1951 Prince Edward Island general election
Canadian provincial election
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
All 30 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island 16 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 1951 Prince Edward Island general election was held in the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island on April 26, 1951.[1]
The governing Liberals of Premier J. Walter Jones held on to their majority in the Legislature over the opposition Progressive Conservatives led by Reginald Bell, who was elected leader of the party in 1950. Both parties kept the same number of seats they earned in the previous election, though eight seats did change hands.
The democratic socialist Co-operative Commonwealth Federation fell back from their previous high in 1947, losing over half of their vote. This would be the last election contested by the CCF or any third party in provincial PEI elections until the CCF's successor, the New Democratic Party, ran in by-elections in 1972.
This election featured the first female candidate for office, Hilda Ramsay, who came in third while running for the CCF as Councillor in 3rd Prince.[2]
Party Standings
| 24 | 6 |
| Liberal | PC |
| Party | Party Leader | Seats | Popular Vote | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1947 | Elected | Change | # | % | Change | |||
| Liberal | J. Walter Jones | 24 | 24 | ±0 | 40,847 | 51.6% | +1.3% | |
| Progressive Conservative | Reginald Bell | 6 | 6 | ±0 | 36,921 | 46.7% | +1.4% | |
| Co-operative Commonwealth | - | - | - | 1,336 | 1.7% | -2.6% | ||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Members Elected
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.[3]
Kings
| District | Assemblyman | Party | Councillor | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Kings | William Acorn | Liberal | Brenton St. John | Liberal | ||
| 2nd Kings | Harvey Douglas | Liberal | Thomas R. Cullen | Liberal | ||
| 3rd Kings | John A. MacDonald | Progressive Conservative | Keir Clark | Liberal | ||
| 4th Kings | Lorne Bonnell | Liberal | Alexander Wallace Matheson | Liberal | ||
| 5th Kings | William Hughes | Liberal | George Saville | Liberal | ||
Queens
| District | Assemblyman | Party | Councillor | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Queens | Frank Myers | Progressive Conservative | W. F. Alan Stewart | Liberal | ||
| 2nd Queens | George Kitson | Liberal | Reginald Bell | Progressive Conservative | ||
| 3rd Queens | Russell C. Clark | Liberal | Eugene Cullen | Liberal | ||
| 4th Queens | Dougald MacKinnon | Liberal | John Walter Jones | Liberal | ||
| 5th Queens | Earle MacDonald | Liberal | William J. P. MacMillan | Progressive Conservative | ||
Prince
| District | Assemblyman | Party | Councillor | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Prince | Hubert Gaudet | Progressive Conservative | Don Campbell | Progressive Conservative | ||
| 2nd Prince | Walter Darby | Liberal | Forrest Phillips | Liberal | ||
| 3rd Prince | J. Wilfred Arsenault | Liberal | Frank MacNutt | Liberal | ||
| 4th Prince | J. George MacKay | Liberal | | Cleveland Baker | Liberal | |
| 5th Prince | Edward P. Foley | Liberal | Lorne H. MacFarlane | Liberal | ||
Sources
- ^ "Provincial General Election Results, 1951" (PDF). Elections PEI. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 25, 2015.
- ^ "Women in Politics". Elections PEI.
- ^ Fred Driscoll. "History and Politics of Prince Edward Island" (PDF). Canadian Parliamentary Review.
