1956 Quebec general election

Canadian provincial election September 2023 1956 Quebec general election Quebec parliamentary no no no 1952 Quebec general election 1952 24th Quebec Legislature 1960 Quebec general election 1960 25th Quebec Legislature 93 seats in the 24th Legislative Assembly of Quebec 47 seats were needed for a majority June 20, 1956 Maurice Duplessis infobox.jpg 180x180px QC UN nohash Maurice Duplessis June 20, 1936 QC UN name Trois-Rivières 68 seats, 50.5% 72 4 51.8% 1.3pp Georges-Émile Lapalme.jpg 180x180px QC Liberal nohash Georges-Émile Lapalme May 20, 1950 QC Liberal name Montréal-Outremont 23 seats, 45.77% 20 3 44.87% 0.9pp Premier Maurice Duplessis QC UN name Maurice Duplessis Premier after election QC UN name The 1956 Quebec general election was held on June 20, 1956, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec, Canada. The incumbent Union Nationale, led by Maurice Duplessis, won re-election, defeating the Quebec Liberal Party, led by Georges-Émile Lapalme.The Chief: A Political Biography of Maurice Duplessis Leslie Roberts 1963 Clarke, Irwin This was the fifth and final time (and the fourth in a row) that Duplessis led his party to a general election victory. No party has since been able to win more than three elections in a row. Duplessis died in office in 1959.October 2023 It was Lapalme's second (and final) loss in a row as Liberal leader. The Liberals did not manage to improve on their performance in the previous 1952 election.October 2023 Expansion of the Legislative Assembly and titles An Act passed in 1954 provided for the creation of the new electoral district of Jonquière-Kénogami for the next election, which was carved out from Chicoutimi and Lac-Saint-Jean.An Act to constitute the electoral district of Jonquière-Kénogami S.Q. 1953-54 42 https://www.bibliotheque.assnat.qc.ca/DepotNumerique_v2/AffichageFichier.aspx?idf=115605 In 1955, a bill was passed designated members of the assembly as Members of Provincial Parliament or MPPs.http://www.bibliotheque.assnat.qc.ca//fr/6964-recherche-–-debats-de-l-assemblee-nationale-1867 Débats de l'Assemblée législative November 17, 1955 Campaign The Liberals and the Union des électeurs pooled their resources to conduct a joint campaign against the UN in at least 50 ridings. Lemieux 1969 9 June 15, 1956 Relations entre Libéraux et Créditistes Liberal-Créditiste Relations https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=z8YpAAAAIBAJ&sjid=DkYDAAAAIBAJ&pg=1836%2C1787241 French Vers Demain Montreal 2 They collaborated to such a degree that in February 1956 the Liberal MPP René Hamel had proposed a motion espousing social credit theory in the Assembly, and a joint rally was held in May 1956 in Shawinigan to mark that event. While the strategy was viewed within the parties as a means to maximize their strength in opposing the UN, the electorate tended to view it as being confusing, Lemieux 1969 9 while the Montreal Gazette called it "an irresponsible alliance". June 18, 1956 An irresponsible alliance https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=3notAAAAIBAJ&sjid=6pgFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6929%2C3457335 Montreal Gazette 8 There were also Liberals in the old guard that wanted the UN to win. Lemieux 1969 8-9 The Liberals supported four UdE and two Nationalist candidates, Arkison Wilbur June 21, 1956 Liberals Gain 9 Seats - But Lose 13 https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=4XotAAAAIBAJ&sjid=6pgFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5711%2C4112702 Montreal Gazette 1 respectively running as Liberals and Independents, of which none won: June 21, 1956 The extremists were repudiated https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=4XotAAAAIBAJ&sjid=6pgFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4837%2C4153492 Montreal Gazette 8 on the Social Credit side, there were Réal Caouette (Abitibi-Est), Arthur Marcoux (Beauce), June 21, 1956 Les candidats créditistes tous défaits The Créditiste candidates are all defeated https://numerique.banq.qc.ca/patrimoine/details/52327/2875173 French La Presse Montreal 24 See p. 25 for candidate listings. Urbain Lajeunesse (Îles-de-la-Madeleine) July 15, 1956 La campagne électorale aux Îles-de-la-Madeleine The electoral campaign in the Magdalen Islands French https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=0cYpAAAAIBAJ&sjid=DkYDAAAAIBAJ&pg=1850%2C1875634 Vers Demain Montreal 6 and Paul-Eugène Drolet (Portneuf), June 1, 1956 La manifestation du 6 mai à Shawinigan The May 6 rally in Shawinigan French https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=zsYpAAAAIBAJ&sjid=DkYDAAAAIBAJ&pg=1830%2C1774092 Vers Demain Montreal 6–7 René Chaloult campaigned in the new riding of Jonquière-Kénogami, and came within 320 votes of winning. This would be his last campaign. Pierre Laporte, director of the magazine L'Action nationale and previously parliamentary correspondent for Le Devoir, ran in Montréal-Laurier. He would later campaign and win as a Liberal candidate in a 1961 byelection in Chambly. One observer noted, "The Union Nationale’s strongly entrenched position could not be seriously challenged unless a united front was formed of all opposing groups." Lemieux 1969 10 The UN chose to campaign on Quebec's right to fiscal autonomy, the party's accomplishments and the future of Ungava, Lemieux 1969 9 while the Liberals' chances were restrained by their alliance with the UdE (while shutting out the Parti social démocratique), the choice of Chaloult and Laporte not to identify themselves as Liberal candidates, and the party's tendency to side with Ottawa's centralizing policies. Lemieux 1969 10 The UN correctly assumed that Quebec voters, when given a choice, would prefer a nationalist policy over a social one. Lemieux 1969 10 The Union Nationale notably used the importation of 300,000 eggs from communist Poland to attack the liberal opposition.Black Conrad http://archive.org/details/duplessis0000blac_e9g5 Duplessis McClelland and Stewart 1977 978-0-7710-1530-4 Toronto en 372Introduction historique - Assemblée nationale du Québec https://www.assnat.qc.ca/fr/travaux-parlementaires/assemblee-nationale/25-1/introduction-historique.html https://web.archive.org/web/20250704014208/https://www.assnat.qc.ca/fr/travaux-parlementaires/assemblee-nationale/25-1/introduction-historique.html July 4, 2025 2026-02-19 www.assnat.qc.ca fr live + Riding contests, by number of candidates (1956) CandidatesUNLibPSDLab-PrIndI-LibI-UNLabUN-LabCFTotal250 49 1 100320 20 7 10 1 1 1 60413 12 10 12 1 2 1 1 5255 5 4 5 1 1 3 1 2562 2 2 2 1 2 1 1271 1 1 1 3 782 2 2 2 2 2 3 1 16Total93 91 26 32 7 8 10 3 1 1 272 Results Elections to the Legislative Assembly of Quebec (1956) https://www.donneesquebec.ca/recherche/dataset/atlas-des-elections-au-quebec/resource/ea984f1e-711a-4041-8329-f62d6f9b51ca Élections québécoises de 1956 Drouilly Pierre December 4, 2017 donneesquebec.ca Atlas des élections au Québec |- ! colspan=2 rowspan=2 | Political party ! rowspan=2 | Party leader ! colspan=4 | MPPs ! colspan=4 | Votes |- ! Candidates !1952 !1956 !± !# ! ± !% ! ± (pp) QC UN row-name |style="text-align:left;"|Maurice Duplessis |93||68||72||4||956,082||108,099||51.80%||1.30 QC Liberal row-name |style="text-align:left;"|Georges-Émile Lapalme |92||23||20||3||828,264||59,725||44.87%||0.90 QC Social démocratique row-name |style="text-align:left;"|Thérèse Casgrain |26||–||–||–||11,232||4,807||0.61%||0.35 QC Labor-Progressive row-name |style="text-align:left;"|Gui Caron |32||–||–||–||6,517||2,585||0.35%||0.12 |- |rowspan="7" QC Other background|   |style="text-align:left;" colspan="10"|Other candidates |- |style="text-align:left;" |QC Independent colour&name |style="text-align:left;"|  |7||1||1||||33,205||19,359||1.80%||0.98 |- |style="text-align:left;" |QC Independent-Liberal colour&name |style="text-align:left;"| |7||–||–||–||4,438||528||0.24%||0.06 |- |style="text-align:left;" |QC Independent-Unionist colour&name |style="text-align:left;"| |10||–||–||–||4,108||9,089||0.22%||0.57 |- |style="text-align:left;" |QC Labour colour&name |style="text-align:left;"| |3||–||–||–||1,274||247||0.07%||0.01 |- |style="text-align:left;" |QC Union Nationale-Labour colour&name |style="text-align:left;"| |1||–||–||–||516||New||0.03%||New |- |style="text-align:left;" |QC Capital familial colour&name |style="text-align:left;"| |1||–||–||–||93||New||0.01%||New |- ! colspan="3" style="text-align:left;" | Total |272||92 ! " colspan="2"|93 ! " colspan="2"|1,845,729 ! " colspan="2"| 100% |- | colspan="7" style="text-align:left;" | Rejected ballots | 28,781 | 3,133 | colspan="2"| |- | colspan="7" style="text-align:left;" | Voter turnout | 1,874,510 | 169,599 | 78.32 | 2.44 |- | colspan="7" style="text-align:left;" | Registered electors | 2,393,360 | 146,362 | colspan="2"| |} Vote and seat summaries Ternary plots - shift of electoral support (1952-1956) 350 200 yes center Electoral districts identified by colours of winning parties File:Ternary QC1952.svg 1952 Ternary plot of 1952 results File:Ternary QC1956.svg 1956 Ternary plot of 1956 results Popular vote #ddd 600px 410px UN QC UN 51.80 PLQ QC Liberal 44.87 Others QC Independent 3.33Seats summary #ddd 600px 410px UN QC UN 77.42 PLQ QC Liberal 21.51 Others QC Independent 1.08 Synopsis of results + Results by riding - 1956 Quebec general election https://www.assnat.qc.ca/fr/patrimoine/depcir/index.html Les membres de l'Assemblée nationale par circonscription French National Assembly members by riding National Assembly of Quebec September 13, 2023 Riding Winning party Turnoutincluding spoilt ballots VotesName 1952Party Votes Share Margin#Margin% UN Lib PSD Parti social démocratique Lab-Pr Labor-Progressive Ind Independent I-Lib Independent Liberal I-UN Independent UN Lab Labour Other Other minor affiliations Total   Abitibi-Est UN UN13,967 53.94%2,200 8.50%81.31%13,967 11,767 –––––160 –25,894 Abitibi-Ouest UN Lib6,207 50.66%161 1.31%89.27%6,046 6,207 –––––––12,253 Argenteuil UN UN7,153 55.54%1,427 11.08%86.07%7,153 5,726 –––––––12,879 Arthabaska UN UN10,189 54.74%1,765 9.48%92.72%10,189 8,424 –––––––18,613 Bagot UN UN5,696 61.46%2,124 22.92%90.76%5,696 3,572 –––––––9,268 Beauce UN UN13,432 56.66%3,158 13.32%88.52%13,432 10,274 –––––––23,706 Beauharnois UN UN11,928 58.31%3,450 16.87%87.96%11,928 8,478 –50 –––––20,456 Bellechasse UN UN6,243 57.89%1,702 15.78%82.86%6,243 4,541 –––––––10,784 Berthier UN UN7,123 56.17%1,565 12.34%90.30%7,123 5,558 –––––––12,681 Bonaventure UN Lib8,551 52.68%869 5.35%84.06%7,682 8,551 –––––––16,233 Brome UN Lib3,274 51.66%245 3.87%83.36%3,029 3,274 –––––––6,338 Chambly UN Lib20,031 49.43%767 1.89%76.45%19,264 20,031 877 150 –205 –––40,527 Champlain UN UN12,579 58.93%3,814 17.87%90.32%12,579 8,765 –––––––21,344 Charlevoix UN UN7,729 60.37%2,655 20.74%87.17%7,729 5,074 –––––––12,803 Châteauguay UN UN5,936 57.10%1,477 14.21%85.59%5,936 4,459 –––––––10,395 Chicoutimi UN UN19,103 67.22%9,788 34.44%87.25%19,103 9,315 –––––––28,418 Compton UN Lib5,542 51.41%401 3.72%85.72%5,141 5,542 98 ––––––10,781 Deux-Montagnes UN UN8,133 72.31%5,162 45.90%83.43%8,133 2,971 143 ––––––11,247 Dorchester UN UN9,569 60.74%3,385 21.49%85.40%9,569 6,184 –––––––15,753 Drummond Lib UN13,211 53.83%1,928 7.86%91.52%13,211 11,283 –47 –––––24,541 Frontenac Lib UN6,451 52.12%524 4.23%89.65%6,451 5,927 –––––––12,378 Gaspé-Nord UN UN4,574 50.40%135 1.49%84.26%4,574 4,439 ––62 ––––9,075 Gaspé-Sud UN UN8,016 56.03%1,726 12.06%85.67%8,016 6,290 –––––––14,306 Gatineau UN UN8,206 55.96%1,748 11.92%76.32%8,206 6,458 –––––––14,664 Hull UN Lib10,564 45.70%143 0.62%83.05%10,421 10,564 157 79 ––1,895 ––23,116 Huntingdon UN UN3,273 52.33%291 4.65%84.69%3,273 2,982 –––––––6,255 Iberville UN UN3,903 57.22%985 14.44%88.13%3,903 2,918 –––––––6,821 Îles-de-la-Madeleine UN UN2,591 56.72%614 13.44%89.09%2,591 1,977 –––––––4,568 Jacques-Cartier Lib Lib31,385 55.39%9,094 16.05%70.68%22,291 31,385 2,322 668 –––––56,666 Joliette UN UN11,500 64.88%5,275 29.76%86.06%11,500 6,225 –––––––17,725 Jonquière-Kénogami New UN11,946 50.68%320 1.36%88.00%11,946 –––11,626 ––––23,572 Kamouraska UN UN6,489 58.30%1,847 16.59%81.48%6,489 4,642 –––––––11,131 L'Assomption UN UN7,260 55.53%1,445 11.05%87.97%7,260 5,815 –––––––13,075 L'Islet UN UN5,322 53.25%649 6.49%86.54%5,322 4,673 –––––––9,995 Labelle UN UN6,717 62.07%2,658 24.56%87.41%6,717 4,059 –46 –––––10,822 Lac-Saint-Jean UN UN8,544 54.49%1,408 8.98%92.66%8,544 7,136 –––––––15,680 Laval UN UN50,417 53.91%9,203 9.84%70.51%50,417 41,214 1,129 763 –––––93,523 Laviolette UN UN11,848 59.46%3,769 18.91%82.94%11,848 8,079 –––––––19,927 Lévis Lib UN12,220 54.30%2,114 9.39%90.04%12,220 10,106 –18 ––161 ––22,505 Lotbinière UN UN7,052 57.23%1,781 14.45%89.41%7,052 5,271 –––––––12,323 Maisonneuve Lib UN20,668 50.93%2,469 6.08%68.96%20,668 18,199 227 176 249 119 941 ––40,579 Maskinongé UN UN5,588 57.26%1,417 14.52%93.04%5,588 4,171 –––––––9,759 Matane UN UN10,109 57.93%2,769 15.87%84.28%10,109 7,340 –––––––17,449 Matapédia UN UN7,205 54.66%1,229 9.32%86.00%7,205 5,976 –––––––13,181 Mégantic UN UN12,123 52.50%1,155 5.00%92.22%12,123 10,968 –––––––23,091 Missisquoi UN UN7,001 56.72%1,658 13.43%86.03%7,001 5,343 –––––––12,344 Montcalm UN UN4,585 56.67%1,079 13.34%89.26%4,585 3,506 –––––––8,091 Montmagny UN UN6,403 55.92%1,355 11.83%87.37%6,403 5,048 –––––––11,451 Montmorency UN UN6,628 59.53%2,165 19.44%90.72%6,628 4,463 –43 –––––11,134 Montréal–Jeanne-Mance Lib UN29,076 49.76%3,439 5.88%66.38%29,076 25,637 334 239 238 1,798 91 1,025 –58,438 Montréal-Laurier UN UN17,154 60.26%7,491 26.31%70.86%17,154 –––9,663 1,652 –––28,469 Montréal-Mercier UN UN18,165 60.03%6,705 22.16%65.79%18,165 11,460 162 383 –––89 –30,259 Montréal–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce Lib Lib28,175 77.44%21,106 58.01%55.29%7,069 28,175 629 510 –––––36,383 Montréal-Outremont Lib Lib24,348 67.83%14,331 39.93%55.80%10,017 24,348 726 802 –––––35,893 Montréal–Saint-Henri Lib Lib17,344 51.30%1,960 5.80%70.57%15,384 17,344 234 156 ––172 –516 33,806 Montréal–Saint-Jacques UN UN11,206 62.36%4,922 27.39%63.90%11,206 6,284 279 200 –––––17,969 Montréal–Saint-Louis Lib Lib12,276 49.47%2,461 9.92%52.88%9,815 12,276 425 649 –1,650 –––24,815 Montréal–Sainte-Anne Ind Ind10,520 66.01%6,432 40.36%60.75%587 4,088 145 167 10,520 –429 ––15,936 Montréal–Sainte-Marie Lib UN15,051 54.80%3,853 14.03%67.93%15,051 11,198 195 172 847 ––––27,463 Montréal-Verdun Lib Lib20,175 70.12%13,361 46.43%64.50%6,814 20,175 1,785 ––––––28,774 Napierville-Laprairie UN UN7,861 53.81%1,166 7.98%89.28%7,861 6,695 –52 –––––14,608 Nicolet UN UN8,498 59.33%2,673 18.66%86.53%8,498 5,825 –––––––14,323 Papineau UN UN11,164 56.21%2,467 12.42%87.78%11,164 8,697 –––––––19,861 Pontiac UN UN6,201 71.83%3,769 43.66%79.30%6,201 2,432 –––––––8,633 Portneuf UN UN12,810 60.72%4,523 21.44%87.52%12,810 8,287 –––––––21,097 Québec-Centre UN UN10,983 60.18%3,715 20.36%81.48%10,983 7,268 –––––––18,251 Québec-Comté Lib UN21,272 56.22%5,047 13.34%85.59%21,272 16,225 –63 ––280 ––37,840 Québec-Est Lib UN20,173 55.47%4,090 11.25%85.85%20,173 16,083 –112 –––––36,368 Québec-Ouest Lib Lib10,073 50.40%158 0.79%82.76%9,915 10,073 –––––––19,988 Richelieu Lib UN9,552 54.28%1,590 9.03%89.78%9,552 7,962 66 19 –––––17,599 Richmond Lib Lib9,470 51.49%742 4.03%90.47%8,728 9,470 –194 –––––18,392 Rimouski UN Lib9,911 51.05%408 2.10%85.03%9,503 9,911 –––––––19,414 Rivière-du-Loup UN Lib8,623 51.24%556 3.30%87.88%8,067 8,623 ––––139 ––16,829 Roberval UN UN10,903 52.50%1,038 5.00%88.94%10,903 9,865 –––––––20,768 Rouville UN UN5,277 52.84%567 5.68%87.54%5,277 4,710 –––––––9,987 Rouyn-Noranda UN Lib7,561 51.16%1,007 6.81%84.35%6,554 7,561 665 ––––––14,780 Saguenay UN UN10,899 58.60%3,198 17.19%75.91%10,899 7,701 –––––––18,600 Saint-Hyacinthe UN Lib9,965 51.67%669 3.47%83.85%9,296 9,965 –24 –––––19,285 Saint-Jean UN UN8,279 56.17%1,901 12.90%85.62%8,279 6,378 55 27 –––––14,739 Saint-Maurice Lib Lib13,851 51.37%741 2.75%90.44%13,110 13,851 –––––––26,961 Saint-Sauveur UN UN16,117 68.77%8,862 37.81%87.43%16,117 7,255 –64 –––––23,436 Shefford Lib UN11,534 53.59%1,627 7.56%85.31%11,534 9,907 –82 –––––21,523 Sherbrooke UN UN16,588 55.30%3,438 11.46%78.62%16,588 13,150 73 185 –––––29,996 Stanstead UN UN7,815 50.26%81 0.52%82.63%7,815 7,734 –––––––15,549 Témiscamingue Lib UN4,078 50.83%133 1.66%86.26%4,078 3,945 –––––––8,023 Témiscouata UN UN6,299 59.35%1,985 18.70%85.36%6,299 4,314 –––––––10,613 Terrebonne UN UN20,984 57.57%5,704 15.65%85.34%20,984 15,280 107 77 –––––36,448 Trois-Rivières UN UN16,263 61.73%6,327 24.02%88.23%16,263 9,936 –52 ––––93 26,344 Vaudreuil-Soulanges UN UN7,681 51.00%370 2.46%85.94%7,681 7,311 70 ––––––15,062 Verchères Lib UN5,104 53.06%627 6.52%89.67%5,104 4,477 39 ––––––9,620 Westmount–Saint-Georges Lib Lib13,808 80.05%10,870 63.02%51.26%2,938 13,808 255 248 –––––17,249 Wolfe Lib UN4,058 50.31%50 0.62%93.33%4,058 4,008 –––––––8,066 Yamaska UN UN4,736 66.22%2,320 32.44%85.90%4,736 2,416 –––––––7,152 a #B9E5B9 silver = open seat #F5F5DC silver = turnout is above provincial average #DCDCDC silver = winning candidate was in previous Legislature #EABB94 silver = incumbent had switched allegiance #EEBBBB silver = not incumbent; was previously elected to the Legislature #87CEFA silver = incumbency arose from byelection gain #FFFF00 silver = previously incumbent in another riding #DCD0FF silver = other incumbents renominated #90EE90 silver = UdE candidates under the Liberal banner #7CDBF7 silver = Nationalist candidates supported by the Liberals #F0E68C silver = multiple candidates Analysis + Party candidates in 2nd place Party in 1st place Party in 2nd place TotalUN Lib IndQC UN row-name 70 2 72QC Liberal row-name 20 20QC Independent row-name 1 1 Total20 71 2 93 + Candidates ranked 1st to 5th place, by party Parties 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th TotalQC UN colour&name72 20 1 93QC Liberal colour&name20 71 92QC Independent colour&name1 2 2 1 6QC Social démocratique colour&name 16 6 2 24QC Labor-Progressive colour&name 13 11 5 29QC Independent UN colour&name 5 3 1 9QC Independent Liberal colour&name 3 2 5QC Labour colour&name 1 1 1 3QC UN-Labour colour&name 1 1QC Capital familial colour&name 1 1 + Resulting composition of the 23rd Quebec Legislative Assembly Source PartyUNLibIndTotalSeats retained Incumbents returned 55 9 1 65Open seats held3 1 4Seats changing hands Incumbents defeated9 6 15Incumbents defeated - previous incumbents returned3 3Open seats gained1 4 5New ridings New MPP elected1 1Total72 20 1 93 See also List of Quebec premiers Politics of Quebec Timeline of Quebec history List of Quebec political parties 25th Legislative Assembly of Quebec Further reading Lemieux Vincent 1969 Quatre élections provinciales au Québec Four provincial elections in Quebec https://numerique.banq.qc.ca/patrimoine/details/52327/3187847 French Montreal Les presses de l'Université Laval References Quebec general election Category:Elections in Quebec General election Quebec general election