Landslide For C.C.F.
46 Seats Possible
Regina Leader Post
June 16, 1944. p.1
A decisive victory in Thursday's provincial election was scored by the
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation which up until noon Friday had won 41
seats, with a possibility of adding five more by the time final results are
tabulated.
The landslide for the C.C.F. was one of the greatest recorded in the annals
of Saskatchewan's political history.
Premier W.J. Patterson and his Liberal administration were able to salvage
only four seats from the C.C.F. avalanche but there is definite indication
that the party will win at least one and possibly two more seats.
The Liberals are leading at Athabasca and Meadow Lake.
Mr. Patterson himself was able to weather the storm and win at Cannington,
over Mrs. Gladys Strum, C.C.F. His majority, however, is only 30 and the
soldier's vote might upset the standing Hon. A.T. Procter, minister of highways,
was the only other cabinet minister to be elected.
Other seats won by the Liberals were Arm River, by G.H. Danielson; and Rosthern,
by P.J. Hooge Rosthern is the former stronghold of Hon. J.M. Uhrich, who
announced his resignation from politics several months ago.
The C.C.F. party will now form the first socialist government in Canada.
The move will be looked upon as an experiment by the rest of Canada. The
C.C.F. is the official opposition in Ontario and British Columbia.
In sweeping into power in Saskatchewan, the C.C.F. party has won the opportunity
to set up a government in the province in which the party was born. It was
back in 1933 that Rev. T.C. Douglas, M.J. Coldwell. C.M. Fines and several
other party followers met and drafted the first C.C.F. constitution.
The C.C.F. party won 41 seats by polling a total of 188,233 votes, less than
the Liberals polled in the 1938 election when they won 38 seats. At that
time the Patterson government had 200,378 votes. Thursday, Liberals polled
127,378 votes.
The Progressive Conservative party, which failed to win a single seat, polled
41, 193 independents and one Social Credit member polled 1,622.
Rupert D. Ramsay, provincial Progressive Conservative leader, was badly beaten
in his home riding, Saskatoon.
The C.C.F. polled 55 percent of the total vote, with the Liberals polling
about 34 percent.
Saskatchewan citizens voted in 51 constituencies Thursday. There remain
four others: Cumberland in the north, where balloting takes place June 24;
and three soldier seats to be decided at a later date. These will represent
the armed forces in other parts of Canada, Great Britain and the European
war theater.
Voting was considerably lighter than in the 1938 provincial election when
440,273 ballots were cast. Popular vote on Thursday totalled 388,426, with
437 polls to be heard from.
It is expected that the total vote would reach approximately 380,000 when
all ballets are counted.
An important fact in Thursday's election was that the Liberal government
was thrown out of office just about as completely as was the Anderson government
it succeeded 10 years ago, when not a single supported of the old Conservative
administration survived.
The new premier of Saskatchewan will be Rev. T.C. Douglas, who won by a
comfortable majority at Weyburn.
The electors dealt a hard blow to Rupert Ramsay and his slate of Progressive
Conservatives. In losing every single seat the party contested, it means
that the group still remains totally underrepresented in the Saskatchewan
legislature as has been the case since 1934.
Although Premier Patterson's government was defeated, the premier was able
to retain his Cannington riding. He only held a small majority over a C.C.F.
opponent, however, when the counting was completed Thursday night. The count
showed Mr. Patterson with 3,186 votes, and Mrs. Gladys Strum, C.C.F. with
3,156.
Election authorities intimated that whether Mr. Patterson will actually retain
his seat, depends on the "soldier vote" cast by Saskatchewan men and women
in the services in the province. Their ballots will be distributed after
a count on June 19, and may be sufficient to change the results in Cannington
and in other constituencies where majorities secured Thursday are
small.
LEADING
C.C.F. is leading in Canora, Gravelbourg, Shellbrook and Turtleford
constituencies.
Thursday broke bright and clear and voting was brisk in rural areas. The
people flocked to the polls in large numbers in the morning, but voting was
considerably lighter in the afternoon. The drop in the popular vote is
attributed to the fact that the population of Saskatchewan is down by about
100,000, the approximate number who have left the province for service with
the forces or employment in war industries in other parts of Canada.
Cabinet ministers defeat were Hon. J.W. Estey, attorney-general; Hon. J.G.
Taggart, minister of agriculture; Hon. H. Staines, minister of education;
Hon. W.F. Kerr, minister of natural resources, Hon. R.J.M. Parker, minister
of municipal affairs.
Whether Maj. E.M. Culliton, minister without portfolio, is re-elected will
depend on the vote of comrades in the armed services. With all but one poll
of 70 in his constituency of Gravelbourg reported, Maj. Culliton had 2,525
votes compared with 2, 602 for Dr. H.E. Houze, his C.C.F. opponent.
Maj. Culliton has been on active service with the Canadian army since the
spring of 1942.
WOMAN ELECTED
Only woman to be elected to the legislature was Mrs. B.Trew, C.C.F. candidate
for Maple Creek, who defeated Capt. J.J. Mildenberger. Mrs. Trew will be
the second woman in the history of Saskatchewan to hold a seat in the
legislature.
Badly beaten among the cabinet ministers was Hon. J.W. Estey, who placed
fourth at Sasktaoon. Mr. Estely trailed the C.C.F. candidates elected by
about 3,000 votes. Rupert D. Ramsay, Progressive Conservative leader, was
third.
Hon. W.F. Kerr was far in arrears at Turtleford when 41 out of 63 polls had
been heard from, and Hon. H. Staines was trailing at Elrose by about 1,500
votes when 64 out of 73 polls had reported.
Hon. J.G. Taggart, minister of agriculture, was also soundly trounced at
Swift Current.
All three Saskatchewan cities where there are two seats were won by the C.C.F.
by a large majority. In Moose Jaw, Mayor J.W. Corman and D.H.R. Heming,
C.C.F. candidates, more than doubled the total number of voted polled by
the Liberal candidates will lose their deposits.
Regina seats were won easily by Mayor C.C. Williams and Ald. C.M.
Fines.
Party standing in the 1938 election, when the Liberals had a comparatively
easy time of it in remaining in power, was as follows: Liberals, 38; C.C.F.,
10; Social Credit, 2, and Unity, 2 Liberals later lost a seat in a by-election
when they endeavored to find a spot for C.M. Dunn, former minister of highways,
who was defeated at Melville. Mr. Dunn was subsequently beaten by a C.C.F.
at Humboldt, which was a Liberal seat.
At the time of dissolution, May 10, party standing was: Liberals, 33; C.C.F.,
11; Social Credit, 2; Unity, 1; vacant, 5.
| Party Standings
|
|
| Elected
| Leading
| | Liberal
| 4
| 2
| | Prog. Conserv.
| 0
| 0
| | C.C.F.
| 41
| 4
| | Other
| 0
| 0
|
|
