1939 Quebec general election
The 1939 Quebec general election was held on October 25, 1939, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada. The Quebec Liberal Party, led by former premier Adélard Godbout, defeated the incumbent Union Nationale, led by Maurice Duplessis.
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90 seats in the 21st Legislative Assembly of Quebec 46 seats were needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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This was Godbout's second non-consecutive term of office and his only victory out of four consecutive general elections opposing Duplessis.
The Action libérale nationale, which had won 25 seats in the 1935 election and then merged with the Quebec Conservative Party, was re-formed by Paul Gouin, who had split with Duplessis soon after the formation of the Union Nationale. However the ALN obtained only 4.5% of the vote and no seats. It soon disbanded. Also, a rump Conservative Party ran three candidates who won 0.2% of the vote and no seats. This party also disbanded.
Redistribution of ridings
An Act passed before the election[1] reduced the number of MLAs from 90 to 86 through the following changes:
Abolished ridings | New ridings |
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Reorganization of ridings | |
Mergers of ridings | |
- also absorbed part of Maisonneuve
Results
Political party | Party leader | MPPs | Votes | |||||||
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Candidates | 1936 | 1939 | ± | # | ± | % | ± (pp) | |||
Liberal | Adélard Godbout | 85 | 14 | 69 | 55![]() |
301,382 | 77,008![]() |
53.50 | 14.09![]() | |
Union Nationale and allies | ||||||||||
█ Union Nationale | Maurice Duplessis | 84 | 76 | 14 | 62![]() |
217,413 | 106,399![]() |
38.60 | 18.28![]() | |
█ Conservative[a 1] | – | 1 | – | 1 | 1![]() |
2,989 | New | 0.53 | New | |
Action libérale nationale | Paul Gouin | 56 | – | – | – | 25,295 | New | 4.49 | New | |
Parti national[a 2] | – | 1 | – | 1 | 1![]() |
3,074 | New | 0.55 | New | |
Other candidates | ||||||||||
█ Independent[a 3] | – | 5 | – | 1 | 1![]() |
6,281 | 5,514![]() |
1.12 | 0.99![]() | |
█ Co-operative Commonwealth | – | 1 | – | – | – | 2,513 | 1,044![]() |
0.45 | 0.19![]() | |
█ Independent-Conservative | – | 3 | – | – | – | 1,679 | 191![]() |
0.30 | 0.03![]() | |
█ Independent-Liberal | – | 3 | – | – | – | 788 | 8,958![]() |
0.14 | 1.57![]() | |
█ Independent-ALN | – | 1 | – | – | – | 617 | New | 0.11 | New | |
█ Independent-Unionist | – | 3 | – | – | – | 469 | 1,459![]() |
0.08 | 0.26![]() | |
█ Labour | – | 3 | – | – | – | 410 | 331![]() |
0.07 | 0.06![]() | |
█ ALN-Labour | – | 1 | – | – | – | 228 | New | 0.04 | New | |
█ Communist | – | 1 | – | – | – | 159 | 886![]() |
0.03 | 0.15![]() | |
█ Candidat du peuple | – | did not campaign | ||||||||
Total | 248 | 90 | 86 | 563,297 | 100% | |||||
Rejected ballots | 7,334 | 2,404![]() |
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Voter turnout | 570,631 | 3,624![]() |
77.00 | 0.06![]() | ||||||
Registered electors (contested ridings only) | 741,131 | 5,283![]() |
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Candidates returned by acclamation[a 4] | 1 | 1![]() |
- Joseph-Philias Morin (Champlain) elected under Conservative banner; joined UN caucus after election.
- Formed during the 20th Legislature, when five MLAs broke from the UN. Only René Chaloult (Lotbinière) ran for re-election under the Nationalist ticket, and he declared himself as an Independent-Liberal after the election
- Camillien Houde was elected in Montréal–Sainte-Marie
- Edgar Rochette (Charlevoix-Saguenay), for the Liberals
See also
References
- An Act respecting the electoral districts of the Province, S.Q. 1939, c. 7.
- Drouilly, Pierre (December 4, 2017). "Élections québécoises de 1939". donneesquebec.ca. Atlas des élections au Québec.