblin		Henry Richardson 1176				Fred Newton 1185						Henry Richardson
Rockwood		William McKinnell 1374				Harvey Hicks 706				Robert William Rutherford (Ind) 703		William McKinnell
Russell		Isaac Griffiths 1177		William W.W. Wilson 783		Edgar Carnegy De Balinhard 741						William W.W. Wilson
St. George		Albert E. Kristjansson 860		Skuli Sigfusson 1512								Albert E. Kristjansson
Ste. Rose		Thomas McDonald 1272								Joseph Hamelin (Ind) 1362		Joseph Hamelin
Swan River		Robert Emmond 1320				Daniel Hawe Sr. 548						Robert Emmond
Turtle Mountain		R.W. Ramson 955				Richard G. Willis 1059						George William McDonald
Virden		Robert Mooney 1638		George Clingan 961								George Clingan

Winnipeg suburbs

Electoral district	Candidates										Incumbent
	Progressive		Liberal		Conservative		Labour		Other
Assiniboia		Charles L. Richardson 999						William Bayley (ILP) 1844		William Bourke (Ind) 843 John Haddon (Ind) 494		William Bayley
Kildonan & St. Andrews		Samuel Henry Summerscales 828		Free Larter 977				Charles Albert Tanner (ILP) 1453				Charles Albert Tanner
St. Boniface				H.M. Sutherland 1176				Charles W. Foster (ILP) 1124		Joseph Bernier (Ind) 2024		Joseph Bernier
St. Clements		Hugh Connolly 532						Nicolas Kolisynk (Workers) 387 Matthew Stanbridge (ILP) 352		Donald Ross (Ind) 1245		Matthew Stanbridge
Springfield		Clifford Barclay 1014		William James Black 854		Samuel Leonard Henry 365						Arthur Moore

Winnipeg

Final results for Winnipeg: Liberal 2, Conservative 2, ILP 3, Moderation League 1, Independent Worker 1, Progressive Party 1

Valid votes: 44,328 Quota: 4030

Two were elected in the first count by achieving quota. One of them, Jacob, received votes exactly equal to quota. Three were elected at the end when the field of candidates was thinned to the number of remaining open seats. Their vote tallies never did come up to quota.

Eight of the front runners in the first count were elected so vote transfers affected the outcome for just two of the ten. The elected representation was more mixed and balanced than the result had been under first past the post in the two-member districts that had been in use in Winnipeg previously.

1922 election - Winnipeg (listed in order of 1st preference votes; number in brackets is the order in which elected) Party Candidate Maximum round Maximum votes Share in maximum round Maximum votes First round votesTransfer votes Independent Labour (incumbent)Fred Dixon (1) 1 7,971 18.0% ​​ Liberal Robert Jacob (2) 1 4,030 9.1% ​​ Moderation League J.K. Downes (3) 11 4,053 9.2% ​​ Conservative William Sanford Evans (4) 33 4,634 10.6% ​​ Conservative (incumbent)John Thomas Haig (5) 34 4,245 9.7% ​​ Independent Workers (incumbent)John Queen (6) 36 4,045 9.3% ​​ Liberal (incumbent)Edith Rogers (9) 37 3,485 8.3% ​​ Liberal (incumbent)Duncan Cameron 37 3,041 7.3% ​​ Socialist (incumbent)George Armstrong 35 2,064 4.7% ​​ Independent Labour (incumbent)William Ivens (8) 37 3,648 8.7% ​​ Independent Labour Seymour Farmer (7) 36 4,036 9.2% ​​ Progressive Richard Craig(10) 37 3,412 8.2% ​​ Progressive George Chipman 31 1,467 3.4% ​​ Conservative Arthur Sullivan 32 1,530 3.5% ​​ Progressive Thomas J. Murray 36 2,181 5.0% ​​ Workers Mathew Popovitch 28 1,039 2.4% ​​ Liberal W.H. Trueman 30 1,323 3.0% ​​ Progressive Patrick J. Henry 23 723 1.6% ​​ Liberal James McTavish 26 848 1.9% ​​ Liberal William James Donovan 27 922 2.1% ​​ Conservative (incumbent)William Johnston Tupper 24 754 1.7% ​​ Liberal W.R. Milton 29 1,070 2.4% ​​ Liberal Arni Eggertson 25 768 1.7% ​​ Conservative Daniel McLean 20 612 1.4% ​​ Progressive Charles K. Newcombe 21 654 1.5% ​​ Union Labour James Winning 22 683 1.5% ​​ Progressive Peter McCallum 18 521 1.2% ​​ Liberal Hugh D. Cutler 17 489 1.1% ​​ Conservative Mrs. L. Brown 16 449 1.0% ​​ Independent Labour Sam Cartwright 19 557 1.3% ​​ Independent B.B. Dubienski 14 364 <1% ​​ Progressive Mrs. M.J. Hample 15 393 <1% ​​ Liberal A.L. Maclean 12 275 <1% ​​ Workers Arthur Henderson 13 282 <1% ​​ Independent Fred Hilson 10 175 <1% ​​ Union Labour F.W. McGill 9 165 <1% ​​ Independent W.C. Morden 7 145 <1% ​​ Progressive Arthur Puttee 8 150 <1% ​​ Independent Labour James Simpkin 6 140 <1% ​​ Workers William Hammond 5 112 <1% ​​ Conservative Agnes Munro 4 100 <1% ​​ Independent Labour Mrs. M. McCartney 3 96 <1% ​​ Independent Colin McPhail 2 39 <1% ​​ Exhausted votes 2511 5.7% ​​

Order in which declared elected Candidate Rank    Fred Dixon 1    Robert Jacob 2    J.K. Downes 3    William Sanford Evans 4    John Thomas Haig 5    John Queen 6    Seymour Farmer 7    William Ivens 8    Edith Rogers 9    Richard Craig 10 Results in 1920    Fred Dixon 1    Thomas Herman Johnson 2    William Ivens 3    John Thomas Haig 4    John Queen 5    John Stovel 6    Duncan Cameron 7    George Armstrong 8    Edith Rogers 9    William Johnston Tupper 10

Note: Reports of vote tallies were incomplete for counts 32–36. Count 31 was used as the base for calculating applicable percentages above.

Deferred elections

Elections for several northern ridings were deferred to later dates:

Electoral district	Candidates										Incumbent
	Progressive		Liberal		Conservative		Labour		Other
Ethelbert (August 26, 1922)		Nicholas A. Hryhorczuk acclaimed										Nicholas A. Hryhorczuk Ind. Farmer
Rupertsland (September 13, 1922)		Francis Black acclaimed										John Morrison
The Pas (October 5, 1922)		John Bracken 472								Herman Finger (Ind) 118 P.C. Robertson (Ind) 71 R.H. MacNeill (Ind) 38		Edward Brown

Early by-elections

When Duncan Lloyd McLeod (Arthur), Neil Cameron (Minnedosa) and William Clubb (Morris) were appointed to cabinet on August 8, 1922, they were obliged to resign their seats and seek re-election. All were returned by acclamation on August 26, 1922.

Post-election changes

Winnipeg (res. Fred Dixon, July 27, 1923)

Mountain (Charles Cannon appointed to cabinet, December 3, 1923), December 24, 1923:

• Charles Cannon (P) 1630
• George Fraser (C) 857

Carillon (Albert Prefontaine appointed to cabinet, December 3, 1923), December 24, 1923:

• Albert Prefontaine (P) 1177
• Maurice Dupez (Ind) 494

Assiniboia (William Bayley leaves the Labour Party on January 8, 1924)

Lansdowne (res. Tobias Norris, 1925), December 9, 1925:

• Tobias Norris (L) accl.

St. Boniface (res. Joseph Bernier, September 1, 1926)