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1959 Prince Edward Island general election

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1959 Prince Edward Island general election

← 1955 September 1, 1959 (1959-09-01) 1962 →

All 30 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island
16 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party
 
PC
Leader Walter R. Shaw Alex W. Matheson
Party Progressive Conservative Liberal
Leader since 1957 1953
Leader's seat 1st Queens 4th Kings
Last election 3 seats, 45.0% 27 seats, 55.0%
Seats won 22 8
Seat change Increase19 Decrease19
Popular vote 43,845 42,214
Percentage 50.9% 49.1%
Swing Increase5.9pp Decrease5.9pp

Premier before election

Alex W. Matheson
Liberal

Premier after election

Walter R. Shaw
Progressive Conservative

The 1959 Prince Edward Island general election was held in the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island on September 1, 1959.[1]

The governing Liberals of Premier Alex W. Matheson were defeated by the Progressive Conservatives led by Walter R. Shaw, who gained a massive number of districts across the Island to earn a majority government, despite a close result in the popular vote.

The defeat of the Matheson-led Liberals marked the end of the longest serving government in Island history. The Liberals had governed for 24 straight years since their initial victory in the 1935 general election, a feat that would not be rivaled by any other provincial government on the Island.

Party standings

[edit]
22 8
PC Liberal
Party Party Leader Seats Popular Vote
1955 Elected Change # % Change
  Progressive Conservative Walter R. Shaw 3 22 +19 43,845 50.9% +5.9%
  Liberal Alex W. Matheson 27 8 -19 42,214 49.1% -5.9%
Popular vote
PC
50.95%
Liberal
49.05%
Seats summary
PC
73.33%
Liberal
26.67%

Members elected

[edit]

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.[2]

Kings

[edit]
District Assemblyman Party Councillor Party
1st Kings     John R. McLean Progressive
Conservative
    Melvin J. McQuaid Progressive
Conservative
2nd Kings     Walter Dingwell Progressive
Conservative
    Leo Rossiter Progressive
Conservative
3rd Kings     Thomas A. Curran Progressive
Conservative
    Douglas McGowan Progressive
Conservative
4th Kings     Lorne Bonnell Liberal     Alexander Wallace Matheson Liberal
5th Kings     Stephen Hessian Liberal     George Saville Liberal

Queens

[edit]
District Assemblyman Party Councillor Party
1st Queens     Frank Myers Progressive
Conservative
    Walter Russell Shaw Progressive
Conservative
2nd Queens     Philip Matheson Progressive
Conservative
    Reginald Bell Progressive
Conservative
3rd Queens     Andrew B. MacRae Progressive
Conservative
    J. Russell Driscoll Progressive
Conservative
4th Queens     J. Stewart Ross Liberal     Harold P. Smith Liberal
5th Queens     J. David Stewart Progressive
Conservative
    Alban Farmer Progressive
Conservative

Prince

[edit]
District Assemblyman Party Councillor Party
1st Prince     Hubert Gaudet Progressive
Conservative
    Don Campbell Progressive
Conservative
2nd Prince     George Dewar Progressive
Conservative
    Robert Grindlay Progressive
Conservative
3rd Prince     Henry Wedge Progressive
Conservative
    Keith Harrington Progressive
Conservative
4th Prince     J. George MacKay Liberal    
Cleveland Baker Liberal
5th Prince     Hubert B. MacNeill Progressive
Conservative
    G. Lorne Monkley Progressive
Conservative

Sources

[edit]
  1. ^ "Provincial General Election Results, 1959" (PDF). Elections PEI. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 23, 2015. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  2. ^ Fred Driscoll. "History and Politics of Prince Edward Island" (PDF). Canadian Parliamentary Review.