1921 Canadian federal election

none March 2010 September 2023 1921 Canadian federal election Canada 1921 parliamentary no no no 1917 Canadian federal election 1917 1925 Canadian federal election 1925 235 seats in the House of Commons 118 67.7%Voter Turnout at Federal Elections and Referendums http://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=ele&dir=turn&document=index&lang=e 10 March 2019 ( 7.3 pp) December 6, 1921 14th Canadian Parliament 13th Canadian Parliament x160px King1919HeadShot (cropped).jpg CA Liberal nohash W. L. Mackenzie King August 7, 1919 CA Liberal name Princecandidate in York North 82 seats, 38.80% 118 36 1,285,998 41.15% 2.34 pp CRERAR.jpg CA Progressive nohash Thomas Crerar February 26, 1920 CA Progressive name Marquette New party 58 58 658,976 21.09% New party Arthur Meighen-.jpg CA Conservative (historical) nohash Arthur Meighen July 10, 1920 CA Conservative (historical) name Portage la Prairie (lost re-election) 153 seats, 56.93% 49 104 935,651 29.95% 26.98 pp Ac.woodsworth.jpg CA Labour nohash J. S. Woodsworth December 6, 1921 Labour Winnipeg Centre 0 seats, 1.84% 3 3 85,388 2.73% 0.90 pp Herbert Greenfield 1921.jpg CA United Farmers of Alberta nohash Herbert Greenfield August 13, 1921 CA United Farmers of Alberta name Did not runThe United Farmers of Alberta, which at the time formed the government in that province, did not have a separate party leader at the federal level. At the time of this election, party leader Herbert Greenfield was the Premier of Alberta and the MLA for Peace River in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. New party 2 2 22,251 0.71% New party EC Drury Photo B (HS85-10-36997) (cropped).jpg CA United Farmers of Ontario nohash Ernest C. Drury November 14, 1919 CA United Farmers of Ontario name Did not runThe United Farmers of Ontario, which at the time formed the government in that province, did not have a separate party leader at the federal level. At the time of this election, party leader Ernest C. Drury was the Premier of Ontario and the MLA for Halton in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. New party 1 1 3,919 0.13% New party 350px Results by electoral district 350px Results by province and territory Prime Minister Prime Minister after election Arthur Meighen CA Conservative (historical) name William Lyon Mackenzie King CA Liberal name Chambre des Communes 1921.png 350px The Canadian parliament after the 1921 election The 1921 Canadian federal election was held on December 6, 1921, to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada of the 14th Parliament of Canada. The Union government that had governed Canada through the First World War was defeated, and replaced by a Liberal government under the young leader William Lyon Mackenzie King. A new party, the Progressive Party, won the second most seats in the election. Background Since the 1911 election, the country had been governed by the Conservatives, first under the leadership of Prime Minister Robert Borden and then under Prime Minister Arthur Meighen. During the First World War, the Conservatives had united with the pro-conscription Liberal-Unionists and formed a Union government. A number of Members of Parliament (MPs), mostly Quebecers, stayed loyal to Wilfrid Laurier (popularly known as the Laurier Liberals), however, and they maintained their independence. When Laurier died, he was succeeded as leader by Mackenzie King. After the 1919 federal budget, a number of western Unionist MPs left the Union government in protest against high tariffs on farm products imposed by the budget. Led by Thomas Alexander Crerar, the group became known as the Progressive Party. Also running were a number of Labour advocates, foremost amongst them J. S. Woodsworth of Winnipeg, who had organized their political movement after the Winnipeg general strike of 1919. Meighen had played a key role in violently suppressing the strikers and this earned him the animosity of organized labour. Meighen attempted to make the "Unionist" party a permanent alliance of Tories and Liberals by renaming it the National Liberal and Conservative Party, but the effort failed, and most Unionist Liberals either returned to the Liberal fold or joined the new Progressive Party. Besides the labour strife and farm tariffs in the Prairie provinces, the Conscription Crisis of 1917 had a lasting effect on Tory fortunes by making the party virtually unelectable in Quebec. The Unionist government's broken promise not to conscript workers needed on western Canadian farms also lost it support on the prairies. Electoral system Most of the MPs were elected in single-winner First past the post; Ottawa and Halifax were two-seat ridings with each voter able to cast up to two votes as per Plurality block voting.Parliamentary Guide National results center|300px PartyParty leader# of candidatesSeatsPopular vote1917Elected% Change#%pp Change CA Liberal rowLiberalW. L. Mackenzie King 20482 118+43.9% 1,285,998 41.15%+2.34 CA PC rowConservativeArthur Meighen 204153 49-68.0% 935,651 29.95%-26.98 CA Progressive row-nameT. A. Crerar 129* 50* 658,976 21.09%* CA Labour row LabourJ. S. Woodsworth 28- 3  85,388 2.73%+0.90 CA Independent rowIndependent 45- 2  94,901 3.04%+2.40 CA AB United Farmers row-name  10 * 10** 22,251 0.71%* CA Independent rowUnknown 8- -- 14,714 0.47%+0.27 CA Independent rowIndependent Conservative 2* 1* 12,359 0.40%* CA ON United Farmers row-name  1* 1* 3,919 0.13%* CA Independent rowIndependent Progressive 1* 1* 3,309 0.115%* CA Socialist row-name  1* -* 3,094 0.10%* CA Independent rowIndependent Liberal 1 - -- 2,764 0.09%-0.32 CA United Farmers row United Farmers of British Columbia 1 - --579-Total 635 235 235 - 3,123,903 100%  Sources: http://www.elections.ca -- History of Federal Ridings since 1867 Note: * not applicable - the party was not recognized in the previous election * UFA candidates were sometimes referred to as Progressives,Red Deer News, Dec. 14, 1921Parliamentary Guide 1922, p. 292 just as sometimes "Progressive" candidates running outside Alberta were referred to as UFA.Edmonton Bulletin, Dec. 10, 1921, p. 9 All farmer/Progressive candidates running in Alberta were both UFA and Progressive, and sat as such in the House of Commons, at least until the UFA caucus became more independent. The vote shares of Progressive and UFA candidates shown above, if combined, are accurate for the two parties together as one.) Vote and seat summaries Popular vote #ddd 600px 410px Liberal CA Liberal 41.15 Conservative CA Conservative (historical) 29.95 Progressive CA Progressive 21.09 Others CA Independent 7.81 Seat totals #ddd 600px 410px Liberal CA Liberal 50.21 Progressive CA Progressive 24.68 Conservative CA Conservative (historical) 20.85 Others CA Independent 4.25 Results by province Party nameBCABSKMBONQCNBNSPEYKTotal CA Liberal rowLiberal Seats: 3 - 1 3 21 65 5 16 4 - 118 CA Liberal row Popular vote (%): 29.8 15.8 18.7 18.9 30.1 70.2 50.2 52.4 45.7 47.6 41.2 CA Progressive rowProgressive Seats: 3 0 15 11 20 - 1 - -  50 CA Progressive row Vote (%): 11.7 0 61.7 41.9 25.6 3.1 8.7 10.2 12.3  19.7 CA PC rowConservative Seats: 7 - - - 36 - 5 - - 149 CA PC row Vote (%): 47.9 20.3 16.3 24.4 38.8 18.5 39.4 32.3 37.2 51.1 30.0 CA Labour rowLabour Seats: - 2 - 1 - -   - -   3 CA Labour row Vote (%):6.8 11.1 0.8 5.7 2.3 0.7   3.5 4.8   2.7 CA Independent rowIndependent Seats: -     - 2 - -     - 2 CA Independent row Vote (%): 3.5     7.4 1.9 6.6 1.7     1.3 3.0 CA AB United Farmers rowUnited Farmers of Alberta Seats:  10               10 CA AB United Farmers row Vote (%):   52.5              2.1 CA Independent rowIndependent Conservative Seats:        1 -         1 CA Independent row Vote (%):         0.9 0.3         0.4 CA ON United Farmers rowUnited Farmers of Ontario Seats:        1         1 CA ON United Farmers row Vote (%):         0.3         0.1 CA Independent rowIndependent Progressive Seats:        1          1 CA Independent row Vote (%):         0.3           0.1 Total seats  131216158265111641235Parties that won no seats: CA Independent row Other Vote (%): 0.4 0.2 2.4     0.6   1.6 5.2  1.0 CA Socialist rowSocialist Vote (%):       1.8            0.1 CA Independent rowIndependent Liberal Vote (%):         0.2           0.1 Election aftermath The Liberal Party took 41 per cent of the vote. It won all of Quebec, much of the Maritime Provinces, and a good portion of Ontario. The Progressive Party, including the United Farmers of Alberta (UFA), won the second largest number of seats, dominating the Prairies, and winning almost a third of the seats in Ontario. Liberal and Conservative candidates were shut out in Alberta, with 10 UFA and two Labour candidates taking the province's 12 federal seats. The party won only one seat east of Ontario, however. Despite winning the second most seats, it declined to form the official opposition. It would be the only Canadian federal election before 1993 in which a party other than the Liberals or the Conservatives won the second-most seats. The Unionists/Conservatives lost the most seats up to that time of any governing party at the federal level. They won fewer seats than the Progressives (despite winning more of the popular votes) but were named as the official opposition anyway. The Conservatives won much of the Ontario seats and had some support in the Maritimes and British Columbia but won no seats in the Prairies or in Quebec. Three Labour MPs were elected: Independent Labour candidate J. S. Woodsworth won a Winnipeg seat largely due to his role in the 1919 Winnipeg general strike, and Labour Party candidates William Irvine and Joseph Tweed Shaw were elected in Calgary. Majority or minority? King's party won the most seats in the election but was still one seat short of a majority even if an Independent Liberal is counted as a Liberal. Confusion between a majority and minority result may be caused by mislabelling of two Manitoba members as Liberals. Albert Blellock Hudson, a former provincial Liberal cabinet minister, was elected as an Independent Liberal (or Independent) over the official Liberal candidate, William Robert Hogarth. Arthur-Lucien Beaubien was elected in Provencher as a Progressive, defeating the sitting Liberal incumbent, John Patrick Molloy.Hopkins, John Castell, (1 April 1864–5 Nov. 1923), author The Canadian Annual Review of Public Affairs, 1901–20; Managing Director, The Canadian Review Co., Ltd 2007-12-01 Who Was Who https://doi.org/10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u198086 2025-05-03 Oxford University Press 10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u198086 subscription Later the Liberal Party lost two by-elections to Conservative candidates but later won a by-election in a seat that had been held by the Conservatives. The Progressive caucus was less united than the Liberals or Conservatives, due to the formation of the Ginger Group, to which only some Progressives belonged, and the existence of the semi-autonomous United Farmers of Alberta group. The Farmer MPs had promised among other things that they would reject the traditional Parliamentary traditions such as that of bending to the will of the party leader and whip. Many Progressives argued that an MP should be able to vote against the party line so long as the vote was in accordance to his constituents' wishes. As a result, King always found enough Progressive MPs who backed him on crucial votes. In the final session in 1925, 17 moderate Progressives consistently supported the Liberal government despite a caucus decision against them doing so.Wilson John March 1969 J. Murray Beck, Pendulum of Power: Canada's Federal Elections. Scarborough, Ont.: Prentice-Hall, 1968, pp. 442. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0008423900024744 Canadian Journal of Political Science 2 1 132–133 10.1017/s0008423900024744 0008-4239 subscription There is no historical basis for the suggestion that in 1925 the government was brought down by an adverse vote due to a moment of confusion. This may itself result from confusion with the incident in the following Parliament (the 15th), when Arthur Meighen's government was defeated by one vote, becoming the first Canadian ministry to be defeated on a motion of non-confidence. In that vote, held on July 2, 1926, Rev. T. M. Bird (Progressive member for Nelson, Man.) stated he voted inadvertently, having been “paired” with another Progressive who was ill; if his vote had not been cast, the Meighen government would have likely survived on the vote of the Speaker breaking the tie.Cook Ramsay May 1964 Arthur Meighen. II. And Fortune Fled. By Roger Graham. Toronto: Clarke, Irwin & Company. 1963. Pp. viii, 535. $8.00. https://doi.org/10.2307/139567 Canadian Journal of Economics and Political Science 30 2 271–273 10.2307/139567 139567 0315-4890 subscription See also Canada Politics List of Canadian federal general elections List of political parties in Canada 11th Canadian Parliament 14th Canadian Parliament Women in Canadian politics Notes References Further reading Messamore Barbara J. Times of Transformation: The 1921 Canadian General Election 2025 UBC Press Vancouver 978-0-774-87059-7 Hopkins J. Castell The Canadian Annual Review of Public Affairs, 1921 1922 The Annual Review Company Toronto https://archive.org/details/canadianannualre0000unse_o4h2 Canada, Chief Electoral Officer Report of the Chief Electoral Officer on the Fourteenth General Election for the House of Commons of Canada, 1921. 1922 King's Printer Ottawa https://archive.org/details/1922v58i5p13_1614 Federal 1921 Category:December 1921 in Canada